Halloween 2011- A cool Monday night, where we walked and walked and walked! We stayed in our neighborhood this year which was great! We all ate hot dogs and had some yummy snacks before trick-or-treating!

A Gamecock player as if he would be anything else!A WILD rock star!

The perfect ANGEL!
All the cousins together!

Time Flies

I cannot believe I haven't updated this since August. Well, school has started and everyone is finally doing well. Halle was first with the back-to-school anxieties...lasted about two weeks. Poor thing she works so hard and is so committed and dedicated to school that she worries about not doing her best. I think it was just her getting used to a new teacher, new rules, procedures, expectations, etc. She loves her 4th grade teacher and class and is doing so well. I am so proud of how hard she works to always do her best. She is running for 4th grade Senator; she was already elected for student council in her room. Her 'platform' for her campaign is bullying and making the restrooms cleaner. Gotta love that! And she takes her platform very seriously! It is so funny! Then it was Gracie getting off to a rough start....we'll just leave it at that b/c the memories of those weeks are very painful and not pleasant. I feel certain I don't need a blog to help me remember those days! WOW! She is now back in school mode and doing great! She is quite the little whiz too....LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to read and write and is very good at both! Then there's my little Cade. He was this year's first Terrific Kid of the family and was very proud. He feels really 'big' this year b/c he has real 1st grade work to do!

Soccer is now off to a start w/ games on Saturdays and practice on Tuesdays! Halle is about
10 x more aggressive than last year. It's amazing. Gracie is awesome and so smart about how she plays the game. And Cade is faster than a speeding bullet and has more energy than the other 2 put together. He can chase a ball down from anywhere on the field. Not the smartest way to play soccer, but it is quite comical! I'm coaching Halle's team w/ the help of 2 assistants that I could not do without. They begged me to coach b/c they needed a warm body, so I did it, but I have no clue what the rules are----but I'm learning.

Game time!


My Terrific Kid!

Summer Has Come and Gone!

Well summer has officially come and gone and yep, I'm just now posting since the summer began. That's how busy we have been. So just a few pictures to capture our summer.


1st trip: THE BEACH! The kids and I were accompanied by friends and this is how our day went: wake up, breakfast, beach, pool, lunch/rest, beach, pool, dinner, bed. REPEAT! We had a great time and can't wait to go back.

2nd trip: DISNEY WORLD! That's right, we loaded up and both sides of the family went to Disney World. We left on Saturday, June 25 and drove all the way down and stayed in a hotel so we could check in Sunday. We hit Magic Kingdom Sunday, Animal Kingdom Monday, Hollywood Studios Tuesday, Epcot on Wednesday, Magic Kingdom again on Thursday. Then Friday we loaded up and headed to the beach again for the weekend of the 4th. We were worn out and exhausted but had a great time.

3rd event: Camp Cherokee! Gracie went to Camp Cherokee with some friends and had a great time. She went to 1st timers camp so we took her on Sunday and picked her up Wednesday evening. She was ready to come home but says she is staying for a whole week next time, and I don't doubt it. She lost her shampoo on the first night and had to borrow some from friends the rest of the time---or so she says!

Then sadly poor Halle went and I have no photo b/c busy me walked out and left the camera. Halle had a blast but got homesick so I'm not sure she'll return next year. I'm hoping she'll find a good friend to go with her for next summer but we will see. She is so brave though. She went without really knowing anyone in her cabin and I know I wouldn't have done that at 9.

The kids and I went for one last trip to the beach the week before school started and that wrapped up our summer! Good-bye summer 2011--we will miss you but we have lots of pictures and great memories to share and talk about forever!

Cade Loses His 1st Tooth

About a week or two ago Cade came running up to me saying "mom, is this tooth loose?" I thought to myself "surely not....he's not ready to lose a tooth." Duh- mom, he is in Kindergarten. I think Gracie lost several last year in k5. It about broke my heart. I have no babies anymore, they are losing teeth, and even this month we are allowed to report back to the dentist after school instead of during the day, b/c they are all now "School Age." So, not fair! I know they get big, but wow how time flies. He lost it at school and was so proud when he brought it home in the little treasure box. He put his treasure under his pillow that night

and was a little concerned about this whole tooth fairy thing. Cade's not a big fan of 'people' coming in at night and doing mysterious thing: Santa, Easter bunny, tooth fairy. He woke up that night and came to crawl in bed w/ us, which he often still does....I don't even notice it half the time. He's very sneaky and quiet, and goes to the foot of the bed where he can't be noticed. I woke him up the next morning to get ready for school, he was buried under 3 blankets all snuggled up. In his tiny hand he had a five dollar bill all wadded up. He was so proud. He ran to put it in a safe place...the Gamecock wallet of course. Til the next tooth I guess........

Airbrushed T-shirts are Back

Airbrush T-shirts are so very popular with the Wilson kids. Last year their Gram brought them each one home from the beach. There is a shop at the Tanger Outlets that does them. Then when we were back this spring for spring break, Halle--who never forgets anything-- asked to go back.....so here we have it:

Easter

We enjoyed a great Easter at church, followed by a family picnic at Westminster Park where we played volleyball and baseball all afternoon. We were all a little sore the next day, but we had a great time. And what a blessing it is to have both sides of our families to celebrate with. Great- grandparents, grandparents, and parents all in one place!

Spring Break

You would think after spending a week at the beach I'd have more than 2 pictures....but I don't. And poor Gracie didn't even make an appearance in one. We arrived Monday evening, and returned Friday.....and I had planned to get some group shots on Friday but the weather turned cold and dreary so we never even made it out on the beach. The water was frigid but the kids didn't mind. It was by no means like summer, but it was nice to get away from Rock Hill and enjoy some sunshine and water. We'll be back in June for some more fun in the sun...can't wait!

Cade enjoying the view from the 'timeout' towel. Poor thing........

Spring sports have officially begun and we are crazy busy....I love it! Cade is playing soccer on Saturday mornings and baseball in the afternoons. He and Gracie are on the same soccer team.....trouble for the other team! Ha! And Halle is playing volleyball. She LOVES it! Last weekend was crammed with more events than one person can get to.

Friday- volleyball game

Saturday- 5k road race, I ran

10:15 soccer game

1:00 baseball game

1:30 gymnastics mock meet

5:00 dinner plans

*It doesn't look all that busy in print, but I promise it was. So til the end of May we will be doing what we do best, watching the kiddos play, play, and play.

Halle never missed a serve in her first game!

Cade getting ready for his 1st baseball game!

Cade---#3

Gracie

Halle and I running in her Girls on the Run race Sunday afternoon! It amazes me that a third grader wants to run for fun. Now I'm a big time runner but I wasn't until after high school when I could do it for fun. I am so proud of her!

Gracie and Halle after their mock gymnastics meet. Halle got 1st all-around. I think Gracie was 3rd. She did get first on the beam though and nailed a cartwheel on the beam. LOVED IT!

We've got 3 active kids but they love what they do and they are good at it. I can't imagine a day when they are grown and gone....what will be do? where will we go? what will we talk about? It's not a day I look forward to. I love every minute of all the special things they do. And if you think they don't remember..... A classic Gracie story: I was on the phone Sunday evening with Sprint's customer service rep. So the kids went to bed and I didn't get to tuck them in...daddy did. So by the time I got off the phone, they were asleep. Gracie creeps to my side of the bed at 2:00 am and says 'momma, why didn't you tuck me in tonight.' It made my heart melt. Kind of a silly story, but the fact that she woke up and that was on her mind at 2:00 am. So of course I let her jump right in bed with me and snuggle. That was only fair right?!

It's Official- It's SPRING!

It's officially spring which means it's time for spring cleaning! And this 9 year old going on 19 wanted to add to her chore list. That's my girl! Of course there was a monetary incentive on her behalf, but I'm ok with that. Although I do believe kids should be responsible for certain things no matter what, I also believe they should be able to pay for certain things. And how else is she going to pay without an income! As if I would expect anything less, I gave her a list that consisted of weekly chores and daily chores....things she's expected to do each day. She of course copied it over and had it color coated with boxes beside it so she could check them off as she goes........LOVE IT! She has really done a great job. We came home from church the other day and she had gone straight to her room to vacuum and clean the bathroom (on the list) before going outside to play. Now sure I will be going back over the bathroom to make sure it's clean, but that's ok. The fact that she's doing it is great in my opinion!



And along w/ spring cleaning, comes spring sports. It's fair to say we are busier than ever in the sporting department. Halle is playing volleyball. Her games will be on Friday nights. Gracie is playing soccer, games Saturday mornings, and Cade is playing baseball and soccer. Games for baseball are Saturday afternoon and he's on Gracie's soccer team so that'll get done in the morning....wow...I'm tired just typing that! Busy, yes....but they love it and as long as they do, they can play ball!

Halle has really enjoyed volleyball....we had to go out and buy one last Friday and she hasn't put it down since! She's pretty good at it too. Of course we'll see how the games go, but so far so good!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day: It's really not that big of a deal to me, but I know kids love it! It's really their only day at school to have a true party----so enjoy! The kids made us special cards and I love them.

This is from Gracie!

Gracie wrote this to Chase one evening when he wasn't the recipient of a box of chocolate, as I was! He claimed to feel sad that he didn't get any chocolate, but truthfully he doesn't each chocolate! It clearly pulled on Gracie's heart strings so she ran to make him something to 'cheer him up.'

This was left on our dresser from Halle!


Cade's front cover!

......And the inside!

Basketball Season Ends

Sadly there are no pictures to post this time but we end this basketball season wishing it didn't have to end! My crew played their hearts out all season.



Gracie---look out is all I have to say. This kid has got it together. She understands how the game is played, she's aggressive, she's poised, she's determined, she's smart, and she wants it! All the perfect attributes of a basketball player. With each game she got better and better. It was so much fun to watch her. She would get steal after steal and run down and score at will. She's just good! I know next year it'll be harder when she moves up, but, I know she'll succeed.

And yes I coached all 3 this season. It sounds easy but it's really not easy to coach your own kids. You have to have that balance where you focus on everyone, and not just your kid. You have to be fair and not 'pick' on your kid for not doing it better. It's hard! You see the potential but you have to guide them ever so carefully to keep them confident and having fun! I'd say it was a success this season.



Cade---- the fastest, quickest kid I know of any age, and I mean that! Sure there are quick kids even 9-10 years old, but I think Cade is quicker. This kid doesn't know how quick and fast he is. And he wants it bad too. He's not quite as poised as Gracie b/c she's not as fast. So he has a little work to do on his shot, b/c he often bangs it too hard against the backboard. He'll get it though. And he's in the driveway playing about every chance he gets.



Halle---probably the most improved player this season! She started the season off very passive, not aggressive at all, would watch things blow right by her, and frankly just make bad choices! It killed me as her coach, and her momma. I would try so hard to explain every chance I got. She's such a coachable kid...she listens, she takes it in, but she's not aggressive, or shall I say wasn't! I can remember the first half of the season she'd make a bad pass and turn straight around to head down the court and stare right at me as if to say "ok mom, sorry, help." It broke my heart. But about 2 games ago a light bulb went off....it was actually in practice. All of a sudden she scored and something hit her and she got it. She started rebounding, and actually trying to shoot and score. She's always been a good ball handler and a good passer, but she never tried to score....well that has ended my friends. She scored 4 points in her last game and I literally jumped off the bench and threw my arms up to cheer her on! She was so proud, but I was more proud, that I am sure!



So we close this season on a positive note and now begin the spring season. Cade will be play coach-pitch baseball, Gracie will player soccer, and Halle will play volleyball. She's never played before but I love her for wanting to try new things! Sports was a huge part of our lives growing up and it builds character, I truly believe that....you learn to work with others, you learn to be committed, you learn about work ethic, you learn about winning and losing. They will always have my support no matter what they choose to play or not play!

Happy 6th Birthday Cade!

This was the picture of perfection 6 years ago. Halle had just turned 3, Gracie was 14 months, and Cade was just born. It seems like a lifetime ago, yet it seems like yesterday! It's ironic that Gracie is smiling in this picture because most of the time, she was screaming! God love that child, she was a mess, still is, but at least now we can use words to explain ourselves. There was not much sleep going on in the Wilson house back in these days. Cade was the happiest baby and honestly he never required any 'extra' attention for months! He would just sit in his swing and watch the chaos. It took him forever to crawl, and even longer to walk. I had the poor guy in physical therapy b/c I thought he'd never walk....finally at 18 months he started running down the street one day while we were outside. Of course he hasn't stopped running since! Today Cade spends his free time playing the sport of the season, so right now that would be basketball. And I know I'm his momma and I brag, but he is awesome! He is fast, quick, coordinated, smart, funny, friendly, kind, and loving! He is amazing and although I do miss my babies, I love to watch them grow into compassionate and loving children!

Now this is what life was really like!?!?

Coordinated at a very early age.......


This was probably one of my most favorite toys because I could keep somebody still!