Trip To California Part 1

Adam had a cancer conference to attend in San Fransisco a couple of weeks ago so I decided to tag along.  We flew in and landed early enough in the day to go visit one of the top 20 cancer facilities in the country.  It was eye opening to see how that organization compared with CARTI, here in Little Rock.  I'm not personally in health care, so my opinion doesn't really count, but when you compare the state of the art building, the wonderful physicians, nurses and administrative team at CARTI, there truly was no comparison!  It's exciting to think about the opportunities that exist here in Central Arkansas for patients suffering with this disease.

After we finished our cancer center tour we headed back to the hotel to change clothes and take a walk along the ocean shore and around by one of the harbors.  The views were beautiful and it was nice to have a little time to carve out together before the conference started the next morning.

The scenery was beautiful and the company was perfect!

 As we headed back to the hotel we came across a yummy food truck and enjoyed some shrimp tacos for lunch.

That evening we headed down to the pier for dinner.  It was clear that I was not from around those parts, as I had on white jeans while everyone else around us wore dark colors ranging from gray to black or navy...there was no spring time, summery colored clothing found there...so I stuck out like a sore thumb.  (Adam even had a conversation about the color of the clothing with one of the men from San Fransisco who was hosting the conference, who admitted it was a cultural thing that he couldn't pin point a reason behind it.)

We sauntered through one of the food markets down by the Embarcadero.

Adam was in the conference the next day and a half so I enjoyed laying in my quiet hotel room, on the bed, all by myself reading and resting.  (And this was my view from the room--not too shabby huh?)

Midday I decided to get brave and called my own Uber and headed back down to the pier to do a little shopping at Sephora and then some sight seeing.

I got to see AND hear the seals...it was pretty impressive to see them covering all the docks.

There was a lot to see that afternoon, the pier was bustling with people young and old.  And there was a pretty carousel that caught my attention.

I ended the afternoon by doing something I've NEVER done before, order dinner and sit by myself at a table.  I was a big girl and hung out in a big city alone all afternoon and really did have a good time!  I got some fish tacos from Boudin, which is famous for its sour dough bread (or in this case sour dough tortillas), it was delicious!

Dance Recital 2018

This was Ava Jane's second year to take tap and ballet lessons at Shuffles. We love Mrs Jana and Mrs. Allison, they sure make dancing fun for this little girl of mine! The song that she danced to was Sweet Sixteen and if I do say so myself, she was adorable!

These girls have had fun this year being in class together!

There she is (left) front and center.

Oh my word!!  She's a knock out...a little bit sassy but a whole lotta sweet!

Look at these two cuties, aren't they adorable?!

She had quite a few admirers watching in the crowd.

Ava Jane we were so proud of how well you danced and enjoy watching you learn how to do it!

Life Lately...

The past few weeks have been jam packed with activities and fun things to do and be apart of, here's a little recap.

We had the opportunity to take the kids and go see The Lion King. Adam and I had seen it before In New York but when I heard that it was coming to town we HAD to take the kids! We have had season tickets the past two years with two other couple friends but we all traded in our season seats for a 22 tickets so that we could bring our kids and other family members. The boys and Ava Jane loved it!

Grandparents Day at Little Rock Christian was THE.SWEETEST.MORNING ever! Hearing those children sing songs about subjects they've been learning, quote scripture that they have memorized and sing praises to our great God, always brings tears to my eyes. This past year Dr. Arnold's theme was "Run with the Horses", alluding to the scripture that talks about running our race (with enthusiasm, endurance, confidence and not growing weary.) It was a theme that was carried through even to Grandparents Day planning as we decorated with a western theme which turned out so cute!

 

Ava Jane, Mom and myself went to get a pedicure last weekend and it was Ava Jane's first time by a professional.  I think she really enjoyed the massage chair and having her feet rubbed! (The apple didn't fall far from the tree!). There was a birthday party going on so Ava Jane got to sit in the big girl chair with us.

Adam and I had the opportunity to attend Rajun Cajun, a fundraiser for CARTI.  It was definitely good food (though I did not partake of the crawfish), fun music and of course wonderful people.

A friend of mine is out of the country visiting her sister so I got to keep her sweet girls and Ava Jane was in heaven having them around to dressup with and play dolls, it was pretty sweet!  We went to the donut shop one morning and were a tad like the Brady Bunch with three boys and three girls--boys at one table, the girls at another!



Adam and I took the kids to PF Changs last Friday night for something different and both of us were reminded that parenting is just challenging. We had been at the table all of five whole seconds when one of our children who was throwing a fit was escorted to the restroom with Daddy. Then while trying to teach them how to use chopsticks one child thought he would just employ the end to end approach (trying to drop food into his mouth and missing over and over again) as opposed to the "pincher" approach that most other people use while eating with chopsticks. There was interupting, talking over one another, crawling under the table for napkins that had fallen on the floor and whining over wanting more edamame. That's when I decided something had to change! The rest of the week we began using cloth napkins at our dinner table and working on keeping bottoms in chairs with no knees raised up to the tables edge. The struggle is real! I wanted to lose my mind by the time the check came...but I do realize this is my fault and there is responsibility to be taken and I'm full on excepting that this is an area where we MUST improve. So, here's hoping change will stick! We did end the night with good conversations and these three couldn't pass up a chance to climb up under the big horse.


And while I'm on a parenting note, I'll add this sweet moment. Peyton learned how to mow the back yard last year at 10, this year, he has been asked by some neighbors who will be traveling this summer, to mow their yard which he is thoroughly pumped about. So Adam took him out front and helped coach him on how to start the mower, how to keep it running and how to make straight lines across the yard. We don't have a self propelled mower so it took a lot of strength to push it but Adam said its the best way to learn. This boy of ours is getting so big and truly enjoys doing things like this, he was so proud of himself and the way the final product looked when he'd mown and blown the driveway and sidewalks. We are grateful for the responsibility that he is learning.



Even though parenting has challenges and hard moments, I am truly grateful for the privilege of getting to raise these sweet little people and helping them become the young men and woman that God desires for them to be whether that's learning how to sit at a table in a mannerly way, not interrupting people (which is a skill every age needs to know), or whether its simply learning to manicure the front lawn. As a parent, the monotony and the constancy is unending at times, the repetitive nature of teaching and "reminding" never goes away so I truly desire to be a parent who embodys Deuteronomy 11:19 "Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Lawson's Soccer Season

This last semester Lawson has been playing soccer with several of his 3rd grade buddies. It's a been a great season watching the team come together and playing really well. We never officially picked a mascot so we have gone back and forth between being the Wombats and The Awesomest Team Ever.

He has loved playing goalie and has actually done a good job at it.

It's been a great group of kids and two wonderful coaches who have encouraged and supported them the whole time. We made some fun memories and closed out the season with a pool party. Peter Kim and Brian Hughes made soccer fun not only for the kids but also for the parents, so a big thank you goes out to them!

They ended the party with one last "o team" where they used Lawson's head as the place for all the hands to pile up...it was pretty cute.