Snow Day 2011

Well, we have the perfect excuse to update our blog today: a surprise snow!!! We have learned it is not easy to take good photos in the fast falling snow but we all had a great time enjoying this rare occurance for Wilmington!!!

New beginnings

Oh my, has it really been nearly a year and a half since I last posted to this blog. Ugh! It seems my blog is a little like my scrapbook; unfinished (despite the best of intentions!).

Well, with it being January 1, 2011, let me try this one last time! I resolve to be better about posting to our blog this year. That we got a new camera for Christmas should only serve as added incentive.

In the meantime, here is an attempt to catch up the year of 2010 in pictures!

We spent a lot of time at the beach house in Ocean Isle

Jackson was selected to represent third grade at the County Technology Fair - Spring 2010

Shayla's sweet tennis friends took her out to celebrate her birthday - October 2010


Austin was a policeman for Halloween

Jackson played in several tennis tournaments

Austin getting ready for spring baseball

Jackson's birthday trip to Blowing Rock - July

Austin's birthday trip to The Great Wolf Lodge - August

Austin's 6th Birthday - September 2009

Trying to learn a lesson from Jackson wild and crazy and out of hand 8th birthday party, we decided to keep Austin's party small and have it somewhere OTHER than our house! We only invited a few boys this time and we had it at our club's pool. What a SMART idea that was! The boys played so well together the whole time AND we the lifeguards got to do crowd control! In addition, the club took care of the setup, the food, and the cleanup. All for a price way way lower than even doing it at home! Of course the theme was Star Wars, in true Austin fashion! The boys were great and enjoyed eating pizza, swimming, and having cake!

All of the boys gathered around some yummy pizza!

Austin and his friend Polk

The Star Wars Cake

That's a lot of hot air!

Opening presents at home after the party

First Day of School - August 2009

Well, the beginning of school was a big deal around our house this year! This was finally the year Austin would start big kindergarten! He attended a private kindergarten last year and did very well but it was finally time to go to public school with his brother. Of course, for Jackson the beginning of school meant moving to the grades 3-5 hallway on the complete opposite side of the school. He's way too big and cool now to hang out anywhere near the "little kids" as he calls them. Anyway, they have both settled in nicely and love their teachers. Here are a few pictures from the first day!

Austin

Still a little early for Jackson

Silly Brothers!



Proud Austin



Walking into the class!

It didn't take him long to get right to work!

August 2009

We had a very exciting month in August. The first week of the month Jackson and his good friend John attended a Magic Camp. The campers were able to learn a new trick every day of camp. While parts of the camp seemed a little weird to me (I think magic is more appealing to boys!) they both had the best time and said it was their favorite camp of the whole summer! Here are a few pictures from the last day of camp when the boys got to perform their favorite trick from the week:

Jackson is explaining his trick to the audience

Performing his trick on one of the camp counselors

The very next day after camp ended, we drove down to Orlando for an impromptu Disney trip. We had surprised the boys a few weeks earlier with this trip. Although I wouldn't recommend August as a great time to visit Florida (unless you LOVE heat and humidity), we got a GREAT deal on accomodations and a free dining plan. This was our third Disney trip and Tod and I swear each time we aren't going back any time soon. As it turns out we have been 3 times in 2 1/2 years so the boys don't even believe us anymore! We always have a great time. Anyway, since we've been a few times we didn't take too many pictures Well except for Austin doing the Jedi Training Academy which is his dream come true. Battling against Darth Vader was a huge deal for him. You see, Austin doesn't just like Star Wars, he is obsessed with it. About a year ago, he went through a phase where he wanted everyone to hum the Darth Vader song of doom everytime he entered a room. Needless to say he took his Jedi training very seriously!

Warming up the light saber

In front of an Imperial Walker

Waiting for the training to begin

The big battle

After a successful completion of battle

The boys playing around

Jackson

Jackson doesn't always appreciate Austin's silliness (as you can tell here)

Landfall Lazers 2009

Well another year of summer swim team has come to its end. What an awesome season the boys had. We moved to a new pool this summer and were rewarded with phenomenal coaches and teammates. Our swim team was one of the smallest in town (only 60 kids total and we were lucky to have 40 at any given meet!) but we still managed to win quite a few meets. The benefit of a small team is the individualized instruction that the kids get and the bond that is shared with the coaches. The boys had a great year swimming and posted some really strong times throughout the season. We are so proud of them!!!!

First heat ribbon of the season at the 8 & under meet

Austin's first heat ribbon at 8 & unders.

Coach Clayton convinced Austin to flex his "guns" for the camera!

Chowing on some good grub from the kids' buffet after the awards ceremony!

The 7 and 8 year olds

Coach Brian with the 6 & unders

Austin

Austin gets his bobble head trophy and ribbon from the championship meet

Fourth of July 2009

We had a great fourth of July this year. We celebrated with our close friends, the Howards. Before the festivities officially started, Jackson invited Finn (the Howards' oldest child) over for a lemonade stand. I figured it would be a good opportunity for them to learn a little about profit margins (can't tell I was a banker in my previous life, can you?). They spent about an hour setting up, making their sign, and overseeing the manufacture of their lemonade! When they finally got started, I headed out to check on them and saw that they were MAJORLY overcharging for this lemonade. A 5 ounce dixie cup was going for $1.50. I calmly explained to them that they would NEVER sell lemonade at that price and suggested they lower their price. They declined. I at least convinced them to use larger cups if they were going to charge that kind of price. They agreed. I went inside to round up some larger 12 ounce Solo cups. When I returned less than 3 minutes later, imagine my surprised when they had already made $20. Some benevolent neighbor had stopped by and bought a few lemonades, gave them a $20, and told them to keep the change. I lost all credibility at that point. Still, they agreed to upsize their cups. Two hours laters, when the novelty of the stand had worn off, they shut down the operation, but not before they made nearly $45.

Later, when the rest of the Howard clan arrived we grilled out burgers and had a few cocktails on the back porch while enjoying some beautiful weather. Finally, the sun went down and we headed out for some "legal fireworks". In North Carolina, the only fireworks that are legal are the kind that don't leave the ground (despite the fact that our neighbors showed us up with some illegal contraband!). We all had a blast!

Look carefully. How many grown men does it take to light a firework? Two, apparently!