Wild Wonderful West Virginia

I made some of the best childhood memories in this old coal mining town where my mom grew up.  I can remember riding go-carts up and down the street in front of my grandparents house and hunting for crawdads down at the creek like it was yesterday.  I would come home covered from head to toe in dirt and mud.  I spent weeks on end here in the summer, and thought back then it was the best place on earth.

Now, as an adult, the small little town has a different impression on me.  The houses are old and sagging, and the closest store is a good 20 minutes away.  I now wonder what is actually in that ole creek, and the dirty, dusty gravel roads are not quite as much fun as they used to be.  It is no longer the playground that it was for me as a small child. 

It is, however, home to some very special people to me.  Simple as it is, everyone waves to you when you walk down the street.  Children still play outside in this little town and drink from water faucets in their front yard.  People still gather on those sagging front porches to spend time together, and family time is not taken for granted where internet and cell phone reception are sparse.   I'm not sure how many memories my little ones will have of this old little town, but I will be sure they hear about mine when I was their age.  I am thankful they have been able to visit this special place that means  so much to me.

A few weeks ago, the kids and I headed to a local farm to pick strawberries.  I love to make strawberry rhubarb pie in the spring, and it tastes even better when picked by their tiny little hands!  Our adventure was cut a bit short when one of the kids stepped in some sort of wasp nest in the patch.  I am fairly certain someone was watching over us, as none of the children were stung that day.  There were thousands of wasps surrounding us as we raced to the safety of our cars.  It was frightening,  and for a while there, I vowed to never pick my own strawberries again.  Then I tasted that fresh rhubarb strawberry pie....

Our days have been plenty busy lately.....no time for blog posts.  We've been filling them up with sunscreen and trips to the pool, bike rides and snow cones, picnics and play dates outside.  Hayes's skin is improving with the warmer weather and for that we are so thankful.  Addie is the perfect little lady...always sporting a cute little dress and trying to be helpful!  I keep putting off her kindergarten registration.  Maybe it won't happen if I don't fill out the paperwork?  When did I become such a wimp?  The mere thought of putting her on that yellow bus makes me a mess.  Hmmmmm...the life of a mother :)

Easter with my munchkins...

We had a very eventful Easter this year.  It seems like things never slow down around here.  Before I know it, it's been a whole month since I blogged, and I am overwhelmed with things I want to share with everyone!  These pictures were taken at Northwest River Park for the Annual Easter Egg Hunt they put on each year.  It was rather cold that day, so Hayes had a hard time getting rid of his grumpy face, but Addie was all smiles as she met the Easter Bunny himself!

Easter morning is so much fun with two little ones.  They raced to the front porch to see if the bunny had hopped down our street in the middle of the night and left them a surprise!  Sure enough, he had been there!

We went to church and dyed eggs with Mamaw and Grandpa Dave and had a super fun easter egg hunt with Skylar and Lakyne at Ga Ga and Pop Pop's house!  It was a very nice Easter for all!

Addie's 1st Ballet Recital 3-3-2012

Addie has been practicing every week for the past 6 months on a dance routine she finally got to share with us this past Saturday. It was definitely one of my prouder mommy moments as I watched her perform for the very first time in front of a rather large crowd. She was so beautiful and so very brave.

Front and center...that's my pretty girl!

Right on cue...she didn't take her little eyes off of her dance teacher, who was standing in front of the stage performing right a long with them.

Here they are doing their final bow. Addie had a whole cheer section screaming for her little dance team. We were all so proud of her!

This folks, is one very proud papa!

Addie and her Mamaw...of course she yelled the loudest!

Addie and her Ga Ga...

All the girls...givin' her some love after the recital...

Addie and her dance teacher, Miss Karen...

I met this wonderful lady at swim lessons this past summer. She is such a gentle soul, and I was beyond thrilled to learn that she teaches all different types of dance right out of her own home. She has a little building beside her house that she has convereted into a dance studio, complete with wood floors, mirrors, and ballet bars. She teaches ballet, tap, Irish dance, and creative dance to children ranging in age from 4-18. She has a gift, and she was born to work with children. Patience is second nature to her and her bubbly, positive personality makes her an awesome role model for our little people. We were blessed to have had the chance to "meet" ballet with this sweet little dance teacher. And we were so very proud of all of their hard work this past weekend. We might just have a little dancer on our hands....

Sweet Little Lady and the Hooded Boys

So this sweet little girl had a birthday party a couple of weeks back that happened to be at the "Young Chefs Academy" here in our town. This is a locally owned chain where young children can come and "learn" to cook and chef it up. I think it is a fabulous concept, but I'm not sold on the fact that they can keep up with the rising allergies and food restrictions on many of our young people these days.

When she first got the invite, of course I was concerned about what they would be cooking and what ingredients they would be handling. When I found out it was pizza, I was relieved. However, the little princess was not excited. Have you ever met a child who didn't eat pizza. Meet Addie. I promised her that she could make her pizza and then bring it home to her Dad to eat. That made her happy.

Unfortunately, this was a busy Saturday for us, and I forgot to bring her "special cupcake" along. Since she can't eat the cake at birthday parties, we have our own that we bring instead. I knew this would be a problem once the cake was served, but thought I could promise an ice cream stop afterwards. I got busy socializing with the other mommies at the party and when I looked up, Addie had a huge bite of chocolate cake on her fork and was getting ready to shovel it in. I panicked, and ran over just in time....saying "no, Addie....you can't have that!" Of course, the tears came a flooding. I had totally embarassed her. Here she was at a "big girl party" with a friend who was in kindergarten. She knew noone at the party besides the birthday girl herself. She was so nervous about going, but put on a smile and summoned up some courage as the strange woman dragged her little hand from mine and strapped her in a tiny apron. And then I totally embarass her :( I hated that it happened. I wanted to cry right there too. I scooped off a bunch of icing from the cake and offered her this little peace offering. We dried off her tears and she eventually went back to her seat to eat her icing beside the other kids. I was proud once again at her little courage.

Then the chef walked over and asked us if she was finished with her pizza (of which not a single bite was taken)....and when I told her she was going to take it home to her Daddy, she informed us that the "Young Chefs Academy" did not have a carry-out license, and that we could not take the pizza with us. She asked us again if she was going to eat it, and when I shook my head no, about to cry once again, she tossed it into the trash. That will be our last visit to the "Young Chefs Academy".

On a lighter note...

Look at my gangster boys...

Do they think they are cool or what?

They make me laugh.

Addie didn't see them throw her pizza away, and she was too excited about the present she got as we left that she didn't think about it until much later that night. Addie: "momma.....what about my pizza?"......Me: Oh, Daddy ate it right up and told me to tell you it was the best pizza he has ever had!

A Hewitt Christmas

Christmas Day was spent over at Ga Ga and Pop Pop's house with Addie and Hayes' cousins, Skylar and Lakyne. The kids all had a blast singing, opening tons of gifts, and eating lots of yummy food! Addie sang "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth". She practiced for weeks before the big show, and although she sang a little softer than usual, it was a big hit! All of the girls put on a great show....Hayes will give them a run for their money next year for sure!

The world better watch out....he is a few months shy of being able to reach those pedals!

I still can't believe another Christmas has come and gone. And I really can't believe it's almost Valentines Day and I'm still posting about Christmas. Shame. On. Me.

Christmas Morning! Ho Ho visits the Hewitts

Addie catches her first glimpse of Ho Ho's gifts...

Hayes still hasn't really woke up...He was ready to sleep another hour or so...

Addie and her new bike...

She's excited about the smallest things...

Hayes tries not to trip on the train track so that he can get a better look at Addie's stocking...

This is so much fun!

More cars to play with Daddy...now Christmas is complete!

What else is in here? Could there be more cars?

Allergen-free candy = Jackpot

Addie is making sure she didn't miss anything down in there...

Hayes' breakfast of fruit snacks and twizzlers has begun. He carried around that bag all morning :)

And Addie shoved whoppers in her mouth all morning and gaurded her bag from Hayes...

Fun memories were defintely made this Christmas. Having a 2 year old and a 4 year old during the holidays just can't be beat!