The Easter Bonnet Parade

Our neighborhood held it's annual Easter Bonnet Parade/Egg Hunt this past Sunday. The girls decorated hats, cowboy hats of course :) The Easter Bunny leads the parade, with music and all, to the site of the egg hunt. It was a beautiful, sunny day in North Carolina, so, lots of people were there.

Both girls found a lot of eggs that were all full of goodies (like we need more goodies...we're still working on candy from last Easter!). The heat was a little too much for the chocolate though :)

After the egg hunt, the girls had a nice visit with the Easter Bunny. Did you know that the Easter Bunny wore sunglasses? Well, she does in NC!

They won, they won!

Ramsey's first softball game was tonight and they won! That's her playing the infield with the pink helmet on. She's playing the "pitcher" position (it's coaches pitch) and the league requires that she wear head gear. She saw a lot of action and did a great job! Of course, at this level, most balls end up grounders up the middle infield. The coach is having them always throw to first base at the moment and Ramsey did a great job of connecting with the first basewoman :).

Ramsey was also first in the batting lineup. Her first time up she got a double, her second time a single and I don't really remember after that other than she didn't strike out.

Great job Ramsey! We're very proud of you!

Basketball Season 08/09

Before I started posting softball pics, I thought that I had better mention the basketball season that Ramsey and Bradey just finished up. They played on the same team in a Upward League. It was the first year of basketball for both of them. They decided to play versus cheer this year. You can see them above in green uniforms. Ramsey is far right and Bradey is in the middle back. They both enjoyed themselves very much and they had a wonderful young lady for their coach as well as great teammates.

Ramsey shooting a foul shot. Ramsey usually scored at least two baskets per game (which was a really good average for this league :).

This is the last game of the season and Bradey was the only player who had not scored a basket. You can see her under the basket with everyone around her just watching. They gave her 3 opportunities to make a basket without being blocked...unfortunately, she didn't make any of them, but, she had a great attitude about it!

Me and My Guy Dance

Michael escorted his two favorite girls to their Girl Scouts Daddy/Daughter dance tonight. This was Ramsey's 3rd dance and it was Bradey's 1st! Michael has been in Copenhagen, Denmark for 3 weeks but made sure that he got back in time to take Bradey to her very first dance. He looks all business like in his suit...funny that he was riding his Harley just a few hours earlier! He cleans up real nice :)

Ramsey striking a pose. She felt like a little lady in her wedge sandals.

Bradey giving her princess pose before the big dance!

Mommy's little girls aren't so little anymore :(

The girls had a wonderful time! Michael's a good sport, he danced with them all night. Bradey fell asleep on the way home and is sleeping on the couch beside us now as we watch UNC hopefully beat Villanova and advance to the big game! Go UNC!

While Daddy's away...the girls will play!

Michael is in Denmark for 3 weeks, so, one way that the girls and I are trying to cope is by going to the beach! :)

We have tagged along with my Mom (aka Nana) and my Grandmother (aka Grandma Phillips) to Myrtle Beach for an extended weekend. The weather is a little chilly, but, fortunately the resort has an indoor pool.

We went for a stroll on the beach today to hunt for shells. The girls always love filling their buckets with shells - and then I go behind them and dump half of them out :). It wasn't quiet the same though without Daddy...he always helps find shells. He (Michael/Daddy) had a good time today though, he went over to Sweden for the day just so that he could say that he's been to a country that I have not! That reminds me! I've been to Mexico...I'm not sure he has! I'm not sure if that's the same as Sweden though :)

Anyhow, back to us and our beach trip...here's some pics:

Searching for shells with Nana

Ramsey with one of her shells

Bradey is one of her shells.

Grandma Phillips is under there somewhere...she was cold :)

Bradey poolside

Mommy and Nana had themselves a little "drink" poolside, so, Ramsey and Bradey decided that they needed one too :)

The resort has a 3 story "tree house" with a curly slide going from top to bottom. It looked so fun, Nana and I both had to give it a try!

Chillin' out in Florida

Michael and I took the girls to Florida for the week for some good quality family time together after he and I returned from Denmark. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time hanging out with my Dad and Cindy (thanks for everything!).

Bradey is working on training "Eli", yes, he's named after Eli Manning. He was born last year when the Giants won the Superbowl. His older brother, Peyton, was born the year that the Indianapolis Colts won the Superbowl.

Dad brought my Daisy Red Ryder BB gun ("you'll shoot your eye out!") to us. Here, Michael is showing Ramsey how to aim. She was actually a really good shot!


Here Michael is helping Bradey aim. Her arms are a little too short still (she is only 6!)

Cindy (Mamaw) saddled up one of the horses and the girls went riding.

Bradey looks like she's riding herself (barefeet and all!), however, Cindy is leading the horse.

No, Bradey is not being attacked by some wild animal! This is "goatie-goat" and he thinks that he is a dog, or, at least is as gentle and loving towards people as one. He likes to play by rearing up like he would with another goat.

Here's a good shot of him playing with Dad. He almost looks like a kangaroo in this shot :)

We spent Wednesday on the river...here is Ramsey "driving" the boat.

Bradey's turn to help Papaw drive.

Ramsey caught a stingray! Bradey and I were the only ones to not catch a fish on either of our fishing excursions :( She's okay about it...I'm not! This is the very first fish that Ramsey has ever caught. Does a stingray really count as a fish though?

On Thursday, we traded fresh water for salt water and took a stroll down Daytona Beach the "World's Most Famous Beach", or, at least that's what the bench said?

It was wonderful getting to go to Denmark and we had a great time with the kids in Florida, but, it is GREAT to be home again...at least for a little while!

Final days in Copenhagen

On Sunday, Michael and I visited Kronburg Castle in Helsinger, Denmark. This is the castle that Shakespeare modeled Hamlet's Castle after. It was a nice 45 minute train ride through the countryside up to Helsinger from Copenhagen. It was a great opportunity to see other parts of Denmark.

Below was one of my favorite places to visit while in Copenhagen! This beautiful building is actually a huge department store called "Magasin". It was 7 stories total and a block deep. It was a neat way to watch the Copenhagen culture eat (cafe in basement), shop (grocery store in bottom) and live (see what they wear, put in their houses, etc.)