catching up

It's been a while since I've posted anything. I thought I'd catch up any readers to what our family has been doing.

Again, the winter sped by as I was the Apex Nativity Chairman and head up a wonderful display of 448 nativities. Preston and Hannah played soccer and basketball through the fall and winter seasons. Darrin & Haylee have continued to attend karate classes each week. When we get time, we work around the house. The list of projects grows and grows.

We spent the holidays in the great state of Texas, visiting family and friends. It's always hard to leave, especially when we don't have the chance to see everyone we'd like to over the short time.

January seemed to be the party month. We held a "cupcake" birthday party for Haylee, who turned 12. These are her creations... dogs, of course. It was her last "friends" party, for which I'm grateful. Several of my friends had birthdays, along with my 38th, so many brunches, lunches & dinners with girlfriends. Darrin & I saw Mamma Mia, fighting the snow storm to get there and home. The kids missed 3 days of school resulting in more partying around the house.

February highlights include:

· Haylee became a deputy brown belt in karate.

· Hannah has improved her basketball skills and her team continues on in the current tournament. She’s also being tested for the Academically Gifted program at her school.

· Preston won the "Kindness" award at school. He and I went on a “date” last week and he ate Coldstone ice cream for the first time. A funny moment with him:
P- “Mom, when can I buy lunch in the cafeteria?” (he’s tired of taking his lunch)
Me- “I guess when you have money to pay for it.”
P- “But it doesn’t cost anything… you just give your lunch number to the cafeteria lady!”
Me- “Your lunch number doesn’t work if there’s no money in your lunch account at the school. Who do you think gives the lady money for your lunch account?”
P- after thinking for a moment, “Well just write a check. That won’t cost any money!”

Last week was consumed with a friend’s passing and assisting with the funeral details. She had battled cancer for almost 3 years, but it was still hard to lose the sweet mom-of-three person that she was. We certainly feel more grateful for our simple health issues and for the time we have with our children each day!

Finally, we booked a cruise for May 8th and are very excited! WOO HOO! More details later.

Bungee!

We promised the kids a trip to the mall to bungee jump. All 3 took a turn. Haylee just seemed bored due to the pain inflicted from the straps. Preston's video is the best to watch. Notice how Hannah is saying "I don't want to go that high!" in the background? Yeah, that was a problem when she got on next, but she learned to love it after a few minutes.

Hannah's Big Day

Saturday was a big day for Hannah. She scored her first soccer goal of the season! GO TEAM HANNAH!

Also, she finally decided to get over her fear of riding a bike without training wheels. She'd had a dream that she could do it and decided to try. Also, she knows there's no hope of getting a skateboard for her birthday if she can't balance herself on a bike!

Pics of New House

Well, it's probably obvious that we've had a busy few months and I've not had a chance to blog all the work we've been doing. We closed on our new house on July 17th and within a week, ten gallons of paint had gone onto the walls. Lots of cleaning had to be done- dusting cobwebs, degreasing light switches and doorknobs, but it was in good shape for our July 24th move-in.

There are many more projects to be done, especially the kitchen & in the yard, but here are some "after" pictures to share: (see the previous blog for the "before" pics)

Haylee's rainbow room with her new furniture:

Tomboy Hannah is thrilled with her blue room and new plaid bedding:

Preston's room is also blue with red accents and action heros:

Putting Down Roots

Yes! Our offer has been officially accepted by the Seller and we will close on our new home July 17th!

Here's all the details:
It's in Haddon Hall subdivision here in Apex... just a few minutes away from our current home.
The different neighborhood means different schools for the kids. Preston and Hannah will attend Baucom Elementary and we'll transfer Haylee to Apex M.S., both on traditional calendars. I'm kinda glad for the change from year-round. There are the benefits of traveling throughout the year, but the summers are so short!
2759 sq. ft.
4 bedrooms
bonus room on 3rd floor
hardwoods throughout the downstairs
built in 1998
beautiful neighborhood, pool, park & tennis courts
We got a steal! $60K under tax appraisal!

I've attached a slide show of pictures I took with my cell phone, so they're not great. Also, consider these the "before" pics. The woman built the house around her two favorite colors: blue and gray! The shutters will get painted black. A nice harvest brown will visit the majority of the interior. Yes, we have a lot of painting and recarpeting to do. Also, the brass fixtures have to go as I'm into the browns, blacks, reds, etc. So JUST IGNORE HER DECORATING! Also, a chain saw will attack the huge bushes blocking the front door.

It's bitter-sweet... finally owning a home since moving to NC, but the permanency of owning a home means moving back to Texas becomes an even slimmer chance. We miss you all and would love to have a visit from you!

Preston turns 5

Our baby is now 5. He has grown up way too fast. He had a Batman party at the pool.

He still cracks us up! Here's a recent conversation with his Aunt Ashley~

Q:"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A: "I wanna be a scientist, a spy &.... a ninja."

Q: "And what do you want to invent when you're a scientist?"

A: after rolling his eyes, Preston says "Scientists don't invent anything, they just put green stuff in bottles!"


#2 funny with me~

Preston writes with his left hand, kicks with his left foot, but throws a ball with his right. We were really hoping for a switch pitcher so we make him practice throwing with his left, too. I've noticed that he mainly eats with his left hand, but sometimes I see him using his right, so I asked him about this week. Here's how he has clarified his ambidextrous eating habits:

Q: "Why are you eating with your right hand today?"

A: (with a DUH look on his face) "Because this is a spoon!?!?!" (as he's holding it up)
Q: "Does it matter if it's a fork or spoon?"
A: "Yea-ah-ah! The fork goes in my left hand and the spoon in my right!"
I had to quickly walk into another room! :)

His first team sport:

:

Karate Kid

Well, he can act like a kid- all giddy and excited about his first karate tournament. Darrin did very well considering he had to move up to the brown belt level to compete. He got two silvers and one gold medal, but there was only one other competitor in his division! It was a good learning experience to prepare him for bigger tournaments as it's his goal to become a blackbelt by Oct 2010 (age 40). Here's some video of his kata and sparring:

I think he was afraid to be too rough with that girl!