Emmy's 5th Grade Graduation

Emmy is growing up!! I can't hardly stand it.  She will be in middle school

 this year and recently had her 5th grade graduation.  It was short and

sweet, just the way we like it. 

She had a great year and we will really miss Timber Drive, but she's super

excited about going to middle school and so is her BFF Abby.

 Sydney, Ashlyn, Emmy....Emmy is by far the shortest of all her friends.  We

hope she gets a bottom locker next year because I don't think she'll be able

to reach the hooks in the top:))

 The moms went in together and got the girls a limo to pick them up from school after graduation.  First they went to Pelicans and had a snow cone and then it took them to Kaze to have lunch.

They thought it was so fun, the only drawback is what will they be expecting when prom rolls

around.  Maybe a helicopter ride?

 

 Emmy is so lucky to have such a large group of good girls to hang out with.  I hope they will

continue to stay close, especially through middle school.

 Her best cousin Elise even got to go along for the ride and that is Emmy's

sweet friend Haven sitting beside her.  Such pretty girls.

 Here they are at Pelicans.  Can I just say it was over 100 degrees that day.  It was

so stinking hot. Gotta love NC.

 Even Charlesy and his best friend Hartley, who happens to be Haven's little

brother got to join in on the fun. 

Finally, we arrived at Kaze, a Japanese steak house, and had lunch.  It was fun

especially with the cool tricks the cooks did.  That little boy is Connel.  He has a slight

crush on Emmy and told her a few days before school got out that he considered her his

best friend.  He also said, "you're always nice to me and make me feel good about

myself."  How sweet is that??  That boys got great taste if I do say so myself.



Garner All-Stars 2012

 I have to at least acknowledge that Charles-Allen played

in the All-Stars games again this year for Garner.  They were held in Wilson, NC and even

though we thought the team was good they didn't do well.....at all.  It was

really disappointing, but that's sports.  It was a learning experience and we

hope we never have to repeat it.  He sure was cute though.

Garner All Stars 2011

Charles Allen was asked to play for the Garner All Stars this year.  He was sooo excited and the games were held in Wilson, NC.  The stadiums were amazing and the games were so exciting.  We only won one of our four games, but Charles Allen played really well.  He didn't strike out a single time.  It was the first year of almost all of our players, but it was still a lot of fun.  One of the dads from our time is a professional photographer and he took some grate pics of Charles Allen during the game. 

My Fav

Boy an Their Toys

 My boy is crazy for these things.  My parents gave him a huge bucket full and he can't get enough of them. 

 Caden comes over almost every day after school and they play until dark.  I don't get it, but they do.

I priced them the other day at Target and Holy Cow!! Are these things made of gold? I don't see any Legos coming home with us anytime soon.  It's a good thing they're happy with what they have.  Thanks Mepa.

Service: For Love or... For Goodness Sakes You're Making Me Look Bad

Recently I have been pondering on how to make my kids more loving towards each other and it occurred to me that service was a good road to take.  I'm a big fan of service.  Not that I do it nearly as much as I should, but I can dream, and it makes me feel so good when I do.  I know that my kids see me taking food to people and their dad helping members of our church move, but I don't think you can truly get how much service matters until you receive it. And even though they reap the benefits of service from me and their dad, that's just our job, or so they think.  Soooo I decided to let service be our theme for every Family Home Evenings (FHE)  in February.   If nothing else they should get it from sheer repetition, right?  One would think.  One night we did a lesson on service and made the old timey pocket Valentines card holders.  The next week we made cards and wrote a service that we would do for that person and the next week we read the cards and have since been doing the services that we promised. I can't believe the impact it has had on MOST of our kids.  For example, one day last week I was folding clothes while Emmy and Charlesy sat on my bed doing their homework.  I had already asked Emmy to do several things and every time Charles-Allen would say, "No Mama, I'll do it", or "I'll do it for Emmy."  BINGO! Totally precious, right!  My little man is getting it.  Now that is service for love. I am sooo smart. I should write parenting books. Unfortunately, after about the fourth time Charlesy goes out of the room to do Emmy's job and she looks at me and says, "Mama, can you please tell him to do something so I can do it for him, he's making me look bad?...But don't let it be unloading the dishwasher. I'm not unloading the dishwasher for him."  Uh oh!  What just happened?  Now, even though I think Emmy is the sweetest little girl that has ever lived or probably ever will live I realize that she's only doing service for him because he's making her look bad. Man...looks like we'll have to continue on with our theme through March and stop writing my parenting book.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Being a Boy is Hard Work

 Charles-Allen spent the night with his cousin last night and when he got home he was unusually whiny.  He was sitting on the floor watching a basketball game with his daddy when we heard some seriously heavy breathing.  We couldn't believe he fell asleep.  Thank goodness!  I had about had all I could stand and he had only been home about an hour.

In our attempt to put him on the couch he fell over....

and kept on sleeping.  It sure is hard work being a little boy.

True Love

Charles-Allen got this pillow pet for Christmas.  It was one of the things he asked for, but originally we didn't get it because the stuffed animal selection from Target already resides in our playroom so I was thinking that we were gonna be okay not getting this one.  That was until we went to Neal's mom's house on Christmas Eve and she got the older girls pillow pets.  We'll let me tell ya, Neal and I knew instantly that there was gonna be some serious trouble come Christmas morning if Santa didn't have a pillow pet for Charlesy. Curses! So on the way home we stopped by the trusty Rite-Aid in Mt. Olive and were in luck.  It was a Christmas miracle.  Not only did they sell them, but they happen to have one of the whales left.  And that was what Charlesy had wanted.  Wow, we barely escaped an epic meltdown. And the best part of the story is he totally LOVES this pet. This is how he puts him every morning before he goes to school. I had noticed that it takes him forever in the morning to make the bed. Emmy is done making her side long before he comes out. Well one particularly hectic morning I was fussing at him for not being done yet. I pointed out that Emmy had already finished and gotten her shoes on and he was still making the bed. That's when he pointed out that he had to cover Squeaky up and give him a friend so he wouldn't be lonely and cold while Charlesy was at school. Now that is love.

So here is Squeaky.  Doesn't he look so snug there beside Ramsey. 

 
And this little fellar is Charles-Allen's "old" love.  Kinda sad in a Toy Story way doncha think. 

Scooter Boy

Charlesy is lov'n his scooter. He is always in motion so he needs something that can keep up with him.

Ever the poser he will stop long enought to have is picture taken.

Overheard

     Earlier this week I was in my room making the bed and I heard Charles-Allen ask Ally to go to the bathroom with him.  All of my kids do this, they're so not brave, and being the sweet little sister that she is she gladly went.  I think she was just honored he asked her and he was just happy to have someone go with him so he wouldn't be alone with all the spooky nothingness that little kids imagine are waiting for them. It's amazing how such little things that my children do overwhelm me.  They show each other such sweetness and kindness and I'm often in awe of them.  I mean really, who wants to hang out in the bathroom with their brother while he poops so he won't be scared? 
    So as he's in there doing his business he starts asking her questions about where she wanted to go to college.  I don't know where he gets this stuff, but of course his conversations almost always center around football, or baseball, or basketball, or Carolina and sometimes all four.  So he's asking her all these questions about going to school and graduating and Ally's trying to participate in the conversation.  Her little three year old vocabulary is seriously lacking and when she tries to repeat the word graduate it sounds like she has marbles rolling around in her mouth.  Charles-Allen ask her, "Where do you want to graduate from? Duke?"  She repeats "Duke" and instantly realizes that that's not the correct answer and quickly follows up with "No, no Duke....Carolina."  Charlsie was impressed with her answer.  So then he ask her if she wants to be a cheerleader.  "Do you want to be a pretty cheerleader or an ugly cheerleader?"  "If you cheer for the wolf pack they make you wear fangs like wolfess fangs and you'll be an ugly cheerleader."  "But if you cheer for the tar heels you'll be a pretty cheerleader.  So do you want to be an ugly cheerleader or a pretty cheerleader?" 

    Ally's response was, of course, "I want to be a pretty cheerleader!"  And she will make the prettiest cheerleader ever.  Even if she has to cheer for the wolfess pack.

Game Time

UNC vs. ECU

So we're all revved up for another season of Carolina Football.  With all the mayhem going on we thought it would be a pretty bad season, but things are looking up.  We've won the last three games and we even got to attend a game where our team won.  I can't remember the last time that happened.  So here are some 
a lot of pics of the big day.

 Just me and the boys...had to get the truck ready too.

 Cory and Kristen got to sit with our sweet girls.  They were too cute with their blue and white boas.  Kristen said that a least a dozen people stopped to tell them how cute they were.  As if they didn't already know.

It was the most beautiful day ever.  During the game we sat on the shaded side so it was a bit cool, but I'm not complaining...just explaining the difference in the boys attire.

The boys are excited and the Heels did not disappoint.  It wasn't long before we heard....

TOUCHDOWN CAROLINA.

 After the game we let the boys run up and down the stands and just enjoy being at the stadium.

 I wonder what they're thinking?

And I know what they're thinking:)

Squished

Parker was playing in her car (her most favorite thing to do) the other day and Charles-Allen was playing on the swing set, or so I thought. I happened to look out and catch him trying to get in the car with her.
It was too cute. Do you see how squished he is?

He didn't seem to mind that he didn't fit, but then he saw me and my camera and tried to get out. Unfortunately, he was stuck and had a hard time getting out. It took him so long that even Buga was ready to get out.

Here he is afterwards looking all cute and maybe a little embarrassed. He already thinks he's too big to play with baby toys.