Turkey Shoot!

Turkey Shoots are kind-of funny. My dad, sister and I have been to several shoots throughout the years. It was a hit and miss tradition, no pun intended. This year, my dad thought it was time to take the older grandkids. It would be their first experience shooting a riffle and shotgun. Noah was very excited! Unfortunately, Sam became too sick to go.

As I recalled my first shoot, memories of turkeys running the wilderness quickly came to my head. It only makes logical sense that one would shoot a turkey, given the name of the event. Arriving to targets was quite the disappointment that first year. Like many people before him. Noah was also anticipating actual turkeys. Funny, thinking on it now, I probably would have a hard time making a turkey kill. I wonder why I was disappointed! Targets are a lot easier to clean up and I am fine picking up my Turkey at the grocery store. I guess as a kid, you don't think it all the way through.

Noah, my sister, dad and I journeyed the couple of miles to the event. Noah was a bit nervous, but was very excited to shoot after getting safety tips and help from grandpa. He did pretty well with the riffle! I wouldn't call him a sharp shooter, but he did graze the target (not bad for my city boy). The shotgun was a little interesting. He let the gun slip off his shoulder a bit, so he had a little bruise on his arm. I think the bark is a little harder than the bite while shooting shotgun. I think people tend to get nervous and that causes most of the kick. Anyways, he'll do better next time.

Two Top Teeth!

Luke is desperately trying to get his top teeth!

If you look closely you can see the teeth underneath the gums! The pictures that show the red shirt were taken the day before the teeth actually emerged. If the pictures seem a little funny, it is probably because he is being held upside down.
This was the only way we could see the teeth. On Saturday, March 28th two of Luke's top teeth broke through.

Intramural Basketball Championships - Noah

Noah has been playing "lunch time sports" at his school. The most recent sport was basketball. Noah's team, the Bruins, was vying for the championships. They lost the game by only 1 point. The game went back and forth until the end. I think that Noah's team would have won if one of their key players wasn't absent. You got to hate it when somebody gets sick, especially if it is Markie. That girl is an awesome player!!

I just wanted to mention that these sports are possible because of Mr. Pryor. He gives up most of his lunch time to run this program. He is a great guy and an awesome teacher. He expects the kids to meet his high expectations and he is not going take any garbage from them. Truly, he really cares and I am hoping that he is Noah's teacher next year.

Samantha's Track Meet 3/14

This was Samantha's first meet of the season. She did a great job! We had a lot of fun watching her, but I must admit that I was completely wiped out by the end of the day. It is tough having a 9 month old and 4 year old at the track for over 7 hours. The home meets can be particularly challenging, as one parent is required to volunteer for half (or more) of the meet. This past week, Evan volunteered until he had to take Noah to his baseball game. Thankfully, my parents showed up around 11AM. They helped with Faith and Luke.

Meet Results

• 100 Meter Dash~15.30
• 800 Meter Run ~ 3:02.69
• 4 x 100 Relay ~ 1:05.40 The leg one runner started late, as another team had a second false start. She thought they were going to blow the whistle, but they didn't. Samantha was anchor.
• High Jump ~ 3'10"

Happy Birthday Tara & Mam

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This year I did great! I remembered to dress everyone in green (including myself). Yippee! As a special treat we got our kids a Shamrock shake from McDonald's. The little kids did get to hear about St. Patrick's day stories at the library. Faith and Lorelei also got to make a craft.

Samantha Goes Back to the 50's! Celebrating Macy's 13th!

Danielle (Sam's first friend from mommy & me), Samantha & Macy

Can you believe Macy made this cake?!! Girl's got talent!!

It is hard to believe that Macy is 13! It is crazy how fast time flies!! Samantha and Macy have been friends for most of their lives. We met the Ens family before the girls were born; At the time, we lived in the same neighborhood. Macy and Samantha went to preschool together, danced together (Dancin with Pam), attended Manners Camp together (elementary years) and have gone to church together (Jr. High group). It means a lot to me that these two girls are friends, as Macy's mom is one of my best friends. I hope they are friends forever.

Boys Will Be Boys!

Noah found a few snails and couldn't wait to share them. Is this gross or what?? I could still see the pride in his eyes and the satisfaction that he derived from grossing me out. As you can imagine, I made him leave this lovely creatures in the yard and wash his hands. So glad I took a couple of pictures because this are the moments that I usually forget to capture with a photo.

Day at the Park & Other Updates

The last week I have had at least two sick kids at any given time. I'm not complaining, just giving an update. I truly am glad that all of my kids only have normal childhood ailments. I have been following a couple blogs of courageous families that have children with cancer. That is scary stuff! It has made me want to enjoy as many moments as possible with my kids. Anyways, below I have given the run down of our sickies.

• Due to Strep throat, Noah missed two days of school, his first baseball game and Cub Scouts. With antibiotics, his recovery was very rapid! He was begging to go to school, as he did not want to miss his first game. Noah rarely gets sick. His tolerance for pain seems fairly high too.
• Faith has been sick for over a week now. She started out with cold symptoms and a fever. Now, she has and ear infection and horrible cough.
• Luke was not quite himself, so I took him to get checked out. Turns out, he has an ear infection. He also has a terrible cough, poor guy! Last night, he was lethargic and didn't want to play! On the bright side, I got to hold him in my arms and comfort him.
  

Onto the good stuff, the kids were well enough to enjoy an hour or so at the park. Evan and Noah practiced some baseball. Luke enjoyed swinging! Samantha spent some quality time playing with Faith and another little girl, Christina. Wherever Samantha goes, kids just flock to her. It is funny, every time we try to get a picture of the all 4 kids another kid is desperate to be in our photo (due to Sam's adoption of them).

One more update: Luke has abandoned his army crawl, which makes me a little sad. He is crawling by using his hands and knees. He continues to pull-up on everything, He is so fun to watch.