If it's not Scottish...It's CRAP!

We decided to go check out the opening parade for the Greenville Scottish Games. It was a fun parade with lots of bagpipes and a REAL prince! Here are the girls. Clair's friend Emily joined us since her sister was having surgery on her elbow. Here they are waiting for the parade to start!

Daddy and Bowen are waiting too!

Doesn't this dude look authentic!

Some bagpipes! LOVE THEM!

This little guy is starting young!

He could be protecting some castle on the Scottish moors!

Here he is...Prince Edward. When I asked Clair, "Isn't he handsome?" She said, "NOOOO - He is OLD!"

Stephen informed the kids..."He puts his pants on one at time just like I do!" I was excited to see him! I made sure all the kids got a good look at him! But laws I know he was hot in that thick expensive suite of his!

Clair's Kindergarten Graduation

With school coming to an end...the Kindergarten had their special Kindergarten graduation! They sang several songs, and then each child's name was called and they received a certificate of completion from Kindergarten. Here they are singing "School is Cool" Clair is on the top left 4 or 5 over! Clair hugging Mrs. Williams after her name was called!

Clair getting her certificate from Mrs. McConaghy. (Sorry for the blur, I CANNOT get good pics in the cafeteria!)

After the group ceremony we went outside with just Clair's class. The kids had been watching the butterfly life cycle and now it was time to let the butterflies go...get the symbolism. It was cute!

Clair did NOT want school to end. She says she wants to be in Kindergarten FOREVER! Thanks to her teachers for making school so enjoyable for her! She learned a lot this year!

Strawberries!

We wanted to go pick strawberries for FHE - but the weather didn't want us to. So we had to wait a few days. We invited our friends to join us. We picnicked and then picked strawberries. Kate showing off a perfect strawberry!

Clair having fun!

Bowen sampling the goods!

The kiddos filling their baskets with strawberries!

We picked four big buckets. I made three batches of jam, two pies, strawberry turnovers, and three batches of strawberry syrup, plus sliced, sugared, and froze some too! I love strawberry season!

Kate's Reflections District Awards

Kate won two awards on the District level for Reflections... Honorable mention in photography - "The Bee and Flower"

Second Place in Literature - "Beautiful Places"

Way to go Kate. We are so proud of you!

Turkey Lurkey Warning!

WARNING - ALL TURKEY'S IN THE UPSTATE OF SC - TURKEY CRAVING GUNMAN ON THE PROWL - KNOWN TO USE TURKEY CALLS AND DECOYS - THIS HUNTER IS THOUGHT TO BE ARMED AND DANGEROUS - DO NOT APPROACH - BEWARE!

Spring has Sprung

Easter - my favorite time of year! This year we decided to give the community egg hunt a try - no photos from the actual event, I was too busy trying to keep an eye on my kids. It was our first and will be our LAST! Talk about dog eat dog! It was like black Friday training for little kids! Nope - Stephen and I didn't like it! The kids seemed to like it OK! However, they sure looked cute! The other great thing about Easter is new clothes!
Here is beautiful Kate in the dress that Uncle Joel picked out!

Here is handsome Bowen boy, looking so GQ good!

And here is sweet Clair in her purple dress!

And here are my three beautiful kiddos! Don't they look so springy?

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! Everyone!

!!!SNOW DAY!!!

Finally we got some really good, powdery snow. The boys LOVED it and cried when we made them come in. We spent about 45 minutes outside playing with our neighbors in the snow.

Alex and our neighbors son (also named Ben) had fun on an icy driveway with a sled.

But Alex fell over backwards as soon as Ben let go of the sled. It was so funny!













We think sliding into a pile of snow was more his speed.













Ben laughed so hard when he hit the pile of snow he couldn't get up on his own.

He also enjoyed eating the snow off of the hand railing in on the swingset. ICK!

Oh and then there was Ben's face-plant. He kept falling and I kept shooting pictures. 'Cause that's the kind of Mom I am. Take pics of your kids in an embarassing situation.......THEN and only THEN help them out of said situation.













This was one of the first pics we took. It's right outside of our house. They were throwing snow at each other almost immediately. It's so cute how somethings are just natural, like a snow fight with your brother.

How to Know When Your Kids REALLY Love Their Knit Caps

The boys have fallen in love with their knit caps. They wanted to sleep with them on the other night. But we had to go in and take them off after they fell asleep because their little cheeks were so read and they felt hot. It was adorable, though. Sometimes, they'll just sleep with the hats...not on their heads...just somewhere in the bed with them.

Peacocks Strides for Babies

Kate ran her first 5K today! She did SO well! But I admit, I totally held her back. She was ahead of me the whole race. I kept calling up for her to stay where I could see her. The race was so hilly! I was dying trying to keep up with her and run the killer hills! At one point she did waited for me. I said, "Oh you are so sweet to wait for your old mom." She said, "My hoddie zipper is stuck and I didn't want to cross the street without you." So, I fixed the zipper and we crossed the street and off she ran. Then we came to a really large hill that I could not see the other side. So I hollered up to Kate to wait. I told her to walk with me until I could see the other side. So she skipped up this huge hill - show off! I was so proud of her. She did such a good job! I really did hold her back. I need to find her a better running partner. Way to go Kate - you are a natural runner!

GOING UNPLUGGED

So, as most of you have heard we are unplugged. We have a new family rule...no TV during the week and limited viewing on the weekend. I am not sure how this will all go down, but I have just been feeling very strongly that TV does not need to be a part of our daily lives. We will see how it works tonight. I did go by the library and got some books for the kids...including some origami and drawing books. I got out some old puzzles, and thank goodness the weather is nice, so outside is an option. I think we can handle today, no problem. I will keep you posted!

Dr Seuss Birthday Celebration

The girl's school had a big celebration for Dr Seuss' birthday. The second grade performed Seussical the Musical. It was really cute. The Principal was the Cat in the Hat and the vice principal and the instructional coach were Things 1 & 2. The kids LOVED it! Here they are singing about green eggs and ham!

Kate listening to the speaking parts!

Happy birthday Dr Seuss! Thanks for all the fun silly books!

Happy Birthday Stephen

Stephen decided for his birthday he wanted to go tubing. So, we got the girls out of school early and drove for THREE hours to a tubing place in North Carolina called Hawks Nest. Here is the birthday boy all warm in his Christmas gifts - water proof hunting attire!

Here is one of the tubing runs - can you see the lanes? They had like 4 or 5 different runs with each having several lanes.

Here is the old sky lift and slope. They don't use it any more...Stephen said it was a horrible slope...the worse he's ever skied! No cameras are allowed on the tubing slopes and I don't' think I could have managed a camera anyway, as Clair had to ride with me! (Bowen rode with Stephen.) It took us awhile to get the hang of it, but once we did we had a blast...next year I think we might stay over night and get in a couple sessions! After our sessions we headed home. We stopped off in Ashville, NC for dinner at a yummy Italian place. Bowen told us it was the best day of his life...the girls agreed. I hope we have many more family days that our kids feel like are the best of their lives! Happy birthday Stephen!

Lots of Snow in SC!

Snow was in the forecast for several days. I decided we need to buy a sled. So, the day before the snow I went and bought a sled. As soon as it started to snow the kids rushed out with the sled! They were SO excited, but alas...there was not enough snow. But they sure had fun! Clair as the snow starts to fall!

Kate in the new falling snow!

Bowen boy, so excited for the snow!

So that afternoon it snowed and snowed and snowed. After dinner the kids were dying to get out in the snow. So we bundled up and despite the fact that it was dark and night time we got to use our sled for the first time. We were outside for over an hour before we came in...we didn't want to keep the neighborhood up! The next morning we woke up to almost 4 in. of snow! That is a lot for SC! Behind our house in the woods, Stephen saw some deer.

Here is the proof of almost 4 in.

We joined several of our neighborhood friends on a nice sledding hill near our house.

So, I think I like the snow - if it happens only once or twice a year...and if it goes away quickly!