Summer Holidays

We've had a fun, relaxed summer so far.  I have shots from both Father's Day and the Fourth of July to share....

For Father's Day, Brandon and MC did a duathlon together.  It included a 2 mile run, followed by a 9 mile bike and finished with another 2 mile run.  MC did great and Brandon was one proud, happy Dad.  Nate, Caz and I had a great time hanging out and watching them pass us by each leg.

Pre-race...

All set up at the transition station...

A little face time with their biggest fan...

Coming around the first loop of the 9 mile bike...

And the second loop...

She was the last to come in on the bike which disappointed her a bit.  But she used it as motivation to track down two ladies in front of her on the run.  So ultimately, she finished in front of them.  Brandon said he couldn't believe how determined she was.  Check her out with her tracking face headed out on the last leg...

Coming up to the finish line, everyone cheered her on.  The finish area was abuzz with talk about the young girl racing with her dad...

All done...finishing with a hug from her very proud Dad as her very proud Mom and brothers cheered her on...

We had to get up pretty early to get to the race, so between the early start and the race itself, she was pooped and passed out on the ride home...

We enjoyed a fun-filled 4th with neighborhood fun.  Below are shots of the neighborhood parade which we followed with afternoon fun at a neighbor's pool.  We will finish off the night with fireworks courtesy of another of our hospitable neighbors.  So much to be thankful for on this holiday...

My three angels in their red, white and blue which includes Braves jerseys for Nate and Caz or should I say, Heyward and McCann.

MC decorated and pushed Caz's stroller in the parade.  A friend of hers joined her for the parade walk.

Nate was all about speed on the route.  I missed him completely as he came around to finish.

The girls put the jogging stroller to the test as they tried to keep up with the bikes.  As I watched, I was afraid Caz might get frightened, but he just pulled himself up as far as he could as if to say, "Faster, faster!"

Posing for a group picture...

We wish everyone a very happy summer!!

Visitors

With our trips back home limited this summer, we truly appreciated our special visitors in our second week of summer vacation!  Aunt Kristen braved a flight with Hudson and baby Evangeline all on her own to come see us, and we are so grateful!  We all loved spending time with them doing lots of fun things.  We got to take Hudson and Evangeline to a state park for a picnic and water park fun.  And we enjoyed a trip to the children's museum.  Nate was super excited to have them come to one of his baseball games too.  We hope Hudson and Evangeline enjoyed it all as much as we did, and that Aunt Kristen has fully recovered from the stress of the flights. :)

Caz and Evangeline were mildly curious of one another this visit, but as they grow older, I know they'll have lots of fun together since they are so close in age.

 Caz surprised us as he went for Evangeline's cheek.  We like to say he's giving her a kiss, but it's probably more accurate to say he's giving her a taste. :)

Nate and Hudson were busy, busy playing together....

Nate at his ballgame, trying not to eye his special spectators.

Picnic and water park at one of our great state parks...

 

 

My camera battery died before we got to the water park, but BL did get this one of Caz with his phone... 

Caz and Evangeline pose in the big chair at the museum...

 

We had a great week!  We hope we were able to show Hudson, Evangeline and Kristen a good time too!

Back Home

Summer is in full swing, but I need to go back to the beginning.....Mari Cagle, Caz and I started the summer with a trip back home over Memorial Day weekend.  It was a busy weekend to say the least, but fun as always.  Mari Cagle had lots of fun with all the kids as Jack, Winnie and James were all there too.  She got lots of practice babysitting as the grown-ups had all kinds of parties and showers to attend.  She is such a great helper and her cousins all love her.  It's going to be hard to wait until the Fall to see everyone again, but we'll make do with Skype and lots of phone calls.  Hugs to everyone!

 Caz loved all the new toys.  He had just learned to sit up and scoot around a little before the trip.  Playing with the big kids, Winnie and Jack, he certainly perfected his new skills.

  As these three get older, they are really going to enjoy each other!!

What a beautiful pair at Aunt Jodie's baby shower!

We had time for a very short visit with Grammy & PopPop too.  We were so grateful that Aunt Kim & Uncle Britton were able to come down and bring Quinn and Payton to play for a little while.  It was a short trip, but very sweet.  I didn't get any good pictures of the three girls together, but they had fun as always at Uncle Tim & Aunt Sharon's awesome pool and playing house and dress-up.  Such beautiful, sweet girls, it's really a shame I didn't get my camera out!!!

Caz got to take a bath in a big boy tub.  He really enjoyed it, as you can tell, lots of fun toys and room to splash around.  We are having to make the transition a permanent one back home; he's taken to the splashing so much, it's made the baby tub impossible!

It was such a short visit, and so far between our next.  If it weren't for the milder summer temps and lush green grass here, we'd really be hating the Midwest! :)

Happy Birthday Nate! Part 2

Today we continued the celebration of Nate's birthday with a few of his friends for a baseball party.  We met at home for cupcakes, peanuts and cracker jacks, and then headed to a Husker baseball game.  Despite all the rain we've had in the last few days, it was great weather this afternoon with nice breezes and seats in the shade.  We all had a great time!

 I always love doing the invitations, cakes, decorations and party favor bags, so I'm proud of my handy work.

 The birthday boy blows out the candle and makes a wish.

Ready for the game, stopping just long enough on our way in to humor mom with a picture.

I wasn't sure how the attention spans would fare for 9 full innings, but the boys were pretty focused on the game waiting and hoping for a foul ball to be hit our way.

After the game, they posed one more time for mom.  We cheered the Huskers to victory in their final game of the season.

Though today was all about Nate, I got some cute shots of MC and Caz too.  This was Caz's first baseball game so it was a great occasion for him too.  He was a trooper all 9 innings as well.  He didn't even nap until the ride home!

He has a real fascination with Brandon's baseball hats.  He always reaches for it and pulls it off so he can, of course, eat it. :)

MC was hoping just as much as the boys that she might get a chance to catch a foul ball.  She brought her mitt and everything.

We had a great time celebrating and enjoying the Husker game.  It was a great 7th birthday that we hope Nate will always remember.

Happy Birthday Nate! Part 1

Hi all!  Today our Nate turns 7!! Yes, 7!!  Today, on his birthday, we begin the celebration.  We got up a little early this morning for a pan-'cake' breakfast and opening presents.  Nate will thank you himself, but THANK YOU to his grandparents and all his aunts and uncles for such a showering of gifts.  It was definitely a special morning and Nate loved every gift.  It's a miracle we got him off to school. :)

There are many things I love about this 7 year old, not the least of which is his genuine excitement at everything.  He just has a way of always displaying such an unmitigated, undeniable excitement in everything he does.  It's amazing the thrill I get just from watching him!  Behold, Nate's many faces of joy...

"Is this what I think it is?!?!"

"I am so proud. I am going to love and take such good care of Hedwig for Harry."

"Woooaaaahhhhh!"

"I don't believe this!"

"Eeeek!"

"Really?!?!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

And yes, he was hugging his sister for her gift of a lacrosse stick! As you know Nate exhibits great enthusiasm for all things collegiate, but primarily football in the fall, baseball about CWS time in June, and basketball March Madness.  This weekend he took it to the next level including collegiate lacrosse in his obsession.  It stemmed from ESPN's airing of the NCAA Lacrosse tournament.  Nate watched the last 20 minutes of the UVA game (Go Cavs Uncle Newman!), and then headed out back to play a little make-shift lacrosse himself.  I wish I had taken a picture, but he had his soccer net out and was using Albert's throwing toy as a stick.  And he went at it recreating the match he had just watched.  So of course, that night he announced that he wanted a lacrosse stick for his birthday.  MC was the only one who hadn't actually made her purchase yet, so she made up her mind and got lots of hugs for her generosity.

"Awesome, a tetherball!"  You should have seen his face when he realized the ball came with a pole in the backyard ready for play!

Nate has been begging for a tetherball for months.  He had even gone so far as to ask me for some duct tape and rope one afternoon so he could make one himself and hang it from the basketball hoop.  We decided then to put one in the backyard for him.  Brandon began the project last weekend covering with the story that he was fixing the sprinkler system.  The cover worked like a charm and Nate was very surprised this morning.  It should make for some great summer fun.

And the face of an intense sportsman, tongue hanging out and all.

We will pick up the celebration with pizza tonight for supper and a small birthday party this weekend.  So look for Part Two sometime this weekend. And thank you everyone for such generous birthday wishes!!

Caz's New Tricks - 6 months

Caz is a growing baby!  He's six months now and is up to all the fun 6-month-old tricks.  He is pretty good at sitting up now, a little weeble-wobbly, but getting better and stronger everyday.  He can pretty much roll anywhere he wishes and he loves playing on the floor with his toys rolling every which way.  He has shown the beginning signs of crawling pushing up on to his knees.  No doubt he'll put together the moving his arms and knees in time, especially with Dad and MC trying to 'teach' him. :)  He is cooing and babbling a lot too.  I'm not sure you can count it as his first word, but he chants 'mama mama mama' when he is hungry and/or tired.  It certainly melts my heart.  And the last couple days he has started reaching out when you go to pick him up, another heart-melter.  The eating is going well too as he makes his way through the different veggies.  So he is growing fast and changing all the time.  And he is such a good sport with all the running around he does with his brother and sister's busy schedules.  He's a sweet, sweet boy and we love him to pieces here.  You can check out our sweetheart for yourself in these videos....

Mari Cagle on the Violin

I have several clips of Mari Cagle playing her violin.  She had her recital this afternoon at which she played Waltz in A Major by Mozart.  It's a beautiful piece and you might be able to tell that she is working on vibrato in her playing a bit.  It's a challenge, and she's just begun practicing the new skill which has been exciting for her.

As many of you may know, Brandon celebrated his birthday recently, and as a gift for her Dad, MC taught herself to play a version of the song, "My Little Buttercup" from the movie Three Amigos.  This is one of the songs that Brandon used to sing to Mari Cagle when she was a baby (not your typical lullaby but perfect for BL to sing to his babies).  Recently, it has become a popular tune again in our house to be sung to Caz.  Please excuse my terrible vocal accompaniment but she wanted Nate and I to sing along, and unfortunately you hear all me and very little Nate.  Needless to say, Brandon loved his surprise gift.

Have a great week!