The Rangers are in the World Series!!

I think that the sign says it all...

This day will go down as one of the most memorable moments of Kaylee's life.

Priceless:

*On October 30, 2010 the Texas Rangers played in their first ever at home World Series Game. My husband, daughter and Dad along with some of our dear friends were there.

* According to my husband and Kaylee it was the experience of a lifetime. Just seeing Kaylee's face when she found out we had tickets was a treat in itself.

* Seeing my husband who rarely does anything for himself actually get excited and be able to be at the game.

* Hearing Kaylee give me a play by play of the whole game and the light in her eyes as she recounted everything.

* The conversation Kaylee and one of her best buds had on the way to and from the game.

*Getting to be there amongst all the excitement, the energy in the stadium was magnetic I am sure.

* Being there to witness history being made.

* Getting to see Nolan Ryan, former President George W. Bush and Kelly Clarkson. (at least Kelly Clarkson was important to Kaylee)

* Getting to see the Rangers win their first World Series game. Hello Win Column!!

Alas it was the only World Series win for the Rangers but my husband and daughter assure me that there will be many more World Series games for Our Team in the future. Go Rangers!!

Zoo Day

Last Monday the girls had a day off from school so we decided to have a little fun. They had been wanting to go to the zoo forever so I talked some of our besties into going with us. After packing a picnic lunch we were off.

We have not been to the zoo since all of the new exhibits have opened and let me just say that was money well spent by our tax dollars. The zoo looks amazing!! It was the perfect day to enjoy all of the animals. Our favorites were all of the babies like the lion cubs and ducks as well as the new otter.

I think we could have watched the otter swim back and forth all day. God's creatures are so amazing in their differences, well except for the snakes. (I could have done without those.) Of course the huge fish in the nearby pond are always a big hit too.

It was the perfect day to be at the zoo with great friends. I am actually looking forward to going again soon since the weather has cooled off and the animals were so fun to watch.

Campbell with Abigail

Kaylee with Matthew

He had the same expression in all three pictures I took like this. I thought it was hilarious.

Me with my two favorite girls!! I love these precious faces.

ALDS Game 3- A Family Affair

Well a few weeks ago Cary pre-purchased tickets to the ALDS game in prayer that his beloved Rangers would make it. My sweet husband has always been a Rangers fan so I was very excited for him to finally have a chance to see them play in a ADLS game since the last time the Rangers made an appearance there he was a poor college student and could not afford the ticket.

We packed up the car with all of our necessary traveling gear for the girls and were dressed in our best Rangers gear with hopes high on the day ahead. Once we arrived in Arlington we met some friends who had also traveled from Abilene for a pre-game meal at Papasitos. I do not know who was more excited about the game, Kaylee or Cary. After filling our tummies we went to the ballpark three hours ahead of game time to just take in the atmosphere. (I know we were not there to shop since the one gift shop we tried to go in was so packed you could not move so we just turned around and left.)

While walking around Cary spotted Tom Grieve and spoke to him for a little bit. We also took the opportunity to get a photo of Kaylee with him. She was so excited!

Our seats were great for viewing the game but not for viewing the big score board or the great fly over by our military. I had no complaints though because we were not in the sun and had a cool breeze.

I loved all of the pre-game activities. The unveiling of the Texas as well as the United States flag. The military fly over, the singing of the National Anthem by Charlie Pride ( I thought of my Nannie when he came out to sing because she had Charlie Pride on an 8 track in the stereo and would whistle along with his singing. What a great memory for me.) and the great energy in the air from all the fans present to cheer on their team. At this point we were all hoping to be witnessing a Rangers sweep of the Devil Rays by the end of the day. Let me just say I have never seen so many men with brooms in all of my life. It was a great sight;-)

The Ballpark had a record breaking attendance that day of 51, 746. Let me just tell you that is a lot of people to hear screaming and cheering. The Rangers were ahead most of the game but in the end the pitching just was not there. However the final score will not be the thing I choose to remember the most about that day.

I will remember:

-Our whole family enjoying the game together and being there in our Ranger attire to cheer on our team.

-All the times the food vendor went up and down our aisle with something the girls just had to have.

- The way Kaylee worried about the guys in front of us having too much to drink. (I have to agree seeing as one of the passed out in the 7th inning.) Thank you Red Ribbon Week, you definitely work on our 3rd grader.

-Waiting the whole game for the Rangers to score a home run and when they finally do I got to hear it from the bathroom because that is the moment Campbell decided she just could not wait any longer.(They did hit another one later that I did get to witness though.)

- The smile on Kaylee's face when Derek Holland came in the game to pitch. Cary took her to a previous game and Derek was on the field before the game. He took the time to take a picture with Kaylee, sign her baseball and make her night. Needless to say we are big Derek Holland fans around our house now. What a great example!

-The feel of Campbell cuddling in my lap.

- The excitement in the air when we all thought the Rangers were going to sweep the Devil Rays.

- Most of all I will remember a Dad with his daughters watching his favorite team with his favorite girls. My heart was truly full just seeing this picture which will forever be in my memory.

Despite the outcome I would say we had a very blessed day. Thank you Lord for these moments, may I always stop and appreciate them.

Kindergarten Open House

Well last Thursday was the Big Day for Campbell, it was finally Elementary Open House! She had been waiting so patiently to have her special night where she could show off all of her hard work. We all had a wonderful time looking at all of her work so far. One funny thing though; The teacher had asked the students what their family liked to do and wrote it on a big tablet in the room for us to read. Campbell's sentence was...My family likes to build bears. What?? Then as I thought about it she was talking about going to Build A Bear. That's my girl!

I also got the best compliments from her amazing teacher. When I asked if she could tell Campbell was one of the younger ones in the class, she replied with "Not at all, I had forgotten she was." Yeah!! Since Campbell has a June birthday I have always been a little concerned being a former teacher and all. I have always felt she was definitely ready but it was nice to get another unbiased opinion. Then Mrs. P said that Campbell was precious and she really enjoyed having her in class. Just what every Mom wants to hear.

Here she is showing off her journal.

I had to take this picture of her leaf to show Daddy. Campbell forgot to show it to us the first time we were in her class and Daddy had to get Kaylee to a softball game so she was satisfied with us going back to her class and taking a picture for Daddy.

Safety City

Today was the day that all third graders in the Abilene area look forward to for all of their elementary years...Safety City Day! Our town has an amazing program where the children get to practice pedestrian rules, along with rules of the road and even fire safety. I still remember taking this field trip with the class I was student teaching in several years ago and how excited they were to be there. Well let's just say that Mrs. Jones class was just as excited as I remember if not more. When the buses arrived at Safety City you could feel the excitement in the air as each child exited the bus. There is a little town set up with buildings, highways and road signs of all kinds. I was placed at one of the cross roads and told to make sure the children stopped and looked both ways before proceeding across the road. I only got my foot run over once which I thought was pretty good.

After completing the City part it was time for the Firehouse. Let me just say it was pretty cool how all of the technology was used for the firehouse. We first went into a room that looked like your typical bedroom. Once the fireman gave his talk the room started to fill with smoke and you could see flames in one of the windows. The children had to practice crawling to the door, feeling the door knob and then proceeding out the window that did not have flames coming out of it. What a great teaching tool! There were several other fun activities but that will be the one that sticks out in my mind.

It was so fun to be able to spend the day with Kaylee and get to know several of the other children in her class. Yeah Safety City!!