These Days

We went to an egg hunt with the Boyle's church the day before Easter.  They held it in a park in downtown Greenville and it was a beautiful morning!  We had a fun couple hours with them!  

A couple in our church bought these fun pizza shirts for our whole family!  The girls were excited about wearing them while we were eating our take-out pizza one night.  

We had a spur of the moment ice cream trip to Dillards with the Flemings and the Lance and Liz!  We enjoyed visiting with them.  Mary Pat only had about 1 1/2 weeks left before delivery at this point.  

Kids table!  

One afternoon I was sitting in the chair and Hannah was reading to me.  She reads to one of us for 20 minutes most nights (that's our aim anyway).  Emily was supposed to be working on homework at the table and when I looked up this is what I saw.  She was doing her math work sheet while holding Abby in her lap and Claire was looking on.  I thought it was so sweet that she wasn't getting annoyed with them but wanted them to "help" her!:)  

Abby got her carseat turned around a couple weeks ago and I took these pictures a day or so before we did it.  I love that little love bug!  

She's as proud as punch to be facing the front like her big sisters.  We've taken one out of town trip since we turned her around so she actually got to face the TV while she was watching a show and she's enjoyed that too.  

These two decided they wanted to dress alike one day for school.  This is unusual for them to want to do this so I needed a picture.  They were hoping someone would get them confused that day, but I don't think that happened.  :) 

The same day the girls dressed alike I decided it was a good day for pig tails for everyone so Abby and Claire got them too. 

We drove up to Travelers Rest to hang out with Mary Pat and Gabe one morning.  MP was trying to walk that baby out.  I enjoyed visiting with her and the kids LOVED getting to play on the big field in the middle.  They had a good nap time/rest time that day! 

We had a party for Stanley and Alisha in mid April.  This was a party with the supper club (a group my parents have been meeting with for 30 plus years).  We had all the adults there (7 couples) and most of their kids and grandkids.  It was SO much fun to catch up with so many of these people that mean so much to me.  

Mary Pat went into labor early one Sunday morning. We got the kids after church that Sunday and they hung out with us that afternoon.  

We got word mid afternoon that MP had had sweet Sawyer Chase Fleming at 1:30 that afternoon.  I took the kids up to the hospital to meet their brother around 3:30.  They were so excited!     

Emily and Hannah and Claire are taking swimming lessons each Monday for six weeks. They are all loving them!!  Claire asks most every day if it is swimming lessons day.:)  

Hannah made this at school and I thought it was the sweetest!!  Love that they love each other!  (In case you can't make it out, it says "Who is worth more to you than gold?" and Hannah wrote "Emily Claire Abby are worth more me than gold.")

The big kids choir performance has a fire station theme this year, so a fireman that goes to our church brought a fire truck over to the church one Wednesday night so that they could get some pictures with the fire truck that will be used during their performance next Sunday. 

The siblings got to jump in on the action after they had gotten all the pictures they needed. 

On Thursday afternoon Emily and Samantha got to go to Mrs. Windham's house because they had saved up 60 blue bucks (another post), so I invited Penny (Sam's sister) to come home with us and have a play date that afternoon.  Hannah was so excited to have a friend to play with!  

They made this creation with butter and honey and ate it with a spoon.  Ha! (And, Gross!) 

Every other Friday morning I have Bible study with 6 other ladies and it's usually at my house.  We just finished up a parenting study and it was so incredibly good!  Our next study is going to be a study on marriage and we're looking forward to that too.  We've been meeting together for just over a  year.  Bert is SO sweet about getting kicked out of the house for hours on his day off. He and Claire and Abby go find things to do. This past Friday they went up to the church for a little while, then took a load to the dump and stopped by Lake Robinson on their way back.  We are known to be a little long winded so I'm thankful Bert is so supportive of that time that I have on Friday mornings!  

These days are flying by for sure!  May is already packed full of fun things and I'm looking forward to it!! 

Emily - 8 years old

It's hard to believe that Emily is 8!  It feels like yesterday that she was learning to walk and talk.  She's such a fun, precious little 8 year old and we're so proud of her for so many reasons!

Here are a few things that we treasure about our 8 year old:

-She loves to sing and has heard from many people that she has a beautiful voice.  She sings a lot just as she's doing odd jobs.  I've heard from others that she even sings while on the playground.

-She worked really hard and saved up 60 blue bucks (reward system at their school) and got to go to her teacher's house for an afternoon last week.  Her teacher told their class about this at the beginning of the year and Emily passed on spending her blue bucks at the school store earlier in the year so that she could keep saving and get enough for the trip to Mrs. Windhams's house.  I was proud of her determination.

-She REALLY wants to learn to play the piano and likes to play around on it often.  She'll start taking lessons in the fall.

-She's a good student.  She works hard and makes good grades.  She tested into the Challenge program for next year.  The Challenge program is a program that starts in 3rd grade for gifted and talented students.  She'll be pulled out of the regular class for 120 minutes per week to go to the Challenge class.

-She's a good friend and loves to hang out with her friends.  She's a friendly little thing and loves to talk to people, but I think she would say her best friends are Samantha and Bella.

-She loves to listen to adult conversations.  This is sometimes frustrating for me, but unfortunately even as I'm asking her to go into another room I can remember doing the exact same thing to my parents. Ha!

-She won first place in the "Reflections" contest at her school for a book that she wrote.  She also loves to draw.  She says art class is her favorite related arts.

-She's good about putting her clothes away and likes to set the table and get drinks ready for dinner.  She LOVES to help cook.  Cleaning up the playroom is not her favorite job, but she jumps in when it's time.

-She loves to go to church. After church is over she likes to stand around and talk to people....kids or adults.  It doesn't matter to her.  Back in August she asked if she could stay in the service with us and listen to the sermon instead of leaving for children's church, we of course told her YES!  Children's church is for K5-4th, but Bert has told the church many times that whenever you decide that you are ready for your kid to start staying in the service they are welcome!  We love having her in there with us.  She sits right beside me and takes notes the whole time.  Sweet thing!

-She loves to ride her bike and is good at it.  She got a 20 inch bike for her birthday because she had outgrown her 16 inch.  We often take walks around our neighborhood and Bert and I will walk and pull Claire and Abby in the wagon while Emily and Hannah ride their bikes.  We have a pretty hilly neighborhood, so our evening walks have improved her skills.  We also love to take them to the track at our middle school and let them ride there.

-She loves dance class and is excited about her recital coming up in a few weeks.  We're not wanting her to start competition dance for a few different reasons, but I think she will probably take one more year after this year.  We'll see!

-She has an aversion to baked/grilled chicken right now, which is out of the blue and unfortunate because we have it often.  She doesn't like the texture.

-She sleeps on the top bunk and Hannah sleeps on the bottom bunk.  Claire sleeps in the room too in a toddler bed across the room.  One day in the near future we'll move Claire and Abby together and have Hannah and Emily share a room.  I'm not wanting to do that though until I'm ready to move Abby out of her crib (which will be when she figures out she can crawl out of it).  Claire was already crawling out at this point, but Abby hasn't tried.  Emily and Hannah are excited about sharing a room because they say they're going to get a small desk to go in their room...they can't wait! :)

-She usually only sleeps with Virginia (her American Girl doll) and her bunny, which is a big contrast to Hannah's and Claire's beds which are both loaded down with stuffed animals and dolls.

-She's a big Clemson fan!

-She is a really strong reader.  Some of her favorite books right now are Nancy Drew books. She recently finished reading Charlotte's Web.  She especially loves to read at night after we put them to bed.  She usually reads about 30 to 45 minutes each night using her reading light.

-She has strong opinions about what she wears.


Interview with our 8 Year old:

What is your name? Emily Jean Watts
How old are you? 8 years old
Where do you live? 109 Pheasant Ridge Taylors South Carolina
What is your favorite color? Teal
What is your favorite toy? Virginia and Computer
What is your favorite food? Spaghetti, Pizza, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans, Broccoli with cheese on it
What is your favorite drink? Splash and Milk
What is your favorite thing to do? Talk to my sisters and hug mom and dad and typing on the computer
What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor
Who is your teacher? Mrs. Windham. I love her.
Who is your best friend? Samantha
What is your favorite song? Write Your Story
What is your favorite book? Dolphin Summer
What is your favorite movie? Leap and Moana
Who is the funniest person you know? Gabriel (from school) and Daddy
Where is your favorite place to go? Church and Sno Hut
What does your Mommy always say to you? "You'll always be my baby"
What does your Daddy always say to you? "I love you"

We love you, Emily Jean!

A Weekend with Mimi and Papa, Birthday Parties and Daddy Daughter Dates

The last weekend in April, Claire got to go spend the weekend with Mimi and Papa!  She found out a couple days before and she could hardly wait!  She asked over and over if it was time to go, she tried to pack her own bag and she told everyone she saw that she was going to "Mimi and Papa's house....not my 'sistus', not my mommy and daddy....just me." She never had a moment of sadness or nervousness.  

We met mom in Anderson on Friday afternoon around 4 to drop Claire off, and mom brought her back to our house on Sunday afternoon after church.  

On Friday night she had a fun playdate with Jacob and Ressie!

On Saturday they went to Papa's work for a visit, went to the playgound at their church to play, went to the lake house, went out to dinner that night and then stopped for ice cream.  Uncle Stanley and Aunt Alisha came in on Saturday afternoon and mom said that she talked and talked during dinner.  She was so excited to have them there and be the center of attention!:)  

Ice Cream for my Clair Bear!! 

Visits with Papa are always fun! 

While Claire was in Toccoa the other three girls were having fun over here!  Emily and Hannah had a "spend the night party" both nights (where they slept in the same bed).  Bert snuck in and got this picture of them reading one of the nights.  

Emily had a pool party birthday party at the Hilton on Friday night.  She had SO much fun! While Em was at that birthday party the other four of us went to the mall and then took Hannah and Abby out to dinner.  It definitely felt weird only having two, but we had a fun time!  

After dinner on Friday night Bert and Hannah came back home and started working on some lego creations.  They worked on them for a couple hours together.  Bert said Hannah did so much of it by herself.  He said she was really good at figuring out which pieces go where.  Go Hannah Beth! 

On Saturday morning Bert and Hannah headed off for a breakfast daddy/daughter date!  Bert suggested they to go Stax, which is a great local breakfast/lunch place, but Hannah decided she wanted to go to Waffle House instead, so Waffle House it was.  

After they got back I headed off to a mini women's retreat with our church from 10-2.  I really enjoyed the event and loved getting to spend time with some of the ladies I love so much! 

Emily had another birthday party from 12-2 on Saturday afternoon, but this time it was at our local skating rink.  A lot of friends from her school were at this one and she had a blast. Her skating skills really improved over the course of those two hours....I was impressed when I got there to pick her up at 2.  

We finished off the afternoon with a trip to the middle school track so the girls could ride their bikes.  Abby didn't want to ride in her riding toy (a car that we can push), she only wanted to run around the track (not on the grass).  After face-plant number 2 we made her ride for awhile, but I won't say that it was the most pleasant few laps around the track with her screaming in anger the entire time.  Oh well!  

This past weekend was busy but great!  Our Sunday was the busiest day of all with 2 services, 3 meetings for Bert and a 50th wedding anniversary party to go to, so it was so helpful for mom to bring out Claire Bear all the way back to us!  We are so so thankful for my parents wanting to spend time with the girls one on one. They LOVE it and I think it's good for them!  Emily is chomping at the bit for her weekend so hopefully we will be able to make it happen soon!

Field Tripin' with Hannah

Hannah has recently had a couple field trips that I've been able to go on with her!  Both field trips have been on Thursdays so I've had to get babysitters to keep Claire and Abby, but it's been worth it.  I love getting to spend time with Hannah and her class!  

The entire Kindergarten went to the Children's Museum of Greenville along with a bajillion other schools in and around Greenville.  Seriously, there were so many kids there.  I was in charge of 4 kids, which you would think I would be used to, but I was seriously slightly stressed about losing one.  

They sure were cute though and I really did have a sweet group!  

This sweet girl makes me happy!  

This was Hannah's favorite exhibit and she probably would have stayed in here the whole day.  

The next week we went to Paris Mountain State Park and a enjoyed a beautiful day walking around the park.  This was my group for the scavenger hunt.  A bunch of cuties!  

Destiny, Hannah, Penny, Harper and Jenna

Class picture with their teacher, Ms. Powell

Hannah was excited about us matching! 

These are Hannah's two best friends at school, Penny and Kaia.  They have so much fun together and wanted me to take this fun picture of them.  All three of these girls have siblings in 2nd grade.  Kaia has a brother, Judah, that is not in Emily's class but they see each other around.  

I love that our school takes so many field trips in kindergarten especially.  I feel sure they've been on 9 or 10 this year so far.  Glad our girl is making great memories and loving her first year of school!

A Visit From Grandmama and Pawpaw

Grandmama and Pawpaw came up and met us at the Literacy Day to spend the rest of Saturday with us, and we had such a great, relaxing afternoon with them!  We loved being able to spend the afternoon outside.  Abby was napping for a large chunk of it, so that's why she isn't in some of these pictures.  

We enjoyed just sitting and talking and watching the kids play for hours.  Hannah's in their jeep right in front of the front door. She flies around in that thing.  

Grandmama and Pawpaw brought birthday presents for the girls, and Claire got this toy leaf-blower that blows bubbles that you can see in the picture below.  They had so much fun with it! They would make piles of bubbles and it cracked them up.

After all our outside play time it was time to come in for shower/baths.  Hannah won the award for getting the dirtiest as she thought it would be fun to roll around and play under the trampoline for awhile.  She was carried straight to the shower.

Grandmama read to them while they took turns getting clean.:) 

Grandmama and Pawpaw wanted to take us out to dinner to celebrate my birthday and they wanted me to pick the place. We went to Shortfields in TR and it was soooo good!  After the wonderful dinner on the patio we walked around TR for a little bit before they had to hit the road back to Jackson.  

I know it was a lot of driving for them just to spend 9 or so hours with us, but we loved having them so much and we really appreciate them making the trip!!  We love you, Grandmama and Pawpaw! 

Literacy Day at MCBC

We had a Pre-School Literacy Day event at our church on Saturday right after the Reedy River Run.  We hosted the event, which was also sponsored by Palmetto Basics (a Greenville reading initiative) and USC Upstate School of Education.  Their student-teachers set up different stations for the kids ages 0-5 to participate in to learn some reading basics.

These two girls went from station to station and were entertained for almost an hour and a half. The teachers did such a great job setting up their stations and engaging the kids at their own levels.  

At the end of the event each family got to bring home a bag full of books that had been donated by Palmetto Basics. We probably brought home 25 or 30.  The kids were so excited to pick them out!  

While we were finishing up inside, Sophie took the girls outside to the playground and they got to run around for awhile.  Sophie got these fun pictures of them! 

We love Sophie and the girls are already excited about her getting to come over and spend time with them once a week during the summer months! 

Reedy River Run - Youth Mile

The night before the Reedy River Run I started to regret signing Emily and Hannah up when I realized what time we had to wake them up and be at the race.  They had to be there a little before 7am so they could be ready for their 7:20 start time. That's an early wake-up call for a Saturday morning!

The girls got to run with their friends, Samantha and Penny, which was so fun for them!  

Emily and Samantha finished the Youth Mile in 12 minutes and 25 seconds!  They were right in the middle of the pack.  They said they walked some but not much and Emily said she couldn't have done it without Samantha.  Samantha was definitely the encourager of the two!  I loved this picture of them that I got right before they crossed the finish line!  

Penny and Hannah finished in 12 minutes and 52 seconds!  They crossed the finish line smiling like they'd had a blast!  I also loved this picture of them right before they finished!  Em and Sam said they finished way before Penny and Hannah, but actually they were hot on their heels and their legs are shorter!  Ha!  Go girls!  

Abby, Claire and I came a little later so that they could sleep a few extra minutes.  I woke them up and we were walking out of the house within 3 minutes.  We got to the start line about 2 minutes before they started!  We were so glad we made it!  

Stephanie, Penny and Sam's mom, took this picture for us.  She had a meeting to go to so she got to see them race and then her girls came home with us.  

This was a group picture of the team from Paris Elementary before everyone took off to get ready for their separate races!  We love our school!  

These next few pictures were taken by the Greenville News and posted on their gallery of pictures from the Reedy River Event.  The girls loved that they were in the newspaper, even if it was online!  

We were SO SO proud of our girls!! They worked hard and had fun and it was totally worth waking up crazy early on a Saturday morning.  We'll definitely do it again!