T-ball and Warrior Dash

Drew had his first t-ball game last weekend!!  One of his practices had been rained out, so his team had only practiced one time.  It was hilarious!!  In the first inning, whenever the ball was hit, the whole team would run after it, and then two or three of them would fight over it.  And after they hit the ball, they'd stand and watch all the commotion instead of running the bases! haha  Emma was so good and played on the blanket with her toys the whole time.  One time, Drew was across the field on first base, waving and yelling, "Hiiii, Emma!!"  LOL

 

"Gooooo Blue!"

One thing I love about the Y...they pray before every game.  And when the coach asked the team, "why do we pray?"  Drew was the one that answered, "to give thanks to God."   =)

The HUGE hats are pretty silly...but cute! 

Out there on second base!  They looked so funny running with helmets on - I think it was a first for most of them and they look so unbalanced!

Drew, number 10 like his Daddy, was getting some last minute tips from his coach before batting.  He took two pitches from his coach and missed, so he hit off the tee after that.  Only one other kid took pitches from the coach, and she missed too.  I think that's something they'll do more of in the later games.

Running the bases! Yay!!

Chad and I ran in the Warrior Dash this past weekend!!  Chad had done it last year, and it looked like so much fun, so I signed up!!  It's a 3.1 mile race with FOURTEEN obstacles!!  I was so worried about the obstacles (swimming through nasty muddy water and pulling yourself up onto things in the water, super high rock walls and cargo nets, etc.), but they were the funnest parts - and the easiest!  The running through the muddy woods and all the super steep hills are what killed me! (it didn't help that I laid on the couch with a fever and flu-like symptoms for two days just four days before the race!!)  It was one of the hardest things I've ever done...and maybe one of the funnest!  Chad finished in 37:12 and I did it in 50 minutes flat.  And now he's got a nasty, swollen ankle from turning it halfway through the race - that's a true warrior!!  Here's a picture of us BEFORE the race.

And then AFTER the race...a little dirty! 

Okay, VERY dirty! 

The kids thought our medals and horns were pretty cool!!

This is Drew's last week of school (wow!), and it's teacher appreciation week.  Here's our homemade gifts for his two teachers.  We filled insulated straw cups with several different flavors of Crystal Light - and I took a picture of him with a Thank you note and put it in a little wooden frame.  And then we put flowers in a skinny tube and put that in a mason jar, and surrounded it with magnetic ABCs!  Two ideas I got off pinterest.com...my FAVORITE website ever!! 

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Fun Times!

A couple weeks ago on a Friday, I took the kids to the Birkdale Fountains for the first time this year.  Emma was so excited and ran out there, jumping up and down! ...and then the water shot out of the ground right beneath her and scared her to death!  She darted back to me and was ready to eat her lunch instead!

Drew loved everything about the fountains and wanted to get soaked!  But he came and sat down to eat with Emma for a bit.

Something was wrong with the fountains and they kept shutting off for about 10 seconds and then coming back on.  Emma would get brave when they turned off and she'd walk out there with Drew.

Drew liked to stand over the fountains and wait for the water to shoot up and hit him in the face!

Emma decided it was more fun to sing songs and dance in the dry areas!

Later that day we went to the Movies in the Park.  It was Chad's birthday, so we wanted to do something! The kids had helped me make him a birthday cake, and they really liked singing to him as soon as he got home from work.  Then Chad and I got Chinese food and the kids got happy meals from McDonalds and we got to the park plenty early to claim a spot and eat our dinner. We met up with some other friends too.  Then the kids enjoyed the glow sticks and popsicles they were handing out! 

There was lots of time before the movie started, so the kids played in the big field.  Not sure what was going on here...

Drew actually took this picture of Chad and I - I was impresssed how good it turned out!

Emma was so tired, but stayed up until we left close to 9pm.  The movie didn't start until it got dark, after 8:30pm, but we left soon after that (like a lot of other people with little ones).

Then on Sunday, we had some friends over for a cookout.  The adults got to eat on our back deck, and the kids had a blast eating at the picnic table by themselves!  They kept asking for more chips...and later I realized these four kids ate an entire bag of chips! OOPS!

Later in the week, Drew's buddy Luke turned 4 and had a bowling party.  The kids have never really been bowling (Drew went with us for Garrett's surprise party when he was barely 2, but that doesn't count), but they had a great time! Here's Emma...before I figured out that I needed to be there to give the ball a second push just to get it down the lane! haha  Several times she crossed the line and her feet flew out from under her.  She would just laugh and say "uh oh."

There were 3 kids per lane, and Emma got bored waiting...so she entertained herself...

Drew had some interesting technique! haha

Here he is trying to figure it out...as Emma rolls a ball down the lane next to us (that's closed!).

Here's another turn by Drew...as Emma climbs onto the ball return!  She really wasn't that out of control...guess I just caught her crazy moments!

Once I showed Drew how to put his fingers in the holes, he figured it out pretty quick.  But then, after about 5 frames of that, I guess he felt like an expert...and tried to coach Luke on how to do it!

Last weekend, our town had a festival.  This is my new favorite picture! I LOVE Emma's expression!  As soon as we got to the bottom, she said, "again," and got back in line.

Both of the kids loved the swings!

Here they are, doing a little dance!

Being drug around by Daddy is always fun!

For Mother's Day, we took a picnic lunch to Jetton Park.  The kids posed for a cute picture with Chad, but by the time I asked for a turn, they wanted nothing to do with the camera!  =(

Drew has gotten really good at swinging!

Here's the kids being silly together.

Emma was a cranky pants when we were leaving, but at least Drew would take a picture with me!

It was a rainy day, and the kids were standing on the couch, looking out the back window, and Drew says, "Mommy, look, a snake!"  I thought he was joking...

The kids weren't scared at all!  We were standing on the deck, and they wanted to get down in the bushes to see him!

Chad named him Reggie.

Here's Reggie leaving our yard...and heading straight for our bunny family's home!  We didn't see the bunnies for a couple days, but finally saw them in a different spot in our neighbor's yard! Shew!

YUCK!

April pictures and videos

We had a chilly day and Emma got to wear this stylish dress Olivia lent her! 

 I love these flowers!  Several of our neighbors have them. I took this picture while we were on a walk...might have to blow it up and frame it!

Cheese!  We're headed to Red Robin to celebrate Emma's birthday!

Emma had fun at her birthday dinner...until they sang to her!  She got scared and wanted in my lap! But she definitely enjoyed her ice cream that they gave her!!

Chad and Drew - Drew actually ate some of a burger from here!  That's always a big deal around here...when our kids actually eat real food!

The kids and I had a little picnic lunch out in the yard...the wind was blowing! haha

Posing...with chips in their mouths!

Here's my new favorite picture!  I can't remember if we were grilling out or just playing outside...but they were sitting like this on their own!

Some of the kids from Drew's preschool performed at a Sunday church service.  They sang several songs and then showed a slideshow with tons of pictures of the kids at school.  Drew was in several of the pictures - here's the one I got a quick picture of!

Here's a little "Jesus Loves Me" by a bunch of 2,3,4, and 5 year olds!  Drew's in the blue and brown striped collared shirt.

And here's "This Little Light of Mine."  And they say, "Hide it under a bushel? NO!"  haha

The church had a Parents Night Out event, so we signed the kids up.  Emma has been having some separation issues lately (never at the Y though!), but she did just fine for this.  I think it's b/c she and Drew walked in holding hands - and they were in the same group the whole time. Plus, it was pretty cool to carry a backpack!   When we picked them up, Drew was out playing on his school playground in the dark - I think he was having a great time!

We took the kids to Carowinds this past weekend.  So nice to have season passes so we can drop in for a little bit.  I think Emma liked riding this one with Drew!  She held on tight with both hands though! haha

Chad always makes sure he wins on this ride.  The riders that get their little plane-thing the highest get to stay on the ride for another turn.  Here's Chad and Emma on their second ride after they won (you can't even see Emma's little head!)  I rode with Drew...don't think I'll ride that one again.  My stomach just can't handle the little rides like that.  I can do coasters and that's about it!

The train ride is always a hit for everyone!  =)

Chad REALLY enjoyed the classic cars.... LOL

Here's Emma "holding" Charlie.
 

Drew's cleats from soccer still fit, so we put those on him.  And he needed to practice swinging his real bat - much different than his little plastic ones!  Can't wait for tee ball to start next week!!

Emma fielded the balls!

Drew had a few good hits!  This first video makes him crack up and he wants to play it over and over! haha

Emma hit a couple times too.

Yesterday morning I went up to brush my teeth, and came downstairs to these two doing their "homework."   They made desks out of the stools!

Emma had her second Pee Wee Sports class yesterday.  She loves it!!  They start off running back and forth, and she is pretty fast - even with her grover-like form!

Here she is shooting a basket and then getting bonked on the head. haha  There's one little 19 month old black boy in the class that never misses - and he shoots from 5 or 6 feet away when the goal is upright - it's so amazing!  Apparently, his dad played in college.  I think we talked his mom into sending in a video to Ellen to try to get on her show!!

They bounce, roll, pass, shoot, kick - anything goes!  Emma's favorite is sitting on the ball!  She likes to say, "Bend...shoot!" when she's shooting the ball too!

Here she is running like a wild woman!