Hiking with the kids

One of the things I am thankful for with being in a PhD program is I can largely dictate how I spend my time. This means I can spend lots of time with sweet kiddos during the day...and stay up late working on my dissertation. =) But it's all worth it. One early morning, we packed a lunch and went hiking on the Eno River. Or I should really say Bella ran the ENTIRE hike while JT tried really close behind...but his momma was holding onto him with a death grip. Y'all, there were lots of roots and I just knew he was going to trip and go into the river. ha! Then there's my 6 year old fearless gal bouncing like Tigger through them all. She's a little athlete! We had to walk down some stairs before getting to the rocks in the river. She ran down the whole thing, jumped from the third step, and kept running on the trail. Uhm, yes, I was worried! She's so agile! And we all ended up taking off our shoes and getting in the river for a little muddy swim. After a great picnic lunch and more nature walking, we headed home for a long nap!

"Mommy, this is where Pooh puts his honey!"

They were making a home for a worm!

Daddy

I can't begin to say how thankful I am for my husband. I wouldn't know where to start! But, I do know I can start with some great pictures of him loving on our kids by taking them out on dates, helping them sleep, and all around cuddling. You guys, this guy. I am one thankful gal!

Swim lessons

Our kiddos had swim lessons this summer. And you could definitely tell their personalities! Bella just jumped right in and JT, well, I had to tell his teacher I was walking away and I'm sorry. He's our cautious one! But by the third day, I could walk away without tears. Then he became fearless! Bella was a champ and learned all sorts of fun things in the pool. After lessons, we stuck around and swam for a while. We were tan, smelled like sunscreen, and tired the whole week! But that was fun!

The future doctor

Our sweet 6 year old is quite the artist! Of course, our kiddos could scribble all over a piece of paper and I would hang that puppy up over the mantle. She was hanging out with me one morning while I was getting ready for school and decided to draw pictures that looked like the doctors office. And this is what she came up with! She drew one picture of what the cast would look like. And another picture of the broken leg. You never know what these cuties will think of next!

More Easter pictures

Look at these sweet kiddos!

Y'all, this picture makes my heart burst!

Granddad hid an Easter egg in his pocket and JT had a hard time finding it. So sweet!

Happy birthday to the hubs!

My sweet husband celebrated a birthday earlier this month. So, we celebrated him with a large breakfast and tons of books! The kids helped decorate and wrote him sweet letters. They even made him a banner. Mike, we are beyond thankful for you and love to celebrate you every day!

Easter 2015

For the first time in a looonnnggg time, my family was all together for Easter. My sister and I could barely look at eachother during the Sunday service. I should know to wear waterproof mascara when my family is in town. We had a wonderful time on a whirlwind of a day. We went to church, came home to eat a fun meal, celebrated birthdays with cheesecake and presents, had an Easter egg hunt, and played outside. We packed in as much as we could before Allison, Brad, and baby Fischer had to go back to their house. It was a busy day but a full day! Family is so special, especially on Easter! Enjoy the pictures!

Sweet Fischer

My sister lives 3 hours away near Asheville. So when my mom came to visit, we meet halfway and trade off. And, every time we do that, I get to see sweet baby Fischer! Y'all, that little boy is such a joy. We ate at Cracker Barrel and I'm sure I made an absolute quack of myself since I was constantly oooing and coooing and kissing and making silly faces. Oh well! He's my nephew! We were the giggly table with a cute baby!

The other pictures of the first time my kids met Fischer. They were smitten, as you can tell by their faces!