The Big Apple!

We had a fantastic family trip up north to visit New York City during our Easter break.  We kicked off our US road trip by stopping by the Syvertsens' new home in New Jersey.  It was a wonderful reunion for all of us!  It was great to see their new life in America, their neighborhood (i.e. farmlands) and explore small-town Jersey life.  They had a local Easter egg hunt in conjunction with a fair, which we all enjoyed!

Then it was on to NYC.  We are truly an urban family, because NYC actually felt "manageable" to me for the first time - as opposed to overwhelming.  We rented a nice flat through Air B&B on the Upper West Side (yes, we're so posh!), which was in a wonderful area of the city and a great base for us.  We did so much in our few days there!
9/11 Memorial

Museum of Natural History
Redeemer Church on Easter (and seeing our old Charlotte friend Tracy)
Central Park

Apple Store
Today Show
Mood ("Thank you, Mood!")

Subway

 Check out my amazing parallel parking job... I'm very proud...

 MoMA

Serendipity
...and our family highlight - watching Wicked on Broadway!

It really was one of our best family trips ever, full of fun and excitement.  We can totally see why people fall in love with this city!

Easter Eggs

We had so much fun decorating Easter Eggs. In years past Laura has had to hard boil my eggs but this was the year... I have learned how to hard boil eggs. Clark is very excited since he only has been able to eat them when we have stayed at a hotel, and he has recently told me they are his favorite food! 

 

MAC junior swim legue

Lucy and Clark are swimming on a swim league at the MAC. They are doing great and love it. Their swimming is improving and the coaches are really great. All of them are teachers as well as competitive swimmers. I am seeing strokes improve and their times are also improving. They have had one swim meet so far.  

One thing about doing sports in America is that there are so many choices. I could pick a day and time that was convenient for me and then they all swim at the same time at a place that is 5 minutes away from my house. It is really unbelievable how many choices there are.

Taylor Swift

Part of my bday present was Taylor Swift tickets. It was such a fun concert. We had nosebleed seats and the kids were a little overwhelmed when we first arrived at how high we were. So no one wanted to stand up for fear of falling over. Lucy was taking it all in. Screaming girls, lights, the concert itself (which was well done) and then more screaming girls. She loved it although her reserved self was just soaking it all in. Piper brought her amazing earmuffs. She doesn't like loud noises at all and one might think maybe a Taylor Swift concert is not a great idea for those who do not like loud noise but she was the most desperate to come. So she brought along her handy earmuffs and enjoyed the night. Clark loved it all. Was dancing and singing to his heart's content. 

gymnastics

Piper loves gymnastics. She is taking this special gymnastics class with her friends from school. They go every Thursday afternoon from 1:30-2:30 and they have their own class. Piper is obsessed with cartwheels and round-offs and so are all of these little girls. She loves going with her friends and I have loved watching these little friendships blossom.

1/2 Marathon

I've enjoyed getting back into running the last few years, but I'd never tried a race longer than 5 miles.  I signed up for the Charlotte 1/2 marathon, hoping it would be the incentive I needed to keep fit here in Charlotte.  It was a cold, crisp morning, but it was a beautiful run through the city!  I managed to run the whole way in the time I was shooting for and felt good the whole way.

I had a great cheering squad who was there at the halfway point, and again at the finish line!

Daddy Daughter Dance

A fun school event each year here is the Daddy-Daughter dance, held in the school gym.  I got to have TWO dates to the dance.  I'm glad I brought my suit back from Prague, so I could be as stylish as my two girls!

Lots of spinning, twirling, and dancing...

 Meanwhile these TK girls had fun running around and grabbing snacks!

HOT!

One great thing about Saturday mornings here: HOT donuts from Krispy Kreme!  (There's even an app for you to get an alert when the nearby donuts are hot and fresh)

40th

WHAT A CUTIE!

We celebrated Shanna's BIG day, sponsored by the letter F - Forty, Family, Friends, Festivities, Food, Flair, and Fabulous-ness!  We love Shanna for who she is, and who she makes us! She always makes things better, and more fun.  She's a great mom and wife, and it's a joy to see how God uses her in people's lives - whether it's in Prague or here in Charlotte.

We had presents in morning, a family-sized cake after school...

Followed by a fun dinner out with some of our great friends.  It was wonderful to get to celebrate her in Charlotte again this year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHANNA - WE LOVE YOU!

Goodness Gorilla

Lucy's class went out and did some service projects around the city - they called them the Goodness Gorilla unit. They split the class up into four different places and then the following week they reported on it. Lucy's group went to "friendship trays," which is a ministry that provides meals to 400 shut-ins a day. They make the meals and then deliver them. It is really an amazing ministry and I have a good friend Cindy who takes meals to people twice a week. It is one of those mercy ministries that you really can make a difference. As you take a meal you easily get to know people and they become a part of you weekly world, you build relationships and practically share the Gospel. Lucy helped with the making of the meals part and she got to live outside her normal world for the day. She did a great job reporting on it and sharing what she learned thru this process.

the lyles

We had some special visitors for a picnic lunch. Tim, Laura and Eva came up from Greenville, SC. We know the Lyles from Prague. Laura was a teacher at Riverside and Tim played basketball. We lived a lot of life together in Prague. Laura and I ran the 1/2 marathon, Phil and I did their pre-marital counseling, supper club, art club, school, church and not to mention a lot of holidays and dinners. We love them. It was so great to see them and watch them as parents. Little Eva is SOOOO cute.

Grandparents Day.

The kids' school has an annual Grandparents Day assembly, where each grade does some sort of song or performance for all the grandparents that can be there.  My parents were thrilled to be able to take part in a Grandparents Day!  They made the trek down (turning it into a week, so that Shanna and I could get away for our Marriage Summit) and then went to school with us for the big day.

All the kids did a great job, but the cross-cultural moment of the day was when Lucy's class sang "North Carolina is My Home," a slow song about how great NC is.  It was sweet, and ironic, to watch Lucy sing this song.  Afterwards I asked her if NC is in fact her home, and she literally threw up her hands and said, "I don't know!"  Poor third-culture kid!

Marriage Summit 2013

We started our yearly marriage summits our first year of marriage. We committed to getting away for at least a night of talking, dreaming, and praying together. We have tried to do it almost every year, some years it has looked like a long leisurely dinner out and other years we have gotten to sneak away. This year Phil's parents came and gave us two glorious nights away. We had an amazing time. It was a sweet time to reconnect and just be. We laughed really hard - belly laughs with tears rolling down our face and we had lots of long uninterrupted conversations, we basked in the sunshine and just enjoyed being together. It was bliss. We are blessed. 14 years and counting. 

Lucky are we!

deer

Love watching these guys in the wee hours of the morning. They are beautiful. They are mesmerizing. Usually they come in at least a pair but we have had a whole family of 5 roaming.

Ears pierced!

Lucy got her ears pierced when she was about 4, and I have asked Piper if she wanted to get her ears pierced and her response has always been "maybe when I am 10."  So I have periodically asked and her response has not wavered, even though she has been wearing clip-on earrings and making anything she possibly could into an earring. Then one night at about 3am Piper called out for me and as I checked on her she asked "can I get my ear pierced... right now????" as I tried to just get her back to sleep she persisted until I promised we could go when it was wake up time. So at 6 she came down to my room and started asking. Maybe the Holy Spirit spoke to her because she was focused and I took her as soon as possible. She has taken great care of them and really is so excited about them. 

Disney!!!

We headed to the Disney World for a magical adventure with Papa and Yaya. We had a fantastic time. We headed to all the parks and did as much as possible. The kids were at such a fun age to go - they were all really excited about everything. They all loved seeing all the characters, riding every ride, and taking it all in. 

This was her favorite moment. At the Princess breakfast at Epcot. Cinderella had a sweet spot for my little P and blew her a kiss, waved and just was all around sweet to her.

 This was his favorite moment also.

Clark twisted his ankle at Hollywood studios. It was horrible - luckily the hotel had a wheelchair and that got us a free ticket to the front of some of the lines. It didn't hold him back - he was a trooper and was able to walk after a couple of days.

We went to a Luau at our hotel and it was so fun. Clark learned the hula. You would have thought you were in Hawaii with the singing, dancing and fire dancers was amazing.

She picked these ears out with her gift card on day two and wore them all week. (On a side note she wore them to school when we got back and horrified Lucy and Clark when she went to the chapel service at school wearing them!).

 We swam a lot the weather was amazing.

 Piper loved watching her fly thru the air each night. And she kept asking if she could fly with her one night.

 We rode this ride 13 times. Yes 13. We love it. Big Thunder.

 We also went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Factory more times then I can count. It is like a stand up comedy show for kids. It is different every time and use people from the audience so the kids were all about it. They LOVED it.

I am so grateful for the time that we had with Papa and Yaya and for how they love us so well. They are so intentional with each of the children as well as us. They give of themselves in so many ways to love us well. They are such a blessing to us.  This trip truly was a magical adventure!