Life Lately

It's half way through the week! Woohoo!!! Life lately has been all about soccer, it feels.  With Cal practicing on Mondays and Wednesdays and Andy on Tuesdays and Thursdays and games on Saturdays, it feels like a whoooole lotta ball kicking going on around here.

Here are some pictures documenting life lately...

Andy does NOT like the time after he gets out of school until Cal gets home from school.  He gets so bored.  And he doesn't like to play with me.  I would love nothing more than to have a play date every afternoon for him from 1-3:30.  But I am finding not every kid loves big dogs- much less TWO of them! When we do have playdates, I spend all of my time keeping Bruce locked in a room where he is freaking out because it is his JOB to greet everyone that comes in this house...! So.  Andy has become buddies with our neighbor, Dick.  He thinks of him as one of his best buddies.  And bless Dick's heart- if he's outside, and Andy spots him, Andy sprints full speed over to see what he's working on.  They dig, plant, weed, etc etc etc and then Andy will say, "wanna come over and play catch??" And this sweet man does.  Bless him.  

Last week was Andy's week to be child of the week.  On Friday, he asked if he could bring in some special items (kids are allowed to bring in a special toy/item if they would like). Andy brought in two of his trophies and he was so proud to show them off.  

I LOVE his smile in the picture below-- 

And then, when you are child of the week, you can have a special person come in a read to the class.  Many kids have a parent or a nanny or a grandparent come in to read.  Andy asked if Cal could come in-- he said he didn't have to read, but he wanted him to come in on the special day.  Cal said he would love to read.  And he did.

Cue the momma tears... I couldn't help it! He did SUCH a great job! He read with feeling and showed all of this pictures and read loudly enough-- it was nothing short of amazing.  

I mean, for a kindergartner, new at the whole reading thing, to get up in front of a class of 18 kids and read a book....? I was blown away.  My heart sort of wanted to explode. 

Not to mention the fact that Andy even wanted Cal to be there--  that right there got me.  These two fight so much.  SO much.  But holy cow, they love each other so much.  And as proud as I was, I am pretty sure the little brother was even more proud. 

Thankfully, my parents and Eddie were all able to be there for the reading.  And thankfully, Andy's teacher assistant took this picture (and then I took a picture of the picture...!). Love this crew so much!

 And, the professional pictures were released from the fashion show Friday night.  Dear Gracious: who let me up on stage?!?! Honestly.  What am I doing? Clearly I was excited.  Or scared??? Maybe a ghost ran up and startled me? Maybe I was trying to hit some Carrie Underwood high notes?

Either way, here is an article about the event, along with the total amount of money raised....! Thanks for your kind words and emails!

Like I said, life lately has been all about soccer...and yet, I have no pictures or soccer playing- ha! The rest of this week will fly by too, I am sure! It is feeling like summer here with hot temps... I am pumped! Looking forward to pool days and beach trips!


 

Life Lately

First and foremost: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this hunk:

We are all crazy about this guy and so lucky to have him.  He's a great husband, dad, coach, friend, and person.  We love you, Eddie!!!

Obviously, life lately revolved around MEXICO! Read about it here and here.  But there's been a lot of other stuff going on too.  like.....

The Thursday before we went to Mexico, the kids had tennis at the club and were goofing around as we were leaving:

 Sweaty happy kiddos!

That night, the moms headed out to celebrate Katie's birthday with some cocktails! 

Fun, fun times out at City Kitchen!

Before we left, the boys decided they wanted to play baseball-- a lot.  They were out in the driveway hitting and throwing the ball nonstop. 

I am so glad we were able to catch the Easter egg hunt at the club on Saturday morning before flying out on Sunday.  

 It was packed, as always, and, as always, a ton of fun!!!

The boys were lined up and ready to attack- they had the driving range covered with eggs.  

Cal hung out near Brad-- these two are a force to reckon with!

And they are off! Can you see Andy in the below pic? They wanted to wear sneakers so they could run faster.  I couldn't keep up with Cal- he was loooong gone.  

The Williamsons on Easter Saturday!

So sweet-- it was super cloudy that day, but the sun was so bright! The kids are squinting in every picture.  

My people.  Thankful for them, and thankful to be about to spend a week with them with Mexico!

We got home Saturday evening in time for the HEELS to play Saturday night.  The boys got on their Carolina gear as soon as they could. 

And, Andy picked up right where he left off: sleeping on the floor with his pup.  He got his jersey on and went to bed.  I had the game on in the room and he didn't even wake up.  Neither did Hank.  They just cuddled right up.  You tell me that's not the sweetest dog ever.  

Sunday morning, my AMAZING, SWEET, FABULOUS, THOUGHTFUL, INCREDIBLE friend Sally texted me and offered to take Cal for a few hours.  They were going to go to campus and eat lunch and walk around.  I jumped ALL over it.  The boys needed a break from each other.  Andy was invited/demanded to go over to Grandma's house (he seriously missed her so so much), so I was able to go to the grocery store ALLLL BYYYYY MYYYYSELFFFFFFFF and it was glorious.  Don't get me wrong, I love shopping with two boys who try to make everything a game and think tackling in the aisle is a good idea...but to go by myself, where I could hear myself think... well, that was special.

Also special, is this picture Sally sent me of the kids at the Old Well.  I love the CAROLINA BLUE skies poking through the trees at the top.  Sigh.  I love our town. 

Monday morning it was back to school....! Big time wake up call for us! We are all slightly jet lagged still and overly worn out from late night basketball games.  But we got up and jerseys on ready for school!

After school on Monday, we headed straight for haircuts.  I wish I had gotten them pre-Mexico, but it is what it is.  Oh well.  

This kiddo's hair is finally growing out and it is starting to lighten up again.  It is funny how many people say they don't recognize Andy with his dark hair.  Buzzing it really took off all the blonde.  

After the cut, ready to cheer on the HEELS!

A 9pm tip is NOT easy.  I am too old for this ish.  The boys wanted to stay up, but we said no.  But then we made a deal with Cal-- if he went to bed at 7:15 without complaints, we would wake him up at 9 to watch the game...and so at 9:00, we went to wake up Cal and he was OUT.  We shook him, we talked to him, we poked him.  He wasn't budging.  I took a video of me trying to wake him so I could prove to him Tuesday morning that we tried.

We assumed our positions on the couch and watched the game.  I told my friends via group text that if the heels got down by more than 6, I was dumping water on his head to wake his rump up-- we needed another person cheering!

Sure enough, they got down, and Eddie was worried I was literally dump water on his head, so he went up and tried one more time.  He carried him down and Cal was barely awake, but grinning ear to ear.  The smile never left his face-- until the buzzer.

 At half time, we moved up to my bed-- Cal snuggled up and we watched the second half from there.  It was an INTENSE game. 

At 11:15, Andy came into my room, because, that's just what he does.  He went to get in his sleeping bag and then saw the game on and suddenly became wide awake.  So I watch the end of the game with both boys (I told Eddie he had to stay on the couch- because tradition!).

It was a total and complete heart breaker.  The basketball team had such heart and it was truly fun to watch them play because it looked like they were having FUN out there! There were some horrible calls from the refs, but that's neither here nor there.  It was a great season, and for that, I rocked my XL Carolina Basketball t-shirt on Tuesday to school-- I am PROUD to be a TARHEEL!

Monday night was a late night, but then Andy didn't sleep (weird dreams-- he woke up and screamed: "DADDY, WATCH YOUR BACK!" uhhhh.... clearly something scary was happening.....?), so he got in bed with us, which just doens't work in a queen sized bed- and he's a wild sleeper. I tried it for a while and finally left to get in his bed at 2, but then couldn't sleep because I was thinking about all of the players and their families and the coaches and their families. Being in their shoes on the football side of it, I totally know the heartbreak that comes from a loss-- I can't imagine one of this magnitude (we never went to a national championship game....!!!), but I have been a part of it, and it just stinks.

Tuesday morning came early- see bags under eyes in above picture.  And also I look pregnant.  I am not.  I swear.  And if I am, I did some serious damage in Mexico.  

That's a look at life lately!


 

Life lately: soooo many pictures....

Lots of pictures for our life lately... we've been enjoying spring and spending time outside as much as possible.  We are getting super excited for our trip and the list making process is in full swing. 

Last week, I realized the boys needed flip flops since they have outgrown everything so we hit the mall.  Eddie was out of town, so we went to the best place ever for shoes: RACK ROOM! They have the BEST shoes and loads of sizes in each one.  We used to shop at other stores/department stores, but I got beyond sick of them (finally) picking a shoe, only to find out the store didn't have their size.  So we love Rack Room. Oh! And it is buy one, get one 50% off.  Can't beat them. 

So we hit the mall.  And as we walked through Nordstrom, these bozos found some hats to try on.  We didn't get these.  Don't worry. 

And then they looked at sunglasses. I remember it being super bright by the pool in Mexico, so I want them to get sunglasses.... just not these... although, pretty sweet...

As we walked out of Nordstrom, the Easter bunny was out.  There was a time in Andy's life where he would run and hide from this character.  But, not so much this time.  He pretty much shoved this kid out of the way to give him a hug.  

And then he told Cal he had to do it too.  

We headed to Rack Room and did some damage.  The boys decided they really needed new sneakers too- not just flip flops. Both boys are still in a size one-- although, I am fairly certain Andy could have gone up at least another half size, but we just stayed with a one this time around.  Next time, he will be bigger, I think.  

 Andy picked out some "Carolina Panther" shoes (black and blue) and Cal got his favorite colors (green and grey).

Bruce has been trying to sneak his way into the boy's rooms at night.... can you spot him?

He was mad when I kicked him out, so he shredded some tissue paper.... he was sorry. 

But we still love him...

We went to the beach last weekend and noticed Bruce starting to get an ear infection.  He went to bed Saturday night at the beach and I guess managed to scratch his ears all night long.  He woke up with a MESS behind his ears.  Pussing and bleeding and just plain nasty.  The spots became hotspots and he was NOT comfortable.

I took him to the vet Monday morning-- bless his heart.  

And they tried to look at his ears and couldn't get near him- at all.  He was freaking out.  It was determined they were going to have to sedate him to be able to treat him.  He had all kinds of swelling and issues to his ears.  So he got a sweet shave behind both ears....and came home with a beautiful cone.  

 and he HATES it! And we all have bruises on our legs from him running into us going full steam.  He can't reach the ground to smell, so he is having a hard time going to the bathroom.  Bless his heart (can I say that a few more times?!) It is a total pain for him to get comfortable, but he's hanging in there. 

I let him go for a car ride and he seemed happy enough.  But he was mad he couldn't fit his whole head out the window. 

 Andy and I are still walking the dogs every day-- especially now...to help get Bruce to potty.  On Wednesday, he didn't want to ride in the stroller, so he hopped on his scooter.  And holy smokes, he has gotten good on that thing! There is a boy at Cal's school who rides one home every day and I see Andy watching him- guess he learned a thing or two!

He was getting confident so he raised a hand up for a split second.  Then it was longer, then longer... and then he had it up in the air for 30+ seconds. Just cruising!

 This kid... I swear...

I have been playing tennis once a week-- well, okay... I have been attempting to play tennis at a lesson once a week.  And I am reallllllly enjoying it!!! It feels SO good to be outside in the sunshine with some good friends and trying something new.  As much as I love being out there, I do not love the feet tan I appear to be getting...

I need Mexico to even that out!

There is a look at life lately!

OH, one more thing... If you have nothing better to do on April 15, there is a fashion show benefiting Habitat for Humanity- a GREAT cause! You can use this link to buy tickets.  I am in it and so is my momma!, but more importantly, the boys are in it too! I would LOVE to see familiar faces in the crowd.  No pressure, but I hope you will come join the fun!