Easter in Jonesborough

We spent this past Saturday (the day before Easter) at my grandparents' in Jonesborough. My sister, Sharon, and I cooked a few dishes, but my grandmother did the rest. My mom came up for the weekend which was nice too. The kids had fun hunting eggs with their cousin, Kassidy. We got some nice shots of them on Mammaw and Pappaw's white fence with their horse, Levi, in the background. It was a beautiful, windy day. My favorite part was the nice long nap everyone took after everything was said and done. I've always loved napping at Mammaw and Pappaw's house.

Lightning Spring Training

It's that time of year again. This is Ryan's eleventh year coaching little league baseball in Johnson City. This year's team is looking pretty strong, so we're looking forward to a good season. We've grown to really enjoy our time at the ball field each spring. It's fun watching the boys play and spending time with their families. Anna and Luke love playing at the field and hanging out with the team. Pretty soon, Caroline will be joining in the fun too.

If we build it, they will play.

This past Christmas, Ryan's mom, aunt, and grandmother all chipped in for a swing set for the kids. The work began when it arrived a few weeks ago. Ryan, his dad, and an unsuspecting youth from church put a lot of hours into its construction. After several days of tilling, mulching, ordering a slide without a crack in it, hammering, and screwing countless pieces together, we have a very nice set for the kids. I (Beth) was admittedly not that thrilled at first. I had visions of the dog chewing it to bits and digging up every inch of the ground cover and mulch (which she's already discovered is loads of fun.) However, the final result has already provided hours of fun and exercise for us all. Their great big grins say it all. Anna, Luke, and Caroline would like to send out a great big thank you to those who helped by providing $$$, time, and energy!!

Early Easter

I know it's not Easter yet, but everyone looked so cute last Sunday before church, so I set up our own little photography studio in our bedroom. Anna and Caroline loved having their pictures taken for spring. Luke, however, was not interested, and I only got two shots of him, both of which are not that great. He was pretty miserable, so I let him go change (we only make him wear collared shirts for pictures and weddings) and I had fun taking more shots of the girls.

Last game of the season

For the last several years, we've enjoyed season tickets to the ETSU men's basketball games, courtesy of Ryan's dad. It makes for a good date night or a fun night for the whole family. Sometimes, they provide inflatable games for the kids which is a big hit. At this last game of the season, Anna found some friends from school and sat with them. She definitely seemed a little older as we watched her sitting with her buds.

Getting a head start

We went down to our neighbor's the other day to have our first Easter egg hunt of the season. Anna is wearing an apron because she was taking a break from pretending to be a waitress. Caroline was our audience from the stroller. We're pretty serious about our egg hunting. At my (Beth's) grandparents in Jonesborough, we hunt eggs all year round. Anna & Luke love it, and so do I. We made a bunch of paper eggs last Saturday, and I told the kids a sad third child story from when I was young. Because my sisters were older than I and grew out of egg hunting before I did, I would hide eggs for myself around our house. Then, I'd wait a while (long enough to forget where I'd hidden them) and then go hunt them. Pretty sad.

She can stand!

So Caroline needs to hold on to something, but still, she can stand! She actually can stand unassisted for about 4 seconds, but I'm not quick enough to get a picture of that.

Caroline has Friends

Caroline has a couple of good friends to hang out with occasionally. The cute little guy is Gabe, son of our friends Andrew and Joy from Jacksonville, Florida. The pretty little gal whose sock Caroline is interested in is Grace, daughter of friends Rachel and Donnie. Caroline may seem too little to enjoy play dates, but she actually loves watching other babies and kids.