Book Character Day

Last Friday was book character day at the kids' school.  Since I was substituting in kindergarten that day I decided to dress up as a character too.  We were lucky that Ella and Sam had old Halloween costumes we could reuse for the day.  Ella dressed as Fancy Nancy and Sam dressed as Harry Potter.  Sam ran off before I could get any pictures but you can see him dressed up for Halloween here .  I dressed as Cat in the Hat which ended up being easier than I thought.  I bought the hat at Party City for $5 and the scarf for one dollar at Dollar Tree.  That with some black and white clothes and eyeliner made for a very inexpensive book character.  Ella and Sam had a lot of fun and I loved the kindergartners faces when they saw me dressed up as Cat in the Hat.  

Huge Hail

A huge hailstorm went through our neighborhood last week.  I must say I have never seen it hail so long or such large hailstones.  The hail started out small but by the end was literally the size of golf balls.  It was actually pretty cool to watch and very loud!  We had an inspector out yesterday who said we have damage on our roof.  We will get a second opinion next week but I am not real excited about having to replace a roof that is only a year old.  I am hoping they can just replace a few shingles...we shall see.  

Ella holding one of the larger hailstones. 

Cousin Time

Enjoying some time outside.  

We had not had a chance to get together with the Lowes since Christmas.  Luckily, last weekend worked out for everyone and we headed down to Springfield.  It was so nice to catch up and finally get all our birthday gifts traded.  We enjoyed some nice dinners, time outside, and just catching up on everything.  Wish we were still close so we could get together more often but I guess it makes you appreciate when you do spend time together even more.

J-Mac Football Camp

A few weeks ago former Mizzou wide-reciever Jeremy Maclin hosted a charity weekend here in Columbia, Missouri.  Maclin now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and he got together a large group of other Missouri alumni in the NFL to return to Columbia and earn money for local charities and his foundation.  The weekend included many events and we were able to attend two of them.  
Saturday morning the former Mizzou football players hosted a free football clinic for boys in the area.  Sam was so thrilled to learn drills from players on the Eagles, 49ers, Steelers, Falcons, Jaguars, etc.  The football players were amazing with the boys.  They all had a great time, got exercise and picked up a few good tips along the way.  A bunch of his buddies from school and teammates from this last season were there so he had a great time.  

Sam and some of his buddies at camp

Jeremy Maclin talking to the boys

All smiles running a drill.

Starting a relay while "SPOON" encourages them.

Getting ready to catch a pass from TJ Moe

The second event we attended was a charity softball game.  The players entertained the crowd with a game that included some fun commentary.  It was a great way to spend an evening and know the money was going to a good cause. 

Ella at the game

Charity Softball Game

Easter

I know I am little behind on this post but we had a wonderful Easter Sunday.  The kids were tired after our trip to North Carolina so they didn't get up early Easter morning.  When they did wake up though, they immediately went on the search for their baskets. The Easter Bunny picked out some good stuff for the both of them.  
After church, we went to Carol and Al's house to celebrate with the family.  We had wonderful food and as always I ate way more than I should.  Ella did her fair share of eating too.  I am not sure how many of AC's rolls she ate, but it was a lot!  The question she asked me when it was time to eat was, "Is this like Thanksgiving where I can eat as many rolls as I want?"
All of the kids enjoyed the Easter Egg hunt that has become a tradition.  Christy said Kylie even remembered it from last year and was asking if she got to find eggs again. She was so funny stuffing all the candy into her mouth as fast as she could while Christy was emptying her eggs.  
Most of the family was able to come so it was nice to catch up and spend time with everyone.  The weather cooperated nicely and we enjoyed our time together.  What a great way to remember Jesus' resurrection, with love and family.  

Kylie and Laura are all smiles

Easter outfits

On the hunt

Aiden and Ella trying to beat everyone to the eggs.

Everyone is all smiles after the egg hunt! 

Parks, Parks and More Parks

One of our favorite things to do when we lived in Durham was to go to all of the area parks.  There are so many great parks and they are usually full of kids.  We had a good time on our vacation visiting a few of our old favorites.  The first park we visited was the park in our old neighborhood.  The upper part of the playground was the same and Sam enjoyed remembering all the days we spent there.  The YMCA owns the park now and took out all the equipment that was in the lower part of the park.  That was disappointing to see but we still had a good time.  

Having fun together! 

Remembering many afternoons spent here

Ella and Caroline hit the zip line

Posing for a picture

The next stop was the Chapel Hill Community Center.  The place was packed with kids since it was  a beautiful day.  They had requested a park with a tire swing and I knew there was one here.  Ella loved all the different sets of monkey bars and rings.  Sam got a little bored by the end and went to the car to get his new book but it was a nice time in some much needed sunshine.  

I think their favorite park experience was when Brian, Lauren and Daddy joined us for the trip to the park in Meadowmont.  Especially when everyone started jumping off of the swings!  Unfortunately, all my pictures are of people on the swings. 

  

Lauren and Sam swinging away. 

Brian and Sam trying to get the right height to jump! 

Time with Brian and Lauren

One of the great things about going back to North Carolina for spring break is that Brian and Lauren are there now.  On Thursday, we got to see their new house.  It is really cute and I am very jealous of the large crepe myrtle in the front yard.  We also joined them for some delicious Mexican food.  It was great to catch up with them, it had been too long.  

Eating at the Mexican restaurant

Lauren made us a yummy Easter basket filled with goodies.  It was perfect for the hotel and the airplane ride home.  Just so you know bunny bait is addictive! 

Posing for a picture in front of Brian and Lauren's new home 

Duke Gardens

For spring break we headed back to the Triangle.  It was time to see our old stomping grounds, visit some friends, and check in on Brian and Lauren in their new home.  Of course no trip to Durham would be complete without a visit to Duke Gardens.  The whole place just brings me joy.  It was about three weeks from peak time, in my opinion, but a lot of the tulips were already blooming so I was a happy girl.  I have a lot of pictures from the day to share. 

Ella and Sam with map in hand, heading into the Gardens

Maybe for my next career I could be a nature photographer

The kids loved how this tree made a canopy over them

Picture in front of one of the fountains

The twins pose for a photo 

Tulips...my favorite! 

You always have to take time to feed the ducks.  Some geese scared Ella so she is hanging out a little further back of the boys. 

My favorite bridge and my favorite people.  I also loved the weeping cherry tree blooming in the background.

They painted the bridge red.