Our New Neighborhood Park

Evan has really enjoyed our neighborhood's new park this Spring.  His nanny takes him on pretty days after school.  Mommy and Daddy don't get to go as much with him, but one weekend when Grandma was visiting, Mommy and Grandma took him to play while Daddy stayed home with Brody to let him nap.  The old neighborhood playground was getting kind of old and dilapidated so the neighborhood association decided it was time to invest in new equipment.  They moved the location of the playground and added a nice security fence all the way around it.  We love that our neighborhood invests money in making our neighborhood more beautiful and family friendly!

Testing out the new equipment.

It amazes me how quickly he has gone from being one of the "babies" at the park to being one of the big boys! All the little kids just love him and look up to him.  

Running around acting silly. 

Showing Grandma his new playground. 

Reading BIG Books!

I have always enjoyed reading since I was a child.  I love children's literature!  I couldn't wait to have children to hopefully share this love with and pass along all of my favorite childhood books.  I think it is time to drag those out of storage (my husband will be very happy about this) because Evan asked this week if we could start reading a longer book.  Hooray for me!  In the meantime, I had my copy of the complete Chronicles of Narnia handy, and we are almost through the first book, "The Magician's Nephew."  I love these books and knew he would appreciate the magic and adventure on every page.  He can't wait for me to get home every night so we can read some more and also is extremely impatient for Brody to go to sleep because it is hard to read a "paper" book when a little toddler is trying to grab the pages.  I read all of these books as a child and re-read them again when the new movies came out.  Evan has seen all of the new movies ("The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe"; "Prince Caspian"; and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader").  I hope they make "The Magician's Nephew" into a movie because I think it would be a good one.  I also love that these books are similar to the biblical stories from the creation of the world to the return of the Creator ("The Lord of the Rings" follows a similar pattern as well).

I am really amazed that Evan is listening and retaining the details of the story.  Every night, I ask him where we left off, and he remembers!  He is so smart!  Although I know he will soon be able to read on his own, I hope he still wants me to read to him!  

Happy Mudder's Day!

I love that this is how Evan says "mother."   He is so smart and has always been a great and early talker, but I just love these little "imperfections" in his speech.  They just sound so cute, and I am not in a hurry for him to outgrow them.  He told his Daddy when they were looking for a mother's day card, "Why don't they have any that say "mudder" on them?"  He was genuinely frustrated.  Daddy told him because "mudder" is a mommy cow.  Haha!  So maybe I am a little bit of a mommy cow since I did breast feed my babies?  

Brody and I have had a rough weekend because we both have been feeling pretty yucky.  I have been feeling feverish and tired, and he has had a cold for a few days, and I think he may have developed a little ear infection that has made him feverish and fussy.  Daddy is taking him to the doctor in the morning to hopefully get some medicine to knock it out before our trip to Disney World.  We leave on Saturday!  

Despite feeling under the weather, I tried to get as much packed up for our trip as I could because I have to work and go to school all week.  I am taking a week long intensive class to get some extra credits for school this week.  As you can see, I am not going to have much time for resting and recuperating this week, but what else is new?  

My boys made me feel so loved and special today.  Daddy made me a lovely breakfast of pancakes with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar and some bacon on the side.  Brody really enjoyed my strawberries.  Daddy and the boys also gave me beautiful cards and flowers, including a lovely handmade card.  They definitely know the way to my heart!  

I just love these boys and am so blessed to be their mom!

Another Day on the Golf Course!

It was that time of year again...the annual Quail Hollow (Wells Fargo) Championship.  This event brings some of the world's best golfers to Charlotte.  Wow, it seems like this event just happened last year right after Brody was born.  Mommy missed last year because she stayed home to care for her precious new baby, and she missed again this year because she did not want to take off time from work when she'll be taking off for vacation soon. So Daddy and Evan headed to the course to watch the Pros team up with the Amateurs and to chase a rather elusive Tiger around the course.  Of course, Tiger is always a favorite with Evan.  

There's that Tiger!

He was hitting some nice balls, but he wasn't playing the greens very well.  

Lining up the shot.

This sport takes immense concentration.

It was a hot day even early in the morning.  

The pose

There's my little golfer.  He says he wants to play golf when he grows up and that he needs to play lots of putt putt to practice.  Haha!  

Rickie Fowler won for the first time!

He had quite a unique since of style.  He won in a completely orange outfit.

Camilo Villegas

This was hilarious.  Apparently, this huge snapping turtle kept getting on the green and fairway.  They had to remove him several times, but he kept coming back.  






My little cutie playing hide-n-seek with Daddy. 



So cute. 



He's back!



Vijay Singh



Enjoying his lunch.



Shhhhh!  



Pretending to take a nap.



Zach Johnson



Evan added Zach's signature to his hat. 



Rolling in the grass.  Silly boy!



Lee Westwood






Jim Furyk



And last but certainly not least...Phil Mickelson.

More T-Ball!

We've had a little break from t-ball games the past couple of weekends thanks to the kids' Spring Break from school and the annual Quail Hollow Golf Tournament that takes place just down the road from us and the ball fields.  The tournament brings in such a crowd that every available parking lot is needed for the crowds.  Eddie and Evan did get to go again, and I'll post about that soon.  For now, I am just loving these pictures that a couple of the other t-ball moms took from the last games we played.  They have awesome cameras and photography skills too!  

There's my handsome little ball player!

Crossing home plate and giving Coach Jason a high five!

Daddy made his batting helmet special by putting his name and number on it.

Waving from the field.

Running to first after a nice hit.  He has really been hitting the ball well lately.  Last game, he hit all his to the outfield!

Hanging out in the dugout with the team.  Go Orange Crush!

Sitting on the grass with the team after the game. 

Listening to his pals acting silly. 

I love that little smile.

He's ready for the hit!  He really is showing his maturity since last year.  I remember how rough some games were last year when he would get hot or tired or bored on the field, but this year he is always ready and doesn't complain.  

Great hit, Evan!

Giving Mommy thumbs up after a nice hit!

His biggest fan!

Evan got to be catcher last game.  I had to catch this on my phone because I left the camera at home. 

The cutest catcher.  He caught my heart!