Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Our family, the Gilmores, and Dad and Pat headed into downtown Raleigh today to view the annual St. Patrick's Day parade. The parade (lasting an hour and 45 minutes) was filled with Irish dancers, old cars, military groups, dogs, firetrucks, and just about anything else under the sun! It is quite an event.

We determined that just about anyone can enter the parade and are therefore trying to come up with our own float for next year!

Enjoy the shots! (As you can see, we really like the dogs!)

Winter Inning

Two weekends ago, our family attended the Y-Princess/Y-Guides event (Winter Inning) at the state fairgrounds. The indoor arena was filled with inflatables, face painting, balloon making, bingo, and concessions. Kate and her tribemates, as well as Lauren, bounced, climbed and participated in the various activities for over two hours.

Chillin' on the way to the event

Balloon animals with friend Ella

Dad and Lauren give it a go

Kate is on the left

Our happy "cats" with tribemates Allie (left) and Ella

It's Official!

A couple of weeks ago, Lauren took her first step towards owning her own "card"...

She signed up for her own library card!

She took her time signing the back of the card, trying very hard to keep her name on the line. We think she did a great job!


Now the whole family has library cards and can check out books. However, trying to keep track of what books are on what account is a whole other story.

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone has a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

May the spirit of this holiday season
continue to bless you in the year ahead.

Love-
Mark, Karin, Kate and Lauren

Turkey Trot

Kate recently participated in her school's 2nd annual Turkey Trot, an event to raise money for the purchasing of Smart Boards for their classrooms. Each class made special turkey hats for the big race and had the opportunity to have a photo taken with the turkey himself.


The 2nd grade had to run 2 laps around the track. Here are some shots of Kate in full stride.

Happy 5th Birthday, Lauren!

Despite being over a week late, our birthday wishes for Lauren remain the same...

Happy 5th Birthday to a very special girl!

Thank you for always bringing a smile to our faces and brightening our days. You're beautiful both inside and out, and we couldn't imagine life without you. You are a true blessing to those around you and we wish you only the best life has to offer. May love and happiness continue to follow you each and every day.

We Love You!

The Cat and the Butterfly

Better late than never...

Our girls dressed up as a cat and a butterfly for Halloween this year. Despite the rain on Halloween night, the girls enjoyed trick-or-treating while sporting their costumes of choice.

I felt they were too cute not to post!