Rainy Day

The kids were thrilled to wear their rain coats today! I am so thankful for the rain after such a dry spell.

"The Wiz" cast

While at the Festival in the Park on Saturday, a partial cast from the NoDa School of Arts, "The Wiz," was there to perform some of the pieces from the show this summer. This is the organization that I am on the board of. This is a wonderfully talented group of kids.

To learn more abou the school, check out the website, www.nodaschoolofarts.org

Art in the Park

Cate had the honor of having a piece of her artwork from school displayed at Charlotte's Festival in the Park, an annual arts festival. We went on Saturday to check it out!

Soccer!

Waiting for their turn to get out on the field!

Drew is #3.

Post game oranges...yum!

Drew is finally old enough to play soccer and he is thrilled. After Cate's swim meet this morning, we had Drew's soccer game. Most of the kids on his team don't quite get it yet, but they enjoy being out there in their uniforms! It is a learning process!

Swim Meet

Today Cate had a swim meet where she takes lessons, called Charlotte Swim Academy. They have developmental swim meets every quarter or once a month where the kids learn how to compete while still focusing on their skills. This was our first meet and I was very impressed by how well organized and well run it was! Plus, Cate had such a fun time. She won 2 first place blue ribbons (free and breaststroke) and 1 third place gold ribbon (backstroke) which she is VERY proud of.

Waiting for the meet to start

Watching for Cate!

"Swimmers take your mark..."

"Go, Cate!"

Getting ready for backstroke!

Jane Ramsey's first haircut

Jane Ramsey doesn't have much hair yet, but the hair she had was all different lengths and at times flying everywhere. So, we headed up to see our favorite haircutter at Pigtails and Crewcuts for Jane Ramsey's first trim. She wasn't a huge fan, despite the lollipop and animal cookies. "Ow," was her continuous comment, but the end result is super cute!

And, I learned that I'd been parting her hair on the wrong side all this time!!! Oh, well!

My 3 monkeys

Thankfully NOT jumping on the bed!

Buzz Lightyear, the mop and school

Buzz Lightyear's new special power is no longer from his laser, but his mop! On meet the teacher day at his preschool last week, Drew was drawn to a mop and spent most of the 20 minutes we spent in there "cleaning" the floors. So, I happened upon this mop at the toy store and it is a huge hit with everyone, especially Drew. It is a cleaning toy with special powers!


Today was Drew and Jane Ramsey's first day of preschool! Drew proudly wore his new bookbag into class today and seemed to have a great day. Jane Ramsey was reported to have a great day as well, despite being bitten...one that left a mark! Being the third child, I can only laugh about it and hope that she doesn't try to get revenge on Thursday!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Cate!

We celebrated Cate's 6th birthday all weekend long but Monday was her official day. Jacob and I were talking last night about how the pictures I posted yesterday from "Mary Poppins" both struck us when we realized how grown up our little girl was getting!

Grandmom and Papa flew down for the weekend festivities and it was wonderful to have them here.

Cate really wanted a pet for her birthday and I must admit that we really considered and researched that option...anything from a guinea pig, to bunny, to a DOG (believe it or not!). But, when I thought about that option realistically, we just don't think it is the right time. So, to compromise, Cate used a gift card from Toys and Co. to buy these frogs (first picture). I was very resistant but after learning how low maintenance they are, and wanting to request Cate's desire to "take care of something," I gave in.

Cate, we love you!