Coach Daddy

Another Upward year is upon us (and as I write this 6 weeks late, almost behind us). This year we had four little athletes, Calla and Bella were cheerleaders and Noah and Micah played basketball. Not to be left out of the basketball excitement, Jeff decided to coach both boys teams, earning the moniker, Coach Daddy.

Micah's team had a lot of fun this year as well as learning a lot!

This year Bella's cheer squad, cheered for Micah's team which worked out really well. That way, we got to watch them both at the same time!

Come to think of it, there was quite a large cheering section:)

Noah's games were always exciting and fast-paced (thus the reason for so few pictures). This year he really grew as a player and became unbelievable. It was such a joy to watch him play and Jeff coach, good thing too, since I feel like this may be something I will be doing for a LONG time:)

Finally, Calla is the last one to have a game on Saturday afternoon. Watching her is infectious, she does an amazing job of keeping a smile on her face as well as the crowds.

GO UPWARD GO!

Summer Fun

By mid-July you are halfway through summer:( But as usual we tried our best to make the most of it. Calla and Noah spent a week at Grandma and Grandpa's taking tennis lessons every morning and swimming lessons every evening.

Watching all the fun!

We kept busy at home testing out our new camera with a impromptu photo session in town.

Wide Angle

Telephoto

We also enjoyed a homemade game of Minute to Win It when my parents brought the kids home.

Pizza box puzzle

How many cards you can get in the basket in a minute, surprisingly this game was by far the hardest!

Stack the dice.

Elijah riveted by all the action:)

And everyones favorite end to a fun family game day, Cookie on the Face!

My mom also took the kids in smaller groups for a few days each week, over the last month, to lighten my load (thanks mom). One week she took Calla and Bella for three days and went to the movies, to the pool and to the DQ! The next week she took Micah and Noah and went to a different movie, again to the pool and to play tennis and baseball.

While the boys were at the grandparents, the girls and I did some crafts. We saw someone's first smile!

I tried to wean Nehemiah off of the paci, but obviously to no avail!

Calla made some dance videos to show of her moves:) In addition to all of the sleepovers at grandma's, my mom has also taken Calla to Carowinds twice and Noah once! Calla's first Carowinds day was a birthday present and she and mom left here at 9:30am and came home around 11:00pm, now that is a FULL day. I wish I had pictures of all of these wonderful grandparent memories, but alas they will have to live on in my children's minds and hearts, since my mom always forgets her camera:)

Here is the one picture my mom snapped of the kids at her house. They were dressing as superheroes after creating their costumes out of paper!

Well I can assure you, we never forget our camera, ever seriously. A few weeks ago Jeff even threw it in the van on our way to church. I could question why we would need a camera at church but why go there. On this particular day however, some sweet friends of ours asked us if we would like to come over after church and have lunch. It was an unexpected and wonderful surprise and we have pictures to prove it. Off on another adventure!

We spent the rest of our July at the park...

Watching movies...

And making new friends...

Elijah and NolanOur new fish tank with Kailey, Yoshi and Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream

Phew I am exhausted!