Emma's Dance Recital

Emma with Daddy and Mommy after the show.
Emma and Caroline with Grandma and Grandpa.

Getting flowers.

Our sweet ballerina.

Today was Emma's first ballet recital. It was quite an experience for a family who is used to baseball and soccer fields. Lots of little girls in sweet little outfits. It was very cute. She did a great job, and we really enjoyed watching her perfom.

Take Me Out to the Ballpark!

Well Spring has arrived and it is back to the ballpark for the Fletcher boys. Drake is playing league play this year and Jack is playing on a league team as well as a tournament team on weekends. I can't tell you how much I enjoy watching my boys play baseball. I grew up at the ballpark with my brothers both playing baseball, and my sister and I playing some softball. So, I can't wait for baseball season every year.
Drake is the center-fielder for his team, and he really likes that position. It is where he asks to play. He has his first game tonight.
Jack plays catcher, and he LOVES it! He played in a tournament last weekend and his team got third place. They did very well for their first tournament. He also won his first league game last night.
We love the game, the excitement and the fun! (Emma, of course, loves the concession stand.)
So we are ready to PLAY BALL!

Emma is four years old!

Getting ready to blow out the candles.

Her first "big girl" bike!

She loves her new "video game" from grandma and grandpa.

Emma with her Ariel cake.

We started the day with birthday pancakes.

Emma turned four years old yesterday. She woke us up at 7:45 and said, "it's my birthday!" She was so excited. We made pancakes for breakfast and sang to her while she blew out her candles.

We celebrated with a big family party that night. She loved all her presents! She got her first "big girl" bike and she was so happy!

A little note from mom...

It gets a little harder for me with each birthday we celebrate. I spent some time watching the videos of the day Emma was born and her first birthdays yesterday, and it makes me realize how quickly she is growing up. I think because she is our third child, we are so busy that I don't sit and just enjoy her as often as I did with the boys. I feel like everytime I blink she has changed and is doing something she couldn't do before. She had an Ariel party this year and it was funny because the week before her birthday she learned to say Ariel. She has always said Air-a-ler. I still miss hearing the way she said it, but it's just another sign that she is getting bigger.

We love you Em, and we are so happy that you are "Part of our World".

Cotillian

Drake with Dad Drake teaching mom his moves!

Drake with mom

Saturday night was Drake's Valentine's Cotillian Dance. The parents were invited at the end to "dip into dancing". The girls danced with their daddys and the moms danced with their boys. It was really sweet. Drake taught me the fox trot (to Ice, Ice Baby no less) and the cha cha to Prince's song Rasberry Beret. As the director said, she chose some songs from "our generation". I tried not to embarrass Drake to much, but I do love to dance! I may have put a little to much into my cha cha for him. He kept saying "Mom"! It is wonderful to see him growing into such a great young man. We are very proud of him.

Adam and I also got a chance to dance together during the parent dance. It was nice, and I laughed when a friend of mine told us that she could tell we still really like each other.

On your mark, get set GO!

Jack with his trophies.
Jack and his friend Logan watching their cars race.

Jack waitng for his car to come down the track.

Jack with his car. Lucky number 8!

Today was Jack's first Pinewood Derby race with the Cub Scouts, and he won his Wolf den and got second place over all! It was very exciting. He designed his car and Adam helped him cut it out and paint it. Grandpa added weight and helped with the wheels. He did a great job and we are really proud of him!

Valentine boxes

Well it's official. No more frilly, lacey, red and pink valentine boxes here. (At least until Emma starts making them at home.) The boys made their valentine boxes tonight and they were very clear that we were not doing anything too "pretty". We looked for ideas and thought of everything from a shark to Sponge Bob, when we saw this locker. They both thought it was great. So, Adam helped them spray paint the boxes gray and then they decorated them. It was fun because we all worked on them together. I thought they turned out really cute, and they really liked them!

Don't Know What You've Got Til It's Gone!

Well, so much for January being uneventful. The ice storm of 2009 changed my easy, relaxing month into a week of craziness. The storm started Monday afternoon with freezing rain and continued through early Wednesday morning ending with snow. We lost power Tuesday night around 11:00 p.m. right after I got all the kids to sleep. (I had my sister's two kids sleeping over because their power was already out.) Adam kept a fire in the fireplace all night and the house stayed pretty warm. My brother, Jim, and his family got to my house around 9:30 that morning because they had also lost power in the night. We had fun rosting hot dogs and marshmallows in the fireplace and stayed relatively warm.
My parents got power back around noon that day, so we loaded up and headed to their house. All 15 of us spent the night there that night. It was nice to have lights and heat again!
We got power back at our house Thursday afternoon. We were very happy to be home again, and were thrilled to sleep in our own beds. I'm sure mom and dad were happy too!

We are the fortunate ones. There are still so many without power. It could be weeks before some people have their power restored. I think we really do take so much for granted. I don't believe I can ever remember a time that I went more than a few hours without power until now. I cannot end without mentioning my father-in-law. When I thought the storm was coming, I called him and asked him if I could come get some firewood because we were almost out. He brought us enough to get through if the power did go out, which of course it did. He is also a linesman for Craighead Electric and has been working with very few breaks since the storm hit.

We know firsthand how much time these guys devote to getting people's power restored.

The kids and I went back to school today and I have to admit it is nice to be back to normal. Hopefully, we won't see any more ice for a long time!!