School Spirit

After school on Friday, all Caroline could talk about was the "pepper ally" that they had at school. Her class got to walk over to the "big kid" gym and watch the cheerleaders and see the football boys. I asked her how she liked the cheerleaders and she enthusiastically said "Mom, there were these two cheerleaders and then they put a girl on top and threw her into the air!" Amazingly enough, I was able to convince Caroline to participate in school spirit day and wear red like her teacher had asked.

I decided that I would take the kids to the football game that evening at 7 pm. Caroline was so excited and Tucker was ready to see the football boys. This was the first football game that either of them had been to. I practically had to hold Caroline and Tucker back from running up to the gates. Once we entered Tucker immediately saw one of his buddies from his school. He and Griffin played and played and played!

The kids were treated to popcorn and M & M's while they watched the game. As we sat on the bleachers Caroline would say "Mom, there's Mrs. Johnson, there's Mrs. Tyree, there's Ashley" and on and on. I bet she recognized at least a dozen people. Pretty good for a little girl that has only been at school for two weeks! Once they were finished with their snacks, Caroline decided that she couldn't live without a red and black pom pom that the cheerleaders were selling. So, at halftime we found some cheerleaders and got two pom poms.

Tucker continued to play with his buddy and Caroline watched every move that the cheerleaders made. At one point I caught her with her hands up in the air imitating the cheerleaders. Fuqua won the game by 30+ points. After the game the kids ran to the field and pretended to be football players. Tuck and Griffin chased each other and even snuck in a few "tackles." I could just envision them in 12 years or so actually playing on that same field. (Although, I am still not sure if I will let Tucker play football or not...I don't want my little boy to be tackled! Too bad, I won't have a say in the matter...) We really enjoyed our little outing. The kids had fun and lasted through the entire game. I think we'll try it again next time there is a home game...Go Falcons!

School!!!

We are back in Farmville! Caroline and Tucker have successfully completed their first week of school. Caroline is in a 3 and 4 year old Pre-K program and loving every minute! Although she didn't have to be at school until 8:30 on Monday morning, she was up at 7:15, dressed and ready to go! I asked her to come sit down and have breakfast and she said "No Mom, I have to go to school." Thankfully she had plenty of time to spare. Once we got to the school and out of the car, she looked around and said "Mom there are big kids here!" (This means 4th and 5th graders.) Chad, Tucker and I walked her to her classroom and she didn't look back. In fact, she saw so many fun, new things to play with that when we tried to hug and kiss her goodbye she gave us each about 2 seconds and then she was off! I think Chad and I were a little teary eyed, but there was no doubt that she was in the right place!

I picked her up around 4 and she could not stop talking. She only knew a few names but identified everyone by what they were wearing..."the boy in the blue shirt; the girl in the pink dress; the Henry with black hair." I am not sure I have seen this little girl more full of joy! The downside of her excitement was that she was up until almost 10 pm talking about her day. She gave me every detail! Later in the week I talked to her teacher and Mrs. Frank said that "Caroline talks a lot (but it is cute!)" and that Caroline is not gonna let her get away with anything! Yep, that's my Caroline! Caroline had a hard time getting up and going to school on Tuesday morning because she was exhausted...that, and suddenly overnight she decided that school was "yucky." Interesting considering she had another great day on Tuesday. Her only complaints so far have been- 1) the music teacher told her that she had white hair, and that was upsetting because we all know her hair is yellow! 2) "Why won't my teacher every let me have ice cream after lunch?!?!" Well, little does she know that Mommy informed her teacher that Caroline does not need ice cream everyday after lunch. (I have decided that I will let her have ice cream on Fridays as a special treat.)

And for Tucker...He loves his "bit boy school" too! On Monday we took him to school after we dropped Caroline off. He was a little pouty and when I asked him if he was sad to leave Caroline he said "yes." Once we got to his new classroom, he was just fine. He seemed a little more hesitant than his sister, but his teacher said he had a great day. He played with construction, ate all of his lunch and went down for a nap easily and slept for 2 hours. Sounds like a good day to me! On Tuesday, I began working at Tucker's pre-school. I am now the lead teacher in his class and have 8 two year old kids to keep up with. It is fun for me to see Tucker on his own and not following behind or being bossed around by big sister. He is great at cleaning up! He is the oldest in his class by a few months. Tucker has learned well from Caroline and acts like he has 7 younger siblings when at school. He is caring, thoughtful and does a great job using his words when there is a confrontation.

I am so, so proud of my two little ones! They have had a lot of change in the past few months, but have handled it like champs. It is so great to see them so joyful and genuinely happy with their new home and new schools. I think I'll keep'em!!!

July in a Nutshell

Below are some pictures of how we spent July. We enjoyed going to the beach and riding on the boat. Every Thursday we went to the library for the kids' story time and craft project. We picked blueberries...a lot of blueberries. Tucker ate most of the blueberries he picked right off the bush. We went to the Yellow Duck Bakery and tried new muffins such as zucchini apricot. Yum! A couple of times we went to the Corner Bakery and got some donuts for breakfast...not so healthy, but a fun treat for the kids!

I think Caroline was tired of blowing bubbles...

Caroline and Tucker spent much of the summer riding their "big bikes." I created a town from sidewalk chalk that even included COTA, as Tucker said.

Did you know that sidewalk chalk + water = "paint?"

Tucker Gets a Trim

So Tucker got his first "real" haircut or I would say "trim" is more like it. On Saturday morning the kids and I went with Grandaddy to do some errands, one of which was the barber shop. As Grandaddy was getting his hair cut, the kids we having a hard time sitting still and being patient. I told them that if they didn't sit still then they would be next in the barber's chair. Well, this approach totally worked for Caroline as there was no way she was going to let that strange man cut her hair! But, Tucker was a different story.

As soon as the chair was empty, Tucker jumped right up there saying "It's Tucker's turn. It's Tucker's turn." I must say, I was shocked that he was actually going to let someone take scissors to his hair. I have cut his hair once in December of 2009 and that is the only haircut he has had. Period. I have tried a couple times since then to trim a few pieces but he was not willing and reached for the scissors each time. So, I gave up. And, quite frankly his hair is pretty cute. There have been multiple times that strangers would comment on his hair and say how much they loved the blonde curls.

So, as he sat perfectly still in the barber shop chair, I carefully watched every little piece of blonde hair fall to the floor. I gave instructions to take a little off the top but not to touch the curls in the back or on the sides. Thankfully, the barber followed my instructions. Once it was all through, Tucker got to pick out a piece of candy from the candy drawer. I was so proud of Tucker for being such a big boy...and I admit, I had my doubts about the whole thing. Way to go, Tuck :)

OC Fun

Last week we spent a couple days in Ocean City with Aunt Annie and Bull. We went out on the boat, played at the beach, went swimming and watched the pirate ship takes loads of tourists on a pirate tour. One evening we went to the boardwalk and played games and rode the rides. The kids rode tons and tons of rides and I even rode a couple (I had to too, because Tucker and Caroline were too short). After we went through all 120 tickets, we got ice cream. It was the perfect ending to a fun day.

The next day we went to Jolly Rogers Waterpark. The kids loved it...and I did, too! Tucker went down all the water slides that he was tall enough to go on. Once he got bored sliding down on his bum, he flipped around and slid down on his belly. Caroline did the water slide too, but I think she really liked swimming in the shallow pools. She was very proud of herself for not needing any help. We had a great time and slept well for days after all the OC fun!

Camden Park 2010

Camden Park, Boat Ride, June 2010

Caroline loved driving the car by herself.

Tucker insisted on riding the motorcycle!

Chad, Tucker and Caroline on the train.

Tucker was running off the roller coaster ride. He rode on it twice!

Caroline was not very happy that Tucker got to ride on the water log ride with Chad first.

All smiles, he loved it!

Tucker was pointing to Caroline as she rode on the water log ride with Daddy.

They made it! Caroline didn't even cry and was ok with getting a little wet.

Luckily, Nena and Poppy have some great neighbors. There is a family with three kids and lots and lots of fun toys. Below is a picture of Caroline and Brody (who is just a month older than Caroline) riding his motorcycle...let's hope this is the only motorcycle she ever rides on with a half naked boy! Brody's family was cleaning out their garage and gave us some fun toys to keep at Nena's house. Tucker was very excited about the Batman tricycle that makes noise!

NASA and Chincoteague

Last week we spent the morning with Aunt Lee and visited NASA and Chincoteague. Unfortunately the museum was closed but we did get a chance to check out the rockets that were outside. In the second picture the kids were looking at a plane that kept circling around. It came very close to us and they just froze and stared at the sky when we heard it approach. We also went to the nature museum on Assateague and we walked over to see the lighthouse. It was a cloudy, but fun day...thanks, Aunt Lee!

Parksley Pics

Here are some picture of us doing our favorite things in Parksley: going to the park, riding bicycles and playing construction at Nan's.

Catching Up

It's been a while...I know! It has been a crazy past few weeks with the move from Sewanee. We miss our friends so, so much but we have been pretty busy here in Virginia. Here's what we have been doing:

going to the beach...riding on the boat...tubing...finding periwinkles and watching them escape...going to the park...playing in the pool...coloring...eating ice cream...visiting with family and catching up with friends...pointing out all the construction sites and tractors we can find...visiting the NASA museum and Chincoteague nature museums...spending time outside...riding the grass cutter...eating watermelon...swinging...coloring...reading...watering flowers...watching boats come and go...relaxing and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of summer.

Most importantly, we have been talking about all our friends that are still in Tennessee and those that have moved to Texas and Alabama. "What are Hattie and Noah doing? Meggie's a bad guy! Ryan really likes the movie Cars. I miss Hannah and Gussy! Gussy's a bad guy! This is Ava's dress. No this is Henry's dress. Henry's a bad guy..." On and on it goes!