Soccer Finale

The kids had their last soccer games of the season last Saturday. I'm really proud of how well they did this year.

Griffin seemed to grasp the concept and idea of playing a real game against another team - although we have a little work to do since he calls the opposing team "the bad team!" But he learned to be aggressive and really go after the ball. I always laughed seeing him out there on the field because he looks so much smaller than everyone else but he hustles along and keeps up without problem.



Avery had a really good season as well. She learned the concepts of teamwork, passing the ball to each other, and sportsmanship - in practical terms like helping up someone when they fall. She had a few games that she played aggressively and got in some good kicks...but her last 3 games, she decided to do some major defense! She consistently placed herself between her and the opposing goal and had some great blocks.

We really enjoyed the Upward League this season and look forward to playing many more seasons with them in the future.

Ballet Recital

Here are a few pictures from after Avery's recital on Saturday...

Dress Rehearsal

This year Avery has been taking dance at a studio that just does ballet and is a little more "formal" than her place in Durham. Overall its been a good experience but she has missed doing tap. She had her recital this weekend - and instead of a true recital, they do a production called The Roar of Love. It is a ballet based on C.S. Lewis' book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Each class played a different role in the production, with the 3 youngest groups having a very small part! Avery's class were ponies that accompanied Father Christmas. She seemed to really enjoy it; loved wearing make-up; and had fun being on stage.

Here are some pictures from the dress rehearsal...

(she is 2nd from left)

a side view so you can see her "mane" - and she had a matching tail!

Hey Mon, No Problem!

Brent and I were fortunate enough to take a vacation to Jamaica last week. Many thanks to his mom for watching the kids (at last minute notice) so that we could take our first real vacation since our honeymoon!

We stayed at a Sandals resort where we did nothing for several days! Brent and I normally like to do active things, but being that I was 32 weeks pregnant, we wanted somewhere where we could just relax by the pool, lay on the beach, and eat good food!

This is the beach just outside of our hotel room. Watching a beautiful sunset before heading to dinner.

The only planned/organized activity that we did during our trip was take a 45 minute glass bottom boat our. We saw lots of coral and fish, a stingray, and several starfish.

The resort had 7 restaurants - and we ate at each one at least once - everything from Asian to Italian to a French cafe. During dinner this evening we sat outside and listened to a violinist play.

on our way to dinner

There were 3 pools on the resort...this is the main one...it is right next to all of the restaurants, etc. so we camped out here most days. We would drop our beach bag and towels off in lounge chairs on our way to breakfast; eat; and then return to the pool until we got up to go eat lunch! After lunch, we normally headed out to the beach and stayed their until time to get ready for dinner. One of the great perks of doing "all-inclusive" is that there were servers constantly circulating thru the pool and beach areas who would bring you whatever you wanted!

I think I was the token pregnant lady at the resort! People did lots of second glances and stares and all of the Jamaican workers would look at my belly and talk directly to the baby!

This area of the resort had tons of nice seating and a big bar area. They had live music here most evenings. We heard a reggae band one night and a pianist play one night as a pre-dinner treat. And after dinner there was other entertainment - we heard 2 different bands play; listened to an opera singer; and watched the guy vs girl competition.

This is what I woke up to most mornings. Brent would get up and make his coffee and then sit out on the patio and read. And then I got to lay in bed for as much as an hour before getting up.

heading out to dinner

We had a wonderful trip - so nice to just get away - to be "off duty" - to have a complete conversation - to enjoy food I didn't cook - to sit through an entire meal - and just enjoy time away with my hubby! So thankful for our trip!

Leprechaun Trap

Avery had to make a Leprechaun trap for school last week to celebrate St Patrick's Day. She's had a couple of "involved" projects and thankfully, Brent is willing to help out! I just don't have it in me these days! Avery had an idea of how she wanted her trap to work so she explained it to Brent and here is what they came up with:

Once they had it built, I helped Avery "decorate" it - which of course meant lots of bows and glitter and some gold coins to lure the leprechauns in with!

The final Project


So the leprechaun sees the cup of gold, climbs up the stairs, reaches/climbs into the cup, and then the entire cup falls into a trap door under it.

Update!

I have had no time and no energy to blog in a few weeks so I feel way behind...so this is a "catch up" blog!

We have had some fantastic weather lately and have LOVED being able to burn our energy outside. I feel like my sanity is so much better when we can get some fresh air and spend afternoons having adventures in the yard.

you can see Graham's "viper bites" in this picture - he fell about 1 1/2 weeks ago into our coffee table - which is a chest that was partly open - so he had 2 puncture wounds to his forehead! I came out of the bathroom to see a trail of blood going thru the kitchen and into the living room. Apparently he was searching for me...when I found him, his clothes and face were covered in blood. Nice. Anyway, its almost better now!

Brent has been super busy with work. The other urogyn in town is moving away so Brent is working to get privileges to operate in the other hospital (where the other guy is leaving)...which will make him way too busy so he is already hiring a partner!! Its been nuts. He enjoyed having some time this weekend to work in yard and get some stuff done. He even did some spring cleaning on the grill - and we enjoyed our first "summer meal" of the year - BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and fruit salad. YUM!

our azalea's are starting to bloom...

graham is loving bubbles...he can't really blow them but he insists on trying it himself...

I am officially 31 weeks pregnant today. And feeling every day of it!! I pulled a muscle in my abdomen last Saturday so I have been limping around for over a week now. I realize that the best "medicine" for me is to take it easy and relax - as if that is even a slight possibility with 3 kids!! Brent has been working overtime to help out with kids and the house.

Baby girl finally has a name too - Carsyn Ashley Parnell. And I am finally getting around to getting stuff for the nursery. Nothing major - some new sheets, girly artwork, etc. In the next 2 weeks, we are going to move Graham into the toddler bed and transform the nursery from boy to girl!