Little Gymnast

I held out for almost 5 years on getting Ashley involved in any activities. However, we let her start taking gymnastics in January, and she LOVES it. It is just an hour a week and right after school, so I don't feel terribly over-scheduled at this point.

Ashley has always been a climber. Instead of the gymnastics giving her an outlet for her urge to climb, flip, etc., I think it has actually built up her confidence to the point where she is an absolute daredevil! She will dangle from any elevated surface and is the queen of the monkey bars.

She got 3 new leotards for her birthday - all pink & all sparkly - so she is nearly as excited about the outfits as she is the activity!

Loco Ropes

We started our Spring Break with a trip to Mountain View to visit the Fowlkes. We decided to try out a new outdoor ropes course/zip line called Loco Ropes. It is next to the Ozark Folk Center and really cool! The little ones weren't tall enough to participate, so they stayed down below with Tyler who is recovering from surgery on a severely broken arm.

The beginner course was closed, so after some training, Jeff, Jennifer, Nathan, Will and I tackled Course 2. It started out pretty easy, but soon became higher and more challenging. The scariest part was a 40-ft platform that you had to free fall from before your rope caught you. The zip line at the end of the course was everyone's favorite part. If you are ever in the area and the weather is nice, you should give it a try.

On Sunday, we went for a hike and then went back to see the spring. This time, I had a camera with me and took a few pictures.

Ashley@5

It's hard to believe that my "baby" turned 5 yesterday! I had a hard time when Nathan turned 5, but it was a little easier this time around. I'm not sure why, but she still seems little to me. I just thought I would share a few things about my little girl:

1. Her favorite colors are "pink & rainbow".
2. After school, if she's not crossing the monkey bars, then she's chasing boys on the playground.
3. If she tells us what she is about to do she says, "I'm gonna-bouta _______."
4. Her best friends in the world are Lydia, Brooke, and her teacher Ms. Jefferson.
5. She's got her momma's sweet tooth and likes to get into my stash of the good chocolate.

Happy Birthday, Ashley! We love you!

Back to Wednesday school

Lily started back to Wednesday school this morning. I'm a little sad because this could be our last session of Wednesday school. I'm trying to get Lily in a five day preschool this Fall....we'll see!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Amanda-what do you think?

I thought of Amanda as soon as saw these weird things...i think they are still considered shoes??



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Almost 5!!!

We celebrated Ashley's 5th birthday at the LR Athletic Club Moomba Maze on Sunday. It's my all-time favorite place to throw a kid's party because they do everything - even party favors and ordering the cake (which BTW was from Mickey's and perhaps the best tasting birthday cake ever!)

It was raining on Monday, so Ashley got to wear her new raincoat and rain boots from Meme and Pop to school.

Quick Trip to Memphis

Last weekend, we took a day trip to the Memphis Zoo to enjoy the beautiful weather. We made it just in time for the polar bear feeding. There were so many people at the zoo that the kids had to squeeze through the crowd to get close enough to watch the bears dive underwater for the fish. (No pictures as I did not try to squeeze through the crowd.)

It was far less crowded by the time we made our way to the pandas. They put on a pretty good show for us.

Unlike her brother, Ashley is not all about the zoo. She would much rather be swinging on a nearby railing than watching the animals. She did, however, love this turtle. It seemed to follow her back and forth as she moved along the outside of the exhibit.

Nathan with his favorite animals - the tigers.

Both kids loved anything they could climb on or in.

Little Rockers

As Renee pointed out to me in an email earlier today, I have been neglecting the ol' blog lately. It's not for lack of trying or lack of blog-worthy events, but that I've just not had much free time lately. For the moment, I will ignore the chores that are calling me downstairs and post a few pictures...

The first weekend in March, Nathan ran with 30+ kids from his school in the Little Rockers Kids' Marathon. They have been running both at school and at home for several months to and keeping up with miles logged. They were supposed to complete 25 miles before race day and then they ran the 26th mile to complete their "marathon". In all, there were over 1800 kids that participated!

Penguin Pointe

We (along with hundreds of our closest fellow zoo members) attended the ''sneak peak" at the long-awaited penguin exhibit at the LR Zoo yesterday. I was so glad that we went early, because the line was insanely long when we left! It was really cool and a much needed update to our zoo. We won't be going back for the Grand Opening today, but I'm sure we will visit again soon.




















- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Reading Rodeo

The boys had Reading Rodeo at school today so they got to go to school dressed as cowboys. Yew-Haw!! I'm not sure what reading has to do with cowboys, but they have it every year and the kids always look forward to it!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone