Ride 'Em Cowboy!

A couple of weeks ago, Kate's preschool had a hoedown for the 4-year-old classes. The days prior to the event, the kids created belt buckles, vests, bandannas, and horses to wear and ride at the hoedown. They sang songs by the "campfire," ate trail mix and played games. Kate had a blast and talked about it for days. We even have her horse, Emily, at our house. Luckily the horse doesn't eat too much hay.

Enjoy the picture of Kate with two of her friends!

Family Fun

Mark has been tracked out for the past couple of weeks and returns to work on Thursday. We decided to take advantage of our family time and headed out last week for a fun-filled day. Our first stop was the Hurricanes practice. We arrived at 11am to find out the practice had been pushed to 11:30. Luckily our girls found ways to amuse themselves for a 1/2 hour. It's amazing how much fun steps can be!

We finally got inside the arena and enjoyed watching the players skate around the rink, practice drills, and take shots at the goal. Kate and Lauren had fun sampling various seats. Kate typically chose seat #4 on each row since that's her age.

After the practice, we grabbed some lunch and headed to Pullen Park for a family picnic. Once full, the girls and I took a ride on the Carousel. Both girls selected ostriches as their animal of choice. We went around SEVERAL times due to the slow season. Next stop...the playground.

We tried out both the yellow and blue slides. Kate's method was usually facing forward. Lauren prefers going feet first on her belly. Whatever makes it fun!

The day ended with a walk through the park picking flowers and making bouquets to take home. We had a wonderful time as a family and look forward to our next outing! Enjoy!

Chopsticks aren't just for Chinese food anymore!

A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I got take out from P.F. Chang's. They included 2 sets of chopsticks which we chose not to use. The girls, however, found them very useful for eating their penne pasta...their own special way. Chopsticks fit perfectly through the noodles!

The Next Mia Hamm?

Kate had her first soccer game this past weekend. This is her first season playing soccer and she seems to enjoy the game so far. We just have one minor problem...she doesn't see the importance of kicking the ball during the game. (She does kick her ball during practice.) She is more than happy to run with the pack, but is very polite and lets anyone around her kick the ball first! So, looks like we have a few things to learn about the game in the upcoming weeks.

She may not be the next Mia Hamm, but she sure looks cute in her soccer attire! (Photos courtesy of Ryan Gilmore Photography)