Dying Eggs

Every since I can remember, I have been dying eggs to celebrate Easter.  I now love that Madeline and Ryan also look forward to this tradition.  Thankfully, after years of making eggs with lots of cracks, I finally seem to have gotten the hang of boiling them.  Of course, Ryan's favorite dye color was Carolina Blue.  Madeline enjoyed putting an egg in each color, and then elaborately decorating them with stickers and crayons.  As you can imagine, we have been eating lots of eggs since Friday!  

I love how focused she is when working on a craft project!

Looks like Daddy's giving instructions.  Over and over, we had to remind them to place the eggs gently in the containers, and not plot them down, inches from the bottom of the container.

A few of Madeline's beautiful creations!

A Day at Marbles with the Webbs'

Madeline and Madeline tend to a boxer at the "vet".

Good gracious, this boy is cute.  Love that smile.  Here he is taking care of a little pooch.  He is SUCH a joy!!!  So fun.

I'm not about to ask Madeline what procedure she's conducting with gloves that long, but it looks like it will be pretty intense.  Last Thursday was a rainy day, and thus, a wonderful day for a trip to Marbles.  We were there from 10-3, and had an awesome time.  I'm so grateful for our homeschool community.

UNC Football Day

A few Saturdays ago, Daddy to Ry to a special UNC Football Day.  He had an awesome time playing games and meeting the players.  My little 'heel.

Can you tell someone's having fun?!  Do you notice the color of his sweatpants, the logo on his sweatshirt, and his cap?  Decked out for UNC.

Flag Football

Little did Matt know that when he told i9 sports he could help out with Ry's flag football team, he would become the head coach.  This was especially disconcerting given the fact that I filled in for him as assistant coach for the 1st practice, where I unexpectedly discovered that assistant coach had unknowingly been promoted to head coach.  In a group of about 50 to 70 parents and children, the head of i9 sports called head coach Wells' as the first coach to be presented with a roster and call their team together.  You can imagine my disbelief and horror. . .I know NOTHING about flag football!!!!  I tried to quickly explain my dilemma to the gentleman running the program, but he did not care, so long as the team had a coach.  If I had enough gusto, I would have stood there, refusing to budge until being presented with a head coach to lead me, but what could I do. . .7 sweet faces were staring up at Coach Wells', ready for their first flag football practice.  Praise God that after voting on a team name, and running around cones, the Lord sent a wonderful father to assist me and ultimately take over the practice.

Anyway, enough of my ranting.  Matt has done such an awesome job coaching.  Though they are only the Pee Wee players, he puts so much time and effort into planning practices and running them.  He wrote the below article after the practice and game on Sunday.  I am so proud of my wonderful husband!

Panthers win again!!

By: Matt Wells
Copyright: i9 Sports - South Durham and South Orange Counties
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
It was a beautiful football Sunday in Durham, NC. The Panthers displayed a high-powered offense in scoring 34 points. Ryan Wells led the team with three touchdowns and a two point conversion. Ryan had an amazing run for a touchdown called back after he grabbed his belt. Isaiah Boston and Blake Fearrington also had amazing runs for touchdowns. Isaiah also scored on an extra point conversion. Both Blake and Isaiah showed great bursts of speed as they outran the defenders to gain their touchdowns. Blake also had a pass attempt, displaying a great arm and accuracy. Tyler Jones continued to display his interior line skills and team-first attitude. He had two run attempts, and had a great attitude. Miles Harris played well on defense and offense. He had one run attempt, and showed the crowd that when he touches the ball, he has the ability to take it all the way for a touchdown.
After going back and forth all game long, the game came down to a great defensive play by Isaiah. Isaiah ran down the QB in the end zone to give the Panthers two points and the ball. The Panthers then converted that turnover into a touchdown, to win the game!
At the conclusion of the game, Miles was presented the sportsmanship award for "Communication." As the coaches discussed, Communication is key to playing as a team. It includes listening to coaches and encouraging teammates. Great job Miles.

Shrek the Musical With Daddy

Okay, is this girl not the most precious thing you have ever laid eyes on!  She was SO excited to get dressed up and go on such a special date with Daddy.  Thank You to Daddy's co-worker, Michelle, who gave us the tickets.

Look at this stunning pair!  Don't they both look spiffy?  They had a wonderful, wonderful time.  Matt said that Madeline was just beyond herself with excitement throughout the entire musical.  Though they did not get home until 11pm, the look on Madeline's face was priceless when she walked through our front door.  She was exhausted, but she wore a starry eyed, joyful daze on her sweet face.

Lemur Lessons

A couple of Wednesdays ago, we took a trip to the Duke Lemur Center to learn all about Lemurs!  It was a beautiful spring day, and aside from enjoying it with the Lemurs, we got to enjoy it with our good friends!  Look how sweet these girls are. . .they are all holding hands.  These two girls are 2 of Madeline's best friends.

Ryan is added to the mix.  Check out the look on his face.  You can tell he's a little embarrassed to join the girls.

The field trip began with a short video about Lemurs.

Ry Ry is so cute.  He LOVES animals.  He is delighted about how cute these lemurs are on-screen.

The Lemurs came very close to the fence to enjoy this beautiful day.  It was incredible to see them in their natural habitat.  Our tour guide was a wonderful, older woman, who knew so much about lemurs.  I think she must of been in her 80's.  As a result, our tour lasted a VERY long time, as she walked very slowly.  This made things a bit hard with the kids at the end, as they were ready for the tour to be over.

Dinner For Mommy

Sweet Madeline and Daddy did a special thing last Friday night.  After going to the movies on a date, they stopped at Walmart, went grocery shopping, came home, and made Mommy one of her favorite meals.  They were so cute to listen to and watch in the kitchen.  Aside from cooking, they also did all the clean-up!  WOW

Here is the delicious meal--mushroom lovers bocca burger, 2 varieties of sweet potato fries, and salad.  Not pictured is the amazing dessert--coconut pie.  This pie had a graham cracker crust, a layer of chocolate on the bottom, coconut creme pudding for the filling, and whipped cream on top.  The meal was amazingly delicious.  Another fun part of the evening, was everyone else in the family realizing that they also liked bocca burgers.

Check out this dynamic duo, plating their food.  Do you notice the matching shirts???