Our whale

Charlie has been taking swimming lessons from Lu Lee. He decided that this year he would swim like a whale because whales can eat sharks. He has really become a good swimmer. Mrs. Lu has taught Charlie the basics of how to swim as well as some safety pointers (a "rest stroke" on his back and how to swim to the side if he gets thrown into the pool). Charlie can also dive to the bottom of the pool and swim from one side of the pool to the other. Jane Gray joined Charlie in the pool tonight, and Mrs. Lu helped her some, too. We love Mrs. Lu!

Rock and roll

Meg's favorite spot these days has been her rocking chair. She loves to rock and rock! Today, she is wearing the new dress Aunt Stacy made for her. I also tried to get a picture of her curls - there is one on the top of her head that is cute, cute! Meg is getting so big and talking up a storm! Most of the time she just babbles on and on, but she also is practicing new words. It seems like she learns several new words every day - her favorites lately have been "bird" and "shoe." We are also working on her animal sounds (her favorite being "roar!") and "old" words - in the last picture, I asked her what the opposite of "whisper" is, and she said "SHOUT!"

Ice cream truck

Summer is officially here because the ice cream truck has arrived! Sunday afternoon, we were on the back porch listening to the Ole Miss baseball game and drying off from swimming at Nana and Grandpa's pool when we heard the "ice cream song." We darted out the front door and ran all over the neighborhood listening for the truck. We finally found it on Culleywood, and, in this picture, Jane Gray and Charlie are pointing to the popsicles they wanted. We ran into several of our sweet neighbors, including the Hurst girls; everyone was so excited about the return of the ice cream truck!

Our slugger

Jane Gray had another softball game Saturday night. She's been struggling a little at the plate, so she and Daddy practiced hitting the ball this afternoon. Well, it worked - Jane Gray went 3 for 3 and won the game ribbon (the coach gives the game MVP a blue ribbon). When Mommy and Daddy asked her about her performance, Jane Gray explained that she prayed about it, and God helped her hit the ball. We are so proud of our little slugger!

Charlie's school program

Charlie's 3-year old class at Covenant Preschool had their program this morning - "Down on the Farm." Charlie led his class into the sanctuary, and they sang "Good Morning to You," "Jesus Loves Me," and "This Little Light of Mine." They also said two verses they had memorized - Luke 2:52 and Psalm 56:3. Then the program began - they sang "The Farmer in the Dell," "Bingo," "When Cows Get Up in the Morning" (Charlie was a pig), "Five Little Speckled Frogs," "Five Little Ducks," and "Old MacDonald Had a Band" (Charlie was a rattlesnake). It was a precious program. Nana and Grandpa (and Meg and Mommy and Daddy) were very impressed! The program ended with "Covenant Kids" and the "Goodbye Song."

Charlie

This picture of Charlie says it all. He is so full of life! Mommy took this picture of Charlie in the car on the way to swimming lessons with Lu Lee. We had all been together at Jane Gray's softball game, and sweet uncle Paul had given Charlie a ticket to buy some candy - the remnants of it are all over his face! We had a lot of fun at the game (though we lost); Pop and Uncle Will, Aunt Nicki, and Laurie were there for moral support. After the game, Pop sprung for pizza, but Charlie and Mommy peeled off from the rest of the family to go to Mrs. Lu's. Charlie is swimming like a fish (or a whale, as Charlie says). He can swim the length of the pool and dive down to the bottom of the pool. Mrs. Lu is amazed at Charlie's energy level and speed. She finds it so hard to believe that Charlie doesn't fall asleep in the car on the way home (the lessons are over around 8:00). Not our Charlie - he has several more hours in him before he calls it a day!

Fun with the Driskells

Brian and Poppy (Mommy's college roommate) are visiting Poppy's parents in Drew and decided to come to Jackson to see us on Saturday. We had a good visit during naptime, and then we all headed out to Papito's for some yummy Mexican food. Poppy was the biggest hit! The kids hung all over her and even bickered a little over who would get to sit by her at dinner. After dinner, we stopped by Barnes and Noble so that Brian could get some coffee before the trip home. The kids had so much fun in the kids' books section - even Meg fussed when we had to leave. We had such a good time with our friends!

Movie under the stars

Tonight, we went to see a "movie under the stars" at Liberty Park in Madison. The movie was "Kung Fu Panda." We invited the Hurst girls, grabbed some Chick-fil-a, and headed to the park. The kids ran all over the park before the movie started, but once the movie started, they sat completely still and were mesmerized by the movie. Jane Gray and Genevieve cuddled together in one chair (Genevieve said they "cuddled all night"), and Liddy and Charlie shared another chair. Sweet Meg fell asleep in her Daddy's arms. Before she fell asleep, Meg did the funniest thing - every time Mommy told her to whisper or "hush," she would "shout!" Meg's favorite book is Opposites by Sandra Boynton, and her favorite part is "whisper . . . shout!" She was so funny! After the movie, the kids practiced their kung fu moves, and then we headed home.

Charlie and Rachel

Rachel Rutledge came over this morning to play with Charlie. They mostly played outside in the backyard, swinging, chasing butterflies, and playing with Emma. They are such good buddies and play so sweetly together.

Sweet big brother

This morning, Charlie rode his bike in the driveway. Meg saw how much he was having and wanted to ride Charlie's four-wheeler. So, Meg's sweet big brother showed her how to drive it and pushed her up and down the driveway. Charlie also showed Meg how to make bubbles. After the bubbles, Charlie decided he wanted to play a little baseball (the cowboy hat was home plate). He whopped the balls pretty well, and Meg fielded them for him. They made a sweet pair!

Easter Sunday

The children woke up early to find that the Easter bunny had arrived and filled their Easter baskets with candy, toys, and books. We ate the rest of the Resurrection rolls for breakfast and dashed off to church so that Daddy could usher. We stopped by the Orchard after church to wish Margaret and Alice a "Happy Easter" before heading to Grandpa and Nana's for lunch. After lunch, we had one more Easter egg hunt. After the Easter egg hunt, the cousins played upstairs while the parents crashed on the couch to watch the Masters. Sweet Meg was so tired that she fell asleep in her high chair at lunch. It was such a fun (and exhausting!) Easter weekend!

Easter Eve

After all of the fun parties, we went home and made Resurrection rolls. The rolls illustrate the resurrection of Jesus - you put a marshmallow buttered and rolled in sugar and cinnamon in a crescent roll (the marshmallow represents Jesus, and the butter and cinnamon/sugar represent the oils of embalming and spices used to anoint Jesus's body; the body is then wrapped in a crescent roll). The rolls bake in the oven for several minutes (3 days in the tomb) and when they are cooled, the children open them and find that Jesus is no longer there - He is risen! After the children ate their Resurrection rolls, Daddy read the story of the Resurrection from the Bible, and then we watched the Ten Commandments on television. A very pooped family then headed to bed!

Kate's birthday party

After the Easter egg hunt, we headed to the Gibsons for Kate's birthday party. Kate celebrated with an Easter egg hunt and relay. Meg found a bunch of eggs with a little help from Nana. Jane Gray found the golden egg, and she and Charlie each won egg relays. They played a lot on the trampoline with their cousins and enjoyed Kate's birthday cupcakes. It was a fun party!

Easter egg hunt at the Minors

The Minors hosted the Fair cousins at their house for an Easter egg hunt. Jack Harvey brought his bunny, which Jane Gray and Charlie loved! They also found lots of eggs in the hunt and enjoyed eating Julia's cookies and playing with all of their cousins.