Family Night 2014 ~ Staring Preston

He was very proud of his pumpkin art work

And couldn't wait to show us the apple tree . . with the apple that fell off. :)

Today was Preston's last WEE school family night.  He was so excited and ready to sing with his classmates on the stage.  They sang the cutest Waves of Mercy song and were the loudest class (out of all 15) by far.  Afterwards we went back to their classroom to see their wonderful artwork . . then we rushed home to call it a night.

Side note ~ huge thanks for my precious friend Elizabeth who let us borrow a shirt at the last minute.  After spending all weekend packing up the kitchen and then all day adjusting to have our kitchen torn out, it was literally 8 minutes before we had to leave when I realized that Preston didn't have a white button up to wear!  oops.  Thankfully Elizabeth came to my rescue and left one of Lukie's hanging on her mailbox for me, which we picked up on our way to church.  Whew!

Preston's First Y Guides Longhouse

This weekend Preston and Dave ventured out to their first Y Guides longhouse!  To say that Preston was excited would be the understatement of the century.  He could. not. wait. to get to go camping with his dad and buddies . . and told everyone that he saw the entire week before all about his plans!

They enjoyed canoeing

Preston rode his first horse

He loved the zip line too

  These 5 sweet boys had a blast with their daddies at Camp Thunderbird.  

I love that Dave is so willing to invest in both of his kiddos in such a meaningful way.  They are truly making memories that will last a lifetime! :)

Halloween Hoopla

What a wonderful day the kids and I have enjoyed!  Savannah had the day off from school so we had a girls day while Preston was at school . . . and then when he got home the kids (oddly enough) played together for hours before time for our annual block party.

So, right after Ms. Kelly picked up Preston Savannah and I began the fun morning!

* We started at CVS with a quick stop for a few things and to meet a lady from craig's list
* Next up was the library.  Savannah was thrilled to pick out 16 books and to be able to scan them all herself.
* Then we hit Old Navy to spend my super cash.  She loved getting a ton of new workout clothes for all of her running activities and upcoming races too.
* After Old Navy we enjoyed a fun lunch at McAlisters, her restaurant of choice.  I was thrilled that they were doing free kids meals for kids in costume. :)
* My birthday coupon was expiring at Hallmark so we enjoyed shopping for cards together too.
* PSE was our next stop for her school conference.  Let's just say she is rockin' third grade!  All 100s for averages, other than math where she has a 97 for the quarter.
* And it wouldn't be a complete day without a trip to Harris Teeter for some fill in items.

We made it home just in time for Preston to arrive car pool.  After unloading and having snacks the kids enjoying playing lots of games together and then the Curious George Halloween special was just enough to fill in the gap before the block party started.

Kids at the block party

Dave's pumpkin creation

 After a full night of craziness and trick or treating with Dave the kids were still wired!  They ventured to Katie's grandmas again for hot chocolate . . .

and then called me to come get them in the car because they were tired and cold!  But once they were home the hoopla continued with examining their candy. Check it out!  This doesn't count the 5, yes FIVE, bags of candy we have left over and the family treat bag that is already exploding from super doubles.  Good grief!

I'd say that it was safe to say the kids both had a fun-filled Halloween.  And thankfully we were all safe and warm inside when the crazy rain and hail storm came. :)  Happy Halloween!!!!

Trick or Treat Preview

Yesterday afternoon the kids and I ventured to the Promenade where they were doing trick or treating at each merchant.  Portrait Innovations was previewing their new backgrounds and offered free Halloween pictures!  Here's a preview of my two cuties . . .

The witch and Cat

Today was another fun filled Saturday as Dave participated in the annual Brookhaven race and of course we had soccer too!  We've enjoyed a nice day at home for sure . . even if it wasn't as productive as I'd hoped. :)  

Sunday's Fun ~ Sonic Field Day and Y Guides

Our weekend fun continued all through Sunday too!  After church we came home to change clothes and then headed to Sonic's Annual family picnic and field day event at the speedway.  We had lunch and spent a few hours watching the track events, jumping in the bounce houses, and participating in the fun (well practiced for) field events . . . or the kids did anyway. Dave and I were still recovering from our race on Saturday and walking around for 2 hours was about all we could handle.  :)

Once 3:00 came we had to leave to get back in time for Preston's Y Guides meeting.  These boys are going to have the best time if today was any indication of things to come.  They went for a hike by a creek and had yummy treats at the Ezell house before coming home.  Only one of them fell into the creek so it was a pretty successful evening.  After the boys got home we decided to just polish off the weekend excitement with dinner at Brusters!

Friday Night Pumpkin Patch & Saturday 10 Miler!!

Our weekend started off with some Friday night fun at the Hall Family Farm pumpkin patch.  We met the Annan family, who drove in from Charleston, there for some kid sized fun.  The kids went through the small corn maze and then we all enjoyed the big hay (tractor) ride.  Afterwards the boys went wild on the firetruck slide, tricycles, and just running crazy in general. :)

Cooper & Preston loved riding the tricycles all around the pumpkin patch

The duck race

Dave's favorite part is always these silly pictures

So we got home late and threw the kids straight into the bed.  We knew it was going to be a super early morning since the Chosen race started in Concord at 8am.  I have been training for weeks to prepare for my longest run ever, 10 miles!  Just seeing this little one all snuggled up bright and early made me realize just HOW worth it the training was. ;)

We love Baby Sam!!

I'd like to say that I had my best time ever, but actually the course was quite difficult.  There were tons of super steep hills, going both up and down.  Add in the dragway 3 times at the end (super boring) and I was ready to quit!!  But, I hung in there and managed to squeak in a time of 89:40, just under my goal. Woo hoo!

The kids race turned out to be a fun 50 yard dash instead of the mile run we thought so we made our own Baby Neal race for them.  These two did great and loved getting their run in too.  What a super fun way to spend our Saturday morning . . and for an amazing cause too.

Daddy Daughter Y Guides Longhouse

The beautiful mountains of NC!

Savannah had been counting down the days for over a month and was going stir crazy waiting for Friday afternoon to arrive.  Finally the time had come to leave for the Painted Princess Ponies Y Guides trip!  They ate pizza in the car and arrived just in time for the Friday night bonfire and treats.  Apparently the girls were all up around 6am ready to go on Saturday.

Rock climbing up a very steep wall

Horse back riding too

Egg drop creation

Dave and Savannah did a good job with their creation to hold the egg.  They were one of the last ones to be eliminated. :)

Sweet Y Guides girls ~ missing two who left early on Sunday

It seems as if Dave "had to move mountains" to make this trip happen since it was end of the month AND end of quarter time at work . . but he did it all without complaining!  Dave continues to amaze me at how dedicated of a father he is.  He had to sleep in a cabin on a flat mattress and go out all day in the freezing cold (and even miss seeing the Tigers play) to pull off this trip and he did it all with a smile on his face . . and made memories that sweet Savannah will never forget.

What sweet daddy and daughter time!