Soccer Saturday

Spring soccer season has begun.  Today was our third weekend of play, but the first weekend it actually felt like spring.  It is so fun watching our kids get into the game and enjoy themselves.  Guess I have officially become a soccer mom!  Ella Catherine has a new coach this year.  She was a little nervous because she was playing her old team this morning.  They tied 3-3.

Carter is on a whole new team too.  I think he coach is the cutest!  :)  His team fought hard but couldn't ever quite get in their groove.  They lost 3-1.

Getting some last minute guidance from coach

Ready for kick off

What you can't see in the picture is that Ella Catherine was using her body to block the ball.  Super proud of her aggressiveness.

Making a run at it.  She got so close to a goal on this one that I might have yelled shoot it a bit too loud and broken my promise not to yell.

Keeping her eye on the ball

LOVE her hustle

See, I told you Carter's coach was a cutie!  Matt giving carter's team some last minute instructions

Although it makes me a nervous wreck, I do love watching him play goalie.  He really has been practicing hard and shown some great progress

See that kid on the ground blocking that goal kick?  That is Carter!!  Way to go Bud

Goal Kick!!!

I was too quick with the camera on this one!  but right after this Coach and player/Father and son shared a high five.

Love this pic because Matt has been working with both kids on their throw ins.  It paid off.

Princess/Super Hero Day

Today was Princess/Super Hero Day at Cassidy's daycare.  She initially wanted to be Batman.  That is the beauty of having an older brother and sister, her options were WIDE open.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find brother's batman cape.  In the process, we looked through all of Ella Catherine's princess costumes from when she was little.  No to Cinderella, No to Snow white, No to Tinkerbell, No to sleeping beauty and No to princess Sophia.  But a BIG yes to building her own princess costume starting with a tutu.  Thanks to our good friends and hand me downs we had a Rapunzel shirt and she just happens to be Cassidy's favorite princess.  The rest just fell into place and Ella Catherine helped put the finishing touches with her socks from her dance recital some years ago.  LOVE my free spirit!!  Guarantee that no one else had the same costume.

So Happy

So proud of her outfit

Easter with Mimi

 Family photo with Mimi.  

Family Picture after church.

Ella Catherine's 9th birthday

Ella Catherine had a big time celebrating her 9th birthday.  The morning of her birthday she had soccer try-outs and then the celebration kicked off with a bowling birthday party that afternoon with her friends.   Then on Sunday, Matt, Ella Catherine, my dad (AKA Pop) and I went to watch the USA women's  soccer team take on France.  It was a beautiful day and luckily our seats were not in the sun, it was perfect.  Even better was USA won in a down to the last second goal.  It was such a fun and exciting game to watch.  While we were at the game, Nana was home with Carter and Cassidy.  They had dinner all ready for us and we had a nice birthday celebration dinner with all of ella Catherine's requests.  Hamburgers, macaroni and cheese and green beans.

Her big gift this year was a family trip to go gold and gem mining in Dahlonega, Georgia.  Ella Catherine is our young geologist in the making.  She LOVES rocks and learning about all the different types of gems and stones.  This trip was amazing.  We went to Consolidated Gold mines.  When it was up and running, it was the largest mine East of the Mississippi.  We had a great tour of the mine and then the kids went gold and gem mining.  The kids each went away with a bag of precious stones.  We had intended on spending the night in Dahlonega; however, we finished up at the mine a lot sooner than we anticipated.  So, we decided to head back to Chattanooga to play a little.  We had hoped to get back in town in time to go to the children's museum or the aquarium, but unfortunately they were both about to close as we rolled into Chattanooga.  So, we went to the park where we played and road the carousel instead.  It was Cassidy's first carousel ride.  She was a little fearful at first but when it was over she said she loved it.  We went out to dinner and then we drove back home as sleeping in our own beds sounded nice!  A great two weekends spent celebrating our first born.  She challenges us in so many ways every day but she also teaches us so much every day.  We are very blessed and lucky to be her parents.

Birthday girl with her bowling ball cake pops ready for the party to start

Birthday shirt #9

Nissan Stadiun ready to cheer on the USA womens soccer team

watching the players enter the Stadium

Group Selfie (amy, matt and the birthday girl)

Pop and Ella Catherine

Father and daughter/ Nashville skyline

Loaded in and on our way to our family adventure in Dahlonega, Ga

Ready to get this party started

Waiting on our tour guide for the mine tour

Going down into the mine

The large hole you see was the largest Quartz Vein that they extracted from this mine.  It contained the largest amount of gold ever taken out of the mine in a single day.

Under ground

Pointing out a small quartz vein

Cassidy wasn't so sure initially when we were going down into the mine, but once we were underground she loved it! 

Larger view of the underground tunnels

After the tour we were all set to start mining ourselves

Ella Catherine panning for gold

Still panning

Matt helping Cassidy pan for Gold

Matt Panning

Success!  He found 4 flakes of gold

Matt helping Cassidy pan for gold

Success!  she found 2 flakes of gold

What she was really excited for, gem mining

Carter gem mining 

Cassidy showing off one of her stones

Very important decision.  Which animal to ride.  Cassidy picking out her first carousel ride.

And she chose the Tiger.  Ella Catherine chose the Rabbit

And Carter chose the horse

After the carousel we went and played at the park.  This is part of the water park.  In the summer animals like this elephant each squirt out water.   It was a beautiful park.

Big kids and Matt played some football in the park while Cassidy and I went and looked at the river and other sites at the park.

First snow of 2016

Winter is officially here!  We have had our first and second snowfall of the year all in the last week.  First snow fall came on Tuesday January 19th.  We got the call from the kids school the evening before that school would be out.  So, Matt and I just waited to see what would come our way.  Would the roads be driveable to take the kids to the school snow care site or would we be working from home.  Well, it started out as freezing rain, then sleet and then large snowflakes started falling.  This was all by 8:00am.  When the precipitation changed to snow, Matt and I knew because Cassidy was overjoyed and started running through the house saying "It's snow time, It's snow time!"  I was working in my office but when she asked to go outside, Matt let her...no coat, no hat.  Gotta love dads.  All I got was a shout out from my husband that I was "missing it".  When I came into the room and looked out on our back porch I saw our cute little munchkin in complete awe and amazement of the snow falling all around her.  She was in LOVE!  Well by 11am it warmed up and what little snow that had fallen was gone.  We had 3 sad kiddos.  Little did we know that we had a snowfall coming unlike any they had ever seen in their lifetime.  The news Thursday promised 3-6 inches of the white stuff.  We got the call about school closing again that evening,  In anticipation of the weather coming there would be no school Friday.  We were prepared.  Matt had already prepared to work from home.  I had to be at the hospital.  I was on call that weekend and per our inclement weather policy I had to be at work.  So, I left the house at 6:30am and the snow was already falling in downtown Nashville.  Did we get our promised 3-6 inches.  No.  We got 6-10 inches depending on where in the Nashville area you lived.  It was terrible for driving, but so GOOD for sledding and all the fun snow activities like snow ball fights and building snowmen and snow forts.  Boy did those sleds from Grams and Grandpa come in handy!  To say the kids had a ball is a complete understatement.  Unfortunately we don't have many pictures but lots of great memories and a few fun videos.

This is Cassidy after her first adventure outside without her snow gear. snow in hair

Sisters!  Cassidy talked Ella Catherine into getting on her snow gear and heading out with her for a bit

LOVE this picture my neighbor sent me.  Fun in the snow building snowman with friends

LOVE this picture! Carter and some neighborhood friends and classmates enjoying some sledding and snowball fights

This little one could not get enough of the snow,  This was taken on Today when most of the snow had started to melt but we still had a big mound on our deck.  She came home from school and asked to put on her snow gear to go out and play in the snow.  She then proceeded to tell me as I was snapping this picture that she didn't know how to build a snowman.  Sister to the rescue.  She geared up and went out to help build her an olaf while I cooked dinner.