Talkin' about Spring

Picture taken by McKenzie - pretty good, huh?!

Well, the sweat rings don't lie...spring is turning into summer, folks. The temperatures are getting just high enough to remind us of just how uncomfortable these hot, humid summers of North Carolina are. (A note to my family, I'm totally joking...the summers aren't so bad - you should move out here...) (A note to the rest of you, I'm totally not joking - the summers are terrible.)

Here's a bit of what we've been up to this spring:

"Green" Smoothies

What?! Spinach in a smoothie?! And not just a little bit either, but a whole handful for your glass. When I first heard about it, the thought was enough to stimulate my gag reflex. But after a good friend guaranteed that you could not, in fact, taste the spinach AT ALL, I decided to give it a try. As I watched the gloppy green mixture splat around in the blender, I'll admit that my hopes were not high - but after adding the colorful berries, it started to look like something I might actually enjoy. I'll let the picture above sum up the results. :)

Swimming Lessons

McKenzie and her friend, Carolyn

This year, I decided it was time to have my children learn the ways of the water. Perhaps overdue, since we spend so much of our summers in the pools. (A note to my family - wouldn't you love to live in a place where you could swim for so many months out of the year? So refreshing!) (A note to the rest of you - sometimes the pools are so warm they feel more like bathtubs. Not refreshing.)


Carson spent most of his time glancing over to the bleachers to see if he could catch my eye. Once caught, you could count on a thumbs-up from him. This was his most improved area - - - he got awesome at keeping afloat with one hand out of the water.

McKenzie picked it up fast and is now able to get herself across the entire pool with no floaties.

No drowning for us!



Seussical Mussical

McKenzie's 1st grade musical... and this picture cracks me up. One boy sneezing, one boy picking his nose, a girl in back admiring her fingernails, and a boy looks to be waving right at my camera (funny because I was standing at the very back of the auditorium using my zoom lens). The show was cute, the kids were cuter. :)

While we're here, meet Jack. He's the kid that belongs to that pair of eyes down in the bottom left corner of the picture. Cute, cute kid...and McKenzie's new boyfriend. They are, apparently, in love. Definition of 'in love' from McKenzie: I chase him around the playground every day.

Basketball

Brian got a basketball hoop for his birthday this year. The directions said that assembly would take a couple of hours, so Carson and I decided to set it up while Brian was at work so that when he got home he could spend his evening actually playing with it rather than setting it up. McKenzie hopped off the school bus just in time to hang the net.


Now, for a girl, I'd say I'm slightly above averagely savvy when it comes to assembling and building stuff, but there were a couple of times that I worried about death as the top-heavy monster of metal and plastic threatened to crush us. And I feel it is appropriate to brag here, just a little. :) We persevered for hours - and Carson and I felt victorious when, dripping with sweat, we finally shot our first baskets.
























Halfway through the assembly, Carson said, "Mom, dis is taking way too long. I didn't know it would be dis long when I said I would help you." He was a trooper - and there would have been no assembled hoop without him!
























We have had a great time with this hoop - you can find us out there almost every day at some point. Miles has had a great time with his little hoop, too. :)


You know what the best thing about these kids is? How well they get along with each other. McKenzie and Carson play together so well, and when they turn their attention to Miles, he feels like the star of the universe. Just look at these faces in response to Miles making a basket! You are loved, little boy!


It's always a sad goodbye when we wave off the best weeks of spring. But you can be sure we'll keep enjoying it before the temperatures force us to stay in the house or in the water! (A note to my family - I love living in a place where I don't have to do my hair for the entire summer!) (A note to everyone else - I do not love having wet hair for an entire season. At least I can choose whether it's wet with pool water or sweat...)