22 May 2012

Stingers, 2012

Jay Michael, Hope, Walker, Jason, KK, Whitney and Nathan
Stingers, 2012

What a great group of 4 and 5 year old kids.  They played in the heat and in the rain; they ran drills; they {tried} to learn the rules of the game of soccer.  They learned to pass the ball and come togther as a team.  Sort of.  Mainly, they laughed and goofed off.  They watched the passing trains and kicked up the dirt.  I was worried that our little man was too small to play and too young to understand the rules.  But no, he was ready and he learned so much.  Thank you to Coach Tim - Jay Michael had a great experience with his first organized sport.  We had to drag him away after every practice and game.  Thank you.

We did this "victory tunnel" after every game.  So. Darn. Cute.
Look at those happy faces!

20 May 2012

Spring Break, 2012

Spring Break, 2012 -- Okay, so I'm a little late with this.  But I'm telling ya, the busier you are, the less time you have to blog and the more stories you have to share.  Story of my life...
This is the view from atop Mt. Pinnacle, which rises 1,011 feet above the Arkansas River.  Our friends, the Hazeslips, hiked to the top and Rachel, with her friend Lindsey, and Charlotte, with her friend Sydney, got to come along.  It's hard work, but the view from the top is spectacluar, don't you agree?  How sweet of them to climb it for us and share the view.
Another day I took the little three to the big city - Little Rock.  There's a trolley ride through the downtown area (free; gotta love free) and you can get off and back on whenever you want to.  We crossed the Arkansas River, heard all about the older buildings and generally enjoyed an afternoon ride.
We found a great park with an oversized Indian head (Joey does love a silly pose, huh?), a spiderweb climbing thingy, and....
This tunnel slide is about one story high!  There's a huge log next to it, with notches cut into it, so that the kids climb up and do it again.  Jay Michael had a huge time.  One bad part about this park is this - see how the kids can slide down, and if they choose not to come stright back up the log, there are tunnels and ladders to get back up to the top of the slide level.  I literally lost the little ladies, because they were playing in the tunnels and kept popping up in different tubes.  This is great fun, no doubt, if you are 9 and 7.  For a Mom, it's a little unsettling.

We crossed a walking bridge over the Arkansas River to get to the park.  On the walk, Joey found this - a homeless man's home.  It is nestled down in the girders of the bridge sturcture.  (That's the river at the top of the picture.)  He'd be protected from the wind, encased on all sides, except the top, so he wouldn't roll off into the river.  Secure, but, sad.  We had a good talk about it.

Samantha had a trip to the lake for three days with her friend Laura.  No pictures from her.

05 May 2012

Junior High Talent Show

Rachel and her friend Lindsey entered the talent show at their junior high.  The made it into the show, but, in the end, they didn't place.  They did get big cheers from the crowd, though.  So big, actually, that in the video Lindsey's mom shot at the show you couldn't even hear Lindsey on piano.  This clip is from a rehearsal session, and it showcases them really well.  I'm so proud of them both - they performed for the school (7th, 8th, and 9th grades) plus the faculty and parents.  Rachel is in 8th grade and Lindsey is in 9th.  Way to go ladies!

02 May 2012

Stars

Can anyone guess what this is?  Look closely and you can see the steps.  Any ideas?  I'll tell you.  It's my birthday present from James and our anniversary gift to ourselves!  I took this picture waiting for the encore at the TOM PETTY and the HEARTBREAKERS concert!  Now, I have been to a lot of shows.  A. Lot.  But, Tom has been on my "must see" list for a while.  When we heard he was coming to town, James and I were hoping the stars would align and we would be able to afford such an event.  Good tickets are pricey and good tickets for good shows are essential.  So, with a little help from a timely tax refund, we had great seats and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Tom was so personable - he let me sing to him!  I, plus the rest of the sold out crowd, sang Learning to Fly (a background song on this blog for years now) and he harmonized and did back ups.  Amazing.  There's just something about a live show and singing anonymously in a crowded house that is empowering.

Next on our concert list is Eric Clapton (coming this summer) and Lynard Skynard (coming in a few weeks).  Stay tuned!