Nate's First Soccer Game

Nate had his first soccer game. I haven't seen a lot of soccer games in my lifetime, but 3 year olds playing soccer makes for a game like none other. Here are some video clips and pictures. Like in all movies, there is a warning...camera woman has a big mouth so please adjust your volume accordingly. Enjoy the show!

On this first sequence of play, Nate needed to sit back and watch a little. Notice he plants his feet very well.

At least now he's trying to get in the game.

Now Nate has the hang of it. Dad had him convinced that falling down was fun, but after the second tumble a little later, Nate made it clear that 'falling down is NOT fun.'

Check out that form! He gets the tongue hanging out from his mom.

Nate's cutest fan.

Summer Fun!

I'm going to go back in time to the summer. I haven't shared many, if any, of these pictures and it will be a kind of picture diary of how we spent our summer. We did lots of traveling. Our most frequent trips were to the grandparents' houses and our longest trip was a venture up north for a family reunion. All in all it was a great summer, and now that we're back in the swing of hectic school days, we miss it a little. Hope you enjoy!

The kids enjoyed swimming lessons. They both started out pretty much deathly afraid of the water. MariCagle made the most progress turning into a real fish. Nate is doing much better though still a little wary. They both love doing cannon balls - one of many great tricks dad taught them.

On our visits to the grandparents we had loads of fun as always! At Nana and Pa's we got to visit the butterfly and horticultural centers with Nana and Jodie. As MariCagle describes it..."The butterflies were flying all around us. They weren't even in cages at all." And Grammy and PopPop took us to the Sunflower festival to enjoy the sunflowers, ofcourse, as well as pony rides and face painting.

MariCagle and Nate also had the honor of serving as flower girl and ring bearer in Cindy and Newman's wedding. It being the third wedding they were in together, they were old pros. It was a beautiful wedding and they had lots of fun at the reception, especially once their dad showed them how to break dance. Cake was the only thing that could take them away from the dance floor.

MariCagle and Nate got to spend a lot of time with Cindy and Newman while they were home for the summer. Cindy and Newman took them to a Braves game and fishing on several occasions. No flower girl or ring bearer has ever been treated so nicely! (Cindy's the one behind the camera.)

MariCagle was convinced she wanted to play softball this summer. We were a little skeptical since she doesn't particularly like to "get sweaty." But we let her and she enjoyed it...in the beginning. I think Nate would have gladly taken her place on the team and she would have let him by the time the end of the season rolled around.



Our last hoorah for the summer was a trip north with Nana and Pa to a family reunion. Yes, we drove all the way up north, making a pit stop along the way to visit Stacy and Jim. Though it was a long car ride, it was well worth it. MariCagle and Nate loved the underground room (or as others may know it, the basement) in Stacy and Jim's new house. And they had a blast at the family reunion as there were lots of other kids to play with. They especially loved Gerald's farm where they got to play on tractors and bulldozers, check out a real barn, pick apples and wander around in a corn field. We are so thankful we got to make the trip and spend that time with Grandma and all of her family!

So that about sums up our summer....lots of family fun! So much that these are just a few highlights. As I think back on it, I am so thankful! We are so blessed with such wonderful family and friends. It is amazing! I love you all!

Here We Are...

I've been putting this blogging stuff on hold, but now that Brandon has set this up, I guess I'll run with it. So here we are...
MC has started kindergarten and after her first three weeks is loving it. She has gotten accustomed to the routine and has made lots of new friends. She's also back to her violin and ballet lessons and has added the school chess club and an art class to her list of activities. It sounds like a lot but she's having a blast.


Nate has started school too and only wishes he was there everyday! He's also playing soccer this season. Finally, an outlet for all that energy with which only little boys are blessed. So needless to say we're staying busy, but having lots of fun doing it all.


As for Brandon and I, I need only say it's college football season. We are especially loving it as Tech and UF are undefeated as of yet! Go Jackets! Go Gators! Stay tuned for more of our family happenings.

First post!

Just a test...I'm setting this up to bring you the best of MC and Nate! Stay tuned!