Cicada Party!

At the bus stop Monday morning, we shared that the cicadas had come out in full force in our yard. The kids went to school and we went about our day. At the end of the school day, the bus dropped the kids off on the corner of our street just as it does every day, and all of a sudden I started to hear people talking, and it sounded like they were right outside the front door. When I opened the door, this is what I found! There was a party in our front yard. The kids were fascinated with them and I think really the adults were too. Seems like so far, we are the house with the most of these gross bugs hatching on our street. Oh Joy! It is kinda neat to watch them come out of their shell on the tree, but not so much when they fly at you!!! The last picture here is one John apparently got of me while the party was going on, and he likes to call that my "Oh please" look.
 
 
 

The Golf Star!

We've spent many hours following Maison around the golf course! Golf is his thing. He asks to go almost every day after school. John took a picture at his tournament in April and the other is showing off his new hat...I just love that smile! We have lots of great pictures of Maison actually playing golf, so stay tuned for another post!
 
 

Kenzie and the Bonnet!

Today, Kenz has a field trip where they will visit a couple Civil War sites. They are supposed to dress up. We borrowed a dress from a friend in the neighborhood and I went about the process of making a bonnet to match. Here's Kenz in her outfit! I think she looks adorable!!!
 

Noticing a Pattern?!?

If the previous posts left any question, this is how we spend most weekends! Here are a few shots of Kenzie in action!
 
 
 
 

Salt Map

Kenz had a school project to make a salt map of Tennessee. The first day it was assigned, she came home requesting supplies. For days she asked us when we would get her the large piece of card board she needed. She stayed on us until we had what she needed and then she finished it over a week before it was due! Kenzie did a wonderful job on it and seemed to enjoy getting to use her creativeness in the process. I love that she is loving school!
 
 

More Soccer!

 
 
 

April Soccer Friendly

Here are some pics of Kenz in action!
 
 
 
 

Trees!

Some views of trees from around our house! John has gotten back into picture taking, so you might see more regular blogging from me!
 
 
 
 

Kenzie's Room!

This week was spent prepping and painting Kenzie's room. She picked the color to match her bedding and I think it turned out pretty cute!!! She loves it and her room finally feels like it's hers. The color is called Center Stage, but after looking at it all day yesterday(while painting), I renamed it Granny Smith Apple. Regardless of the name, it is fun and bright just like Kenzie, so I think it's a great color pick!
 
 
 

Golf Practice

Maison was set on getting some sticks from the hardware store this weekend. When we got back in town yesterday afternoon, he demonstrated their use for John! You can see for yourself in the video below. He's so ready to be out on the golf course...tomorrow is the day the course opens, so hopefully the weather will improve!

Knoxville!

This weekend we traveled to Knoxville, TN for Kenzie's first soccer tournament with her new team. Yesterday was a beautiful day with a little cool wind, but enough sunshine to get some color on our lovely faces! Today was another story as seen in exhibits A, B, and C. The bottom fell out at Kenzie's first game and they called it with Kenzie's team up by one...it was their only win of the weekend. The second game they played today was in the midst of a torential downpour! It was probably Kenzie's best game of her soccer career, with a slide tackle (which isn't legal at her age, but it was beautiful!) and lots of great defense. She got a little muddy, but it was a great game and she had a blast!
 
 
 

School is F-U-N!

Here Kenz is getting ready for school! You will see that her sock is on her hand and she has a ponytail on the top of her head. She didn't go to school looking like this, but we did have a fun laugh...she is always up to something! Maison school starts at 7:30 and Kenzie's starts at 8:30, so she has very laid back school mornings and plenty of time to entertain us and herself as well!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Christmas was upon us so quickly, we were only able to enjoy our decorations for about a week, but since the decorations aren't the true reason we celebrate Christmas, it was kind of refreshing. We did leave the tree up with lights on it until after New Years. We changed things up a little this year and spent our first Christmas in our home. In years past, we've traveled every Christmas to be with family. This Christmas we went to a Christmas Eve service at our church and Christmas morning we woke up in our new home to breakfast casserole and monkey bread while we opened presents. Just before lunch we packed up and drove to my folks to spend a couple days with them. The boys enjoyed some hunting and the girls relaxed and visited with family.

After two and a half months of transition, it finally seems like we are settling in to our new home. The kids are off on their third day in their new schools (it is really quiet around the house)! The faculty and staff at both schools are super friendly and have made the transition a lot easier for all of us. So far we've gotten good reports from the kiddos!