Soccer & T-Ball

Braedyn's last soccer game of the season was Saturday. He was SO excited to get a medal! (Brookelyn has earned several medals in her different sporting activities, but this was Braedyn's first time.)

Here he is at the beginning of practice, playing red light-green light with his soccer ball.

Before the kids got their medals, all the parents got together to make a special celebration tunnel for the kids to run through.

I LOVE this picture! Can you tell how proud and in awe he is of his medal? He couldn't stop touching it to make sure it was really there.

So cute! (The Razorback stickers were in preparation for the Red White Game later in the day.)

Here he is posing like a "real" soccer player.
Wow--look at those big muscles and that TOUGH look!
And, here is one shot of Brookelyn from her t-ball game. There will be many more to come, as we have a lot of games left to play. I have to say though, she is doing SO well. Much better than last year. I really think she is catching on. If nothing else, she looks absolutely ADORABLE out there playing!

Brookelyn's First Race

This morning was a VERY special morning! Brookelyn ran her FIRST race, the Kid's Fun Run at the Hogeye in Fayetteville. She has been training for the last couple of months, logging over 25 miles before she ran the last 1.2 on race day. Here she is ready for the race:

She ran the ENTIRE race! We were so proud of her! Mommy ran with her just to make sure she felt good along the route. Here's Mommy and Brookelyn in action:
Uncle David cheered her on from the sidelines!
Emily and David were so sweet to come out and cheer her on! She felt SO special!
Daddy and Braedyn cheered her on too! We can't wait until Braedyn can run with her!

Great job Brookelyn! Oh, and her "un-offical time" was 10 minutes and 40 secs. Amazing!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter this year! I took the kids to a local park a couple of weeks ago and snapped their Easter picture.

On Saturday we went to a local Easter egg hunt. They dropped the eggs by HELICOPTER, so the kids were super excited to check it out! They didn't want to stop to let me take their picture, so this is the best shot I got:
Here is the helicopter dropping the eggs:

Saturday night (Easter Eve) we started a new tradition (thank you Kerryanne). The Easter Bunny dropped off "magic jelly beans" at Daddy's office for the kids to plant the night before he came. They planted them outside in a planter on the deck. (Yes, they are naked. We worked in the yard ALL afternoon, and they were so dirty I made them strip before they came inside. They were headed upstairs for a bath, but couldn't wait to plant their "magic jelly beans"!)

On Easter morning they followed the trail of eggs and candy from their beds, down the stairs, and to the fireplace hearth!
But, before they got to their goodies from the Easter Bunny, they spied their magic beans that had grown into HUGE lollipops!! (And yes, again, my son is pants-less, but at least he has on underwear in this picture!)
Brookelyn was most excited about new panties from Justice!
And, Braedyn got his first set of Legos!
We had a wonderful afternoon working in the yard, playing in the sprinklers, and just being together!

Spring Break

Brookelyn's first school Spring Break was great! We didn't go anywhere exotic or new--we stayed HOME! The kids "slept in" (to around 7:00) each morning, I made them big breakfasts, we watched TV, and just enjoyed each other! Daddy was away on business most of Spring Break, so we had no schedule to follow, which was kind've fun too--although we missed him of course! Here are some pictures of a few of the fun things we did:

I decided to attempt to teach the kids to swim. There was a great site online that gave me lesson plans and videos to follow. We managed to get in three 40 minute lessons. They both did great and definitely improved! Here they are before their first lesson:

It was cold and rainy the ENITRE break, so the pool wasn't all that warm. After each lesson, the kids and I would go sit in the sauna to warm up! I think they might have enjoyed the sauna more than swimming! Here they are lounging in the sauna:

We have been wanting to take the kids to Crystal Bridges for a while now, and with the rain, I thought it was a perfect time to go. We spent three and a half hours looking at all the artwork, doing crafts, and going on a scavenger hunt. They LOVED it! This picture is a little deceiving if you haven't been to the museum yet. They are actually standing in front of a huge glass wall inside the museum:

One afternoon I let both kids splash around in the bathtub (and eat cookies as you can see) for over an hour. They had a blast!
Then, on Wednesday night Braedyn woke up throwing up. He was sick Wednesday and still felt yucky on Thursday. So, we rented a bunch of movies and all curled up together. Here is my little man sleeping off his sickness:
When he was feeling better (on Friday), we got out a kids' yoga video and practiced their moves. Here they are in the rainbow pose:
Friday night Daddy was back home and we got to enjoy Brookelyn's first t-ball practice of the season. She did great, and Allen was a very patient teacher!
It was an awesome Spring Break! Looking forward to Brookelyn's next break in May!

My Latest Home Project...Redoing the Stairs!

Allen left for a week long work trip (aka vacation--I mean how can it be work when you get to go to quiet dinners at restaurants and eat with both hands, pee by yourself, and sleep all night long uninterrupted), so I decided to tackle another DIY project (and not tell him)! The stairs have always bothered me because all the molding in our home is painted off white, but they are wood. I would have loved to paint them ALL like the molding, but the carpet prevents me from getting in all the nooks and crevices. So, I decided I would just do the posts and the rails. Here are the before shots:

Before looking down the stairs:

It took A LOT of taping (and that is an UNDERSTATEMENT) because I had to protect each of the iron spindles! Here is a shot after everything was taped and the primer was on:
After lots of sanding and two coats of paint, here is the final product:
After looking down the stairs:
And, a side shot:
It was so much work--mainly the taping and the tricky painting angles--but I LOVE the outcome. I think it looks more modern and flows better with our decor. My hope in the long run is that when we replace our floors with darker wood, to have the wood on the stairs sanded and stained darker.

Now, the big question, is will Allen even notice?! Last time I painted the cabinets after THREE days of not noticing, I finally told him. Anyone want to place a wager?!

Slumover

Brookelyn had her very first "slumover" (as she calls it) last night! Somehow she has gotten the words sleepover and slumber party terribly mixed up in her mind, and no matter how many times I correct her, she keeps calling it a slumover! Try to explain to a 5 year old why that sounds SO horrible!

Here is the princess all ready to go:

I wasn't sure if she would make it all night long, but she DID! It helped that she has played at the little girl's house several times, and there were 7 other little girls spending the night too (bless that mom). I slept with my phone (or attempted to sleep through this annoying bug I have) right by the bed and kept checking it. But, no text or phone call! I picked her up early this morning, and she acted like going to a slumover was something she did every night--no big deal. She is getting SO BIG!

Snow Day!

Yesterday we had the first snow of the year (really late for us)! The kids couldn't wait to get out and play! Braedyn immediately laid down and made a snow angel!

He looked so cute in his little camo coveralls and rain boots!
And, my little princess bunny rabbit wanted to hop on her sled and get going!!
We sledded down the hill behind our house and across the street. The kids were so much better than last year (and our sleds were better too). They went down on their bellies, backwards, and let me spin them down the hills! It was a blast!

Then, it was time to make some snow ice cream! Here is Brookelyn's creation:
And, here is Braedyn's masterpiece:
We spent the rest of the day in the house watching movies and playing games--Mommy didn't want to take a chance in the slushy snow and ice!

School Pictures

So, yes, I am incredibly late posting these. But, better late than never, right?! Here is Braedyn's school picture from the fall:And, here is Brookelyn's fall Kindergarten picture:
Can't believe how fast they are growing!!

Happy Valentine's Day (not really all that happy)!

This picture makes me smile every time I see it. Braedyn's little mischievous smile SO captures his personality, and Brookelyn's sweet little smile captures hers!

My original plan was to just post our Valentine's Day card, but with all the action around our house this morning I also have to post this:
At 6:30 this morning I heard crying upstairs, which I incorrectly diagnosed as whining. That was until Allen and I called them downstairs about 6:45 to open their Valentine's Day presents. Then, I FREAKED! Apparently he did a front flip off the bed into the dresser (according to Brookelyn). He is fine, but looks TERRIBLE! Like, people whisper and stare at us when we go places terrible.

And, then there was this:
Not to be outdone by little brother, I also noticed that Brookelyn's eye was awfully red. And, after a trip to the Urgent Care, I now have TWO kids with pink eye in BOTH eyes. Poor babies.

What a rough Valentine's Day! Let's just HOPE, HOPE, HOPE that Daddy doesn't get pink eye!

My Latest Project...

I have been eyeing some beautiful clear candle holders at Hobby Lobby for quite a while, but even with my 40% off coupon they are $25 each and I would need 8 of them. I just couldn't see spending $200 on candlesticks for my kitchen table that would surely be knocked over at some point by the kiddos. So, the other night when I was looking through the West Elm catalogue I came across this picture:

I LOVED the crisp whiteness of the candle holders. Of course they were very expensive too and since they were smaller in scale I thought I would need the vases instead or quite a few of the candle holders. So, I thought, what if I bought the shapes in the scale I wanted and just painted them white? I took a trip to our local Goodwill and bought these 8 pieces for less than $20!
I then got Krylon spray primer, paint, and clear glaze. After washing the candle holders, sanding them, priming them, painting them with two coats, and then glazing them I was SO pleased! Here they are on our kitchen table:
An up close view:
I know they are missing the candles, but Hobby Lobby doesn't have them on sale yet. So, once they go on sale I am planning on getting white ones and wrapping the bottoms of them with burlap twine. I will post update pictures when I do. (The final cost for the project was $32!)