E's 5K

Saturday morning, after spending last fall and this spring participating in the Girls on the Run program at her school, Eleanor finally ran the program-ending 5K. (As you might remember, she broke her toe last October and had to miss the fall's 5K.) With Dad out-of-town on a golf trip and me continuing to suffer from plantar fasciitis, we recruited Uncle Michael to run with Eleanor as her adult chaperone.

Luckily for all of us, the race's course went largely up and down West Paces Ferry so it was very close to home. Before the race, she posed with some of her teammates from her school and got her hair spray painted red and blue while the boys messed with Buzz. Then, it was time to run and run they did! Uncle Michael reported that she really didn't stop except when she need to get a drink of water. He did have to encourage her and cheer her on at one point when she wanted to rest (she didn't) but other than that, it was smooth sailing. We sat about 0.1 miles away from the finish line,eagerly awaiting their arrival down the home stretch. When we finally spotted them, (around minute 30), she was starting to smile, knowing that she was almost done. She finished in just under 32 minutes and that was after starting back from the front. We got a picture with E and her cheering section and then her running partnerbefore heading to Chick-fil-A for breakfast. Way to go, E and thanks again, Uncle Michael for running!

Carroll NCAA Tournament Bracket Champion

To continue on his winning streak this year (and furthermore supporting a needed trip to the Vegas Sports Books when he's legal), Hayes came through as the victor of the Carroll Annual NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge. With each correct picking earning one point, Hayes finished up the tournament with 38 points. I came in second place with 36 total points while Eleanor was right behind me with 35. Next came Ben with 34 correct picks and then Dad who finished out with 33. We never decided on any spoils to award the victor, but the one thing Hayes can take away from his win is family pride. Way to go, Hayes!

Typical Lunch for Eleanor

Eleanor has brought her lunch to school each and every day since the first day of first grade. (In Kindergarten, she actually bought about half the time, probably because Ben was a newborn and we were having trouble waking up in time to make a lunch AND catch the bus.) This year for third grade, Eleanor has requested a cheese roll-up and edamame for lunch nearly every day. Then, she'll mix it up by adding olive oil popcorn, applesauce, strawberries, apple slices, or almonds/raisins to the final lunch "compartment".

One would think that eating the same thing for lunch each and every day would grow tiresome but Eleanor finds comfort in its consistency . . . and at least it is relatively healthy!

Earache

Last night, Hayes came downstairs around 9:30pm, crying his eyes out. He said that his ear hurt so bad that he could not fall asleep. In our almost nine-and-a-half-years of parenting, we only have had one other night like this, with a child not being able to sleep due to an earache, under our belts. We truly did not know what to do to console him and make him feel comfortable. I Googled "earache in children" and figured out that I needed to give him Ibuprofen, put some warmth on his ear, and then possibly pour a few drops of warm olive oil in his ear. Finally, after trying all of these treatments, he fell asleep around 11:30pm. He stayed home from school this morning so that we could visit the doctor to see if it truly was an ear infection or just his cold manifesting itself in his ear. . .

With one look in his ear, the pediatrician confirmed that he had an ear infection and that he'd need some antibiotics. She then flipped back in his chart to see if he had been on antibiotics in his life - turns out the only other time he's needed medicine was when he was 15 months old! He truly has been blessed with some health! Here's to a quick recovery!

When I Grow Up . . . Update

Today, Ben turned on the charm while at the dentist's office. I had one of the dental assistants come out in the middle of his appointment to share something with me. I thought she was going to tell me about some issue they were having with his teeth. Instead, she said, "I have something really cute to tell you. We asked Ben what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said 'A Dad.' We could not believe it and thought that was the most precious thing." I then told her that his answer today sounded a lot better than his answer a few weeks back when he said he wanted to be a taxi driver. Thankfully, his dad has shown him that being a father is something very worth striving for!

Favorite Foods

The other night at dinner, we discussed favorite foods. Here are each of the kids'
top three favorite foods in order . . . Ben likes pizza, granola and then macaroni and cheese. Hayes also chooses pizza as his number one followed by macaroni and cheese and then hamburgers. Eleanor varies it up a bit with burritos ranking at the top of her list with strawberries and edamame taking the second and third spots.

E's Spring Break Journal

Eleanor kept a journal this Spring Break.  Here is her version of her daily activities over the week.

Happy Easter

On our return to Atlanta, we immediately kicked it into full Easter-mode. A few hours after landing, we were off to Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house for dinner with the Carroll clan. The kids had not been together with all of their Carroll cousins since Christmas so they were rather excited to have the chance to visit. They also all got Easter baskets and had a mini-Easter egg hunt thanks to cousin Anna. The kids had trouble remembering that we were supposed to eat dinner before they devoured all of their Easter candy!

Easter morning, we taught Hayes's kindergarten Young Worshiper class during the 8:00 service and then stayed for the 9:45 service. After church, we went to brunch with the Carrolls. The girls had a chance to chat with the Easter Bunny. I know the boys appreciated their "bonding" time as well. Hayes and Ben both idolize their almost 15-year-old cousin Wages. After the kids ate what turned out to be mounds and mounds of bacon for lunch, it was time to head home so that we could get outside and enjoy the beautiful afternoon. Of course, we had the obligatory Easter pictures to take first . . .
and I had Dad take one of me and the kids for the history books.
Happy Easter!

Easter Preparations

Since we were in Florida for the week leading up to Easter, we made sure adhered to Easter traditions. Mimi encouraged the kids to dye and decorate 36 hard boiled eggs. I can't remember if Ben decorated eggs last Easter or not but this year, he was definitely an interested party. In the end, they finished up with some beautiful eggs. Then, once the eggs had dried, it was time for Mimi to hide them in the yard so that we could have our own, private Easter egg hunt. (We were flying back home on Saturday so we'd miss traditional Easter egg hunts both in Florida and in Atlanta.) We gave Ben a head-start as the older two (fresh out of the pool) would have grabbed all of the eggs before he even had time to start looking!Thanks for making sure we kept up with Easter traditions, Mimi!

Just Hangin'

Though it seems like the majority of the time in Florida was spent in Mimi and Papa's pool, the kids did keep busy with other activities. They went to the zoo, saw the play Fiddler on the Roof, went up to Port Canaveral to watch ships come and go, helped Mimi and Papa put stamps on their annual Kentucky Derby Party invitations,played basketball, hit Barnes and Noble, read, and played a "Dinosaur" game just like the "Toy Soldier" game we made up down there at Christmas. I even snuck in a nap one day during the week. What a luxury! Towards the end of the week, when the Masters started, we also watched a lot of golf. We had just enough activity to keep the kids busy but enable us to relax - the perfect mix!

Thanks for the great week, Mimi and Papa!

Pool & Beach Time

The kids had a fun-filled weekend with Mimi and Papa while we were in Las Vegas. We returned to Florida late Monday night and spent the rest of the week playing with the kids. Much of the time was spent in Mimi and Papa's pool, as usual. (Yes, even Ben put his head under water and "swam" by the steps.) One pool game we started playing on a previous visit (maybe even at Christmas) was for a person outside the pool to throw the ball at someone jumping off the rock with the hopes that the jumper can catch the ball. It definitely was not as easy as it sounds. We played it much of the week and Hayes and Eleanor finished up with only single-digit success rates. Thomas had pretty good form, though, as you can see in this picture. On Good Friday, we hit the beach along with all of the masses of families on Spring Break and locals who were out of school. The surfers were out in force as the waves were very impressive. Eleanor and Hayes were quickly reminded of the sheer force of nature once they stepped into the water. Each and every wave knocked them down to the ground. They had not experienced such powerful waves before and they got a kick out of it . . . that is until the waves pushed them down and scraped them against the sand on the ocean floor. Thomas even wanted to get a feel for the waves so he joined the kids in the ocean for one quick ride. Now you see them . . . Now you don't!In addition to battling the waves, the kids did their "usual": Eleanor worked on a sand castle, Hayes played football, and Ben chased sea gulls.
As you can see, throughout the week we had some fun in the sun!