End of May Events

Don't forget to click on the pictures!

It was Gavin's last day of pre-school on Friday, so that meant his program at 9:45am and then a class picnic with the families at 11:30am. Before school I wanted a picture of Gavin with his teachers. They had to bribe him with a Skittle, so I could get at least one picture!!

Gavin doesn't really participate in anything when he has to get up in front of a lot of people. Poor kid. The good thing is that he won't give a tantrum and stand up there screaming. Instead, he stands there with this look on his face that says, "This is the stupidest thing I've ever done and I am not having fun!" Miss Amy, the Music Teacher, does a great job with the kids. The hand motions that go along with the songs are cute and they even did a sign language song with no singing. Amazing!
Kim and I think alike! We dressed our boys in the same shirts without even knowing it.


After Gavin's events were over we headed home to pack up. Cailean and I dropped off Gavin at the babysitter's house and then we were on our way to Asheville, NC for 2 nights to celebrate Cailean's 40th. I was very sad leaving Gavin because I've never been away from home that long. Poor Pekai, the babysitter. She had to deal with my tears!!!! I made sure Gavin didn't notice though.

My mom picked up Ian from school, then Cody at our house and then Gavin at the sitter's house. They spent 2 nights with "their Mimi" and LOVED it.

Friday night we drove around downtown Asheville and then had dinner at a great Italian restaurant. The weather wasn't all that great, so we couldn't really walk around outside. Saturday weather was great! We got a good early start and made it to Chimney Rock by 8:45am! We rode in the 26-foot elevator to the top of Chimney Rock and walked up the stairs to where the flag is in this picture. There is a webcam, so we called mom and she logged onto the website. They all got to see us...it was VERY cool!


This is the view from the top. It's looking out to Lake Lure, which is where "Dirty Dancing" was filmed!!

We decided to take a hike and go to Hickory Nut Falls (404 feet high), which is about a 45 minute hike. This area was in the movie, "Legends of the Fall." I think that's the name of the movie! LOL We had to head down these stairs first...

Then on a path and wow...this was incredible!!!

After driving to Lake Lure, we headed to the Biltmore. It was just about lunchtime and I saw the McDonald's that a friend mentioned. So, we stopped there for lunch and it was the most beautiful McD's I had ever been to!!! Inside was a baby grand piano playing songs (with nobody sitting there). I took a picture of it, but didn't post it!

We drove to the ticket office for the Biltmore and choked over the prices, so we left. This put me in a bad mood because I really thought the price was lower when I was scouting out places to go for Cailean's birthday weekend. Well, we decided to call AAA and we ended up driving a few miles to the nearest office to purchase our tickets at a very good deal. So, we went back to the estate to book our tour for Sunday morning, but since it was 3pm...we could go in Saturday afternoon AND Sunday. It was perfect! Saturday afternoon we toured everything else at the estate except the house and saved that for Sunday. It could easily take 5 hours to tour the entire area!

We visited the farm on the estate and Cailean took to this horse, Chester! We sampled a few different wines when we walked through the winery. Very tasty!

After we spent a few hours touring the area, we walked around downtown Asheville. It reminds me of Berkeley, CA and Burlington, VT. I was determined to people watch and sure enough...we did! We looked in a few stores and then had dinner at an Irish pub. Unfortunately we had a really bad experience there, but it was fun to watch all the different people roam the streets.

Sunday morning we had a good, early start and headed back to the Biltmore. This view is from one of the balconies and during the summer they have concerts in this area. Born and raised in Vermont you would think I wouldn't be too fascinated with the mountain view, but I took quite a few pictures of the view.

We toured the estate, which is beyond gorgeous and I took this photo while we headed back to the truck. We splurged and went with the audio tour and it was neat to hear all about the Vanderbilts and the estate.

We headed home, but wanted to stop at a furniture store in High Point to look for a new couch. We've been saving for one for quite awhile and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to stop in. Can you believe it was closed??? On a holiday! Argh. Anyway, we made it to mom's to get the boys and Cody and we got to hear all about the fun things they did with my mom and grandparents.

It was a great weekend getaway! We couldn't have gone if it wasn't for my mom though!

Where did the weekend go?

We had quite a weekend...as usual! The four of us went to watch the Duke/NCSU baseball game Friday night and we did not stay for the entire game since it went into 12 innings! The boys took their gloves and tried to catch the ball.

Saturday we were entertained by Gavin's soccer game in the morning. He blew us away once again as he just runs and runs on that field. He managed to score 3 goals! No, he is not a ball hog. He happens to be into the game and take advantage of the opportunity when he gets the ball. ;-)

Later that afternoon we watched Ian take to the mound and pitch the first inning. He did very well. I believe he throws 45 feet. Yes, we are watching his arm and he is doing just fine. I know some relatives are reading this and wondering about injuries/overuse. ;-) Cailean is the assistant coach and he is on it. If a pitcher throws 3 balls, then the opposing team's coach comes in to pitch the rest. Ian played first base, second base, shortstop and left field. He struck out, hit the ball towards the first base line and got an out, but hit it again and got a single!

Sunday was just as eventful. We went to church in quite a thunderstorm followed by some Sunday school action and met up with the others at Bob Evans. After brunch we visited two stores before meeting up with some friends to catch the new Shrek movie. For dinner we headed over to mom's.

2nd Annual QC Picnic

Tuesday evening we had a picnic at a lake nearby with the families of Cailean's coworkers. It's nice to see the kids all playing together and having a great time. They played at the park, had a t-ball game on the volleyball court and even fished.

Gavin at the park
Ian with his fishing vest

Very nice sunset

Soccer, Baseball, etc.

The boys continue to make us laugh. The phrases or words that come out of their mouths sometimes just crack us up! Gavin is winding down with his school year as he finishes at the end of the month. He has bike day tomorrow, beach day on Friday (I think) and then he has a performance and class picnic on May 28. Ian's teacher, Mrs. Harris, is back tomorrow after her maternity leave. Ian is pretty excited to see her!

Cailean has worked a lot last week that included a last minute trip to fix a plane in Miami followed by some OT and night coverage. Unfortunately he had to miss Gavin's soccer game on Saturday and I had to miss the breakfast our department puts on for the student athlete graduates on Saturday morning. At times I wish he didn't have these certifications so they wouldn't call him.

Gavin was once again a rockstar on the field. He scored the 2 goals for his team and was just loving it on the field. He is so into it and looks forward to playing soccer all the time! He was playing defense at one point (the last few min of the game). He kicked the ball up and nobody went to it, so he ran after it...dribbled it the whole length of the field...cut in and kicked it in the goal. At this age there isn't much passing going on. There are some players out there who like to dig in the dirt, run to their parents in the stands or just look up in the sky to watch the planes. LOL Not Gavin. He is focused on that ball!

Ian had a baseball game in the afternoon and he pitched just over 1 inning. He is still figuring it all out with getting the ball 45 feet away and over the plate. His pitches are outstanding when there is no batter, but he gets a little nervous when a player is right there. He doesn't want to hit him! He had some nice strikes and some opposing players struck out a few times. Not bad for a new 7 year old. He played outfield for one inning and stopped a kid from getting a homerun to a triple. Ian definitely hustled to get that ball and throw it in. He even ran someone out and tagged 2nd base to get an out for his team.

Saturday night we went to the Nelsons and joined in on the neighborhood party. The kids had a lot of fun running around, getting squirted by water guns and playing with all the other kids in the area. We left just as they started the movie. It was pretty cool and would have been fun to stay, but we headed home. They had a sheet on a wire between 2 trees and a projector. They were playing a movie outdoors for the kids! How fun!!!

Well, we're off to another funfilled week! Both practice Monday night...we're helping out the Allens this week since they'll be expecting boy #3 on or before Wednesday...Ian's wellcheck appointment and figuring out summer coverage as I increase to 30 hours. The good thing about this is that when I'm home I don't really need to focus on work because I'll be in the office longer. I get all the FT perks even though I'm not really FT. I can still volunteer at Kingswood and I get a pay increase. The big change will be my summer schedule. I'm used to working 3 days a week and spending 2 days at the pool with the boys. :( LOL Life is rough...I know!

Our schedule

It has been a pretty good week so far! Cailean came back from Miami where he was working on a plane the last two days. So, he had today off from work! With testing going on at Ian's school this week my volunteer time was shifted to a later time, so Cailean and I went to Target to pick up some items and had a nice lunch at a deli in downtown Cary. He dropped me off at Ian's school and picked up Gavin. Afterwards, Ian and Cailean went fishing at a friend's place and Gavin and I went strawberry picking and then he had his soccer practice. The boys were exhausted when they hit their beds tonight!

We're having my mom and grandparents over for dinner tomorrow night because Cailean and I will wax mom's van and Cailean will change the oil. We have a table with some chairs set up downstairs for dinner. My grandparents are not able to come up our stairs anymore. Then I have a gazillion cookies to make for the teachers at Ian's school that Cailean and the boys will deliver on Friday morning.

Saturday will be a fun day as I start the day at 7am with work. It's NC State's graduation day and our department hosts a breakfast for the student athletes and their families who are graduating. After that we have Gavin's soccer game and then later in the afternoon Ian has his baseball game. Saturday night we're headed to a neighborhood block party that we are looking forward to attending!

Family, Birthday, Party!

April 30 was a fun day for us! Cailean's parents arrived first. They were coming up to spend the week with us, but they did not know that Cailean's brothers and their families were coming here. So, Neal, Megan and Neal Thomas arrived just in time for dinner. We were outside enjoying the beautiful weather and they drove up asking Cailean's dad for directions to Bennington. hahaha A few hours later Eric, Michele and Sarah arrived and they asked his dad if they knew where the Turners lived. Cailean's mom's jaw pretty much dropped to the floor for both arrivals.

It happened to be the weekend that Ian was turning SEVEN! On Saturday, between the games, we played outside at our house. Love this photo of the three of them!
Cailean's parents didn't expect to have this photo taken when they arrived to NC! They were pretty lucky to have their grandkids with them for a weekend.

Ian's birthday was on Sunday. One of Ian's birthday gifts was this football buddy thing, so the boys thought it would be neat to have a group photo while sitting on it.

Cailean took his parents and Gavin fishing at Bond Lake right near our house while Ian and I were at work/school. Gavin caught a catfish and a bass!

Thanks to Uncle Eric, the boys were given this 6 foot rocket that goes about 100 feet up in the air. It was very cool!!

This photo is pretty funny with everyone's reactions to the blastoff!

On Saturday morning Gavin his fan club for soccer games had expanded due to the family in town. What a very lucky boy! We were able to spend a lot of time with them while they were in NC. Unfortunately Ian came down with a virus and had to miss 2 days of school and had to see the doctor. A bummer he was sick on his birthday, but he has bounced back pretty quickly. Just to spend time at home with the relatives was just perfect!

I love this picture of Gavin with his great grandmother! My grandparents are there for every single one of their games!!

Look who is on deck!

After pitching an inning he scored a spot at 1st base!

The following weekend (this weekend) was a big weekend, too. Friday night we helped set up for Ian's school's spring festival. The boys had so much fun playing all the different games and watching teachers get dunked in the dunking booth. On Saturday we had a very early morning at the ballparks with an 8am baseball game with Ian. He pitched the first inning, played outfield, first base and shortstop. He went 2-for-2 and had 1 RBI. Right after his game ended we all ran over to Gavin's soccer field to watch his 9:30am game! My grandparents could have driven around for a few minutes between games, but they chose to get the good seats and go right to soccer. Love it!!! Gavin let my grandmother borrow his baseball hat!

Gavin is definitely a little superstar on the field. Another goal in this game and was just all over the place.

We had a couple hours before our next big event: IAN'S BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! Yes, we had his party at the park (I know...6 years in a row at the same location)! It just the perfect place for this type of gathering. Ian had A LOT of friends attend from church, school, sports teams and Y-Guides. He is very fortunate to have such awesome friends!

On the way to the park we decided to swing into Station 5 and ask if they could do a drive by at our birthday party. Well, they totally came through! At 4pm we had the fire truck arrive at the park with some firemen. They were given a lengthy tour of the entire truck and were able to sit in it. When they left, they had the sirens on and the lights. Very cool! My grandfather was speechless and marched right up to them...introduced himself and proceeded to tell them he was a volunteer fireman! They were awesome to him and invited him to the firehouse.

The kids were great (of course) and listened to everything they had to say. What a great group and it sure was a big hit!

My mom completely came through (no surprise there!!!) with the Batman theme cake!!!! She made a cupcake cake and then designed a car for the batmobile. Notice the sign? 2003 because that is his birth year. #7 on the car for his age. The license plate was NCS for NC State. Mom is so clever!!!! Everything has a significance!

After we sang to Ian and had cake we had turns trying to break open the pinata! Everyone had 2 turns and then it cracked open! Lots of good candy in there!! What next? Water balloon toss!

What a blast and they seemed to have enjoyed it.

We concluded the big day with dinner at Chick-fil-A with my grandparents and mom, then off to mom's for Ian to open up his birthday gifts. His birthday has been going on all week! Tomorrow he'll have his birthday meal at Bob Evans for brunch. He received his coupon in the mail, but couldn't go last week since he was sick!

Happy Birthday, Ian!!!!

Happy Birthday, Ian!!!!! The big #7!!