Parts of March were very dreary, rainy, and cold...these we the days we stayed inside, had playdates, baked, read books, and did lot of art. Thankfully there were some nicer weather days mixed in, but it did seem to rain quiet a lot.
Nora Kate would bake with me every day if I suggested it...she loves it...look at that face.
These pictures are not exactly in order, but on St. Patrick's Day we HAD to have green dot and green swirl pancakes.
The first Friday of the month was the day the boys' school celebrated Read Across America day. They were supposed to dress up as a book character. Carter was Clark the Shark. Dawson was a lego police man from the Lego Robbery book.
Carter and Mrs. Johnson on Read Across America Day. She was Pete the Cat. She's such a wonderful teacher. Carter loves her and Dawson did too.
The days we had nice weather, we took full advantage and got our for walks. I always say these two are as thick as thieves. They also can be the best of friends or get more upset with each other than any other sibling pairs amongst the kids. Obviously they were both feeling very sweet this particular day and holding hands. They have a special relationship being so close in age, and I love to watch it.
Dawson always loves his role as big brother and is excited to do things for Clayton like push him on our walks.
After our 3 mile family hike with boyscouts in February went so well, I got the brilliant idea to plan another hike. There was a hike to spruce flat falls from Tremont which is close to our house, so I picked that one since it wouldn't involve much driving. Our kind friends let us borrow their hiking baby backpack, so I stuck Clayton in there and off we went....boy, did I feel like we bit off more than we could chew. The particular trail we took to the falls was VERY difficult. It was steep, rooty, rocky, and had a cliff on one side. It would have been challenging for adults, but I was a nervous wreck worried the kids were going to fall down the mountain. In fact, we had to pass another family at one point on this narrow trail, and their son fell down the mountain...John quickly reached down and grabbed him and pulled him back up. This made the kids listen to us seriously though about paying attention. It was SO beautiful and we were having such fun, so we kept going...but this was not a great hike to do with a HEAVY baby on my back, a 4 year old, 5 year old, and 8 year old. Dawson did great...it was really just tough! It had rained a lot prior too, so the downhill parts were muddy. This makes it sound like we didn't have fun, which isn't the case. I just definitely bit off more than I anticipated for our family with this hike! We had a great time, and we said we would definitely call this an adventure!
Mr. Baby on my back.
The falls were beautiful! The pictures do not do it justice at all. We even saw a rainbow at the bottom.
Then it was snack time before hiking back to the trailhead.
This is probably the best shot I got with Clayton on my back of the falls. It was so much bigger than it looks in this picture.
This was on the trail...such amazing views...also notice the drop off...right there!
Carter loves to read his homework books to Nora Kate, and she loves to listen. Win--win.
These cool rainy days are best spent in pajamas having a light saber war and playing indoor soccer in the sunroom.
Then it was spring break. It didn't feel like spring at all, and it actually snowed several times on spring break. But these little spring chickens were so fun to see and hold on spring break!
Clayton preferred to touch the turkeys.
Another Spring Break fun activity we did was watch a couple old movies...I introduced the kids to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (and they love it...even Clayton.) Part of it could be because they think the song Toot Sweets is hilarious, but they actually just liked the movie. We also introduced them to Mary Poppins which was also a hit, but they all agreed that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was the favorite.
Remember how we said Dawson inspired us to finally build a long requested treehouse in the backyard? Well spring break was the perfect time to complete it.
Nora Kate's sweet friend Finley (back middle) had a birthday party. It was perfectly girly-they made headbands, painted nails, and played. So fun!
I finally updated everyone's silhouettes this month. So happy with how these turned out!
Then something very big for Nora Kate happened on Spring Break. Her sweet friend Harper invited Nora Kate for a sleepover! Nora Kate's first time sleeping over at a friends house! This was a huge deal. Look how excited she is with her suitcase and Harper!
They went to the mall on their sleepover
They painted their nails during the sleepover
Another fun activity we did on spring break was going to the Muse. There's always something fun there for everyone.
Then of course we baked brownies!
They were all feeling very silly...so our brownie baking pictures were pretty hilarious!
Then we tried out WATER BEADS for the first time on spring break!
They are SO FUN!
This sweet boy loves his water beads...and his Christmas pajamas haha
The week of Spring Break finally warmed up a little toward the end, and Carter's Spring Soccer team had their first practice. He is super excited because he's on his school buddy, Barrett's team.
It's not Spring Break without going to Dollywood opening week!
This was such a big deal to Nora Kate...when you turn 4 you have to have a Dollywood pass, so this season it's her first year to have a photo id Dollywood pass. This is the sort of thing that's a big deal to her because of her older siblings. She was so excited.
The end of Spring Break finally warmed up, and we donned our shorts and put Lolly's new firepit to good use. We enjoyed a fire, cooked hotdogs, and had fun outside.
There's always something sweet to me about kids drawing family pictures. Dawson drew this one.
This was the month for the Pinewood Derby with Scouts. Dawson worked tirelessly on this (with John's help), and he was so pleased with it.
This month we had a bird build a nest on our front door flowers which was beautiful and cool at first, but now there's 5 eggs, and a mess...not as cool as I thought it would be initially. But the kids are loving it.
The week after Spring Break, Dawson's Spring Soccer Team started practices. Dawson hasn't played soccer in a couple of years, but decided he wanted to get back into it. He's doing good! I couldn't believe what a BIG field they play on now! HUGE
This boy loves a pajama day at school so much. They are his favorite days.
When I wanted to take one picture of him before school in his pjs, he gave me all these poses. Oh, this boy!
This scout is ready for the Pinewood Derby!
One very rainy Saturday we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. Definitely not my favorite place, but the kids always love it.
This was such a big deal for me...usually I post about the kids things, but this one was all me. After Clayton was born I decided I needed to get in better shape. I wanted something I could do to exercise to get in better shape that wasn't expensive or didn't always require me to go somewhere, so I started running in our neighborhood. At first I couldn't even run one mile without stopping. I remember the day I finally did. Then I remember the day I finally ran 3 miles without stopping, and then when I finally started getting faster. I remember the day I ran 10 miles without stopping for the first time. Anyway, I'm definitely in better shape than when I started running and I have more confidence about running/exercising, but more than that I actually enjoy it...I run alone, pray, listen to praise & worship music, audioBible, and just think--the kids constantly talk and so even though running isn't easy, it's relaxing for my brain to run and just have time to think! I've had it in my head this whole time that maybe one day I could run a half marathon. Well, a while back I signed up for the Knoxville Half Marathon. The picture above is me before running. I was a little nervous because I so badly wanted to run the whole hilly thing without stopping...I was nervous to let myself down.
Then here I am at the finish line after RUNNING THE WHOLE THING WITHOUT STOPPING! 13.1 miles BOOM So cool to finish in Neyland Stadium too!
The day of the race, the kids choir sang because it was Palm Sunday. I was so disappointed to miss Palm Sunday and their choir, but John took several pictures.
My official time for the race wasn't amazing, but I was pretty proud of it with all the hills.
This month Dawson's troop had their awards ceremony.
There was a Tuesday we met Zoe at the mall for a chickfila lunch.
This month Nora Kate has been really into putting together her own outfits and wanting pictures. This particular day she wanted a braid, running shirt, running shorts, leg warmers, and tennis shoes.
This month John and I made a very, very quick down the Huntsville, Alabama. Since I'm posting this blog so far after the fact, I can share the details that this was when John was interviewing for a new job. I mentioned to a couple friends that I would be in town while John had a "meeting" and so I got to run by church and see Blakeley AND I got to have lunch at Jason's Deli with Kelly, Ruby, and Annie! SO fun!
Trip to Huntsville, means John HAD to go by Top Golf.
It seemed so funny to be back in Huntsville for 18 hours.
On our way back to Tennessee, we saw this beautiful rainbow...it was so bright...the picture does not do it justice at all.
The next day was Good Friday, which means the Easter Egg Hunt at church. Look at those baby goats!
Then on Easter Saturday, John and the boys ran the Resurrection5k Run. This was the first 5k Dawson and Carter have ever run. They ran the whole thing without stopping and did it in 32 minutes! SO proud!
That afternoon our neighbors, the Locklears, invited us to a fun Easter Egg hunt down on their cul-de-sac.
And it can't be Easter without a yummy bunny cake from Nana.
Easter this year was April 1st, so our actual Easter Day pictures won't be until the April post.
