Train riders

The kids had a blast riding the train to Rock Hill for a visit. Thanks for picking us up and dropping us back at the station, D!

New Bed!

Jack finally outgrew his crib, so we put an old queen size bed that we had in there. He loves it. Now we have extra room for guests as well, if we can get all of his "babies" (stuffed animals) off of it!

Tumblebus

iBA Tumbler Tumblebus is a program where the kids get to practice some age-appropriate gymnastics type play. The company would literally take a bus and turns it into a mobile gym, and it would come every week for the kids to participate. Jack and Lily loved it, (when they were still in daycare). In May, they had their end of year celebration, sort of like a recital, where the kids displayed their talents, then had a big party afterwards. Lily loves her buddy AJ.

Clowns and snow...

So, after the circus, nothing would do except to go to school dressed as a 'girl-clown.'


She still asks 'where's the circus', now going on 2 months later.

Then in March, we visited Cindy's mom in the mountains.


We had a ball!

Cornwallis in Hillsborough!

The weather was perfect for the Revolutionary War re-enactors to put on a little demonstration. Apparently, Cornwallis camped in Hillsborough for a few days in February of 1781. So, the Rev. War buffs use that time to do their thing. It wasn't a big deal, but it was interesting. They had typical camp items, guns, food, etc. Then they put on a short exhibition of marching and firing the muskets. You can see what Lily thinks of the muskets! The scream you hear in the video isn't Lily, but she probably agrees with the screamer!

Valentine Parties

Valentine's Day parties at the daycare. We waited to leave for RH so they could go to these parties, and that's why we got into the snow (see below). Wouldn't have missed it! Jack had any especially good time with his buddies. The one in the #5 shirt is Karsten, Jack's main partner in crime. They are usually separated during anytime the teacher's want to get anything done! Ada (short dark hair in the front left) is the only girl in the group, but she prefers it that way! She's just as rambunctious as the boys!

Day Out with Thomas, Part IV

Day out with Thomas, part III

Day out with Thomas, part II

Day out with Thomas!

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Holy smoke. It is impossible to describe the pure unadulterated joy that was had by the little ones at the "Day Out with Thomas" event at the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC. For those who don't know, "Thomas the Tank Engine" is a favorite of the under 6 set, and they bring an actual, real, live coal-fired engine dressed up like Thomas to various locations. They also bring tons of other fun stuff for the kids, and the transportation museum is also really fun.

We started off the day lounging in our Thomas Engineer hats and blowing our Thomas Whistles (very dang loud). Soon there was a "No blowing the whistle in the house" rule in effect, although it was largely ignored. Then we made the 1.5 hour trip to Spencer. As soon as we got there, it was like meeting Elvis (before the fat), the Beatles, and the Pope all at once. Just pure excitement. They were about to pop. Cindy and I just couldn't help but laugh for about the first 30 minutes because they went berserk.

Eventually we got to ride in one of the coaches Thomas was pulling. That was the highlight. Then they had little tables of Thomas themed toys set up everywhere for the kids to play with. That seemed to be a big hit. Also the model trains got lots of attention. Of course, there were things to buy, and we did our part to support the economy, and the Thomas empire. It took approximately 3.2 miles for sleep to set in as we left the museum.

Jane's and Bill's

Another great trip to the NC mountains to see Aunt Jane and Uncle Bill! Feeding the fish, feeding the birds, swimming in the lake (toe-touching, it was cold), and generally 'hanging out.' What could be better?