Spring Soccer 2013

Dear Abigail,

You are back at  it, playing soccer like a super star, or well, at least when Ellie's not on the field with you...

 Yep, that's right.  The two of you can't seem to unlock hands.  And yes, we even had to keep you two from kissing last game!  This season is definitely a bit more relaxed than planned and while you do enjoy your time playing soccer, you aren't as focused this year.  You are still doing great though, and all I have to do is say "You can take a break when you make a goal" and then you make a goal.  :)  I know, I'm that mom.

 Your latest trick of the trade is when the ball starts going towards your goal, you run for your life to get in front of the goal, to play goalie, I presume.

 We're not sure why, or who taught you to do that, but you run like you are on fire to get to that goal, half the time missing the chance to get the ball and head the other way.

Maybe your calling is a goalie... Ellie's doing great, too, when she's not holding your hand...

And these two girls behind you just make me laugh.  Both are on your team.  One has her hands all wrapped up in her jersey and the other refused to put the jersey on!  Ahhh, 4 year olds and soccer - always a good time! 

 Here's you pointing at Ellie saying "I'm kicking it to you". Seriously, that's what you were doing.  Because we told Ellie if she scored she could have a break WITH you, so you decided to help her out and pass it to her...

 You girls.  There MAY be a switch up of teams next year, if Mommy has anything to do with it!!!
We love watching y'all play though.  Always puts a smile on our face!!
Good job goalie!! Love you!

Keeneland 2013

Dear Abigail,

This past weekend we went on our annual trip to the Keeneland Thoroughbred Races in Lexington, KY and stayed with Tripp, or as you call him, "my friend," because for some reason you refuse to remember what his name is.  If you recall (I assume you don't since you can't remember his name!), but the last time you two were together, we had the incident with the sunscreen and ended up opening all the windows because the house was full of fumes.  So yeah, you two get along very well.  We arrived on Friday and you two immediately went about your business playing hide and seek and destroying his room.  Friday night, the 'dults' went out to a fantastic dinner at a winery and we got a babysitter for the kiddos.  We were on Eastern time, so I wasn't too worried about you staying up later, or as late as Tripp, because if it was 9:00 there, that's only 8 our time.  I mentioned to the sitter that you may or may not want her to lay down with you, but that you did need to go to bed in Tripps room (he was sleeping in his parent's room).  Well... after a fun night out, I came home at 11:30 (eastern) and you were still awake!!! Tripp was out, but the sitter said you were waiting until I came home to go to sleep.  AHHHHHH!!  I immediately dropped everything and put you to bed, and fell asleep too :) 

The next morning was early, or at least earlier than usual and earlier than should have been considering your bed time the night before!, but it's what we had to do.  Mr. Roy and Miss Jenny made a little purchase a couple weeks before we came up.  This little purchase was our golden ticket to the races - an RV!!!  That's right, they bought a motor home and other than a small weekend camp out they did, it was their first time really taking it out.  We were all super excited, and could not wait to get on the road.  We got our things together and packed that bad boy tight, or well, not really because it's huge, but we took lots of stuff because, well, we could!  You and Tripp settled in at the kitchen table, with seat belts and all!  Shouldn't be a shocker, but you were thrilled to not be sitting in a car seat.  They said that for some reason you don't have to have a car seat in RV's, and since we weren't going that far, I was okay with it.  Still nervous, but you were buckled!  

We made it to the race and set up our fancy tailgate!  It was so nice to just pull these out of a fridge, and have extra clothes because it was quite chilly, oh, and have a bathroom right there for us!  You and Tripp got settled by eating lots of snacks and people watching.  Sooner than later (time crept up on us!) we changed our clothes (yep, that RV is awesome!) and headed to see the horses.  We found our seats and you immediately said "I think #4 will win."  When asked why you responded with "Because I'm four." as if that should have been a given.  Tripp's answer was always "I want whoever is going to win, to win."  This did not help his Daddy at all, but your Daddy actually took your advice and put money on #4 and won!!  It was the only time he won, too!!  Can you believe it.  You knew what you were talking about.
While it was a beautiful day of sunshine, it was pretty chilly, but we brought blankets and kept warm.  You enjoyed watching the first several races and then that late night decided to catch up with you...

We tried to go pet the 'friend' horses (these are the ones that take the race horse to the start line) and enjoyed the sunshine (our seats were covered so we didn't get the warmth of the sun!)...

But none of the horses came our way, so after a couple more races, Miss Jenny and I decided to take you kiddos back to the RV to rest.  On the way, we spotted the horse barn and finally got to get really close to the actual race horses!!

You seem all brave and all, but when it came time to actually touch the horse, you would back up.  I will say, a couple times, one of the horses got a little spooked and made a little jump that even scared me, so I can see why, but they sure were some pretty horses.

Back at the RV, we changed back  into play clothes and had some chocolate cake!  Delicious for sure!!

Sista went down for a nap (another RV trick!) and you and Tripp shut yourselves up in one of the bunks and were supposed to be watching a movie.  However, when we checked on you, you two had your faces at the window and you kept saying "we're watching them dance!".  We were parked beside a bus of folks that were having a Sorority/Fraternity Reunion, and, well, one day you will understand why this probably wasn't the best thing for you to be watching!  Eventually you guys came out and joined in on the dancing, impressing everyone.  And then Miss Jenny had some friends stop by and you two convinced one of them to play hide and seek with you for a long time!  When it was time for her to go you said "We should go to her house"!  She was sweet, and doesn't have kiddos of her own! The Daddy's met back up with us after all the races were over and we all enjoyed a fun afternoon tailgating. Finally it was time to head home (after all the traffic left!) and you and Tripp got comfortable!

What's kind of funny is Mr. Roy made like 10 checks on everything, making sure things were put up, latched up, set up correctly, you know, to make sure we were ready to roll.  Well, we started going and the door popped open!! HA, he checked everything but the actual door!  Mommy thought that was funny, until half way home, you and Tripp twirled around in that seat you were in and were facing door that once flew open!  Miss Jenny kind of got scared, but it wasn't nothing once we turned you back around!
On our way home, Mr. Roy took us through the Horse Farm and man alive is it not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.   I could  have just rode and rode and rode.  Well, except that I had two kiddos that were WAY ready for bed!
We got home, warmed up pizza and headed straight to bed, Mommy included!  We were all exhausted but it was SO fun.
The next morning, we got our stuff together to head out, but made one last stop at a delicious breakfast diner, which got us to drive right back through that horse farm.  Love it!  And loved this breakfast.  One of the best I have had.  And of course, you found one last horse to pet!

We said our goodbyes and promised we'd come back and actually stay the night in the camper for a football game.  You have asked 200 times when we are going back to 'my friend's' and I've had to tell you 200 times, not until November!  I think you had a blast.  No doubt.  We all did.  It's such a fun tradition that we do and gets better every year.  And we need to convince Mimi to buy one of those RVs!!!
Love you!

PS - This picture makes me smile...

And this one makes me laugh.  We told you we were going on an airplane and you informed me that all these friends HAD to go with you on said plane.  We will see.  Hopefully by then you will have forgotten.  Ha, who am I kidding...

Daddy, Donuts and Dates

Dear Abigail,

The weekend after Easter, Mommy had to go BACK to Mimi's for a baby shower for our cousin Kim and Marc.  I decided that you needed some Daddy time, so you stayed in town with Daddy while Mommy and Kate ran to Munford for the weekend.  Daddy came home from work a little early to stay with you, while Kate and I scooted off.  He promised you a special treat if you let him work from home for a couple hours and, apparently, you did...

 That's insane.  Daddy's a lot nicer than Mommy when it comes to picking out toppings.  You two met Ellie and fam for dinner on Friday night at Mexican, and to add to the fun (and sugar overdose) Daddy took you for donuts Saturday morning...

He's clearly trying to win you over.  Or maybe you've just won him over already and he'll do whatever you want.  Hmmmm....

You had a soccer game that morning, too, so maybe that was his strategy.  I'm not sure what went down during the day, but I can only assume it involved more sugar and possibly a movie.  That afternoon, you and Daddy went over to Ryan's house for a slumber party!!  You even got to roast marshmallows and make a few smores! 

 By the way, Daddy was a little nervous on the 'hair' part of having you to himself for the weekend, but I'd give him a C+.  Last time he just took you over to Miss Leigh's house to have her do it for him, but this time he sent proof before he went!

You had tons of fun at Ryan's and even slept in one of his 2 twin beds all night!  From what I hear, it wasn't your normal bedtime, but that's what weekends are for right?!

So on Sunday, Kate and I were making our way back and Daddy posts this pic on Facebook saying "I hope my wife doesn't get too mad that I'm taking Abby for a haircut." or something like that...

 Mommy freaked.  For sure.  I immediately tried calling and eventually got you on the phone saying "WE TRICKED YOU MOMMY!!"  Ha.  Ha.  Ha.  You and Daddy are not to be left alone again.  And, no, you did not get a hair cut.  Daddy did, and had the lady AND you act like you were getting one, including the comb in the hair and scissors in the hand.  Not cool Abs, not cool at all.  You thought it was awesome though, and so did a lot of folks on Facebook when they figured out it was a joke on Mom.
Thankfully Daddy sent this picture to me soon after saying "She's waiting on you."

I think you missed me even though I'm pretty sure you had the best weekend ever with Daddy.
On Monday, we went to a play date at Jacob and Anna's house where the 3 of you (and sometimes Kate) ventured through the woods on hikes and stuff.  We finally had some beautiful weather and everyone enjoyed being outside.
On Tuesday, you had another date.  It was Donuts with Dad day at school.  You were super excited and not just because of the donuts.  Daddy doesn't get to go to your school too often, so he was super excited, too!

Daddy said you gave him a beautiful picture frame (that he took straight to work)...

 And wrote a little biography on him.  Most of this is true...

 You also had donuts, of course, and apparently had a donut "that was even better than the chocolate one!" but we can't figure out which one that was.  We think just the traditional Krispy Kreme glazed, but we're not for sure.
Speaking of Krispy Kreme (yeah, more donuts!), your friend Chloe had a little birthday party on Wednesday morning at the best donut place ever.  As if you needed clarification, you loved the donuts. Mommy even had to snag one.  You cannot go into that place without eating at least one!

 After donuts, Miss Carrie (Chloe's mom) made an excellent decision on choosing Pump It Up to burn off all that energy!

 And boy did you have a lot to burn!  People were a little shocked to see you climb the rock wall with no 'safety rope.'  People who don't know you, that is...

 Thursday was a normal day of school and recovery and on Friday, Mimi arrived!  She hadn't seen a soccer game and we had a charity event that Friday night, so it worked out perfect.  It was a low key Friday, I mean, for Mimi, and on Saturday you had your soccer game.  That afternoon/night, we had another charity event at Daddy's old high school.  Daddy has some high school friends who have children who are very sick, so they hold a celebrity basketball game every year, and we always try to go.  We met up with Caroline and her crew and Papa at the Perfect Pig before the game and then headed to Dickson County High.  You were super impressed that Daddy went to school there, but then you got completely wigged out by the Storm Troopers that were walking through the gym.  That's right. Storm Troppers.  We were warned though, not that that did any good.  Friday night was a more adult type charity event and Terry (the dad) mentioned that they would be there, so we started prepping you that morning.  No luck.  One look and you had your typical attack.  Even Anson couldn't calm you down with his dreamy eyes.  (Anson was one of the 'celebrities' but he's like a brother to Daddy, but, again, that didn't seem to help).  Eventually we found a seat and of course it was directly across from the Troopers, Darth Vader and Iron Man - yeah, random.  Princess Leila was there, too, but thankfully no Chewbacca.  And yes, I am aware I am probably spelling all these names wrong!  So as we sat, you stared BUT eventually, you did end up waving to one of the Troopers.  And even walked near one, close enough to hear him say "Don't be scared of me" or at least that's what you told me.  I'm still not sure on that one though.  Your friend Cater was there, too, and she was pretty much exact opposite of you.  She would have sat in Darth Vader's lap if she could have!  You two, and Caroline, had lots of fun, but the game lasted a little too long for us and we headed home very tired!
Sunday was funday for our family, with a yummy grilled out meal by Daddy.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather and watched Kate on the monkey bars - yep, she does the monkey bars, just like Sista!
A great week full of fun Sista!! Love you!!

Easter 2013

Dear Abigail,

So, Spring Break was a bit of a blast for you this year.  You went with Clara Lee and Mimi and Ash-ash to Chicago, but I'll let Ash-ash tell you all about that.  You left Saturday morning and we missed you tremendously.  Finally on Thursday afternoon, Mommy and Katie-bug were reunited with you and boy were you two excited to see each other (at Mimi's)...

It was Easter weekend, so you stayed with Mimi when you got back from Chicago and we joined up later.  On Friday, you went with Aunt G and John Michael and Em to the Children's Museum while Mommy and Kate and Mimi ran a few errands, as if you didn't have enough fun already!  Friday was an early to bed kind of night because on Saturday, Mimi took you and Kate to Clara Lee's church Easter egg hunt.  It was a bit rainy outside, but that didn't stop you from finding some eggs.  Mimi said you were a very good big sister because you made sure Kate had eggs in her basket, too.  

After egg hunting, we dyed some eggs at Mimi's house with the whole crew.  

Or rather, you did a lot of watching Mimi dye the eggs! Don't worry, I think you got a hold of a few eggs yourself.  Everyone had a blast and we later ate pizza and hung out with everyone.
Sunday morning was Easter and low and behold, that old E.B. stopped by and dropped off a few things in your Easter basket!

Including whoppers, your (and momma's!) fave!

oh, and Skittles (your and Daddy's fave!)

And this, whatever it is...

(it was play-doh in an egg)...

The E.B. also brought you your first chapter book, Charlotte's Web.  You were very excited to have a chapter book and since we have read many, many chapters from it.

You and Kate showing off your baskets Easter morn...

After a yummy breakfast of whoppers and Skittles (just kidding, I'm pretty sure we had bagels!), we got cleaned up and started helping Mimi make a delicious lunch.  Unfortunately, Mimi had to dart for a bit because Uncle Bubba had a trip to the E.R.  All turned out okay, but it put everyone in a bit of a tenzy for a bit.  No worries, everyone still came over (minus U.B.) and we still had a delicious lunch!

By the time we wrapped up lunch, Mimi and Aunt G got there, so we decided to have an egg hunt.  Sadly all those pictures are on Mimi's camera because my battery died, but I will say, you found your golden egg!!  You were VERY excited about it, and even more excited about the money inside!!  You helped Katie-Bug and Clara Lee find their egg, too!
Soon after the hunt, we packed the car and headed back home.  It turned out to be later than we thought, but it was worth it because what a fun Easter we had at Mimi's house!
Love you!