soccer and strawberries

Auntie Janne and Hannah came to see Lexie play soccer and while I didn't get a single picture of the game, I did get some of the spectators!

After soccer we went to Patterson Farms to pick strawberries- the girls loved going up and down the rows picking the biggest ones they could find.

Such a sweet strawberry lover!

So many strawberries!!

It was fun being able to share with the experience with Auntie Janne and Hannah.

- Patterson Farms -

After we picked a couple gallons of strawberries, the girls wanted to ride the cow train.  I was impressed at how extensive the train ride was-- they were gone for almost ten minutes!!

Post-strawberry pickin' ice cream.

The little girls loved the playground and did NOT want to leave!

april randoms-- food edition

We went to the Grand Opening of Two Scoops Lake Norman and the kids got a kick out of the two scoop cones!

- Lunch date with just the girls at Firestorm Pizza -

We love having a fire and dinner with our neighbors when the weather is nice!

Lunch at Costco and "Geostrom" for pizza and movie night.

We went to the soft opening at Tacos 4 Life-- officially my new favorite tacos in North Carolina!!

Lunch date at Pei Wei-- we were so excited to find one only 30 minutes from our house!!

Ninety's is right by Pei Wei so we HAD to stop there after lunch!

We try and go to lunch once a week to try out new restaurants - it's much cheaper to go when the big kids are all in school!  This week's lunch date was at the newly opened Davidson Ice House with a stop at Whit's Frozen Custard afterwards.

february randoms

The weather was great this month and all of the kids took advantage of it by playing outside!

We love making homemade pizza!  And I love that the girls do most of the work!

February is cookie booth time here so our weekends are full of booths at different places around town.

After her teacher said that she was squinting at the board, Miss Lexie got glasses-- they make her look so grown up!

Ben's request for a Super Bowl snack was cheesy piccolis-- Easy Cheese on top of pickle chips.  Bleh!!  The kids (and Jacob) all thought they were fabulous!

Chick-fil-A is one of our favorite lunch stops-- especially now that I know you can get just strawberries in the fruit cup!!  Though Ellie has been to the dentist at least six times, this was the first visit with no tears, and she's even excited to go back again in six months for pictures of her teeth!!

One of our favorite things to do is try out new restaurants in the area so we were super excited to attend the soft opening of the new Famous Toastery in Downtown Mooresville.  Such a great location and delicious food!!

Ben loves playing basketball and we love cheering him on!

Miss Ellie was so excited to get dressed up for her daddy-daughter dance at preschool!

- The Dad and the Daughter -

We love Chick-fil-A!

Ellie loves going to pick up Christopher from tennis practice because it means she can play at the playground until he's ready to go!

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october randomness

October fun: Naps on the couch, fall drinks at Starbucks, running errands and lunch, and new cookies at Starbucks!

We were invited to attend the annual WWP night at The Pit here in Mooresville.  The kids were excited to make their own bowls from the catered Qdoba!

The kids (and Jacob!) love doing the go-karts at The Pit!

The big kids were able to go a lot higher on the climbing wall this year.

And Ellie was finally big enough to do laser tag!!  She went with Chris and had so much fun that she didn't want to leave!

On the way out of The Pit, Ellie fell and smacked her face and ended up with a big bump on her forehead and scraped up knees.  She spent the next day taking it easy-- Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets for BREAKFAST, riding in the cart at Target and laying on the couch with her legs elevated.

We enjoyed fire-pitting with our neighbors while we had beautiful fall weather!

Ellie loves helping in the kitchen- especially when we make guacamole because she gets to be the taste tester!  We love homemade guac with our fajitas!!

Lunch after church.  Cute hair (and a handmedown shirt from her younger cousin!).  Pumpkin pizza from Papa Murphy's.

We had a lunch date at PF Changs on "Free Sushi Day" and while Ellie didn't want to try the sushi, she loved the lettuce wraps!  We had to stop at Target on the way home and Ellie took a "rest" on the bottom of the cart.

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mooresville christmas parade

The Mooresville Christmas Parade, held the Tuesday BEFORE Thanksgiving, is such a big deal in town, that schools have an early release so that everyone can attend the parade.

Lexie's Girl Scout troop, along with almost all other scout troops in the area, marched in the parade.

We saw marching bands, church groups, and an acro-fitness group that did flips over the crowd (including Nick).

The Mooresville school lunch ladies were in the parade as well, and stopped to give Ben and Lexie a hug!  We had a great time gearing up for the holiday season at the parade-- especially since Santa was there!

back to school

We always start "Back to School" with a treat from Mooresville Ice Cream after Meet the Teacher night.  Ellie even got some ice cream (stole Jacob's) this time!

Christopher, 7th Grade

Nicholas, 5th Grade

Benjamin, 3rd Grade

Lexie, 2nd Grade

Lexie practiced her handwriting while conveying her love of foxes.  Sweet Ellie likes to work on her handwriting while the big kids are at school.

august fun

We met some friends from Fort Bragg at the NC Zoo for a morning of animal adventures.

Even though we don't see them as often as we used to, the kids have a great time together!

The grounds of the zoo are absolutely beautiful!  We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed it while moving around to stay away from the bees.

The bears were a favorite and we watched this black one lounge around for quite awhile.

We went to National Night Out in downtown Mooresville again this year.  Ben and Lexie were excited to participate in the donut eating contest-- they tried their hardest but didn't finish first.

Christopher and Nicholas participated in the older group.  They were both sure they'd win but didn't quite beat the girl that seemed to just inhale hers.

We celebrated Christopher's 12th birthday with ice cream from Kilwin's and then presents at home!

All the boys went to Camp Weaver this year.  It was Ben's first time staying at camp for a week and he was so excited (and did great)!

The boys all ready for camp-- and Lexie ready to leave them there!

It was fun having just girls for the week and lots of fun and silliness ensued.

Ellie loves "helping" bake just about anything.  The pumpkin dump cake beaters are definitely a favorite though.

After a week of camp, Christopher was excited to celebrate his birthday with his friends.  He had three spend the night and they were busy with swimming, pizza, movies and video games!

Such a silly girl!!  Ellie loves playing with all of her babies and with her big brother, Ben!

Dancing Queen!

New song, same moves. And apparently swim suits are worn over clothes!