April Weekend

Going through and finding 30 (well, realistically probably 28) pictures of the day for April would take a long time.  And seeing as I am already half-way into May it's probably better just to hop right over the month and begin a new one.  But here is just a *sample* of April. . .

Thomas has spent many weekends on the sidelines reffing soccer games

The following are all pictures from ONE crazy weekend. . .beginning with Thomas being on the soccer field at early o'clock to ref a couple of soccer games Saturday morning. . .(I think Tom and Marie had left the house two hours before for an out-of-town tournament)












one being his brother's :)

 

Frederick running after the ball on his U12 UC team. . .he's quite the leader on that team!

And then lunch afterwards. . .along with a text letting us know how Marie was doing at her tournament. . 

Big E's with my boys and Thomas's friend one Saturday

How Tom and I communicate many weekends when he is out of town with soccer and I stay home with soccer

Soccer training on Saturday afternoon -- Thomas is in the yellow shirt

Off to Soccer Training. . .

Same soccer training with his friend we went to lunch with

 (in the meantime I had to drop Margaret off with a fellow Power Team Mom so she could go to Nashville to compete in her final competition of the season. . .)






And then U14 select practice for Thomas. . .

Last U14 practice before Rotary Tournament (with their new coach)

The boys and I then got in the car and drove ~50 miles west to catch up with Tom & the girls -- Tom had been able to drive up to see Margaret perform and bring her back to the soccer games and then hotel with him.

Relaxing at the hotel

 Smart man I married. . .had room service waiting for us when we got there!

Our family the next morning as we were leaving the hotel to go in two different directions

Miss Margaret and I had a little extra time so we went back inside for another pass-through the buffet line :)  I've said it many times -- we have four athletes and of the four this one is the strongest of them all!

This competition was in Nashville at the convention center

Here Margaret is during the routine, getting ready for her tumble-pass.  It is no less of a thrill to watch her do it this last time then it was to see her perform it the first time.  Now that the season is over I can say she "never had a touch-down or stumble" -- I'm SO proud of her!!!

The team's pyramid and then reviewing the routine immediately after they get off stage.

 

 Between her last performance (which was probably one of the best -- if not THE best -- of the season) and awards, we had several hours to be tourists in Nashville :)

The "price" for ice cream was a picture :)

Thomas spent the day with us (I mean, what 14-yr-old boy wouldn't want to spend an entire day with hundreds of cheerleaders, right?) and it was an absolute *perfect* day to walk around downtown.

Cumberland River

The water table (??)

We ran into a fellow Cheer family at the river and walked around a bit with them.  They have four children too, but a bit more spaced out.  I think their oldest is 20-something and this is their youngest -- Margaret just went to her 7th birthday party a few weeks ago.

 We toured a little re-constructed fort and then a carriage went by. . .the driver said "$30 for all of you" (6 of us). . .well. . .OK!

I didn't really get any "good" pictures of us, but lots of downtown from a different point of view:

And, WHOA, yea, a picture with my oldest :)  I am a blessed mama!

We went back to the convention center after this ride for awards and then home.

The girls didn't place as high as we thought they should have but all-in-all it's been a great season.  Margaret learned a lot (*I* learned a lot!), and she may have found "her" thing after trying about everything.  I love how much she loves this and I'm amazed at her talent.  Onward and forward!!!  Try-outs for next year are right around the corner :)

And no pictures of Marie. . .well, I'm sure there were some moms at her soccer weekend snapping away and I could probably pull some off FB but this post has already taken me over two weeks, an hour-here-and-hour-there, to complete.  No kidding.  Blogger doesn't like the amount of pictures I upload I guess. 

Glad to have these memories. . .glad to have these times together, one-on-one with the kiddos too.  Although we are a family that likes to stay together, the times apart make us appreciate the times together even more :)  Tom's goal next year is to make more of Margaret's competitions -- my goal is to see more of Marie's soccer.  Such is the season of life right now.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Love,
Jenni

For Mrs. Howell

One of Marie's teachers wanted to see this. . .can't figure out how to share it any other way!

P.O.T.D. 03.31.13

EASTER SUNDAY

Marie (12), Margaret (10), Frederick (9), Thomas (14)

P.O.T.D. 03.30.13

There is never enough time when we are in Dayton to see everyone and catch up. . .luckily this time Jenn and Mom were able to meet for brunch at Mimi's on Saturday.  The girls came too :)  I love my family and my friends that, in my heart, are family.
And for once, I wasn't the only one in a winter coat in March. . .

P.O.T.D. 3.29.13

This one just doesn't need a caption.

We went to OH for Easter weekend. . .we finished up practices and games on Thursday night and left early Friday morning.  When we arrived in Nana & Grandpa's neighborhood Nana was out walking the dog.  Three of the kids jumped out to join her.  Two took the dog and ran ahead.  Look who was coming up the sidewalk as we parked and were unpacking. . .

POTD 3.28.13 #2

I just realized that I already posted a picture of the day for the 28th.  Oh well, here's another one :)

Time to get our Sonic treats for good grades and good attendance :)

Frederick and Thomas waiting on their orders.  The girls had good grades and good attendance too but were at their soccer and all-star practices. . .the boys both got the kids' meal and one other item -- it still cost me $10 for those good grades :)

POTD 3.28.13

 Today was supposed to be our first tennis match, against a team across town.  But they canceled kind of at the last minute because they "weren't ready".  Our kids were so disappointed so we put together a round-robin tournament for them.

This is my co-coach who I could not run the season without.  Her daughter is on the team and in 7th grade so thankfully I'll have help again next year :)

The players had a good time (only 12 of the 14 could come and we only had access to 3 courts so it all worked out) and we did end up with a winner, an 8th grader.  She won a gift certificate to Wal-mart. . .couldn't really come up with anything else.  The point was to get out, have some fun, and wear the new uniforms!