Mountain View | Summer 2016

Our annual summer trip to Mountain View did not disappoint. A good time was had by all. We kicked it of with Evan's 10th birthday party at the city pool. 

Emery wrote and directed her own rendition of Little Red Riding Hood in which she starred as Little Red Riding Hood. Nana was the grandmother, I was the wolf and Case was the huntsman. 

There was lots of fun time with cousins!

We were thrilled to have James join us for the weekend. Saturday morning we took Case to Loco Ropes and had a great time on the course. It took me a bit to get acclimated, but eventually I could manage without being too terrified.

Sunday (Father's Day) we headed to Silver Dollar City which proved to be a wise decision because Father's Day is traditionally one of their slowest days of the summer. There were no lines and we made the most of it! 

We had a ball (as evidenced by Emery's crazy hair). 

Summatime

We officially kicked off the summer spending Memorial Day at the zoo with friends. We were excited to check out the new Zambezi River Hippo Camp. 

Up close and personal with a Nile crocodile

Then Case and Emery both participated in a morning soccer camp. Emery was thrilled to be at soccer camp with her friend, Isabel. They had a great week!

We spent one afternoon stocking up on books for our summer reading. Case was a bit more enthusiastic about it than Emery was. Ha!

We also hit up the Botanic Gardens one afternoon. The weather was awesome with zero humidity, so we made the most of it!

Case is about to wrap up his baseball season. Finally made it around the bases and across home plate last week and got to play catcher (not sure why he was so excited to play catcher).

Most days you can find us at the Jewish Community Center pool. We've been almost every day so far. We will see if their enthusiasm for swimming continues throughout the rest of the summer.

Sweet friends

Emery, Nora, Case, Ethan and Millie

Piper and Emery

And Case finally mastered the dive! 

Team Carson Elizabeth 2016

I was struggling to write a post asking for support for this year's St. Jude Memphis Marathon. Trying to engage my brain to draft something that would inspire people to give. I was coming up short with each typed word. I thought back to what inspired me to sign up and commit to running and raising money. It was Paula's words, Carson's mother. Perhaps they too will inspire you to donate here. Every single dollar matters.Thanks for taking the time to read!

From CaringBridge, by  paula head — Apr 29, 2016 5:41pm

I can hardly believe it is almost time once again to gather our amazing group of marathon runners together to support St Jude and to keep Carson's legacy alive. It seems like only yesterday that Carson and I were bundled up tightly on the St Jude campus waving at her team members as they ran by; little did I know that by that time the next year our sweet angel would be gone and I would be running that same marathon for all of the children still walking the halls of St Jude. Oh how I long for those days back again so I could just see those bouncy blonde curls one more time or hear her say "I love you Mommy".

I spent a long time at the cemetery Friday in the pouring down rain trying to remember all of those happy times so they will never be erased from my memory. I have such a hard time remembering those happy days because my thoughts are still so fresh and raw from all of the nightmares Carson had to endure. All four of us still struggle with these dreams daily but I want you to know we still feel your prayers as we struggle with putting one foot in front of another each and every day. It is that very struggle that moves us onward in supporting St Jude.  No family should ever have to endure the daily heartbreak of losing a child.  It is a heartbreak that presses down on your chest until you feel like you can't breathe. It is a dark cloud that follows you wherever you go. It is the constant ache of your mind racing with questions like "Why my child? And what did we do to deserve this? And will we ever feel true joy again?" Just why....

These very feelings push us in supporting St Jude. Childhood cancer has to end. It must. And I truly believe with all my heart that St Jude can find the cure to accomplish this. But not without your help. Let's run and raise money like we never have before.  Our team raised over $80,000 last year! But I can hear Carson saying we can do better. So I have a challenge for each of you. If you are signing up to run, don't just sign up and then run! Yes the run is amazing and an experience like no other, but that's not what it's all about. We need you to commit to raise money for these children. I would love to see every single member on our team be a hero! That means you will commit to raise at least $500. If you are reading this and you aren't a runner but want to support Team Carson Elizabeth then find a team runner to sponsor on her team. Let Carson's legacy live on let's go out there and end this horrible disease!

We love you all for the support you continue to show us each and every day. Your prayers, texts, cards and calls never go unnoticed. I believe God put each of you in our families path because without you and God's love we would not be standing. I told someone the other day that I am truly blessed and they looked at me like I was crazy. I went on to tell them that even though I am heartbroken I still feel like God has blessed this family above and beyond what we deserve. And for that I am grateful. 

A look back at Junior Kindergarten

Emery had a great year! Thankful that her teacher took so many great pics of all the fun she had! A look back at JK in pics...plus one video her teacher sent me of Emery on the monkey bars at recess.