Evenhouse Family

Sweet Brower

2011-10-30T20:22:00.005-04:00

Okay, so it has been a very long time since I have posted! Actually, it has been exactly a year. Wow, a lot has happened in that year. Don't think I will be able to catch up on that whole year, but I will try to be better about posting.

I started to read this the other day and realized that there are a lot of things that I wrote in this blog that I don't even remember. It made me really sad to think of all the funny, sweet and crazy things my kids say and do that I don't remember. So, I'm going to try my best to start posting again.

The other day Kate, Brower and I were in the car. We were dropping Kate off at school. I kissed Kate good-bye and told her to have a great day. As I started to drive off, Brower said "Mommy, mommy, roll down the window!!" I said "Why Brower?" "Hurry Mommy, I just blew Kate two kisses and you need to roll the window down, so they can get out of the car and get to her before she gets inside school!" So I rolled the window down so the kisses could get to Kate. It has now become a tradition every morning. What a sweet boy!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T13:49:00.000-04:00

Grandfather Mountain

2010-10-02T14:04:00.000-04:00

We took a trip to the mountains this fall with the kids. They absolutely loved it! We went to Grandfather Mountain for one day and explored there. We made it to the Mile High Swinging Bridge, but only made it half way across. 55 MPH winds and a swinging bridge are not a good combination!!

Off to the Turtle Class

2010-09-09T20:24:00.004-04:00

Brower was super excited to start school today in his turtle class! His teachers are Mrs. Wait and Mrs. Peizer. It was a big day for our little guy!

Too Spicy

2010-08-28T09:24:00.002-04:00

I have what my kids call "spicy mints" in my car. They are peppermint Ice Breaker mints. The kids asked for one the other night so I gave each of them one. It was a beautiful night outside, so I had the windows down in the car as we were driving home. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Brower with his mouth wide open. It really scared me because I thought Brower was choking on the mint. I asked him if he was okay. He said "I okay Mommy, I just getting lots of air in my mouth. This mint is too spicy!"

And She's Off....

2010-08-26T20:26:00.003-04:00

...to her first day of Kindergarten. I
cannot believe my little girl is old enough to start school. I know it is so cliche', but time flies! I have been trying to prepare myself for this day all summer. I knew I was going to be so sad and was going to have to do my best to hold it together!
The night before school Kate and I had a really sweet time cuddling in bed and talking about the next day. She told me how excited she was and I told her how proud of her I was. I will cherish that time with her
forever.
Kate had a huge smile on her face from the moment she woke up and realized that today was the day!! Finally, the first day of kindergarten had arrived! She got dressed and enjoyed waffles and milk for breakfast. We took lots of pictures and then headed off to school. We had to wait in line for a teacher to check Kate in. That gave Chad and I lots of time to give her plenty of hugs and kisses and to spend time praying with her. We got her checked in and said our last good-byes before Mr. Hurlihy took her around the corner to her classroom. I have to say, I held it together pretty well. There were definitely lots of tears, but I will remember the smile on her face forever....she was just so excited! Brower was super excited for her to come home too. We made cookies for Kate. As soon as she walked in the door, Brower said "Hi Kate, how was kindergarten, tell me about your day!" It was so cute. We sat and enjoyed our cookies as Kate told us about how great her first day of school was. She loved it every bit as she thought she would!
Dear Kate, you are such a joy in our lives. Daddy and I could not have been more proud of you today. You looked absolutely beautiful with your pink bookbag and your big smile. Seeing you turn the corner to your classroom was really hard for me. It was like having to give up a part of me so that I could let you take this next step and grow up. You have grown into an amazing little girl who is so fun to be with, who loves to laugh and play. You are super girly, but you also love to be tough and play in the mud. I love the sound of your giggles and I will miss them everyday while you are at school. My prayer for you this year is that you will love learning in school, that you will meet lots of new friends and that you will grow closer to God...and of course that you will learn how to read! (you have been asking me all summer to teach you to read!) I know you will acheive all those things. You are such a smart girl and will do wonderful in school. Mommy, Brower and Holt will miss you while you are at school and will be looking forward to seeing you come home everyday! We love you sweet Kate and are so proud of you!

Holt-3 mos.

2010-08-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T21:38:00.002-04:00

Thank you for your prayers!

2010-05-25T22:02:00.000-04:00

Well, I can honestly say that I have never felt so many prayers in my life! Chad and I have been so overwhelmed by the love we have felt from our friends and family while Holt has been in NICU.
We got the best news today! That Holt's last x-ray looks completely clear and that he gets to go home with us tonight. I have been preparing myself for the past three days that I would have to go home and leave my little baby here in the NICU. I never thought he would get to come home with me today. Chad and I got the news and were elated! God is good and we know that he is soverign. We are so ready to leave the NICU forever and get our sweet boy home!

Please Pray!

2010-05-23T21:50:00.000-04:00

While Nonna and Papa were hanging out with us later that evening, our wonderful nurse Kristen came into our room to check on Holt. While she was in there, she noticed that Holt was making a grunting noise and wanted to take him to the nursery to have him checked out. They ran tests on Holt most of the evening and made the decision to admit him to the NICU because they found fluid in and around his lungs. Chad and I were finally able to go back to the NICU around 11 and see Holt for the first time. I don't think anything could have prepared us for seeing our new baby boy in an isolette in the NICU connected to so many machines. It was so difficult to be in there with him and not be able to hold him or feed him. The doctors put an IV in to keep him nourished and to start giving him anti-biotics. He was also connected to a machine to monitor his breathing and oxygen levels. We were able to meet with the neonatologist late that evening who gave us the grim news that the fluid in his lungs could be caused by three things- fluid from birth, pneumonia, or a heart defect. Our hearts hurt so badly for our baby boy! It was so difficult for us to leave him alone in his room that night. The nurses did tell me that I could come back at 4 to see him and that they might let me feed him.
Chad and I left Holt's room and went back to our room to pray and cry. We sent out a few emails, texts and made a few phone calls asking everyone we knew to pray for our little boy. Chad and I will never forget that night. I have truly never felt the power of prayer like I did that night. I knew that I was being surrounded by prayer and was given an amazing peace from God. Chad and I were laying in our beds that night and both of our phones were beeping every minute for about an hour from people who loved us sending us texts telling us that they were praying for us and for Holt. It was a silly thing, but for us, each time we heard our phone beep, it was another prayer for him. We both just layed there in bed and cried. Amazingly, I was finally able to fall asleep- I had been up for over 36 hours.
I got to go to the NICU at 4 and hold and feed Holt. I just sat there with him in my arms for over an hour and cried. It felt so good to hold my little boy in my arms. Just holding him gave me such a peace.

Proud Big Sister and Big Brother

2010-05-23T21:45:00.001-04:00

Kate and Brower were so excited to come meet their new baby brother! They loved that we named him Holt William. They both wanted to kiss him and hold him. Brower decided he needed to lick his head...not sure what that was all about! Kate could not get enough of him. She wanted to hold him all day. It was so great to have our whole family together!

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Rob, Aunt Linda, Aunt Anna, Nonna and Papa all came to meet Holt that day. Everyone was amazed at how big he was. He has really big hands and lots of chubby rolls. Even Dr. Flannagan wanted to stay in the room to see how much he weighed because he looked so big when he was born!

Holt William Evenhouse

2010-05-23T21:40:00.001-04:00

Holt William Evenhouse was born today at 8:23 am. He weighed 9lbs. 5ozs. ( a big boy!) and was 20 1/2" long. We were so excited to finally meet our sweet boy!

Cowboy Days

2010-05-20T22:19:00.005-04:00

Kate's end of the year program was called Cowboy Days. She and her teachers and friends have been practicing for the past couple of months. She did such a great job and we are so proud of her. They said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang My Country Tis of Thee. Of course, I was crying as soon as they said the Pledge of Allegiance and continued crying through the whole show. They sang some really fun songs like Tony Chestnut, Yankee Doodle and Buffalo Cows. They also sang You Are My Sunshine with a special verse to mommies and daddies. It was such a great program! We love you Kate and couldn't be more proud of you!!

Strawberry Picking

2010-05-04T21:53:00.000-04:00

One of our favorite traditions is to go strawberry picking each spring. We picked up Holden and Sawyer to strawberry picking. The kids had so much fun picking strawberries and eating homemade ice cream.

Who's the Boss?

2010-04-27T16:06:00.004-04:00

One afternoon Kate was being a bit sassy and telling Brower what to do (typical big sister duties) and I scolded her saying "Kate you are not the boss in this family". She looked at me and said "Mommy, you are not the boss either. God is the boss of our family!!" Part of me was angry at her for talking back and the other part of me was proud of her for knowing that God really is the boss in our family. It took me a moment and then I was proudly able to respond with "You're right, God is the boss of our family and God tells you to OBEY me!!" Since then she has proudly memorized Ephesians 6:1 which says Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
These 5 year olds sure keep me on my toes!!

Easter Celebration

2010-04-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter! We had a wonderful Easter weekend with friends and family this weekend. We had an Easter Egg Hunt with our small group and the kids had a blast. They all got lots of goodies and lots of fun with their friends. Jason and the kids came up late Saturday night to celebrate Easter with us. We got up early with the kiddos to see what the Easter Bunny brought and then headed to church. We had an amazing service at church celebrating Jesus' resurrection! It was so great to have our family there with us. We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Jesus with our family!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-04-07T21:09:00.001-04:00

Chad celebrated his 38th birthday today. The kids love birthdays and love planning fun things for their daddy! This year we decided to hide all of Chad's gifts around the house and make a scavenger hunt for him. Kate and Brower came up with all of the hiding spots in the house (under the sleeping bag, on the book shelf, under their bean bag...) and Kate helped me with the clues. They could not wait for Chad to get home. As soon as he got home from work, they were jumping up and down to give him his card with the first clue. It was so cute! They could hardly contain themselves and not tell Chad where the gifts were. They had so much fun. I think Daddy enjoyed his scavenger hunt too! Most of all, we wanted Chad to know how much we love and appreciate him and know that he is the best husband and Daddy ever! We love you Chad!

Names, Names, Names

2010-04-05T15:00:00.003-04:00

Who knew naming a child could be so difficult? Chad and I cannot agree on a name for this poor child. We both have a few that we like, but none that we both love! I think I'm still waiting to hear the right name. Kate and Brower have both come up with their favorite names and know exactly what they think we should name him. They are both unwavering and set on their names (unlike mom and dad). Kate thinks we should name the baby Cameron William and Brower thinks we should name him Footbally. Maybe we should just consider one of these names! :)

To Aunt Jane's We Go

2010-03-28T21:14:00.000-04:00

Aunt Jane lives in Wilmington, just a few houses away from the beach. We finally made it down there to visit with her and had a wonderful weekend! It was really cold, but we still made it to the beach and had a great time. Kate spent most of her beach time collecting seashells with Grandma. Brower just ran and ran and ran...everywhere! Grandpa and Chad got to get our their kites and fly them for a while- it was great kite flying weather! It rained most of the day Monday, so we headed down to Fort Fisher and went to the aquarium. It was a great aquarium and the kids loved it. The kids had so much fun hanging out with Aunt Jane and can't wait to go back again! We love you Aunt Jane! On our way back to Aunt Jane's
Where are my legs?!

There he goes....again!

Finding seashells with Grandma

Hanging out with Grandma

Let's go fly a kite!

Brower flying a kite- the wind was so strong, the kite could have probably picked him up!

Sweet Kate collecting seashells

Good-bye old rooms, Hello New Bed!

2010-03-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

New bunk beds

Kate's room

Brower's room

Kate and Brower have been waiting so patiently for their new beds to come in. They are so excited about sharing a room and having bunk beds. The big day has finally arrived. The men came to set up their beds and tonight is their first night in their new room and new bunk beds. I must say, it has been kind of bittersweet for me. I love that they are sharing a room, but it makes me sad to say good-bye to this stage of our life... Brower in his cute boy room and Kate in her girly room. I am excited to see the nursery set back up and awaiting a sweet, baby boy!

Brower did bring his mommy to tears earlier today though. I went back to the bedroom and saw

him sitting in his old room in his rocking chair. The only things left in his room were his rocking chair and rocking horse. I said "Hey Brower, what are you doing?" "Nothing mommy, just sitting in my old room rocking." I said "Brower, are you sad?" No, mommy, I just rocking in my old room." He looked so sad and confused about where he was supposed to be and where his place was in our house. I brought him into his "new room" and explained to him that this was no longer Kate's room, but it was now Kate and Brower's room. I told him to go get some of his toys to move into the closet. After having some of his own toys in his room, I think he's feeling a little better about his new room.

Happy 3rd Birthday Brower B!

2010-02-28T20:27:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my little guy is 3! He has grown up so fast. He has grown into such a great little guy. He loves to make people laugh and be the center of attention. He is a sweet little boy, who is always concerned aobut other kids. I just love seeing his sweet smile everyday and am so thankful God has blessed me with him.

For his birthday, Brower was adamant about having his party at the fire station and having a Batman cake. He was so excited and telling everyone about his party. We had a great time celebrating with his friends, cousins and grandparents. Birthday pancakes for the birthday boy! Admiring Batman on his cake

Practicing stop, drop and roll Get low and go!

Order's Up

2010-02-23T17:02:00.002-05:00

This was a great conversation I had with Kate today in the car....
K- Mommy, when will the baby be here?
J- In a few months
K- Are we going to have a girl baby too?
J- No, just a baby boy
K- Mommy, why did you order a boy baby?? I wanted a baby sister!
J- We don't know if we will have a boy or a girl, we just get what God gives us.
K- Well, I'm going to talk to him and order a baby girl!!
A few minutes later...
K- Mommy, I just ordered a girl baby. God can hear us if we whisper, right?

Dressing up is so much fun!

2010-02-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2010-01-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

Our first measurable snow fall- almost 4"
We had a really cold, fun winter this year. We had 3 really good snows this year and the kids loved it! We had all of our gear ready to go when the first snowfall was forecasted. The only problem was that we didn't have any sleds. I called every store I could think of to find a sled and they were all sold out. I finally talked to Ace Hardware and they said they were getting another shipment in the next morning. We got to Ace at 9:00 and they had already sold out! They said they might get another shipment later that day. I called about 15 times to find out when it was in. Finally at 3:00, they had a new shipment in. The lady said they only had about 12 left. I threw the kids in the car, with no jackets and raced over there to get our limit of two sleds! The kids thought I was totally crazy, but they were totally excited to have their very own sleds!
As excited as they were to go sledding, I don't think the kids enjoyed their first sled rides. I was inside getting Brower ready and came out just in time to see Kate flying down the street with Chad running after her! Chad put Kate on the sled and just pushed her down our huge hill, not realizing how fast she was going to go. She got stuck in the gutter and was turning in circles all the way down. The only thing that stopped her was the gutter at the very end of the street. She was not too excited to sledding again.
Chad hooked Sophie's leash to Brower's sled. He put Brower in the sled and pulled him for his first sled ride. Brower wasn't quite ready and wasn't holding on and did a face plant in the snow. He was ready to go in for a snack and hot chocolate after that.
We had a great time playing in the snow this winter. I think the kids favorite part was playing on the playset in the snow and drinking hot chocolate- that was my favorite part too!

Watching the first snowfall the night before

Checking out how much snow we got
Kate and Emma on their sled rides

Kate, Emma and Brower being pulled by their daddies

Kate helping Brower go for his first sled ride

Our little gymnast

2010-01-28T19:54:00.000-05:00

Kate has started taking gymnastics at Sonshine Gymnastics and loves it! The child is so strong and weighs next to nothing, so she is really good! Of course I am her mom and very bias, but she really is good! One day her teacher, Miss Julia, had the girls climb a rope. Kate almost made it to the top- I was amazed!

These are pictures from Kate's first "meet" called Winter Fest.

Boy Names

2010-01-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

So, we are still undecided on what to name this sweet little guy. Chad and I cannot come up with names that we like and if we do, we like them for a few days and change our minds. Chad and Kate were out one day and Chad asked Kate what she thought we should name the baby. Her response was "Daddy, I have two names picked out, Buster and Browser." So, we may have a Buster or a Browser. I think we may need some more input than from a 2 and 5 year old!!

"Decorating" the House

2010-01-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

Kate and Brower apparently don't think that their mom is doing a very good job decorating our house. While I was cooking dinner, the kids decided they needed to help me out and decorate our basement. I called the kids up for dinner and Brower came up with glitter all over his hands. Kate came up and told me, very proudly, how they had decorated the basement with glitter. The kids got into Chad's fly-tying glitter, which is very small, fine glitter- 5 bottles of it and sprinkled it all over the basement, literally, ALL OVER the basement...on all the furniture, in all of the toys, on the train table, in the sink, toilet, trash can, shower....everywhere!! They were both so proud of themselves. Chad and I spent an hour and a half vacuuming and cleaning the basement before we finally realized that we will never get it all up and will always have glitter in our basement. It was honestly hard to keep a straight face while discipling the kids!

It's A....

2009-12-30T17:17:00.000-05:00

BOY!!! We had our ultrasound this morning and got to see our healthy, and very active little boy. We brought Kate and Brower with us so they could see the first pictures of their little brother. Brower was excited it was a boy. Kate really wanted a little sister, but I think she will realize soon enough that being the only girl has a lot of advantages. We are so excited to meet this little guy. Now we have to figure out what to name him. We had girls names narrowed down, but have no idea on boy names!

Christmas Caroling (redneck style)

2009-12-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

We have made a tradition of goes Christmas Caroling on Christmas Eve. Papa thought it would be fun to take the kids in his tractor. So, we decided that if they were going in the tractor, it needed to be decorated and we were going to go all out- coke cans and all! The kids loved decorating the tractor to ride in. We even had a sign that said "Will sing for treats!"...and treats they got! Nonna and Papa told their neighbors the kids would be coming and they were all ready. The kids thought it was Halloween! They got some kind of treat at every house- candy canes, cookies, candy, chocolate, M&M's...all of their favorite things. Needless to say, they love Christmas Caroling! It was a really fun day.

Sprinkling reindoor food for Santa's reindeer

Sledding at Papa and Nonna's

2009-12-24T21:46:00.004-05:00

When we got to Nonna and Papa's house, we were so excited to see snow! This is our very first White Christmas and we had so much fun! The kids spent a few hours sledding with Papa before all of their cousins got there.

Sophie may be an old dog, but she loves the snow and the lake!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2009-12-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

It's time once again for our annual Happy Birthday Jesus party with all of our friends. We always have such a great time celebrating Jesus' birthday with our friends!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Christmas at home a few days early before heading to Hickory. The kids got sleeping bags as one of their gifts and I think they were the morexctied about sleeping in their sleeping bags than any other present! We ate cookies, opened presents and played with all of our toys for the night. What a great night!

Enjoying the Christmas cookies they decorated

Roarrrrrr

2009-12-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

One day I said to Brower "Brower, you are so cute, I could just eat you up!" He said "NO, Mommy, then I be all gone!"

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town..

2009-12-10T21:11:00.000-05:00

We had breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa and got to see Santa. The kids love going to the club with Grandma and Grandpa for their annual pancake breakfast with Sana. Kate can't get enough of their yummy raspberries, pancakes and chocolate milk! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for a fun morning with Santa!

What would you like for Christmas? "A Barbie"

What would you like for Christmas? "PRESENTS!"

Kate, Brower, Emma and Santa

Snow White Came to Visit

2009-12-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

Kate had a special guest at her birthday party- Snow White came to celebrate her 5th birthday with her. She was so excited! We had a lot of little girls (and Sawyer and Brower-poor boys!)come over to celebrate with Kate. She could not wait to tell everyone that Snow White was coming to her party. I don't think any of the girls really thought Snow White was coming, but when she got here, they were all mezmerized. Snow White came to the door and gave Kate a rose and a kiss on the cheek-she was in heaven! It was so cute. The girls got to enjoy games, story time, a fashion show and a tea party teaching them manners by Snow White. Kate had a wonderful birthday party.

Happy Birthday Kate!

2009-12-01T20:29:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Kate's 5th birthday today! I cannot believe she is 5 years old. She has grown into such and amazingly sweet, loving and wonderful little girl. I have loved every moment of watching her grow up. She loves to be grown up and a big girl, but she is still my little girl! She still loves to cuddle with me in bed in the morning, sit on my lap to read books and to get back scratches. She still loves cuddling with her "buns". But now she also loves riding her bike, leading us on nature hikes, being a "mom" to her little brother and playing Barbies. I love her so much!

Christmas at North Hills

2009-11-21T20:09:00.000-05:00

We went to North Hills with the Adams to enjoy their Christmas celebration. Santa was there to greet us and we got to enjoy snow falling on Main Street- very fun and a great way to get in the Christmas spirit. The kids were so excited to go ice skating at their outdoor ice skating rink. We waited in line to go ice skating only to find out that the smallest skate size they had was an 11- too big for all of our kids. We had some upset kiddos, but they were quickly distracted by Ben and Jerry's!

Random Pictures

2009-11-20T09:14:00.000-05:00

As a parent, we always want the perfect picture to create the perfect Christmas card so everyone we send our cards to will think we have the perfect family. All parents know that it takes a lot of work to get that picture and it usually isn't much fun. This year we hired our friend Laura to take some family pictures for our Christmas card. Laura worked hard, but our kids didn't cooperate. So, this is photo session #2 and mom is prepared. I am not beyond bribery to get a great picture. After the kids ate lunch and were in a good mood, I got them dressed and bribed them with watching a show and eating fruit snacks. It worked- we got some super cute pictures and even the perfect picture for our Christmas card! The kids were so into their photo session, they even suggested props and different photo opportunities- note the flowers and sticks in their hands. And finally, the perfect Christmas Card picture-

My little Indian

2009-11-18T15:59:00.002-05:00

Kate had a Thanksgiving Day feast at school. They all made Indian costumes and wore them to their Thanksgiving Day feast. She came home and wore her costume the rest of the day.

Go Pack!

2009-11-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

We got tickets to the NC State/ Clemson game and were able to take the kids to their first football game. Kate was so excited to wear an NC State cheerleading uniform and to watch the cheerleaders. We have taught the kids the NC State fight song, so they loved being able to sind that and to watch for Mr. and Mrs. Wuf. The kids loved the game...for the first 15 minutes and then we depended on snacks to make it through the rest of the game! It was a fun family day.

Here Comes # 3

2009-11-02T15:48:00.000-05:00

We found out in late August that we are expecting baby #3. We are so excited. Kate and Brower are just beginning to understand what it means that there will be another baby. Chad and I are very excited. Can't wait to meet this little one!

Blue Ridge Mountains, here we come

2009-11-01T20:44:00.011-05:00

So, we started telling Kate and Brower about a month ago that we would take them on their first camping trip. We went down in the basement and set up the tent, got all of our gear together, filled the flashlights with batteries and were all set. They were so excited to go camping even though they really didn't know what camping entailed. It wasn't until about a week before our camping trip that Kate realized that we would actually be sleeping outside in the tent, not coming back home to go to bed! She wasn't so sure about that.

Finally, it was the week of our trip. Kate asked me that week "Mommy, when are we ever going camping?!" Kids don't really understand time frames, so telling your kids that you are going to do something exciting a month before doing it isn't such a good idea- that's a long time to wait. The forecast was calling for rain and really cold weather, possibly even snow. We packed up our car in the rain and headed to Boone. We were determined to go camping! We ate a wonderful lunch at Dan'l Boone Inn and let the kids shop for candy at Mast General Store, all while it poured outside and the temperature continued to drop! We decided to head to Jillian Price around 3:30. We pulled up to get our campsite information and right in front of us was a baby deer. What a great way to start a camping trip. We got to our campsite and started unloading our stuff and amazingly, the sun came out-thank you God! We got our camp all set up while the kids ran in the woods and collected water from leaves on the ground (whatever keeps you occupied while in the woods). Brower had to fight off the big bad wolf that lived in the woods!Papa showed up around 4:30 and the kids were so excited. We even got a surprise visit from our friends, the Perkins, who had been fishing at the lake. They left us their worms, so the kids went down to the lake to fish. They both caught three or four fish and loved it! We started our fire and cooked hot dogs over the fire with macaroni and cheese and green beans-great camp food. And finished the night with hot chocolate and s'mores. We finally called it a night and climbed in our tent around 8:30. Amazingly, both of our kids were asleep by around 9:15. We actually stayed really warm in our tent with all of our body heat. It rained most of the night and dropped down to about 38 degrees!

We woke up to a really cold morning, but no more rain. Chad, our camp chef, got the fire started and made a yummy breakfast of pancakes, bacon and hot chocolate. Kate and Brower were not so excited about eating breakfast outside in the cold! Poor Kate was sitting in her chair with her pancakes in her lap, right at the edge of our awning. The awning had filled up with water overnight and all the sudden just poured down over Kate. She was drenced with really cold water first thing in the morning...not a fun way to start the morning. After eating, the kids felt much better and were off to the woods again. Papa took the kids fishing again and they both caught more fish. Kate led us on a great hike through the campsite. I don't think my kids have ever been so filthy. They were covered in mud and had so much dirt under their fingernails, but they had a blast. They made up so many games to play in the woods and loved it. This was one of the best family outings we have ever done! I'm so glad Papa was able to be there with us. We'll definitely do it again and hopefully, next time it won't rain! We were very proud of Kate and Brower-they were troopers!

Fishing with Daddy

Fishing with Papa

Keeping warm by the fire

Sweet Kate

Hanging out with Dad

Ready to throw another log on

Watching Daddy get the fire going.

We love soccer

2009-11-01T20:29:00.007-05:00

Kate and Brower have both loved playing soccer. Kate has had so much fun being on the Butterfly team with Lilee and Greta Banks. We had to tell Kate after the first game that is was okay for her to take the ball from the girls on the other team. After that, she had it figured out and even scored her first goal at her last game of the season. I am a proud mom!

Brower has to let everyone know that he plays soccer too and that he has his fast shoes to make him run fast. Kate has to frequently remind him that he doesn't play "real soccer" like her. I guess that's her job as a big sister!

Greta Banks, Kate and Sawyer

Halloween

2009-10-31T15:27:00.000-04:00

We spent our Halloween at the Adams house. Their neighborhood had hot dogs and chili and a Halloween Parade for the kids. We decorated the kids' bikes so they could parade around the neighborhood. We went back to their house to start our trick-or-treating. Lots of fun!

Kiddos on parade

Cute Kate

Holden, Kate Brower and Sawyer

Butterfly Kate and Cowboy Brower

I got my candy, I'm done!

Halloween Fun

2009-10-27T15:06:00.000-04:00

Kate and Brower had a blast celebrating Halloween at school. Both of them dressed up in their costumes and got to parade around the school.

Cool Cats Class
Kate on parade

Butterfly Kate

Cowboy Brower

Brower on parade

Rainbow Class

Brower eating his spider cupcake

Fall Fun

2009-10-25T14:33:00.000-04:00

We have a tradition of painting pumpkins every year. This year it was pretty warm on our pumpkin painting day...so much for the crisp, fall air- more like hot, humid air. The kids love it though!

Off to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin....

Mr. V.I.P.

2009-10-13T14:57:00.000-04:00

Brower had his V.I.P. (Very Important Pre-schooler) day at school, so I got to spend the morning with him. I got to go to music class with him and bring in his favorite snack (cookies and craisins) to share with all of his friends.
He absolutely loves school and his teachers. He runs into school almost every morning and gives Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Gregory a hug. He has certainly worked his "magic" on them, because they love him! He has just started talking about his friends at school. He really likes to play with Justin, Ellie, Bella and Kiera (he likes the girls!). One of his favorite parts of his day is when he gets to see Kate at school. They both get so excited when they see each other. Kate passes Brower's class on the way to music, so she always calls his name and waves to him....very cute!

My little "angels"

2009-10-10T15:55:00.000-04:00

Kate and Brower are always getting into something and creating fun for themselves. I was cooking dinner and they came into the kitched dressed as angels. They had gotten into our dirty clothes basket and put on dirty white t-shirts, tights and shoes. Apparently, angels wear striped tights! They are such good friends and love to play together. I am so thankful for their friendship! I hope they are always this close.

Angel outfit #2

Just like Daddy

2009-10-07T11:08:00.004-04:00

Chad had to go out of town for work and wanted to get the kids a little gift to bring home to them. He stopped in a really cool toy store and found the perfect gifts for each of the kids. He got Kate a huge book full of hidden pictures. She loves trying to find all of the hidden pictures and will spend hours looking for them. Every night that is the book she chooses to "read" at bedtime. Chad got Brower a climbing bear. Chad had one as a little kid and loved it so he found a larger version for Brower. What a great Daddy!

First Day of Soccer

2009-09-20T21:07:00.004-04:00

Kate started soccer yesterday. She is playing for Colonial Baptist Church. She has been so excited to wear her new socks and cleats. When we showed up at the field, I don't think she expected so many people to be there. She got very shy and didn't want to play. She said "Mommy, are all of these people going to watch me? Are they going to laugh at me?" Such a sweet little girl. As soon as she got geared up, she forgot about all the people there and had a blast. Her coach was awesome teaching them technique but also making it really fun. At the end of practice, they got their soccer shirs. I took Kate later that day to get some new soccer shorts (they were boys, but of course I couldn't let her know that!). As soon as we got home, she ran to her room to put on her soccer shirt and shorts. She didn't want to take them off and slept in them all night. I think she is a bit excited about her new soccer uniform! Super cute!

Keeping me on my toes

2009-09-20T20:58:00.003-04:00

So, a lot of people told me that boys are much more adventurous and mischievous than little girls. Kate is pretty daring and very tough, but Brower definitely keeps me on my toes! Yesterday, I asked Brower to go get his hands washed for lunch. Kate was already at the table eating lunch and Brower still hadn't come to sit down. I went into the bathroom to check on him and see what was taking so long. I found Brower in the bathroom with both arms up to his elbows in an overflowing sink. He somehow managed to plug the drain and fill the sink until it was overflowing all over the floor and himself. He looked at me and said "Mommy, I got wet!"
After lunch the kids went out to play in the back yard. I was cleaning up the kitchen and looked out the window to see Brower standing at the top of the slide with the bottom part of a swing on the sliding board. He was stading on the swing using it as a skateboard and trying to "skateboard" down the slide! He is only two! What am I going to do when he is 16?! I love his sense of adventure and that he loves to explore new things. One of my favorite things to see the kids do is go for a "nature hike" in our backyard. They get geared up in their boots and buckets and explore through the woods. Yesterday, they came back so excited to tell me they found a snapping turtle in the woods. Kate wanted Chad and I to get our boots on so she could show us the turtle. They love to explore and learn new things while keeping their mom on her toes!

Tea Party

2009-09-02T20:26:00.003-04:00

I surprised Kate one day with a tea party during Brower's nap time. I told her to go get dressed up in one of her favorite dresses while I set up all of her animals. She thought it was so fun that all her animals were sitting at the table. I even brought out my china for the tea party. Kate thought Sophie wanted to be a part of the tea party too since she was a girl. We had a lot of fun having some Mommy Kate time. We ate cookies during our tea party and I told Kate not to tell Brower that she had cookies because I didn't have any more. So she took one bite of her cookie and asked if she could save the rest and give it to her brother. I'm so proud to be her mommy!

Me Brower Michael Evenhouse

2009-09-02T20:11:00.002-04:00

So, Brower knows his name and wants to make sure everyone else knows his name too. This was a conversation Brower and I had today:
B- Mommy, can I eat this lollipop?
M- No, honey, not right now.
B- Mommy, me no honey, me Brower Michael Evenhouse!
M- But, you're my honey aren't you?
B- No, mommy! Me Brower Michael Evenhouse, not honey!

First Day of School

2009-09-02T19:43:00.006-04:00

Who wants to go to school today?!

Today was the first day of school. The kids were very excited to go see their teachers and meet their new friends. Kate got to school and was very shy and actually didn't want me to leave. I was very surprised. When I came to pick her up though, she was having a great time and said she loved her new class. She thought it was very fun that there is another Kate in her class. Brower didn't want to leave Kate's class. It took me a while just to get him out of her class and to his class. As soon as we got out into the hall, he bolted to the "rainbow class". He couldn't wait to get in the door. The teachers asked us to wait in the hall with our kids and they would take the kids in one at a time to try to keep them from getting too upset-that was not a problem for Brower. He was knocking on the door to try to get in! Mrs. Leonard came out to get the next child and he ran right in! He had so much fun. I think they are both going to love school this year. Of course, we continued our tradition of cookies on the first day of school which they loved!

Fast Shoes

2009-09-02T19:35:00.003-04:00

Brower got some new shoes the other day for school. I got them out of the box to try on him and he hasn't taken them off since! They are his "fast shoes". He wears them everywhere and has to run everywhere he goes in them. If I tell him to go get his shoes on so we can go somewhere, he instantly says "I go get my fast shoes". He is so proud of those fast shoes!!

Brower checking out his fast shoes

Meet the Teacher

2009-09-02T19:14:00.005-04:00

Kate and Brower were so excited to go meet their new teachers at Greenwood Forest. Chad and I are so thankful to have such wonderful teachers to love on our kids.

Kate is in the Cool Cats class. She is so excited that Brower is going to be at school with her. She told me the other day that she is going to wave to Brower on her way to music class.

Kate with Mrs. Holderman

Kate with Mrs. Rudd

Brower is in the Rainbow class and will tell anyone who asks him about school.

Brower with Mrs. Leonard
Brower with Mrs. Gregory

BrowerMichealEvenhouse

2009-08-28T20:44:00.003-04:00

Kate, Brower and I were sitting in the playroom the other day just talking. We were saying everyone's name and talking about our family. Brower looked at me and said "Me Brower Michael Evenhouse!" I didn't even know he knew his whole name. He calls me Mommy Jenn Michael Evenhouse and Chad is Daddy Chad Michael Evenhouse. He thinks everyone has Michael in their name. I have it on video. I'll post it as soon as I can get it downloaded.

Pottys, Monkey Bars and Surgery...

2009-08-28T20:32:00.005-04:00

I have been so slack in posting lately. We went on vacation to Kiawah for a week with Papa and Nonna and then returned to have my gall bladder removed. Chad and our family took such great care of me while I was recovering. Our parents loved on us in only a way parents can. Kate and Brower were very concerned for their mommy which was so cute. Kate did not want to leave my side. She insisted on Papa taking her to get flowers for me while I was at the hospital. Nonna thought I might like some wild flowers, but Kate insisted on the small pink roses (she knows that tulips are my favorite and they looked like tulips). She came to cuddle with me in bed one morning when she woke up. I had to get up out of bed after a while, which was a very difficult task. Kate got behind me and said "It's okay mommy, I'll help push you up" and pushed my back. She is such a sweet girl.
Just before my surgery, I decided it would be a good time to potty train Brower. He did great! He was so excited to wear his "Iting Mween"- Lightning McQueen- underwear. So now, he is running around in his big boy underwear...I can't believe he is such a big boy.
Kate has learned how to go all the way across the monkey bars all by herself! She climbed up the ladder the other day and said "Mommy, watch me!" She had such determination on her face. I could tell there was no way she was going to stop until she was all the way across. I think the child is going to be a gymnast. She is constantly doing somersaults and trying to do headstands and carwheels. Too cute.

"Besque"

2009-06-25T22:23:00.002-04:00

Kate has taken ballet for the last year and loves it. She is constantly walking around the house doing arabesues. Of course, Brower being the little brother, wants to everything his big sister does. He holds onto chairs with one leg sticking out and grunts "besque, besque Mommy". It is hard work for him to do an arabesque.
My dad and Jane had Brower for an afternoon. They took him to Northern Tools, a total guy store full of tractors and other manly things. Brower was in the middle of all the tractors doing an arabesque saying "besque Papa". I guess it's not bad to be in touch with your feminine side at age two.
Brower also likes to go play in Kate's doll house when she is not around. She hates for him to play in it because he messes everything up (her house is very organized, can't imagine where she gets that from). So, of course he goes straight there when she is not at home. I walked in there the other day and he was holding the "daddy" and making him do an arabesque and saying "daddy, besque". Not real sure what his fascination is with arabesques, but it is pretty cute!

Happy Daddy Day!

2009-06-21T14:22:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day! Between tickles, hide and seek freeze tag, cuddles in bed (until you are the one to fall asleep), silly faces, letters on Kate's back, lion kisses and teaching them about life, you have captured the hearts of our kids. I feel so blessed to have an amazing father to my children, a great dad and great Father In Law. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's that we love so dearly!

Kate and Brower started their morning by running and jumping in our bed to wake up Chad. We had gone shopping earlier in the week to get his presents and the kids were so excited to give Chad his gifts. I asked the kids before we went shopping what they wanted to get Chad and they both know right away- Kate wanted to get him a puzzle and Brower wanted to get him a fire truck. We went shopping and Kate picked out her puzzle but we couldn't find a fire truck for Brower. So instead he got Chad a sponge to clean his car. They wrapped the gifts all by themselves. Chad opened his gifts and then we brought him breakfast in bed which turned into breakfast in bed for Brower... and for Kate.

After church we surprised Chad with lunch at Mellow Mushroom with our dear friends Al and Laura. Great company and great food...is doesn't get any better than that! I made Chad one of his favorite meals, shrimp and grits. It was delicious. We had a great day celebrating Chad and our dad's. We love you guys so much!

Putt-Putt

2009-06-19T14:32:00.003-04:00

Chad and I took the kids to play putt-putt. They were hilarious. Kate tried really hard and did really well. She is so competitive and she doesn't want anyone to beat her! Brower would hit the ball one time from the tee and then pick up his ball and put it in the hole...so much for putting. He had more fun just dropping the ball in the hole than anything else. Frankie' also has race cars and of course, they both wanted to ride the race cars. We were able to please them with an Icee instead. Fun memories, if nothing else!

Traditions at MC

2009-06-10T21:53:00.008-04:00

Juley, Laura and I took our annual trip to Meredith to photograph our kids. We have been going out to Meredith to take pictures of our kids since they were two. We joke that they are going to be 18 and the girls will still be in their smocked dresses and hairbows and we will be making them sit in the same spot on the stairs of the ampitheater so we can get the perfect picture! This is our third year and it is amazing to see how much they have grown! This year was even more fun because we were able to take pictures of the little ones too. These kiddos are such a blessing!

Strawberry Picking

2009-06-02T21:56:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite things to do each summer is to take the kids strawberry picking. They love to pick the berries and eat them by the handful. I love to watch them eat the strawberries with no care in the world. We always have such great memories doing this. So Kate, Brower and I went strawberry picking on Friday. It was such a beautiful, sunny summer day. They were so excited that they got their own buckets from the farm. They headed off in search of only the "red ones"! Kate would have filled her entire bucket if I let her. She loves to search under the leaves to find the juicy ones. Once I told them they could eat one, the picking was over for Brower. All he wanted to do was eat his "berries". When it was time to leave the strawberry field, Brower had about 25 strawberries in his bucket. By the time we got to the stand to pay, I counted and he only had 7 left! He left a trail of stems and half eaten strawberries in the field....

The lady said "Is that all you got buddy?" and Brower said "yummy berries" with strawberry juice dripping down his chin onto his shirt.

Big Boy Bed

2009-05-26T22:34:00.004-04:00

Well, Brower is now in his big boy bed or as he calls it "bi boy bed". He is so proud of his bed and tells everyone he knows about his bed. We put him in Friday night and he did great. Well, he went to bed fine. He woke up at 3:30 and decided to stay up for the next two hours getting in and out of his bed. Fortunately the novelty of getting in and out of bed wore off and now he is doing great. He looks so small in that big bed!
It was a bit of a sad day for me when I took down the crib. It has been up for four years!! But when I see Brower in his bed, I can't help but smile!In the midst of moving Brower into his bed, our house was a wreck. We had to move dressers and rugs and basically tore apart the kids' rooms. I took the changing table pad off of the dresser in Brower's room. Kate found the pad and made her own little bed for rest time. She is laying in the doorway of her room because there wasn't anywhere else to lay and she is on the changing pad with her bunny....and only in her underwear ( and of course, her hairbow :)

Fun Times Playing Outside

2009-05-26T22:13:00.013-04:00

Some fun pictures of Kate and Brower playing at home. I sprayed shaving cream all over the picnic table for the kids to play in. They could get as messy as they wanted, but my only rule was that they weren't allowed to get the shaving cream on me, each other or the camera. Brower's devious little mind realized that if he put his arm around Kate to take the picture he could get shaving cream all over her back!

Chad and Kate have started a new game of making funny faces. So now, they love to pose their silly, funny, excited, surprised and happy faces. Here are a few...

Brower really only has one silly face. He usually puts his fingers in his mouth. He almost did in this picture until he remembered he had shaving cream all over his hands.

Digging for ants. Brower is a tough kid. He will fall and get beat up by Kate and not cry a tear. But for some reason, the child is terrified of ants. Anytime he sees ants, he yells "ant" and won't go near them!
Time out is no fun!

2009-05-21T14:48:00.001-04:00

Girl TIme

2009-05-21T14:36:00.007-04:00

Kate and I wanted to have a Girls Night Out so we decided to go get a pedicure. Kate had a blast. I think she likes being pampered! She was so proud of her blue and pink toes. She told the lady that she wanted her big toes to be blue and she wanted a pattern! So cute!

Pee Pee on the Potty

2009-05-06T21:35:00.003-04:00

Yeah...Brower went pee pee on the potty for the first time today. He was so proud of himself! He went one time, washed his hands and went back to go again. I have a great picture of him on the potty, but I don't think I want it on the web...I guess we'll save it for his rehersal dinner slide show! I can't believe he is getting to be such a big boy!

We're Off Again, This time to Florida

2009-05-06T20:24:00.018-04:00

Chad has been working in Florida a lot lately, so we decided to make a family trip out of it. Kate, Brower and I flew to Tampa on Tuesday. Mimi and Gigi were there to meet us. Brower was thrilled to ride a "big airpane to Gigi's house". I was so proud of Kate and Brower- they did awesome on the plane ride and getting through the airport.

We spent our mornings at the beach in Clearwater. The kids loved playing at the beach and swimming in the pool with Gigi. Mimi and Gigi took great care of us and spoiled us with yummy dinners and ice cream. It was so much fun to bring the kids to spend time at Gigi's house!

Kate and Brower playing "King of the sandcastle"
Kate won while Brower hid in the moat. They wrestled and played this game for a good 45 minutes. I have no idea how they have so much energy! Kate later decided to wash Brower's hair with the sand. Needless to say, I was washing sand out of every crevice of both of them!
Queen of the sandcastle

Two peas in a pod. K & B were freezing after playing in the water. They cuddled together to get warm.
Brower watching the birds
Boat!!

Our sandcastle

Chad drove into Tampa on Thursday night. We went out to dinner and enjoyed a great evening with Mimi and Gigi. We went back to the beach on Friday morning and then headed to Orlando for lots of fun at Disney World!

We checked into our hotel, grabbed some dinner and headed over to Downtown Disney. It was a beautiful night, so we walked around there for a few hours. One of our favorite things to do there is to run through the dancing water fountain and try not to get wet. Brower thinks it is hilarious. He even ran through it by himself this time!

Our morning started bright and early. Hilton offered to give us free breakfast and $100 cash if we would listen to their time share sell for 1 hour....bad idea. After 45 minutes, we said we have to get out of here. We did enjoy a free breakfast, but we need to get to the Magic Kingdom. After a bus ride and a ferry ride, we made it to Main Street. I think Chad and I were just as excited as the kids were. We had such a great day. We rode all of our favorite rides and found a few new fun things. We did Mickey's Philharmonic 3-D show. The kids were hilarious in it. They jumped, screamed and tried to grab everything that was coming towards them. We actually went to the show twice. We also went to Aeriel's Grotto this time. It was a really hot day (90 degress!) so we let the kids cool off in the Grotto. They loved it.

Enjoying ice cream after playing in Aeriel's Grotto

Do you think he is having a good time?

We actually stayed at Disney all the way through the parade...a 14 hour day! Brower crashed at 8:00 before the parade started. The parade was the SpectroMagic parade. They turn off the lights on Main Street and all of the costumes and floats are lit up. Brower woke up during the middle of looking around trying to figure out what was going on. I can't imagaine being completely asleep and waking up to that!! It was pretty funny! So, after a long day at the park, Kate and Brower both crashed on the bus. Mean parents that we are, we made them get in the shower when we got home. Both of them just stood in the shower with their eyes closed crying to go to bed. Pure torture! We had such a fun family day. I love seeing Disney through the eyes of my kids. Everything is just so real and exciting to them. What a great (and exhausting) day!

California, Here We Come

2009-05-06T20:06:00.003-04:00

Chad and I were so forunate to be able to go to California to celebrate our 8 year anniversary. Nonna and Papa came to Raleigh to watch Kate and Brower for two days and then they spent the rest of the time with Grandma and Grandpa. We are so blessed to have family who loves our kids and who love to watch our kids. We know that we would never be able to take such great trips if we didn't have our parents to take such good care of our kids. Kate and Brower miss us, but I think they really enjoy eating chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for every meal and getting spoiled for 5 days!
We flew into San Francisco and spent a few hours getting our luggage. Our flight was changed that morning without us knowing so we thought we were going to miss our flight. We made the flight after running through the airport but our luggage did not. So, after getting to SF, we grabbed some lunch near the new baseball stadium and then went back to the airport to get our luggage. We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and went to the many beautiful viewing areas of SF and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was freezing! I had on a lot of layers and was still cold. After doing that for a few hours, we headed to Santa Rosa for dinner and then to our hotel. We had an early night...we never seemed to adjust to the time change.
On Friday morning, we were up and ready to go running at 6 AM, yep, 6 AM. I am never even moving at 6! We hopped in the car and explored Sonoma and Napa all day. We went to a bunch of wineries and had a picnic at Ravenwood. Some of our favorites were Ravenwood, V. Sattui and Kenwood. It was such a relaxing day. We went back to Santa Rosa for dinner and were in bed at 7:45!
On Saturday, we decided to head back to SF. We got up early and went to Muir Woods. We hiked around Muir Woods for about 3 hours. We went on one of the extended hikes and had the entire hike to ourselves. It was so beautiful! We hiked to a picnic area and ate lunch and hiked back throught the Redwood Forest. After our hike we headed into SF. We walked around Fisherman's Wharf and ate a sourdough bowl of chowder. We spent most of the people watching- lots of interesting people to watch! Then we headed over to one of our favorite's-Ghiradelli and ate a huge sundae. We were exhausted after our hike and all of our eating so we went back to Santa Rosa for the evening to hang out.
On Sunday, we went to a festival that they hold in Carneros called April in Carneros. We each bought a glass and went to about 15 wineries that are only open to the public during the festival. It was so much fun. I think this was one of our favorite things to do. A lot of the wineries were just small, family owned wineries. They all had food that complemened the wine. We ate a lot of food and drank even more wine!! What a fun last day in wine country!
We had such a wonderful time celebrating us just having time together.

Dentist Visit

2009-04-26T21:37:00.001-04:00

Kate and Brower both visited the dentist before we went on our trip to Florida. This was Kate's second time and she did awesome. She even let them take x-rays! Brower was so excited that he got to go to the dentist too! He climbed right up in the chair. He layed back, crossed his legs and watched "Lighing Mween". Our dentist office has mini dental chairs with flat screen TV's above the chairs. They give the kids sunglasses to wear so the light doesn't get in their eyes. They think it is great. Brower did great. The dentist did tell us that we need to get rid of his pacifier. So now Brower walks around saying "Dentist, no paci, baby". The paci fairy is going to be visiting Brower's bed soon!

Kate's first vist back in the fall

Too Cute

2009-04-22T15:09:00.002-04:00

I love to hear the things that come out of my kids' mouths...

Brower's new saying is "No not" - Brower, don't do that, you will get hurt. Brower's response- "No not" Everything is "No not" and "Ah man"

Brower has had a hard time with Chad being out of town so much. When he wakes up in the morning, he always calls for Daddy. On morning while Chad was gone I went in to get Brower out of bed. When I opened the door he said "No mommy, daddy!" So I closed the door and left him there. 5 minutes later he called Daddy again. I went in again and he said "No mommy, daddy". I said "Daddy is not here Brower". He said "Oh, poopy pants!"

The other day I took the kids to Nordstrom for a very quick shopping trip. When we got there, Kate said "Mommy, can we ride the alligator (elevator) up in this store?"

I'm sure I'll be able to keep adding to this list. They are so funny!

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

2009-04-22T14:27:00.011-04:00

Hallelujah! Happy Easter!

Kate and Brower love to sing this song. When we get in the car, Brower says "Aooyah" and we crank it up for them to sing.

Mimi came into town for Easter. We had a great, relaxing weekend with Mimi. We went to church Sunday morning and went to our favorite place for lunch, Mimi's Cafe! What a great Easter!

Eater Fun

2009-04-22T13:35:00.008-04:00

Heidi and Lyn invited our small group over for an Easter Egg Hunt. We had so much fun. Between all of us, there were 12 kids under 6 and we had over 250 eggs. We put the big kids in the back yard and the little kids in the back yard. Kate went around the side of the house and hit the jackpot! I think the Easter Bunny got tired of hiding eggs and just dumped a bunch! Brower was happy with his first egg when he realized it contained candy. He just wanted to sit and open his candy. We had to encourage him to go find more eggs. Kate would find the eggs and tell Brower where they were. What a great big sis!

Ready for the hunt!

Kate and Aliza

Brower's first egg
Kate helping Brower

Dyeing eggs

The whole crew

37 isn't that bad!

2009-04-08T20:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Chad!
Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. Chad got to celebrate his birthday in sunny Florida. Unfortunately he is in Florida for work and away from us for his birthday!
I am so thankful for what a loving father, caring husband and man of Christ Chad is. He is a true blessing from God! We miss him.
Brower keeps saying "Daddy, no airpane, Daddy, me!"- Interpretation- He wants Daddy off the airplane and home with him!
While Chad was away, we got to spend a whole week at Nonna and Papa's house. The kids had a great time relaxing at the lake. It was a beautiful week and we even got to go out on the boat one evening.
On the way home, Brower said "No home, Nonna's Papa's house". He had a great week at the lake.

Something for Me

2009-04-08T20:35:00.005-04:00

Being a mom is definitely one of the best things in my life. However, being a mom requires a lot of sacrifice. I have always wanted to run races, but have never felt like I had time to train. This year I decided I am going to do it! I have been working out and going to the gym regularly since December. Well this weekend, I did it...I ran my first 5k. It was so much fun- hard, but fun! I ran it with 3 other friends which was so encouraging. Lisa, Heidi and I ran together the whole time and finished the race in 31 minutes. Now I'm training for my first triathlon. Not real sure what I'm thinking! We'll see how I feel after that race.

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

2009-03-20T22:15:00.003-04:00

Today is the 1st day of spring. One of the local Italian ice places was offering free Italian ice to all of it's customers. We headed over there after dinner for the kids to get a treat. Kate was thrilled to hear that she was Italian and that she was going to eat Italian ice. We all enjoyed our Italian ice, but it was a little chilly for the first day of Spring.
When we got home, I told the kids they needed to brush their teeth to get all the sugar out. Kate informed me that the dentist told her she had to brush her teeth really well and not to eat a lot of candy or her teeth would rot and fall out. She then told me that Anna Marie (her 6 year old cousin) ate lots and lots of candy and that is why her teeth fell out!- Note to self...be careful what I tell my four year old, she takes thinks very literally!

When I grow up, I want to be...

2009-03-16T14:19:00.003-04:00

Kate was so excited to tell me that a police officer came to visit them at shcool today and she got to sit in his car. This was our conversation when she got in the car:

K: "Mommy, you won't believe it, a police officer came to school and we got to get in his car! It was so cool, you should have been there Mommy!"

Me: Wow, that's great. You sure are lucky to get in the police officer's car.

K: Yea, Brower wasn't lucky though (always competing with her brother)

Me: What did the police officer tell you? What did you learn from him?

K: Don't touch the radio!

Me: Did you talk about strangers?

K: Yes

Me: What did he say about strangers?

K: I don't remember.

Me: Did the police officer tell you what you should do if you get lost?

K: I don't remember. But Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a princess, a fairy AND a police officer! I got a really cool sticker that is just like the police officers!

I guess in the mind of a 4 year old, strangers and getting lost are not important. What really matters is that she got to sit in the police officer's car, she got a sticker and she has another occupation for when she gets older!

Neigh Neighs!

2009-03-08T21:17:00.020-04:00

Our friend Kelly invited us to come to her horse farm to ride horses. Since Brower loves horses so much, we wanted to take him as part of his birthday celebration. This weekend was absolutely beautiful. It was 80 degrees all weekend! We went out to the farm and Kelly let us walk through the barn to see all the horses and then we were able to ride her horse Bey. The kids loved it. After riding, they got to feed Bey carrots and brush him. It was a fun family night!

Kate and Nadia in the bobcat

Brower and Ross in the Bobcat

Kate feeding Bey a carrot after their ride

Brower and Ross pushing the barrel

Brower brushing Bey

Kate brushing Bey

Fun In the Snow

2009-03-02T20:25:00.014-05:00

We woke up to a beautiful sight of snow covering the trees and a few inches on the ground. We bundled up and headed out. Kate loved throwing snowballs. Brower still didn't like being cold but he was at least happy scooping up the snow and putting it in a bucket. He didn't last long in the cold! We had a lot of fun playing in the snow for one last time this winter!

Kate and Brower making snowballs. Shortly after this picture, Brower lost his balance and did a face plant in the snow. Needless to say, he was a little upset!

Get ready Mommy, I have my snowball!

Random fun with Kate and Brower

2009-02-28T21:51:00.009-05:00

Kate is such a great big sis and she loves to play with her brother. As you can see, they both love to dress up. Brower in a princess dress with butterfly wings is Kate's doing. After this picture they both ran around the house "flying and flapping their wings".

Princess Kate doing an arabesque

Princess Kate and Cowboy Brower. Not sure how the purple boa fits in to the cowboy costume. According to Kate it is an accessory.

This baby is taking up too much room in this bed! Bella, Max, Brower, Kate and Anna Marie heading to the play with Nonna and Papa.

Hugs...

...and Kisses from Kate and Brower!

Happy Birthday Brower!

2009-02-28T21:02:00.012-05:00

I woke up this morning to hear Brower calling "Mommy, Mommy". What a sweet sound. Chad, Papa, Kate and I greeted Brower with singing Happy Birthday to him in his bed.

We decorated the table and Brower's chair and made him a Happy Birthday pancake, bacon and strawberries. He loved it.

We enjoyed a whole day of celebrating Brower. We had a party for him at the Fun Zone at church. Nonna, Papa, Mimi, Aunt Heather, Uncle Scott, Anna Marie, John Thomas, Eliza and Jack all came to Cary to celebrate with us. Laura, Holden, Jill, Steve, Kaylee, Zach, Aunt Linda, Uncle Rob, Emma, Aunt Jane, Derek, Juli, Lilee, Ausley Claire, Grandma and Grandpa all came to the party too. Brower loves "neigh neighs" so we had a farm theme for his party. I think everyone had a lot of fun!

Farm cake

How old is Brower? "Do"

Kids table-everyone loves pizza

Cute cousins- Brower, Kate, Emma and Eliza

Brower blowing out his candlesKate and Brower enjoying the cupcakes

Brower opening his presents

Brower climbing up to the slide. He isn't quite big enough to just climb up each platform. Big sister Kate used to push him up each level and then she taught him how to stick his feet in the net and climb up himself. He's like Spiderman!

The kids were exhasted from an exciting morning. We all rested and took naps. After dinner we ate popcorn and watched Charlotte's Web. It was a great day! My little boy is two!

Bringing up boys...

2009-02-27T22:17:00.004-05:00

Well, today was a good reminder to me of what is to come of my life raising a little boy. Brower is getting ready to turn two. If you ask him how old he is, he'll hold up his hand in an attempt to show two fingers and say "do". He has such a fun personality. He has just started to try to hide what he is doing if he knows he shouldn't do it. Today we were having a muffin at Panera with some friends and Brower got Lilee's juice box without me seeing. He turned his back to me so he was facing the back of the booth and was hiding the juice box from me. When he realized I was looking at him, he refused to look at me. He'll either do that or give me a huge cheesy grin that says "It's okay mom, I'm really cute!" He knows he's cute and his smile will get him out of anything.
The child is so full of energy and runs everywhere he goes. He is finally pretty stable on his feet, but he still runs a little out of control, usually with his head down and his fists clenched! He was playing in the car with Kate while we were waiting for a store to open and he hit his eye on something. He cried for a minute and then moved on. He now has a black eye. Tonight we were in a store after dinner and he fell and hit Kate's leg. Again, he cried for a minute, asked for a kiss and moved on. A few minutes later he had blood dripping out of his mouth and covering his hand. He had busted his lip and was bleeding but didn't care a bit. He fell at least three more times while we were in the store. I saw at least one couple gasp when he fell and of course Chad and I are so used to it, we barely even blink. He is all boy! The child looks like he got in a fight.
I can't believe my baby will be two in a few days. He is just so full of joy! He loves to perform and to be the center of attention. He loves to talk and will say (or make an attempt to say) whatever you tell him. He loves to sing. His favorite songs are Jesus Loves Me and Hallelujah. We were at the fun zone the other day and he was up in the maze singing Hallelujah! So cute! Chad always says he is like me because he doesn't like to be cold and he loves to sleep...sounds a bit like me :) What a joy it is to have a little boy! He likes to get all of his animals and line them up in the play roo. He loves "teats" (treats) and "nacks" (snacks). His favorite foods are bananas, craisins, pancakes, oatmeal and any kind of bread or crackers. He could live off of fruit and crackers. I just love learning what he likes and what makes him happy. I am so thankful to have such a precious little boy. He is such a joy!

He went to the doctor for his 2 year well check up. He talked to Dr. Adams and played with him. He weighed 25 lbs. (only 7 less than his sister) and was 32" tall. Whoo hoo Brower...he finally got out of the 10th percentile! He only had to get one shot and he did great. He was happy after getting a Mickey Mouse sticker and a "kucker" (sucker).

Snow Tubing

2009-02-24T21:35:00.015-05:00

We headed up to Hickory for a fun weekend with Papa and Nonna. Everyone made it in for the weekend except for Bradley. Kate and Brower were so excited to have a sleepover with their cousins. Kate and Bella were thrilled to be allowed to sleep in the top bunk together. They were so cute cuddled up there together. Saturday morning we got up early to drive to Banner Elk to go tubing. The kids had a blast. Kate and Brower were so cute all bundled up. They absoulutely loved it. Kate even went down a few times by herself. She was so proud of herself!

Cruising down the hill on her own!
Kate riding the "magic carpet" with Nonna and Papa

Brower holding his tube

Mommy and Brower

Maxwell ready to go!

We were all really hungry after tubing. The kiddos eating peanut butter crackers.

We tubed for two hours and then headed to the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. The kids were exhausted and crashed within about 5 minutes of being in the car. We headed back to the house for a yummy dinner.

The next morning the kids and dads bundled up and ventured into the woods for a nature hike. Papa discovered a beaver dam and brought the kids down to see it. They even saw a "beaver tail"! Kate told me that beavers slap their tails on the water to warn the other beavers that people are coming. Papa threw a rock in the lake and the kids got really excited that it was a beavers' tail! They also found a tree that the beavers had cut down but not taken to their dam yet. The kids were pretending to be beavers eating the tree.

We had a fun weekend with Nonna and Papaa...as always!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-19T20:53:00.003-05:00

What a fun family day! Kate, Brower and Chad woke up to find the table decorated with confetti, hearts, gifts and cards. I made heart shaped pancakes, heart shaped strawberries and we had strawberry smoothies for breakfast...all very festive. Kate came into the dining room and said "Mommy, what did you do? Even my strawberries are hearts!!!" She was very excited. Brower didn't care so much about the hearts, he was just happy to eat pancakes. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing as a family. We watched Mary Poppins (Kate's V-day gift), went out to eat pizza for lunch and relaxed the rest of the day. The kids weren't as excited as Chad and I were for our pork tenderoin dinner. They were being extremely fussy during dinner, so we just gave them a bath, put them to bed and then Chad and I enjoyed a nice, peaceful dinner. It was great. We should try that more often! Happy Valentine's Day! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving family!

Circus Fun

2009-02-19T20:27:00.009-05:00

Who doesn't love the circus...elephants, tigers, people flying through the air?!! Juley, Laura and I took Greta Banks, Sawyer and Kate to the circus. It was a fun night out for the big kids. The daddies took the little ones out to dinner and then back to our house to play. We went to Bear Rock (Kate's favorite- she always gets Macaroni and Cheese) and then headed to the circus. We were able to get there early so the kids could go down to the floor for the pre-show. They had an elephant painting a picture and the kids got to try on the costumes. It was a really fun night! Kate trying on a costume

Sawyer, Greta Banks and Kate during the intermission
Mommy and Kate
Who wants popcorn? Kate trying to do "tricks like the girls in the circus"

Shy with a little stubborn streak

2009-02-04T21:42:00.004-05:00

Today was parent-teacher conference day at Kate's school. After spending some time playing with Kate, Brower and one of Kate's classmates, I went in to meet with Kate's teacher (Mrs. Keeter). Her teachers did a whole evaluation sheet on Kate's social/emotional development, cognitive development and motor skills. For most of the items such as being independent, participating in singing and movement activities and being proud of her accomplishments, Kate "passed" with flying colors. However, when we got to "cooperates with adult requests", her teachers wrote "most of the time, but has a stubborn streak"! I guess they are finally seeing the real Kate! They also said she understands sharing, but doesn't like to. Really though, who likes to share unless they have to! Her teachers said she is very shy and will talk if she is asked something directly. We are working on how shy she is and she is doing much better, but she is still very quiet with other people. We know how she really is at home though! :)
When asked her name she said "Kate Kathryn Cole". One of the first things they showed me when I first got there were some of the crafts Kate had done at school. She loves crafts! I think she asks me at least 8 times a day to do a craft. They said she follows directions really well and can copy an example for a craft. She can complete a 6/7 piece puzzle (way too easy, she did a 100 piece puzzle by herself during nap time-I'm a proud mom!) and she can cut with scissors really well (again, another craft we do on a regular basis). Overall, she is doing great at pre-school and she loves it. Both Chad and I agree that the most important thing about pre-school is having fun! We are both so proud of our little girl.
I just registered her for her last year of pre-school. Wow...where has time gone? I can't believe she only has one more year before she goes to kindergarten. Only one more year to have her at home with me and Brower doing crafts all day. She is growing up so fast. She was really funny today while we were working on a puzzle. I was trying to fit a piece in the wrong spot and she said "Actually that piece goes here Mommy"...."actually", where did she learn "actually"!! She is still a little munchkin, but full of personality. At her doctor's visit a few weeks ago, the doctor told me she would probably b 5'2" and 110 pounds. She weighed 32 pounds and was 38" tall. I am so thankful God has blessed me with such a special little girl. I love when she looks at me with her big blue eyes, cute blond curls and her big smile and says "I love you Mommy!". She is truly a blessing and a miracle. I learn so much about the Fruits of the Spirit by being a mom everyday...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness....it is truly a joy!

Brower Climbing IN The Bed!

2009-01-29T21:12:00.004-05:00

Most parents are concerned about their two year old climbing out of the bed. We have the opposite concern. Kate taught Brower how to climb into his bed a few months ago. We even got it on video tape (as you can see below!). Today I found him in his crib twice. Is it just a challenge or does he really want that paci? How are we ever going to get rid of the paci?!!

Daddy's work

2009-01-29T21:03:00.003-05:00

Well, this blog is supposed to be documenting our life. Yes, we have lots of good time, but there are also some bad times. But, in those bad times, we can still thank God for what he is doing in our lives.
Chad's company announced that they are going to begin lay-offs. We have been praying a lot about what will happen with his job. As I am realizing more every day, kids pick up on a lot more than we think. I prayed before we ate breakfast this morning and Kate wanted to pray too. This was her prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you kept Daddy's work safe and I pray for our hearts and the love we have in our hearts"...so adorable. She is thankful that Daddy still gets to go to work. This is Brower's typical prayer: "Ahh yaa ahh Amen".

Sweet Tea

2009-01-23T20:57:00.002-05:00

This was a conversation Kate and I had a few days ago:
Kate: Mommy, when do I get to go to your school?
Mommy: Which school? Meredith?
Kate: Yes, mommy, I want to go to Meredith. When do I get to go to school there?
Mommy: You can go to Meredith when you are 18.
Kate: Do I get to drink sweet tea when I am 18 and I go to Meredith?
Mommy: Yes, sweetheart you can drink sweet tea when you are 18 and go to Meredith. When you are 18, sweet tea is all you can drink! :)...let's hope she'll keep that mindset when she is in college!

Snow Day 2009

2009-01-20T20:39:00.013-05:00

Kate and Brower woke up today to a fun surprise...snow falling! It was so beautiful to see our neighborhood covered in snow. The kids were so excited (I was too!).

After we got all bundled up, we headed out. It was snowing really hard and it was really cold. Kate ran straight out and loved it. Brower, not so much. The snow was up to his knees and he was so bundled up, he could barely walk. He thought it was really fun to throw the snow at me and Kate. Kate loved making snow angels. Brower and I were both freezing, but Kate was as happy as could be (just like her Daddy). We tried to make a snowman, but the snow was too dry. Since we didn't have a sled, we tried to sled on a cookie sheet (we're from the South, we don't know how to sled), but that didn't work. The kids played on the play set and then we headed in to get warm.

What an amazing day in history. We spent the rest of the morning watching the Innauguartion of our new President. I think I will always remember this day. Chad came home from work early to play on our Snow Day. Kate was in her room for rest time playing with puzzles. Chad went in and asked her if she wanted to go play in the snow with him and she said "Not right now Daddy, I'm working on my puzzle." She loves her puzzles! They did get all bundled up again and headed to the school in our neighborhood. There was another family sledding and they let Kate and Chad use their sled. They had a blast. When they got home, we played outside for a little longer and then came insided for popcorn and hot chocolate. What a fun day!

Ice Skating

2009-01-17T21:32:00.007-05:00

Kate has been asking to go ice skating for months. She loves watching Angelina Ballerina and Max and Ruby ice skate on T.V. It was only 32 degrees today, so we decided it would be a fun night to go. Kate was so excited. Actually, Brower was really excited too...he just didn't know what he was excited about. We got them geared up in their hats, gloves and skates and we were ready to go. We couldn't wipe the grin off of Kate's face. They did awesome! Chad and I were both amazed at how well they did. We will definitely do this again! So much fun!

All geared up and ready to go!

Kate on her own...gripping the wall

" Me, again!" Everytime we took a break Brower was ready to go again.

"Hi, Mommy!"

Mommy and Brower

Sweet Kate

Kate and Daddy

Pictures with Mimi

2009-01-16T21:27:00.015-05:00

Mimi, Uncle Jason, Aunt Julia, Maxwell and Bella came to visit for Christmas. Our friend Laura (lauraadamsphotography.blogspot.com- Laura Adams Photography) took some family pictures for us.

Vittorio Family

Mimi and her grandkids

Me, Mom and Jason

Brower "up high"

Kate and Bella

The whole family

Evenhouse Family

Mommy, pray to God

2009-01-16T21:15:00.002-05:00

I love the faith and innocence of a 4 year old. This morning Kate had a bug bite on her lower back (she kept calling it her bottom) that itched really bad. She kept scratching it to the point that it was almost bleeding. It was time to leave for school this morning and her "bottom" was still hurting. I tried putting some cream on it to make it stop itching, but she was still complaining about it. After a few minutes, she turned to me and said "Mommy, will you pray to God that my bottom would feel better?" So I sat with her and prayed to God that her bottom would feel better. When Chad came home tonight, we were talking about her day. I asked her if her bottom felt better and she said "Yes, mommy, God made it all better. God will make things better if we pray to him." So precious!

Brower was on his way to take a nap today so he was telling Kate "night night". He started blowing her kisses and said wove wou (love you). The first time he said I love you...and said it to his big sister.

Here it goes...

2009-01-14T20:42:00.004-05:00

Well, I have been talking about starting a blog for about a year and I finally did it! I am on the computer so often, I thought this would be a great way for me document my everyday life (since I don't do it any other way!). I have been terrible about writing things in my kids baby books, so this blog is really for them. It is to write the funny things they say and do, post pictures and to document the memories we make together as a family
Just a few days ago Brower started calling me "mommy" instead of "momma". Hearing him say that hit me so hard and made me realize how fast he is growing up. I felt like calling me "momma" was the last baby thing he did, now he is a toddler. Wow, my baby is almost two!

Kate is so proud to be 4! Everything that she can do now is "because she is 4". She can reach the sink to wash her hands all by herself, turn the T.V. on, open a heavy door, dribble a soccer ball ...all of these things because she is 4! Really cute. The one thing she did not like about turning 4 was that she had to get shots. "She did great at the doctor" (her words to Chad) while getting her shots. We met Chad at Bear Rock (Kate's choice) for lunch. While Chad was ordering our lunch, I asked Kate where we should sit. "How about a caboose, Mommy?" It took me a moment to realize she wanted to sit in a booth. Chad and I had to just smile at each other.