Soccer
Phoenix played soccer this spring and somehow I ended up being the coach. Being the coach helped Phoenix not be scared, but it was a lot of work on top of getting ready for the dance recital. Eva was always a good helper though. She kept track of everyone's soccer ball. Phoenix scored two goals during the actual games and you would have thought she won the lottery. I have never seen a kid get so excited. I was really proud of her.
Last Months in Tazewell
The last 4 months in Tazewell consisted of Sampson taking me to Gala, Phoenix graduating from joy-school, the dance recital, soccer, swim lessons, gymnastics, and two crazy girls helping me get organized and pack for the move all while Sampson is spending every second of his life studying for the Comlex. As much as we missed having daddy around, we always found a way to have a good time. Eva's favorite thing became organizing. Every morning she would come into my room and lay on the bed moaning that she wanted to go organize. I have never seen a kid more eager to organize. She is a great helper though. She helped go through and fold up all of their clothes from newborn to the present. Had Eva not been such a slave driver in organizing I would have never got through it!
Texas
We spent Easter down in Texas as well as Memorial day. It was fun to eat with the Easter bunny although he looked really creepy to me. Good thing the girls didn't seem to notice. I love getting all three girls together because they just want to hug all the time. It is so funny because they normally end up falling down on top of each other because they won't stop hugging. The girls loved being with Derek too, especially Eva. She would not let him out her sight. She was constantly taking care of him and making sure he had a toy to play with. We spent Memorial Day down at Galveston. It was so fun. The girls had a blast playing in the water. And Houston and I spent most of the day surfing. It was so fun to have the whole family together even if "Steve Jobs" spent the entire time under the umbrella :)
Lake Nantahala
Our first family vacation where Sampson didn't have to study in 2 years!!! It was very last minute, but turned out to be amazing. We had so much fun hiking, swimming, and riding in the canoe. We hiked through this Virgin forest with yellow poplar trees that were over 15 ft. wide. It was amazing that these trees could even get that big. The girls are great hikers. They can hike for almost a mile before needing a rest. And luckily Eva is small enough to carry on our shoulders every once and a while and we don't have to have them strapped to back packs all the time.
Fall Creek Falls
Before the fourth of July we went camping for a couple of nights at Fall Creek Falls. It's always nice to have some family time before we go see all the extended family. This time we used all mountain house meals for our food, which means there was little to no clean up. It was nice to not have to worry about getting the fire going during all the rain. We saw all the water falls and hiked down to fall creek falls. I have seen it a few times over the years, but I have never hiked down to it. It was so awesome!
Nursery Catalog Pictures
I am so lucky to finally live by the Nursery all year around! I love to see everything in bloom! You would never guess that it was pouring all day as we setup and took pictures. Haley always does an amazing job getting all the flowers together and organizing them. Such a beautiful backdrop!!
Amazin' Acres
Life has been crazy getting our schedules together with Sampson's. Each rotation brings a different time schedule and a different set of stresses. It is nice that he is actually doing "doctor" stuff now instead of studying for 12+ hours a day. The girls had so much fun there especially with daddy. They got to pick there own pumpkins, go through a few different corn mazes, drink hot chocolate, slide down the "country" slide, and jump on the huge bubble. They loved watching the moon rise on the hay ride...it looked so sweet that night.
