Lucky

 I can't say enough how LUCKY I am to have these little gems in my life! They make my world so happy and they truly complete my life. I hope they will always know how much they mean to me! Being their mom is my greatest adventure! HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! 

(Also, Kinsley's little hand on Blake is probably the most precious thing ever. I hope they are always this close as they get older. Siblings are forever friends in life!)

Blake First & Fitness

 Blake is in 6th grade this year at Wake Forest Middle School. They do not let 6th graders join any team sports, but they do allow them to have a 6th grade First and Fitness Team! This team does competes once a year in track and field events - they compete against other Wake County Schools. Blake was selected to be a part of the relay team! They did a great job. I also might be biased, but Blake had a great cheering section!!! 

Blake has really shown interested in running and track. This was a great glimpse of what our future might hold with watching Blake do school sports! I am so proud of him!! 

Sarah Bday

 38....I. Am. Old!!!! Oh man, I can't believe that I am in my late 30's! I remember being a teen and thinking 38 was old as dirt... and here I am! Truly, I have started to feel my age. I am feeling exhausted, the aches and pains, and my body is just NOT the same. I can't believe I am to THAT point. However, I am also a big believer that you have to put in the work to stay young. I keep telling Joyner that WE have to start working to keep out bodies in shape and feeling good, otherwise our bodies are old enough that they will just go downhill. What we do for ourselves in our late 30's-40's will set up how we age for the rest of our lives. We need to make that a GOOD thing and not a bad one. I want to live a long and active life with my family!!! Nothing is taking me out early! Ok, now that I am off that soap box...HAHA!

I love birthdays and I love celebrating it with my little family. I truly loved how special they made me feel today. It was so nice! My favorite part is of course the birthday cake! 

Speaking of birthday cake... a little tradition that I have come to love is when the kids help my blow out the candles on my cake. For a long time it was just me and Blake, but now my little crew includes Kinsley! I can't wait to add many more pics to this collection over the years! 

Also, later that weekend Joyner took me on a birthday date night to Dos Taquitos! Two words - GUACAMOLE TRAIN! It was amazing!!! 

B & UNC Game

 My Dad (GG) got Blake a super awesome Christmas gift this year... UNC Basketball tickets! They got to go to a game today and they had a blast. Blake is at the perfect age where he is truly appreciating the game and players and all the sports fun! 

He loved the atmosphere at the Dean Dome as the players ran out in the beginning. He loved seeing some of his favorite players. And I think GG loved it all more than Blake! I remember when my dad would take me to games and events like this and I am so glad that he has the opportunity to take Blake to these things as well. They are making amazing memories together!!! 

Most importantly... I think we have officially made a UNC Tarheel fan out of Blake!!! YAY! :) 

Boone Vacation

 It has REFUSED to snow at home. So sad.... I want a snow day SO badly and it doesn't seem like it is going to happen. I can't believe that Kinsley basically hasn't seen snow in her life (other than when she was just born/baby). So, we had to hike it to Boone in order to see snow this year!!! It was an amazing trip and we are so grateful that GG and Heather let us stay in the amazing family house - Thanks to Heather's dad!! 

We spend the first day or two hanging out at the house and exploring downtown Boone and ASU. I like to show the kiddos my old stomping grounds and really try to recruit Blake to ASU! HAHA! I doubt he will actually want to go there, but a mom can try, right?! Haha. Either way, it is fun to walk around and see all of the iconic ASU things - like Yosef and The Rock Stadium. 

And... we finally got to see snow on the snow tubing slopes!!! It was SO pretty, even though they were having to blow snow. HAHA! I am not sure what I thought snow tubing would be like. I thought we would just hop on these tubes and slowly go down like a snow slide. Well, all was correct except the SLOW part. Oh. My. Gosh. We SHOT down that slide at lightening speed while spinning in a fast circle!! Kinsley is in a "Mommy Only" phase so I had to hold her in my lap while I was spinning so fast. I thought I was going to lose her or throw up all over here. My head was spinning for hours. Naturally Blake and Joyner loved it. Blake wanted to go faster and do a million more slides than I could keep up with. Kinsley shockingly loved it too. Haha. Dad and Heather enjoyed watching us from the deck view. It was an adventure!!! 

Princess KK

 We have a princess in this household... and her name is Kinsley! HAHA! It is her world and we are all just living in it. Honestly, it is a perfect little world. 

The girl knows how to relax. Most other kids are running all over the place with energy. At school, Kinsley just relaxes and takes it all in! 

She also can appreciate the adventure in life... with her purple jeep and her unicorn! Everything just sparkles with fun in her world. 

I love this little life she has created. 

Blake the PreTeen

 Blake is 12....and officially our PRETEEN!!!! Happy Birthday, buddy!!! I am so proud of Blake and everything that he has accomplished in his 12 years. He is honestly my sunshine and makes mom life so easy!!! 

Blake's 12 Year Old Report...

• He weighs about 85ish pounds and is almost as tall as me!!! 
• He is currently getting a A's and one B in school
• He continues to play basketball, baseball, and flag football...and plays the piano.
• He adores Kinsley and I think she adores him even more. 
• Blake is a GREAT friend and kid. He honestly has a heart of gold in all that he does. SO CARING!
• He loves playing video games in his free time - specifically Maden these days. 
• He is still just as energetic as ever! Haha. 

...and he is getting a really big surprise this birthday!!! 

Blake has been begging us for a phone for about the last 6 months. We made him prove to us that he could handle middle school and all the responsibility that comes with school and sports. He has accepted the challenge and done SO well with juggling all the things. He has balanced his life so well and done a great job with maintaining his grades, being a great family member and friend, and balanced his sports. What more could we ask of him?!?! So he gets surprised with a phone on this birthday!!! 

We also threw a birthday party for Blake a couple of days after his actual birthday. We did a family birthday party on his birthday and a friend party a few days later. The friend party was at this place called the Par-Tee Shack. It has an awesome indoor putt-putt place where you get to do these extreme putt-putt holes. It was so cool and perfect for these guys that like a challenge!!! :)