Rosie is 8, and in the throes of little-girl sleepovers. Do you remember that time of your life? When it would seem to make or break your outlook whether you were invited to sleepover?

And here we are. There are some moments that come up though. For example:

When a little kid is NOT spending the night at our house, Taylor and I read with Rosie, pray with her, and give her a hug goodnight. What the heck am I supposed to do when there is another 8 year old girl staying the night? Do I try and read with them? Heck no, this is a sleepover. Do I pray with them? Their family doesnt go to church, that might be weird. Do I hug them? NO, just no. So I just awkwardly let Taylor help the kids get set up, and at the last minute, go in and give Rosie a hug, and tell our guest “I am glad that you are here”.

Two weeks ago we had one of Rosie’s friends over, and it was great. Sleepovers are so much more fun now than when we were little kids, and we were given some microwave popcorn and a trip to blockbuster for a sleepover.

We had a bunch of leftover coins for this local barcade- where kids are allowed in before 7 on weekends, so we went. These girls had so much fun, it really looked awesome. We love having this friend, DK over. She is a blast.

Spring Cleaning.

Ok, lets get real here. Where are you with your yard? Is it as good as you want it to be? On a scale from 1-10, how would you rank your own yard in terms of the grass, landscaping, trimming, mulching, etc? And do you have kids? What does a “10” yard look like for someone with kids?

Taylor can get anxious looking at our yard, and for good reason; our yard is only 2 clicks better than the beverly hillbillies sometimes. She asks if I get anxious, and I respond with a quick “Heck No”, simply because at this point in life, with kids, both of us working full time, etc. the priority in our house is to have a fun yard for the kids to play in. Beyond that, our priority is to spend a few dollars on some trips over the coming years.

So when I mow the lawn and it smells like green onions instead of fresh-cut clippings, its fine; the kids love playing in the yard. And we have some awesome trips planned.

Anyways- our yard does need some help, so I spent this weekend cleaning up a bit of the leaves that were leftover from the fall, and mowing and bagging the first cut of the season, since we have had a very warm winter this year.

Hanging out while I do yardwork might be Stormy’s favorite thing. She is almost 11, and found this patch under a bush for yesterday’s yardwork session.

Slam Dunk(s)

Ok, maybe there was only 1 dunk. But I am not entirely sure. This weekend, Rosie had a last-minute night out at a sleepover with her grandmother, so Taylor and I took the youngest to the ACC Women’s basketball tournament game on Friday night. Tickets were $10 (before fees, $20 with fees) and we went to see the UNC-Duke game. If you are reading this and you are not from North Carolina, UNC vs Duke is considered one of the “greatest rilvalries of all time”. Though, I do not follow women’s sports, so I am not sure how this moniker translates. Is it the same? Maybe- but the game was fun.

The coliseum where the tournament is held is just around 10 minutes away from our house, so it was a fun night out. Mercy did not smile for the camera.

Other odds n ends.

These are just a few other fun pics.

Stormy often gets out and wanders around our neighborhood. She is getting old, always comes back, and no neighbors have complained. Since our street has zero traffic, we often let her. This time we spotted her coming home from the store, so Rosie walked he back.