Happy 65th Birthday Dad!

After such an exciting and exhausting weekend of fun, there was still more fun to be had. We were celebrating Dad's 65th birthday. After Paige and I returned from camp and took some much needed showers, we headed down to my Cousin Davie's house for a cookout. To the extreme joy of Paige and Alex, Davie had filled up his pool and we had 90 degree temperatures, so the kids got to go swimming in April! How cool is that? The water was COLD!!!!! but the kids didn't seem to mind even when their lips turned blue. My Aunt Pat was visiting from Utah and my Grandma Sandwick was feeling well enough from her broken rib to make the trip down, so it was even better to have them there.

We had a fantastic time, as we always do when we go to Davie's house. He made delicious beer can chicken, Mom made her yummy beans and a special birthday cake for Dad. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful family event!

Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!!

Brownie Camporee

Last Friday Paige and I embarked on a new adventure. We went on our first Brownie Troop overnight Camporee. My Co-leader Lisa and I stayed two nights with 10 girls. We were both a little nervous at first because none of the girls had ever camped before and they are all pretty young, 6-7 year olds. Fortunately all ten girls fit into one cabin, so they were all together. I was so impressed with how well the girls did. They all were well-behaved, helpful and happy for the most part, yes even Paige! We had a few tears and scrapes from falls and some whining, but they all pulled through and did their part to make the trip successful. It was great to see them all doing their "chores." Some cooked food, some cleaned dishes, some swept out cabins and the dining hall...all played an important role during the trip. I think what impressed me the most was how polite, thoughtful and helpful they were toward Lisa and I and toward each other. The girls all get along well.

I have to elaborate more on all the fun things we did during our camp out. Friday night we really just had enough time to settle into the cabins and have dinner before it started to get dark, although we did squeeze in a hike to the alpine tower and a game of buddy tag with some of the other troops. Paige loved the buddy tag game. Friday night was a late night. Our girls were all finally asleep by about midnight. They were all so excited and some were a bit nervous with the darkness and the outdoor noises, so I understood that. However, there was another troop in our camp who were up until about 4am, which meant I didn't sleep at all. Those girls woke up some of our girls because they were so loud. I had to be the mean leader and tell them go to sleep because their leader fell asleep and was snoring very loudly. After I got them to go to sleep I went back to my cabin with the snoring leader and maybe got about 1 hour of sleep total, I am not kidding!

Surprisingly I wasn't that tired throughout the day on Saturday. Like clockwork, Paige was up at 6:30am and ready to go, despite staying up so late the night before. Ugh. Once one is up, the rest aren't far behind. We ate breakfast, did our morning chores and then headed to the flagpole for opening ceremonies to kick off the Camporee. The theme this year was "Dig It" and it was an Archeology theme. We did crafts, played games, and had activities throughout the day all surrounding this theme. Paige really enjoyed the games. They did an obstacle course and the favorite game was called Cross the Creek. After each rotation the ropes were moved farther and farther apart and if you landed in the "creek" you were out. Paige did really well at this game. Who knew how well she could jump! At the end of a long day, we went back to camp and made our dinner. The last part to our day was the big campfire with all the other troops. The girls loved this part. We all sang songs, roasted marshmallows and made smores! When we got back to camp, the girls in all 3 troops in our camp were sound asleep by 10:30pm - yippee!! The leaders weren't far behind that. Other than a very loud owl and more snoring, it was a pretty quiet night.

Sunday morning we ate breakfast, cleaned up camp, packed the vans and headed to the flagpole for our closing ceremony. Then we headed home. I think the best part about this experience for me was seeing the smiles on the girls faces when they arrived home and told their parents stories about all the fun they had. I was so happy to be a part of that. I had so much fun too and can't wait to do it again - really!

Happy Easter!

Easter was a flurry of activities for us this year. We colored eggs on Friday and we participated in our Church Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday where the kids found hidden eggs, decorated their own cookies and made crafts. Sunday both kids were up and ready to roll by 6:20AM, so away they went finding the eggs the Easter Bunny hid and checking out their Easter baskets. Later that morning, we all went to Church where Mama and Papa and Great Grandma Sandwick joined us, then it was home for a quick lunch then our street egg hunt with the neighbors.

There were about 600 eggs hidden in 4 neighbors yards for all the kids to find. The kids received way too much candy, but had a blast looking for the eggs and playing with their friends. Alex especially loved playing with his friend, Ashlynn.

Alex took a little nap to recharge, then we headed to my parents for Easter dinner and were joined by my Cousin Davie. Mom made a fantastic dinner and we enjoyed being able to spend some time with Grandma Sandwick, even though she wasn't feeling well. Mama hid some eggs for the kids to find and had Easter baskets for them with goodies. For dessert I had made an Easter bunny cake, just like my Mom used to make when we were kids. The kids had fun helping me decorate the cake.

We all had a really fun Easter weekend! Happy Easter everyone!!

Garden Project

This Spring I thought we'd try to do some gardening. The kids were excitied about planting seeds and watching things grow, so we started a few seeds indoors and they took off. The indoor plants were doing so well, but we didn't have anywhere to put them outdoors. Two weeks ago we had a gorgeous Spring day, with temperatures in the seventies and beautiful Carolina blue sunny skies. We borrowed my Dad's saw and Dave made 3 terraced garden boxes, which we will eventually stain to match the wood of the playset area. We had the dirt and plants all in by the end of the day. We planted all kinds of vegetables and I relocated all my herbs to one box. Hopefully during the Summer we will have green beans, cucumbers, carrots, scallions, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, some pretty flowers and great smelling herbs!

Proud Parents of a Heritage Elementary First Grader!

Dave and I went to Paige's Parent-Teacher Conference yesterday and met with Paige's First Grade Teacher, Mrs. Mokhiber. I don't usually brag about my kids like this, but this is well-deserved. We already knew Paige was doing well in school. Her report card has proven that every quarter. But to hear Paige's teacher talk about what a fantastic student Paige is, both academically AND behaviorally, it was a proud moment.

Paige received two awards at the Pep Rally yesterday; One for perfect attendance and the other for academic achievement. The second was awarded to students who received all three's and at least one four on their report card. There were only two kids in the class that received this award, Paige and her good friend Rachael. Her teacher has told us on many occasions that she rarely gives out fours unless the student has consistently proven to work at a higher grade level. Paige has received fours in reading and writing every quarter. She reads at a very high level and is doing second grade work. We are so fortunate to have Mrs. Mokhiber as Paige's teacher. She is one of those teachers that recognizes that kids learn at different paces, and she helps her advanced children to excel even more by challenging them. That is a challenge in itself with 24 students; to be able to give them different work based on their abilities. Paige's teacher has challenged Paige and Paige has risen to the occasion. As you can tell, Dave and I are so incredibly proud of her.

Family Visit and Dance Class

Dave's Mom and Stepdad Ted stopped by to visit on their way back from Florida. It was a short visit, but we loved seeing them during the time we had. The kids were so excited to see Gramme and Grampe and their dog, Ruckus.

Paige takes ballet and tap dancing classes back to back on Monday afternoons. During their visit, Paige had parent observation day at dance class, so Gramme and I had the pleasure of seeing Paige demonstrate some of her moves and practice for her recital while Grampe and Alex stayed home and watched a movie together.

I was really impressed with how well Paige did. She was actually very coordinated and graceful. I wasn't sure what to expect because Paige hasn't been fully engaged in the whole dance experience up to this point, and seemed to be getting bored with it. Fortunately, her interest has been revived since receiving her recital costumes. I also think seeing the dance routines coming together is really helping. She has already decided she doesn't want to continue with dance after the recital, (horseback riding is where her heart is leading her now) but at least she will have had this experience and I know she will make Mommy and Daddy very proud during her recital in May!

Track Out

I feel like I need to play catch up as a lot has happened in March. Paige was tracked out from school for 3 weeks, but Alex still had preschool 3 mornings a week, which gave Paige and I some alone time too. We were able to do some fun activities, especially when the weather cooperated. We went to the park and did a lot of bike and scooter riding. Paige had a sleepover, and playdates with some of her friends. The kids had a sleepover at Mama and Papa Heller's house one night and we enjoyed a Saturday afternoon at the Nahunta Fire Department Pig Pickin where my Cousin Davie is a firefighter. We also went on a trail ride with one of Paige's friends from school and her family. Alex and I rode together on our horse named The Colonel and Paige and her friend Amanda rode together on a horse named Red. That was probably Paige's favorite event during track out.

Unfortunately it wasn't all fun and games. I was really sick with a nasty, every symptom you can get virus for about a week, then Alex got a cold, now I think he has my nasty virus with a fever that doesn't want to leave. I guess I mistakenly thought that once Spring arrived, all illnesses would depart with Winter.

We had some sad news in February that Dave's Grandma Manley had passed away. She would have been 95 years old on February 15. Last week Dave drove up to NY and spent a week helping his Dad clean out his Grandmother's house in Oneonta, NY, which was not an easy task. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about what he would be bringing back with him, but some of things were quite nice and even fun. For instance, he found a huge box of his old legos that kids have been enjoying as well as some items of historical value, like his Great Grandfather's World War 1 helmet and a big, heavy, old brass antique cash register that his Grandpa Manley used in his store way back when. I have no idea what we will do with some of these things, but they are really neat pieces and I enjoy learning about Dave's family history.