Spring, Summer, Ready for school to start!

Wow I am more behind than ever. A lot has happened since my last entry so I will try to keep things brief. Here is the run down.

As I post this, I am already behind about a month.

We saw Dad and Beverly over spring break. It was a fast visit. We didn't want to be too much for him. Beverly took us to the Elloree Trials. The kids really enjoy the horses and tailgating.

On our way home we stopped at the indoor water park/hotel in Severville, Tn. What a great time. Our last day there was Drew's Birthday. We were able to hit the Nascar Speed Park before we left town.

After our visit Dad got very very sick. He was in the hospital, we were all so worried about him. He is doing much better now. He is a real fighter. I know the prayers have been working.

Monica and I managed to run a 5k. She beat me by 3min. She came in 2nd place for the girls. She was so shocked and I was so proud of her. She won two movie tickets.

We had Drew's fifth birthday that afternoon. We had some friends from school and his cousins Micah and McClaine meet us at the fire station for a little party. I was able to make his cake the night before. It was fun to make and the kids loved it.

Monica has had a successful soccer season with at least 5 goals.

Drew has managed to kick the ball a few times.

Natalie is still playing soccer, she will play soccer at school again this year. Then she will be cheering during basketball season. It will be a busy fall with soccer and cheer. She is also still taking Fiddle lessons and a little gymnastics to help with cheer.

Drew graduated from pre-k.

At the end of the year the class had a train ride to Nashville and a sleep over at the school. He has so much fun.

Monica got her braces removed. She is so happy.

We celebrated Mike's 40th birthday.

Drew is loving golf. Mike is so excited and offers take him often.

Drew and our Neigbor, Cade"Drew's Golf Partner"

We also were able to get away for a couple of days for our 15 yr anniversary. We went to Louisville, Ky to the Abbey Road on the River tour. It was way too much fun. We also went to Churchill Downs for the day. Thanks to Grammy And Aunt Susie for keeping the kiddos.

Drew learned to ride his Bike. He was determined not to ride his sisters old pink bike. Then, he finally realized he would never ride his big boy bike until he mastered this bike.

Monica had her dance recital. She tried Hip Hop this year. She had a lot of fun. I think it is out of her system now. She wants to go back to ballet.

We made it back to the Wilderness Hotel and Water Park. Ginny flew to Nashville and we met Dad, Beverly, Beverly's kids and grandkids. We all went to Dollywood and spent a day at the water park. We are so thankful that dad is feeling better. It was a great time.

















We spent July 3rd with Susie and Jason on their boat. We stayed for the fireworks. The kids loved being so close to the fireworks.

Natalie Micah and Drew Micah and Drew

Susie and McClaine

Monica

Natalie

Ready for Warmer Weather

Wow, It has been awhile since I have worked on this. I have been a little hung up on Facebook. I have also tried to limit my time online. I just love playing and editing photos. My time disappears very fast. I have started unpacking again. The last of it is the office and the garage. I am trying to get this done before the spring. We have a lot to keep up outside and if I don't finish the inside now, I will have to leave it until fall.

We have had several indoor soccer tournaments. A few weeks ago I took Monica and Drew to the Train Hobby Show in Nashville. They loved it.
Natalie wanted to stay home and text her friends. She has become very social since she turned 13.

We are all doing well. In a few weeks all three children will be doing soccer. Natalie will also try the golf team. I don't know how though. It has been so cold and she has not been playing at all the last few months.

Tough Cookie

Well as I mentioned before. I thought Natalie had been playing soccer the last couple of weeks with a broken big toe. She wouldn't let me take her to the Dr. because she knew that if it were broke she couldn't play. She didn't complain much to me so I didn't push her to go to the doctor. She re injured it this past weekend. It was worse than ever. So, off to the doctor. Sure enough, it was broke and had happened a couple of weeks ago. The good thing is, it is healing. The tough part is keeping her from re injuring it. He said that since it is healing that she could play as long as she could stand the pain. I am sure she feels it is all worth it. She scored another goal against a boys team this past weekend. The girls team got 2nd place. Not bad for their second tournament.

Last week we discovered that Drew has a new friend. His name is Mr. Bonkers Tenticals. He crash landed his plane in Drew's room. He is from Pluto. He and Drew travel together in the rocket ship that is hidden in our back field. Oh, and don't ask to see him, he is invisible ya know.

Monday, Mike took Drew and Monica to the Predators game. He wanted to do it for them since they had to sit through so many soccer games over the weekend. Monica ended up on the jumbo screen. Several kids from school saw her on there so she thought that was really cool.

Holiday Fun

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was one of the best Christmas eve's we have ever had. Everything was ready for Santa since we had to go to IL for Katie and Aaron's Wedding. We just enjoyed the day. The children played. Daddy has one last secret errand. Drew and I made a few cookies then we got ready for church. They were all so cooperative. Usually one of them gets in a bad mood while dressing. Or they get is trouble picking on each other at church. I think they knew they better be good. It was the children's service so that help them a lot. We had planned to go out to eat after church but decided to change things a little. Usually we go home and make pizza's. It is a rush to get them made and the you have the mess. My mission this year was to make life as easy as I can. Do the children really care where we get the pizza? A few weeks earlier Mike had taken Drew and Natalie to the huge drive through Christmas light display and Monica was sick and didn't get to go. It was all she talked about. We had driven by so she new what she was missing. So we picked up Little Cesar's, got drinks from McDonald's, then drove to the lights. The children couldn't believe Daddy was letting them eat in the car, especially pizza. They loved it.

Christmas day the children let us sleep in until about 8:15. Santa really spoiled them this year.
I think they were all surprised. They finally got Rock Band. Drew's big gift was a 4 wheeler. Natalie's was an ipod speaker dock/alarm clock, Monica's was American Girl doll, Felicity. Mike's secret errand from the day before was a new camcorder for me. At the wedding he heard me talking about the problems I had with mine and decided that would be a good gift for me. " I guess he does listen after all"
Mike cooked a rib roast for dinner. His sister and her husbands family joined us. We had a great
time and really enjoyed their company.

The day after Christmas we reorganized and got ready for company. Mike's Aunt and cousin from MI were heading through on there way to FL. We don't get to see them very often so we wanted to make it a nice visit. We cooked part of the day and they got here in the afternoon. We had about 20 for dinner. It was so good so see them. The next morning they left at 5am. Then by 9am we were packed up and went to see my dad in SC . The children had a great time feeding the animals, and going fishing. We also went to Charleston to see a park filled with lights. Monica climbed the rock wall, Drew tried. We ate fresh seafood for dinner, what a treat. We headed back on the 31st and brought in the New Year with our new neighborhood friends at the clubhouse. On New Years Day Mike and I got up and started cooking for another round of company. We invited Mike's family to stay again on there way back from Florida. It was so good to see them. And we really enjoyed having family around for the holidays.

We are now getting back to our schedules. Drew was still off school this past week. He was getting stir crazy by Thursday and Friday. He too will be glad to get back tomorrow.

Natalie had her first indoor soccer tournament yesterday. It was her first game with the new team. She did well and scored a goal in the first game. She was a defender on the next two games. The girls really looked good for their first game. Natalie tried her slide tackle with success the first time. She ended up with a burn on her knee from the gym floor. The second time she did it she took out a girl and got a yellow card. ( the girl was not hurt)They finally told her that slide tackles are not to be done indoors. Mike and Natalie were super excited about her aggressiveness. I was thankful that she is not going to do it again. We have to protect those knees. I forgot to mention that she may be playing with a broken big toe. She didn't want to go to the Dr. because she was afraid they wouldn't let her play. Aunt Susie and the girls came to the games. It is so great being close to them. Monica went home with them for the night, what a treat for her. I hope she was able to help with the girls.

Okay, I think that is enough catch-up. Hope you aren't asleep after all that. We have been so busy I haven't had time to write. I will spend the rest of today taking Christmas down.