Spring Break Part 1

The girls have been on Spring Break this past week, and we planned to be in town for part of the time and away for part of the time, so while we were in town, Mouse and I took the girls to the Baltimore Aquarium.  We had such a great time.  Mark and I had taken the girls when they were younger, but this really was the perfect age for them to enjoy it.  They enjoyed everything so much and we went in the evening when the aquarium wasn’t crowded, so that really made it a great experience also.

 

  

One of their favorite things was the touch pool.  They got to touch horseshoe crabs, skates, and jellyfish.  It was a really neat experience.

 

  

 

We saw lots of great fish and sea life and really enjoyed our time there.  My mom had never been to the aquarium, so it was a fun experience for her as well.  It was a great way to kick off our spring break!

I also wanted to take the girls on a hike before we left for the rest of the week, so since Mark was working, I took them to Sky Meadow and we hiked the North Ridge trail.  Once we got in the woods and started the climb, the trail was quite snowy and muddy, but we made it up to the Appalachian Trail then turned around and hiked back down to the Piedmont Overlook, then the girls ran the big hill down to the parking lot. Cayenne was so tired that evening.  She had run so much while we were hiking, so she got curled up in Nina’s bed and barely moved! It was fun to spend the day together hiking and exploring. 

    

        

Spring Snow Day

Go figure - on the first full day of spring we get a snow day!  Since it had only snowed once this past winter, everyone seemed pretty excited at the prospect of some snow.  I would have been happy to trade in the snow for sun and warmth, but the kids had a lot of fun making the most of a spring snow day.  They were off school for two days, so of course they wanted to go sledding with friends.  The question on this occasion was how many girls can get down the hill together at the same time.  They had a blast!

 

Day two of the snow days was already starting to warm up, so the snow on the sledding hills was practically gone.  Nina and Lyla had built this snowman the day before, so they wanted to go out and add another snowman, perfect this one, etc.  However, while they were squabbling over whose snowman this really was, Cayenne took the opportunity to sneak off with the carrot nose.  She ended up evading the girls and ate the whole carrot nose.  They asked for another nose which I got for them, but then the scene played out over and over again for 6 or 7 carrot noses.  

 

Every time they would turn their backs or walk away for a second, Cayenne would sneak up and steal the nose. I don’t know what she liked more, the attention she got from stealing the nose,getting chased around in their attempt to get it back, or actually eating all the carrots (which she did).  Maybe it was a combination of all of them, but she was so funny.  She probably stole between 6 or 7 noses, like I said, and eventually I made her come inside so they could have a little peace, but she just sat by the door and whined to go back out - I think she just thinks she’s one of the kids.  She loves to play!

 

 

March Birthdays

Last weekend we all got together at Mousey and Poppy’s house to celebrate the four March birthdays.  It was a beautiful afternoon, and Pops needed some help taking a tree down that was leaning towards their barn, so he collected Mark and Garland to help him take it down.  The plan was for Pops to cut the wedge in the tree while Mark and Garland pulled the opposite direction on the rope attached to the tree, hoping to pull it enough their direction so that it wouldn’t hit the barn on its way down.

 

It was very close, but surprisingly it didn’t hit the corner of the barn on its way down!

  

The tree fellers returned victorious to golf watching, cold beverages, and appetizers!

The cousins enjoyed the afternoon together playing in the field, down at the creek, and on the hammock.  It’s great for them to spend time together in “the country” just having fun, goofing around, and playing outside together.

 

 

  

Mouse and Pops made a fabulous dinner for us, then we celebrated with present opening and cake.  It was a great evening to spend time together as a family and celebrate Lyla, Bo, Mark, and my birthdays!

  

Spring Tournament

Last weekend, Lyla’s team kicked off their spring season by participating in the Amanda Post Memorial Tournament in Columbia, MD.  They played some good competition, but ended up strongly with a confident win in the first morning game.

  

We camped out in a sunny spot with the back of the car open for Lyla and some other team mates to relax and refuel with food before game 2!

Game two was a little tougher, but they still ended up with a win.  Lyla played defender this tournament and did a great job.  Most of her soccer time up till a part of last season has been in offense, so this has been a big switch for her to play defender.  Even though it’s a little stressful to watch at times, I really think she does a great job in the back, and we’ve enjoyed watching her develop in this new position.  Her coach still likes the fact that she can play either, so we’ll see where she ends up at mostly this upcoming season, but she seems to enjoy both, so we’re happy to see her doing her best and having fun.

 

Nina had a mandatory cheer practice to attend on Saturday, so Mark headed back home after the second game to get Nina and take care of Cayenne, and Lyla and I stayed over in a nearby hotel for the night.  The next day was Daylight Savings, and with her team having the early game, and the fields being 1.5 hours away, it made sense to stay over.  Several other girls did the same, so they had a blast swimming in the hotel pool, then we all ate dinner together, got some rest,  and breakfast together the next morning.  It was a lot of fun for Lyla.  Mark and Nina joined back up with us the next morning.

The first game of day 2 was early and chilly, but we had less wind on the second day, and the sun was out, so it was rather comfortable.  They won their third game and got ready to play another undefeated team from the other bracket for the championship.

The championship game against Baltimore Celtic was quite an even match.  Both teams played to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, and the rules of this tournament were to go straight into penalty kicks with no overtime minutes.  Lyla’s team has made it to the finals of a tournament 4 or 5 times and 4 have come down to penalty kicks, and they’ve won once. They were so hopeful to get another win here, but it didn’t happen.  They ended up losing in penalty kicks.  While the other team had a girl in goal who seemed like she played there as her permanent position, our team rotates girls in goal, and that can sometimes make it hard in situations like this.  The girls and the one playing in goal did their best, so they should be proud even though they didn’t come out on top this time.

They did get second place medals and some encouraging words from their coach, then we headed home to enjoy the rest of our day. We enjoyed this first weekend of soccer and are looking forward to the spring season ahead with this great group of girls.