T-Ball at its Best!!

The Charleston Riverdogs

Will and Ben started up spring t-ball last week.  They played their first game last Saturday morning.  It was such fun.  Nothing like a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds trying to catch and field!  Will did great!  He played 1st base and got two players out.  He is the only one on the team that played last year so he knew that if you want to touch the ball, you have to play first.  He, also, had some great hits!  Ben had a great game, too.  He played shortstop and tried to field the ball- but so did the rest of the players!  He had a couple of good hits, too.  They had such a great time and can't wait to play again!

New Pictures

 

Ski Trip to Sugar Mountain

What a fun trip we had!!  On Wednesday, Grandma and Papa came up to handle 'Kate Duty' while Ron, the boys and I went skiing for the weekend.  Some friends had offered the use of a condo on Beech Mtn. for Thursday and Friday nights.  With Grandma and Papa agreeing to come help (YEAH!!) we were able to go.  So, Thursday morning, we got up, got dressed and headed out for the NC mountains.  It was a great drive.  NC sure is a beautiful state!  The weather was pretty good, just COLD!  When we got near the mountains, we started to see snow.  From previous posts, you will know that we have had quite a bit of snow in NC this year.  But, we weren't expecting all the snow we saw!  Once we got into the mountains, the snow began to fall faster and faster.  It was beautiful.  Of course, I wasn't driving...  The roads were getting a little slick- the mini van was handling it pretty well.  Then the wind started and, boy, snow and wind do not mix!!  I had never seen 'white-out' conditions before, hope I never see them again!  Once we got into Sugar, we headed up the mountain.  Got parked, and changed up for skiing.  We all had enought clothes on to outfit a store!!  We headed in, got our ski equipment and had some lunch.  The boys were so excited!!  Before we went out, we got them turtle fur wraps and goggles.  The temperature was in the low teens and the wind was blowing.  Once we were all bundled up, we headed out to the lifts.  What fun!!  I took Ben on the Green slopes, and Ron had Will.  Ben and I took to it pretty well (this being only my 3rd time to ski!).  Ben held onto my poles and skiied between my legs.  We did pretty good!  After a mid-afternoon break, Will and I skiied together.  Will was skiing on his own at this point! YIKES!!  But, he was doing great!  We had such fun together- he is actually better than me!  He is fearless!  By 3:30 or 4, we decided it was time to head out.  The weather was getting worse and we still needed to find our condo.  Unfortunately for us, there is only one way up Beech Mtn. and you have to have chains on your tires to get up!  We had NO idea.  We stopped to find out about chains, heard that there were bilzzard conditions expected and MORE snow.  I suggested we either head back to Charlotte or check into the Best Western.  The Best Western it was!  Pretty nice on in Banner Elk.  Had a great dinner at the Lodge and breakfast, too!  Watched a movie with the boys then we all passed out!  Woke up Friday to 14 degree temps and wind gust as high as 60mph- YIKES!  Packed up, got all our gear on and headed back out to the slopes.  The powder was great, the lifts were FREEZING and we had a blast!  Ben skiied with his harness that day and did fantastic.  Will was getting off the lift by himself and skiing like a pro.  We skiied much of the day.  By 3:30, Ron and I were beat.  The boys wanted to keep it up but, we said it was time to head back to Charlotte.  The trip back down was much easier, the sun had come out and the roads were clear (YEAH!) .  When we got home, Kate, Grandma and Papa were waiting to hear all about the trip.  Kate had her own fun with Grandma and Papa.  They went on a trip to Davidson and spent some time at the McD's playplace.  We sure were lucky to have them come stay with Kate.  Maybe in a couple of years she will be out on the slopes, too!!  Enjoy the pictures!!

 

We LOVE the Olympics!!

It has been such fun watching the Winter Olympics this year.  The boys, especially Ben, are just taken with all the events.  We especially enjoy the skiing, seeing as we are planning a trip next week.  Ben and I have been watching snow boarding, snow cross, and skiing during Kate's naps.  And, we have been watching as a family at night.  The boys got the Wii Winter Olympics game and really enjoy prentending to be Olympians.  Ben has really gotten into the spirit.  The other night, he called us up to the playroom after dinner to see what he had built.  It was a 'speed skating rink just like the one Apollo Ohno skates on!'  He had his soccer uniform on, an army helmet and some ski goggles!  What a silly little boy!!!

First REAL SNOW!!!!

And I mean a REAL snow!  We woke up on Saturday February 13th to 5 inches of powdery snow!  The kids were SO excited!  Everything looked so pretty outside.  We spent a good portion of the morning out in the snow.  The sledding was not as good as it was mostly powder.  We weren't able to make a snowman- snow didn't pack.  But the boys did build a snow 'wall'.  They decided that if anyone was walking around and thought about throwing a snowball, the boys would have protection!  So we enjoyed some absolutly beautiful snow in the morning.  By 2pm, the snow was melting, the sidewalks were clearing and the road was dry!  Nothing like good old NC snow!  Ben and Will were a little upset by the melting, but I was thrilled!  I have had quite enough of this cold winter!!  Enjoy the pictures!

 

Our Newset Addition to the Family

Ben got a tadpole/ frog habitat for Christmas and his tadpole finally arrived a couple of weeks ago.  It was VERY exciting!   Once I found out the frog would have to be fed crickets, I wasn't sure that we would be getting a frog.  But, little Ben can be pretty convincing.  So, I ordered the tadpole- if we are lucky, the tadpole will make it just to frog stage then will be donated to a pet store.  I just don't think I can have crickets in the house!  Not much has happened yet.  The little guy is getting a bit bigger but now legs or arms yet.  We will keep you posted on his metamorphosis.  If you look closely, you can see the tadpole in the picture on the right- little black dot center right!

 

 

Lots of Ice, Lots of Sledding!!

We had our first 'snow' at the end of January.  The boys were so excited about the possibility and 'freaked out' when they woke up.  It was more ice than snow so we got to do a lot of sledding.  What fun we had!  We were out in the snow by 9am shooting down the hill in front of our house.  Several of our friends from the neighborhood came over and the kids had a great time!  We were finally able to use the sled Ron had when he was a kid.  It is a Red Ranger metal ski sled.  It was fast on the ice and Will and Ben had a great time using it.  By 11am, the boys were ready to have some lunch.  Of course, as soon as they finished, they wanted to go right back out.  We had them wait a little but were back out soon.  We had a great day!