Bits and Pieces

December Fun 2017

2017-12-20T18:27:00.001-05:00

The Nutcracker!

YCC Christmas!

Friends Brunch!

Christmas Day 2016

2016-12-25T23:12:00.000-05:00

We continued with our new tradition of wrapping “Santa” gifts – which our kids clearly know is us, we don’t really “do Santa” here. They get their gifts from us on Christmas morning. We color coordinate the wrapping paper.

Pax still wasn’t feeling well, but he wanted to open gifts! They all opened one gift each at the same time, it was so much fun!!

Mostly surprise gifts for all, Daddy and I decided to get them things we thought they would like!

After gift opening, we ate breakfast together and played for hours!

Sweenie got a toy alligator and she LOVES it!

The LEGO Queen Dragon was her favorite!

The racetrack was a surprise HIT!

My parents left around 2 and Frank left with the little kids around 2:45. Pax was feeling rough so I stayed home with him.

Other than Pax being sick it was such a fun Christmas. So much to be thankful for!!

Christmas Eve 2016

2016-12-24T23:13:00.000-05:00

We met Nanee and Baba at our house around 5 and played with their new toys for a bit and then ate dinner – Yamatos and Wendy’s for the non-Japanese eaters. Pax was feeling really rough so he went to lay down while the rest of us went to church. We went to the 7pm service, and it was wonderful, so thankful to be able to go to church on Christmas Eve!

We then came home and thankfully Pax had rested and was feeling a tiny bit better an wanted to open gifts from Nanee and Baba. He ended up puking in the middle of it all, right before I gave Daddy his big surprise gift – an Xbox One! After the puking, Pax rallied and was much better until we went to bed!

It was a fun evening full of laughter and thanks!

So so thankful.

Christmas Eve Day

2016-12-24T20:59:00.000-05:00

We went over to Tracey and Adam’s around 11:45 and stayed until about 4. We enjoyed a great lunch together, secret santa for the kids and gift opening together. Sadly, Paxton wasn’t feeling well, but he managed to join us!

December Christmas Fun 2016

2016-12-23T20:43:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed lots of special events during the month of December! We had a full calendar and we were thankful for the many new friends that filled it. Such a difference from our first year here!

First ARP Junior Choir Christmas Cookie party at Heather’s house!

First ARP Christmas Choir Service. Lili and Kyler sang with Junior Choir, Paxton sang with Youth Choir and read scripture.

YCC Christmas Party at the Forbes’ house!

Final YCC Christmas party at church.

First ARP 23/45 Kids Party

Christmas party at the Forbes’ again!

Christmas cookies with Nanee and Baba and gingerbread house with Nanee!

Christmas party with all of the tiny people! Thanks to Lili’s friend Caris {and our friends Courtney and Trey!}.

Such a fun December, we are thankful!

The Schultz Family Visits–again!!!

2016-08-27T15:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, they visit a lot. Yes, we LOVE it! Our move from Philly to NC definitely hasn’t stood in the way of this family friendship.

This was a quick trip, an extension of dropping Matt off at Liberty for his sophomore year. This was the first time Matt came with them.

We enjoyed one full day together, and are very thankful!

Come back soon!

NC State Gymnastics Elite Camp 2016

2016-08-21T18:12:00.000-04:00

Kyler enjoyed attending his 2nd elite gymnastics camp.

Building friendships with boys he competes against from around the state!

Annual Friends Photo ~ 2016

2016-08-09T15:14:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed getting the kids together for their annual friends photo!

They were excited to get it over with so they could swim!

1st Swim Meet!

2016-08-05T22:19:00.000-04:00

Pax decided he wanted to try swimming so he began with the YMCA Swim Club and really enjoyed it! He will be moving on to Gaston Gators, but I will always remember this, his first swim meet! I look forward to being an official swim mom!

Happy 10th Birthday Kyler!

2016-05-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

For his official birthday it was a pretty low-key day since he had his big party a few days earlier. He loved his new chess set from us!

Kyler’s 10th Birthday Party

2016-05-07T22:32:00.000-04:00

Kyler celebrated his 10th birthday with a backyard party on May 7, a few days before his actual birthday! He invited lots of friends from the gym and even had a HUGE surprise with his best friend, Daniel, from Philly showing up in the middle of the party!

It was a wonderful day, we are so thankful for our 10 year old and the many people who love him!

Paxton is 14!

2016-04-23T22:57:00.000-04:00

We celebrated out to eat at Outback for Paxton’s 14th birthday where we surprised him with Hillsong concert tickets for May 5!

The next day we took him to Carowinds with his friends Foster and Vance!

Such a fun time celebrating our BIG kid, so grateful for him!

Joint Birthday Cookout for Pax and Lili

2016-04-17T22:08:00.000-04:00

Since it wasn’t a party year for either of them, we had a joint bday cookout with the grandparents to celebrate Lili turning 7 and Paxton turning 14!

Such a gift to have all of the grands with us and so close! We love living nearby!

End of Season Gymnastics Party

2016-04-16T22:03:00.000-04:00

We celebrated another gymnastics season coming to an end! Kyler finished level 6 and will be moving on to level 7!

Getting this group together is always fun!

The gym sisters enjoy the parties too!

Especially when they involve seeing Ms. Jenn’s horses!

Orlando Gymnastics Meet

2016-01-24T04:55:00.001-05:00

We had a quick trip to Orlando just the 3 of us for Kyler’s gymnastics meet.

Always fun competing at ESPN Wide World of Sports!

We ran into his coaches on the way in!

He had a great meet, although was a bit disappoint with floor and parallel bars. His final scores for this meet are below.

All Around ~ 61.75 ~ 4th Place
Floor ~ 9.95
Rings ~ 10.85 ~ 4th Place
Pommel Horse ~ 11.1 ~ 2nd place
Parallel Bars ~ 10.15
High Bar ~ 10.45
Vault ~ 9.25

Proud of our boy!

Crablegs at Red Lobster to celebrate!

Here’s his video…

Christmas Morning 2015

2015-12-25T19:05:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve Family Photos

2015-12-25T04:59:00.000-05:00

It was so warm outside, in the low 70s, so we opted for family photos outside!!

We tried to get one of the kids with the grandparents, but there’s always a nut in the bunch.

Ahh, finally!!!

Christmas Eve with Nanee and Baba

2015-12-25T04:48:00.000-05:00

We slept over with Nanee and Baba the night before so we enjoyed waking up at their house to begin our Christmas Eve celebrations! We mixed gift opening in with cookie making and decorating, it was a super fun day!

A peek at our gift opening time…

Cookie fun…

Christmas Eve at Nana and Pop’s 2015

2015-12-24T23:55:00.000-05:00

Christmas Tree Decorating 2015

2015-11-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving 2015

2015-11-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

Simple. Uneventful. Beautiful.

Such beauty in simplicity, such gratitude for the uneventful. No broken legs, no move coming in a few days, no sadness crowding out the event. Last year’s Thanksgiving was quite different from this one. I’ll take simple and uneventful any year.

We spent the afternoon at Tracey and Adam’s house and enjoyed a fun evening somewhat centered around the Panthers/Cowboys game, which was fun. All of the kids were there, Shelbey even had her boyfriend Nolan too. My parents joined us, as did Aunt Shirley.

Pax finally graduated to the big kids’ table!

1st Gymnastics Meet ~ Level 6

2015-11-21T23:34:00.000-05:00

Sadly, I wasn’t actually at his very first meet as a level 6. I was in Ecuador {on a trip with Young Living}. The meet was in Raleigh NC on 11/21 and he was joined by the rest of our immediate family as well as both sets of grandparents and 2 cousins! It was a full house for a very fun meet! He ROCKED it!

His final scores for this meet are below. The places listed are for those he medaled in. He has never had a 1st place All Around finish or a 1st on floor – this was a VERY big deal for him!!!

All Around ~ 61.35 ~ 1st Place!
Floor ~ 10.75 ~ 1st place
Rings ~ 10.6 ~ 1st Place
Pommel Horse ~ 10.1 ~ 1st place
Parallel Bars ~ 11.2 ~ 2nd place
High Bar ~ 10.2 ~ 3rd place
Vault ~ 8.5

There were 36 level 6 boys and he had the top score of all age divisions! There were 11 in his age division {9/10 year olds}.

His Video…

Mock Meet Level 6 ~ Prepping for a NEW Season!

2015-10-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

Kyler had a Mock meet at his gym to prepare for the upcoming gymnastics season! This was his first time preforming level 6 routines in front of an audience. Families of his teammates were there and we loved seeing his new routines.

An Olympic judge was there and ran the meet and gave the boys a lot of feedback. It was so very helpful!

Here’s his video! We can’t wait for the real season to begin!

Friends are TEENagers!

2015-08-22T16:08:00.000-04:00

It’s been many years of photos of this group. From babies to teenagers and now we live closer again.
I love that they still have fun together even as teenagers. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of these awesome kids!

A look back… Age 9, Age 8, Age 7 and more!

Homeschool Field Day at Parkwood

2015-05-08T23:16:00.000-04:00

The kids enjoyed their first homeschool field day at the main campus of our new church, Parkwood. They didn’t know many kids, only the few from Parkwood Kings Mountain, but had lots of fun!