Anna is 7!!

Anna turned 7 today and had her birthday party as well. She woke up bright and early at 6:30 am and wanted to open presents! Gary's mom came in town last night and so we all gathered around.....she was thrilled. She got a new digital camera from us as well as some other things and of course there were silly bandz everywhere!! (Why didn't I think of those??) She and Caroline had a countdown all day until the party. It was a blast! We had it at Crossfire Commandos inside Dulin's Sports Academy. The kids loved it as they jumped in the foam pit, sailed on the zipline and competed in an obstacle course. I think the kids were definitely worn out!!

Anna is wrapping up first grade and is such a sweet girl. She's very tall for her class and is a great ballerina, soccer player, speller, reader and is a great sister, daughter, granddaughter and cousin!!

Can't believe she is seven!! Where has the time gone??

a very excited 7 year old is ready for the big day!!

showing off her age and her silly bandz!

taking a break from the action for a pose with mommy

caroilne is all suited up for the zip line

our crazy family, including ally looking on!

Happy Easter!

We had a busy Easter weekend with lots of family in town and it was FUN! I already posted some pics from the zoo and the egg hunt. Saturday night we enjoyed NCAA tournament action as West Virginia took on Duke. My stepmother Julie hails from West Virginia and my brother in law is an alumni of Duke so we had an interesting dynamic.

Sunday morning was fun for all of us. The girls awoke to their stocked baskets and searched for eggs. We had eggs hidden inside...real eggs...do people do that anymore?? We always had that in our house growing up and Mom was awesome at remembering where they all were....did not want to forget where one was and find it 2 months later!! Ally would definitely enjoyed the dyed delicacy but that would gross me out. Anna found most of the eggs and we steered Caroline in the right direction.

James & Lydia and their boys and Mom and Dan joined us for church. We took some pics...hard to get everyone to a) look at the camera and b) smile and c) not get distracted. We did our best.

After church Gary and I hosted all for a yummy lunch then had some fun with the Wii. The kids are getting pretty good at some of the games and you can tell James and Lydia's kids enjoy theirs at home too!

Overall, great Easter...oh, almost forgot...made it through Lent without cheating!! I gave up sweets and french fries and it was tough. I was thrilled to indulge a bit and to remember the sacrifices Jesus made for us and how my sacrifices paled in comparison!!

anna was proud of her finds!

the cousins havng fun before church


the zyrieks

rare couple shot....

sweet sisters all dressed up

Easter Eggstravaganza

We had a HUGE crowd at the Hope Easter Eggstravaganza. A little thunderstorm overnight did not stop anyone from enjoying the big morning. We had both sides of my family in attendance and almost (we missed you Benjamin!) all of the cousins there to enjoy the festivities. We had egg hunts, face painting, games, and many more things to enjoy. The weather was perfect as long as we did not mind muddy shoes!!

anna showing off her eggs!

mimi with the girls post facepaint and balloon animals in tow

matt with henry....a natural at the football toss!!

the perrys, pittmans and zyrieks with the kids showing all their eggs!

anna (6 1/2), benjamin (7 months), madeline & estella (4 1/2), henry (2 1/2), caroline (3 1/2), blake (5 1/2) & drew (3 1/2)....all in the same place at the same time!!

Good Friday @ the Zoo

My brother James and his family were in town for Easter weekend. The girls were very excited to have their cousins in town and we were all excited for a fun family weekend. We decided to load up and head to the zoo on Good Friday. It was a gorgeous day and the day was perfect. The kids had a great time and so did all the adults. Mimi was brave to take all 4 of her grandkids but they were great!

caroline, drew, blake and anna are ready for the zoo!

loving the buddha on the way to see the pandas

blake and anna on the cool carousel near the pandas

Swimming lessons!

The girls both started their swimming lessons this week at the Pool School. This is a day that Caroline has anticipated for I think her whole life. She LOVES to swim. We are ready for her to swim without her vest and she was ready to take to the water. Anna is a fish but wanted to still take lessons and learn more strokes. She was quickly promoted to the highest level. The parents of the kids in Caroline's class were laughing because she was the only one that would do much of anything for the few lesson or two. Definitely glad that they both love the water so much!

ready for lessons!
caroline showing off her skills

anna my fish!

Two wheeler success!!

A day we thought would NEVER arrive finally did on Friday night. Anna has had a good bike for almost two years. To her credit, Gary and I bought it too big (isn't hindsight 20/20??) and last summer it fit much better. She really could not get the hang of it and was frustrated a lot. We did not focus on it at all. We have had some great spring weather days lately and so I thought I would carefully broach the subject of the bike again. We made a handy dandy "bike practice chart" to record her practice time. We found a new location, a flat parking lot near our home. And Gary loaded up on patience. After just under 2 weeks of practicing every day for 15-20 minutes, she is riding around the path at Cameron Brown park on her own! I was so excited. Gary was THRILLED. Being a competitive/elite cyclist you would think bike riding was in the genes and it would be easy. Not so fast my friend!! A few more tries on braking and turning and we will be completely done with lessons. Looking forward to a spring/summer full of fun family bikes rides! Independence at last!!

the bike chart
success!! gary was worn out from running beside her!

Spring Break

The girls were on spring break this week. We got creative and split up their days between my parents and Gary and me since taking vacation this time of the year is very difficult for us. We saved some money by not sending the girls to holiday care and they had a great time.

They stayed with my mom and stepfather on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The weather was fantastic and they enjoyed a trip to the zoo (where we learned Caroline is enamored with the Teton Trek area), a picnic at Shelby Farms and a movie.

My day was Tuesday. Of course it was yucky outside but we made the most of it. Anna had her eye exam that morning followed by a haircut. Then after a yummy lunch together we headed to Sweet and Sassy for manicures and pedicures for the girls. They loved the pampering.

Gary had the girls on Thursday. Their day started with breakfast at Brother Junipers, a classic place over by the University of Memphis. Following the filling of the bellies, they all headed over to the Botanic Gardens to enjoy My Big Backyard. Gary had not been before and all three thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

All in all the girls enjoyed their week and we had some great time with the girls.

anna getting prepped for her manicure

caroline loved soaking her toes

anna went for pink and blue toes!

caroline on the balance beam at my big backyard

gary enjoying a beautiful spring day with the girls

anna playing peek-a-boo fun times with our sweet girls!