Spring Break Wrap Up

We began wrapping up our week of Spring Break on Thursday with a fun evening of arcade games and putt putt at Adventure Landing.  We waited for daddy to join us for golf and then headed home for a "healthy" pizza dinner.  The entire outing was free from arcade to dinner (with a personal pan pizza left over) thanks to Savannah's sale of city pass books!

Friday we had a play date at the park with some of Preston's friends and also ventured to the library to stock up on books in preparation for school starting back.

A well deserved nap after running 13.1 miles and coaching soccer this morning

Today has been filled with running club for Savannah, soccer for Preston, and Dave ran a half marathon this morning.  We rushed home to get ready to head to a widow luncheon with Mrs. Broome at church.  Now we are all resting . . well trying to.  The kids are dying for us to play outside, so I guess I better get off of the computer.  Here's to a restful Sabboth to wrap up an exhausting week!

Spring Break 2015 ~ Part One

Although we are staying in Charlotte this week, I'm trying to make it as fun as possible . . and still find some time to "rest". We started off with non stop activities!  On Monday the kids and I ventured to Carowinds for the first time this season.  A huge thank you to Grammy & Papa for our early birthday presents. :)  We rode everything we wanted with super short waits and I even rode the Woodstock Express for the first (and last) time.

Our first ride is usually the hot air balloons

A fun, quiet, relaxing train ride

And of course we always hit the carousel

Tuesday we decided to visit the SC Riverbanks Zoo.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  It was not hot at all and the clouds kept it that way.  Again, it wasn't that crowded so we saw everything we wanted (except the gorillas that were hiding), had a picnic in the car, headed back in to try to see the gorillas one more time, hit the gift shop so the kids could spend their Easter money, and then headed home.  They were completely exhausted and slept most of the way home.

Today we had a low key morning and after lunch the kids went to Noah's Art camp for a few hours.  I had hoped to get my lesson plans done while they were out of the house, but I haven't even opened my book.  oops!  At least I've enjoyed a few hours of quiet and gotten a lot checked off of the list!

Easter Fun 2015

Friday afternoon the Weninger girls arrived for some Spring Break/Easter fun!  We hit Chick fil A for dinner and then headed home to start the cousin party. :)  

Saturday was a beautiful, but windy, day.  The kids enjoyed dying Easter eggs outside, having a Easter egg hunt, and then we all went for a long walk/bike ride in the neighborhood.  After dinner the kids were pretty exhausted so they crashed.  But it wasn't long before they were up bright and early to begin the hunt for their Easter baskets.

Happy Easter!

Preston was first to find his basket hidden in the blanket tin

Savannah found hers next in the pan drawer

After digging through the loot and having some cinnamon rolls (that I didn't burn this time) we all got ready for church.

Cousins!

Savannah was thrilled when Alyssa showed up with her exact Easter dress.  We had no idea that they would be twins for the day. :)  After church we said goodbye to the Weningers and headed to Burlington to visit the other cousins.  While lunch was cooking we took tons of family pictures . . .

And then enjoyed a good ol' Easter lunch, with more desserts than food!  Of course Pawpaw set up an Easter egg hunt that the kids enjoyed as well.  This year no one fell through a wall or knocked anything over so that was a bit disappointing :) but we still had a blast visiting with each other.  It wasn't long before we had to pack up and head home.

I'm so thankful for our family and for a Savior who is risen.
Happy, happy Easter!

Cooper River Bridge 2015

Waiting for daddy to race by . . . 

Yeah!!  Go Daddy, Go!!!

Preston was SO excited to see the peanut mobile and Mr. Peanut too!

A favorite store to visit, Life Is Good . . Indeed it is!

Our annual picture in front of the peanut store

 We had a blast this weekend (or rather day and a half) in Charleston.  We took the kids out of school early on Friday and off we went for the annual Cooper River Bridge Run.  It was a cold and windy weekend, but at least the sun was out and we were able to walk around and enjoy downtown Charleston.  After the race we browsed the market, took the kids to Patriots Point park and then headed back to Charlotte.  It was a short, but fun weekend!

Weekend Fun ~ Hockey & Bike Riding

Our newest bike rider refused to let me take a picture so I had to sneak this one

We enjoyed a wonderful Saturday at home this weekend.  There was very little on the calendar which enabled us to put some chores aside and just enjoy the amazing weather outside.  I was able to go on my first outdoor run in a VERY long time and the kids soaked up the time to play outside too.  We even managed to get Savannah up and riding on her bicycle!!!  Hallelujah!!  She was so afraid but after seeing that she had mastered balancing on Preston's scooter for a long distance I was convinced she was ready for the big girl bike. ;)  Of course we had a bit of bike drama, (she said she couldn't ride it because it was broken so I loaded it up and took it to the bike shop to get checked out) but once it was all fixed she finally succeeded in riding it solo.  We are so proud of her!!  She is still learning to turn and get started by herself so there are still moments of pure frustration from her.  "I'm going to throw this bike away!" she says a lot, but once I told her I was going in because I'd had enough of her attitude she became a bit more determined.  We've told her that like anything else you have to practice more and more to get better so hopefully she'll continue to work on bike riding.

Sunday we all enjoyed a Charlotte Checkers hockey game.  It was another first for the kids and was quite entertaining I must say. Savannah won tickets to the game so we had awesome seats.  I wish we had done a bit of research on the rules of hockey, but we all had fun none the less.

So after a super fun-filled warm weekend we are getting ready for a rainy week . . . but a little taste of Spring was certainly welcomed in our house!

An Unexpected Gift

Friday at dinner when we were all sharing about our day Dave suddenly remembered that he did have some news to share from work . . and he pulls out this little card.  The employees in his office all got together and collected money to get him a gift card to show how much they appreciate him!  I was so shocked that just out of the blue they would think about doing such a generous thing for him just because he's so "patient, kind, and always willing to help".  It's not often that one is recognized for their hard work day in and day out, especially from the people who work directly under you, but I think this speaks volume about the man Dave is and what an incredible blessing he is to everyone!

Our First Clemson Basketball Game

We ventured down to Clemson today for our first Clemson basketball game as a family.  It was a great game against Georgia Tech that ended up going into overtime . . and thankfully Clemson won!  The kids did great and we all enjoyed a beautiful day in Clemson, SC.