SO you think YOU can dance...

our little trey bear can MOVE and shake with the best of them.

i think his daddy has tought him most of his moves. lol!

wanna dance?!!?$#

a summer MUST see...

a real crowd pleaser and by far the best kids flick i've seen in years. the story was absolutely beautiful and evoking. full of funny moments and cool special effects for the younger ones in the crowd. a love story that stands the test of time.

so if you haven't seen it yet we encourage you to do so. but for you softies out there just remember to take your tissues.

& ThAt's a wrap~

it's official...

school is OUT for the summmmmmer.

while kate was at school yesterday trey, betty (crocker), and i

whipped up a little something special for our rising second grader.

kate's summer book "review" begins~

seems our rising second grader has an insatiable thirst for the written verb. pete and i thought it might be fun for her to keep a journal of her readings this summer and write a short review following the conclusion of each story. so saturday she was given a 7x5 spiral bound notebook and was treated to a trip to the local book store and this is what we've got so far. stay tuned readers. we promise a whole lot more to come...

5-31-09, Coroline

I like when Coroline goes through the door and looks for her kidnapped parents. The lesson I learned is that your parents would never stop loving you.

6-2-09, The Tale of Despereaux

I like the book Despereaux more then the movie because it was more believable. I really like him a lot because he like to read like I do. I also understand the black spots the princess has on her hearts. If i lost my family or Tabby I would have 2 very big black spots.

we just can't hide that OAKLEY pride

kate & a few of her fellow SMARTIES getting ready to take the stage

kate is on the far right above & below

kate & her bosom buddy caitlin.

these two have become like frick & fran, arm & hammer, mac & cheese...

now what would the end of the school year be without a talent show? mrs. dotson's class preformed a rockin rendition of zip-a-dee-doo-dah complete with a dance and hand jive to go along. way to go SMARTIES!

a puncheon camp creek send off to summer

thursday morning trey and his classmates all met at puncheon camp creek for their end of year celebration. and what a celebration it was! the kids sang songs, had a guided wagon ride, toured the farm and picnicked all before celebrating their graduation from the 3's class.

kate's year end dance recital

warming up twirls

cheese...

ham!

kate and her long time dancing buddy krista

goofing off

ballet routine

jazz routine

talk about improvement. i can't even tell you how far these girls have come in just a year. no longer the youngest girls in the group kate's dance troop took the stage this afternoon and completely impressed us all.

into the WILD

dinner?

home sweet home away from home

beer? in the wild - hmmmm

pete and kirk; his best friend since childhood, set out on a camping adventure with plans to explore south mills river. they had hopes of spending two full days and nights exploring the great outdoors, fly fishing and hiking.

after preparing myself for 48 hours without any type of communication i was delightfully surprised when i received a call halfway into day two. they had abandoned the hope of catching all of their meals after the fly fishing hadn't panned out and they made a trip back into town to fill their bellies and stock thier cooler.

highlights included; catching 4 fish, finding a rare appalachian salamander, birding and great camping.

check out these crafty crafters~

while heather spent some well needed time resting Wednesday morning following her tonsillectomy trey and i had the pleasure of spending the morning with alex and miles. here we took a few minutes to make some "feel better" cards for heather. all three boys impressed me with their glue sticking skills.

oh how we love our superheros...

trey received his first MARVEL comic book in the mail this past week (compliments of mika) and who knew it would be such a hit. after falling asleep with it in his hands Tuesday night, Wednesday morning he came downstairs still clutching it. it didn't take long for him to convince kate that she really needed to take a look at for herself. i quick snapped these as they shared a sweet little brother-sister moment.

a big day for kate!

this afternoon kate and i made our way to the local library where we obtained kate's "very own" library card. it was precious... she was giddy. as the kind clerk handed kate the card her eyes opened wide with excitement and a huge smile took over her gorgeous little face.

never fear we'll be back next year...

not sure where the time has gone but today trey spent his last day in the classroom at CWS and what a year he has had. now able to spell his name, identify shapes, count to 14 and recite the alphabet our little trey -bear has come along way. even more importantly trey is becoming a confident and compassionate little person and is learning how to behave without mom and dad by his side.

thank you mrs. april and mrs. pam for a super-duper year and for posting these pictures. i have loved seeing what trey does while he is at school.

hellooooooo summer!

in between "showers" we managed to get in some much needed pool time. this is a picture i took with my BB of the east asheville recreation center. this will be the second summer as members. it is absolutely perfect for us. a great kids side of the pool that offers zero entry for the not so steady kiddos and an ample deep end for the adults and little fish. who cares if it is totally dirty-dancing-ish. we love it.

this year they have improved the visitors policy and are now allowing any guest that does not live in buncombe county to get in FREE. so throw your suit in you bag and come on over!

a star is born!

so much joy, so much love, so much energy! my precious little neice took the stage last weekend and according to my father STOLE the show. even though opa is a bit biased i have no doubt that allison stole the show. her smile can light a room and her sweet little eyes literally twinkle. now who sounds a bit biased?

this weekend sweet little allison is not having quite as much fun. earlier today she had her tonsil removed. know that we are thinking about you my love. we hope you'll be back on your feet soon. lots of love from asheville!

how sweet it is to be loved by YOU!

it was an ordinary morning like most others. while i was getting the kiddos ready for school pete took the new pooch out for walk.

10 minutes later as i packing lunches in walked pete with a fist full of ditch daisies... roots and all and a big fat smile on his face. "i know how you love daisies" he said.

what more can a woman ask for? i mean really??!!

twelve years in and it's all good!