Expressions from the Lake

Got Dirt?

Batter's Up

T Ball Season has begun.  Love the look of determination on her face!

We took an early vacation this year.  Though we may end up regretting it once summer gets going, it was so nice to be able to get away sooner than normal.  We went to PCB just like we did last July, and stayed at a condo resort, Splash.  The weather was perfect - sunny, 80+ degrees, no rain; and the crowds were much smaller than going during "peak season".  No long waits for eating or terrible traffic to deal with.  And...lucky for us it was Ellie's spring break week at school plus Jamie's cousin was getting married on the beach the same weekend.  What a perfect storm!

I didn't take a lot of pictures, in fact, Jamie often reminded me I was leaving without my camera.  I just kind of sat back, relaxed and enjoyed just being there instead of worry about taking pictures.  I did include some of my favorites in the post.  The above is Macy Ruth & Ellie at the wedding.  Though they are actually cousins, then tend to act more like BFF and sisters.  In fact, I have been trying to claim Macy as another child on my tax return. 

 Our little family at the wedding.  It was a tad windy that particular day, but the rest of the time the wind was no where to be found. 

 The happy couple - Congrats Whitney & Nathan! 

And ... one of my favs of our nephew Tripp.  He was the only one that couldn't move fast enough from the camera.  Ellie & Jaxon wanted no part in having their picture taken.

Cruddy Day

So it's been a while since anything has been posted to the 'ole blog. (that might be quite an understatement.) Dealing with sinus crud makes for a cruddy day at home. Yuk! I love the beginning of spring, but not the pollen and havoc on sinuses. So, I will bore you with the daily life of the Carson Tribe. Sorry - no pictures because my camera hasn't been out since .... um, December (I know I am terrible).

• I am addicted to Pinterest! O.M.G.


• It's hard to believe that Ellie will be out of school in a matter of weeks! Wow! She reminds us quite often that she will be in 1st grade next year.


• And speaking of school, Ellie seems to have a little problem with talking! I tell her each morning as I am dropping her off to make sure "her ears are turned up" so she can hear the teacher's instructions. And, when the afternoon report comes in she always moves her clip for talking. Her scientific explanation of it is ..."My ears hear her words, they go to my brain, my brain sends the words back out my ears so that I can see them/read them with my eyes, then my nose sucks them up so they come out my mouth." Whew, no wonder why the teacher's instructions are getting mistranslated!


• We will be getting ready to head to the beach in a matter of weeks - so excited! Jamie has a cousin that is getting married so we just decided to take our vacation early to enjoy some time with family.


• And because we are going to the beach, I have become obsessed with exercising. Thankfully, Jenner is my buddy so we motivate one another to get moving. I believe we have found our routine with Kettlebell and Pilates work. I did see this the other day, and was very intrigued by it...humm...


• T-ball practice has begun... and we are still doing gymnastics. Fun!

That's as boring as we get around here...and I know that's bad!

Funnies from Christmas

We had a great Christmas - and it appears we all were on Santa's "good list". It was a whirl-wind of craziness, but I wouldn't have it any other way. And, I am still having difficulties getting photos uploaded, so it will probably be a few posts of just photos soon (fingers crossed). But, I did want to share a few funny stories that made our Christmas extra special.

• A few weeks prior to Christmas I was busy wrapping gifts with my assistant Ellie. She was such a good helper and even attempted to wrap a few presents by herself. She finds a large shipping box that I had tossed aside and runs to her bedroom for a few minutes. She returns with the announcement that this box now contains a gift for me to open on Christmas. Awe, how sweet. She wraps the box with masking tape (it was a cardboard shipping box and Scotch wasn't going to hold) and some of the shipping paper that was inside. It was very rugged and unique:). On Christmas morning, she runs to her room to retrieve the package that has been placed under her tree for me to open. And here is a "side story" to this story ...

{Side Story} I found a wreath idea on Pinterest (love that site) for a ribbon/fabric wreath. I took a stab at it for an adorable ribbon wreath for Ellie's bedroom door. However, it kept falling off from the suction cup. It has been missing for weeks. When I asked questions to both Ellie and Jamie - neither knew what happened to it.

Ok...fast forward to Christmas morning. Ellie give me her wrapped box and when I opened it...you guessed it! It was the ribbon wreath for her bedroom door! Of course I laughed and commented that I was looking for it and had even asked her about it, to which she replied .."Mom, I knew you would like it!" Silly girl! But the funny thing was Jamie didn't even know she had done it until the day before. She woke up that morning to tell him she had had a terrible dream and the conversation goes something like this ...

Dad: Tell me about your dream

Ellie: I dreamed Mom opened her gift

Dad: What gift are you talking about?

Ellie: The gift under the tree in my bedroom.

Dad: Well, what is it?

Ellie: You know that wreath she has been looking for ...

• Another funny story ... Ellie asks my mom specifically to get her the DVD movie "Underdog". My mom search high & low for it only to have to order it on-line. Mom is super proud because she got El exactly what she wanted. Ellie opens her present and wants to watch it. Well, it doesn't work in any of the dvd players. Turns out ... Mom ordered her the Blu-Ray disc of the movie. Problem is ... none of us have a BluRay player. I had to laugh because it seems my mom can't win with Ellie's gifts. Just ask her about Ellie's 2nd Christmas. We will say it was a culture lesson.

News Update

So we have been extra busy with Christmas parties, shopping, programs, and just the daily routines. Whew! December has been crazy-town! I have been trying desperately to upload some photos of all of the fun we have been having, but an uncooperative computer is to blame for the lack thereof. So here is another lack luster blog update.

• Ellie participated in her 1st school Christmas program. The program was adorable set around why the Santa's reindeer wouldn't fly on Christmas Eve. She was a little wiggle worm while singing, but I don't think she missed a word to the songs.


• Just this week, we took Ellie to a live nativity scene in the area. We thought she would like it - petting some animals, walking through the and looking at the sets. Boy, were we mistaken! She showed no interest in it. But...we drive past a home with flashing lights and fully decorated in the spirit of Griswold complete with the plastic light up manger scene and she is in complete awe! I guess we all find the spirit of Christmas in different things from live nativities to plastic and lite up.


• I have watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" no less than 5 times thus far. So happy we now have a DVR.


• I hosted the ladies at my office for a Christmas party a few weeks ago. We had a wonderful time playing trivia games, bingo, dirty Santa, and laughing until our sides hurt. It was a great time and already cannot wait until next year.


• We have already had the Harrell Christmas (Jamie's side of the family)-which is always fun! Some of the family live in Middle & East TN and unfortunately with our busy lives we don't see them as often. It is always great to catch up with them all by other means besides Facebook & blogs.


• This weekend will be crazy with Christmases' with families. But I wouldn't have it any other way. When the time comes that all I have to worry about is the 1 Christmas, it will be a sad day. So, I am soaking up all the craziness I can & enjoying every minute of it!