Campbell's end of Kindergarten

Campbell's last few days were also filled with fun thanks to her amazing teacher Mrs. Powell. Each day the children took a trip on their imaginary airline to different countries and immersed themselves in that culture. She came home with a passport and book filled with many facts and beautiful pictures. The day they were going to Alaska she told me that she needed a jacket because it was going to be cold. I assured her since the temperature was suppose to be 100 degrees that day no jacket would be needed. Then I chuckled to myself. I love that girl!

Thank you Mrs. Powell for making the transition to kindergarten go so smoothly for all of us this year. You made each day a joy and taught her so much while making it fun. You will forever be in her heart as well as ours for all the love and kindness you showed to her this year. I am so glad that we are friends and we will still get to see you at church. Campbell has already said that she wanted to stay in kindergarten with you;-) We love you!

After the last day of school Kaylee went to a birthday swim party and the rest of us went to the pool to celebrate with some of our dear friends. The girls enjoyed lots of swimming, cupcakes, drinks and laughter. I love all of these sweet girls and their precious moms.

Thank you Lord for another wonderful school year!

End of 3rd Grade

Well we ended school with a bang this year.

On the last few days of school Kaylee's class competed in a kickball tournament. If you know my sweet daughter at all then you know that this was right up her alley. I had planned on watching the first game but after her team kept winning I ended up staying all day to watch and had the sunburn to prove it. Kaylee's class ended up winning the whole tournament and got to play the teachers in the final game. I even checked Campbell out of school a little early to watch her sister play since she had asked so nicely that morning. Of course, the teachers won but every child in her class had a huge smile on their face while playing. I am so thankful for moments like these when I am able to stay and watch.

Campbell watching her sister at the tournament.

Kaylee also took the TAKS test for the first time this year which was a new experience around our house. I knew that she would give it her all but had no idea she would make a PERFECT score on the Math and the Reading. That means she was commended all areas of the test. I told her I was so proud of her for doing her best no matter what the score above all. Then I stated how she should be proud of herself above all else.

Here is Kaylee with one of her amazing teachers she had this year. I cannot say enough about all the wonderful lessons, words of wisdom and love that Mrs. Jones gave Kaylee. She will forever have a special place in our hearts. I do not know who was more sad on the last day of school Kaylee or Me? I also got to know her teacher well this year due to my weekly copying duties and am so proud to call her a friend. Thank you for everything Mrs. Jones!!

APAC May Show

By nothing short of a miracle both of my girls decided to take dance classes this year. Kaylee took Tap and Campbell picked Jazz. Of course, par for the course the 10U softball tournament also took place this weekend for Kaylee so when she was not dancing she was at the ballfield.

The week started with both girls having dress rehearsal on Tuesday and Thursday at the Civic Center downtown for the show. Then there was the formal dress rehearsal and show run through on Friday night which Kaylee got permission to skip due to her first game of the tournament being Friday night at 7:30pm. Therefore I got some great close up pictures of Campbell before the big day. Unfortunately the Wizardz played one of the better teams in their bracket and lost on Friday night. Campbell and I did manage to make it to the field to see the last 45 minutes of the game.

Saturday around noon my parents and grandfather arrived at our house and part of the group went to Kaylee's 1:30pm game while the rest of us went to the Civic Center to get seats for the 2:30pm show. Since neither of my girls had their performance till after intermission we were not worried about Kaylee missing the show. Campbell got to sit in the audience and watch the show while we waited on Kaylee to arrive. Unfortunately for Kaylee's team they got beat but on a happier note Kaylee made it to the show before intermission. That meant I had plenty of time to get her ready and be back in the audience before the show started again.

Campbell performed her dance titled "Trump and his Girls". Each girl was dressed up like they were competing in a beauty pageant. Campbell was front and center and she danced her heart out. You could tell from the smile on her face she was having a blast. I loved every minute of it too.

up Next up was Kaylee in her dance performed to the song "Move It". I think I will have that in my head for a long time. She has done so well in her tap class this year and it looked like so much fun when she was on stage. Who knew that the girl had such moves? Kaylee is usually the more timid of my girls but she really got her groove on for this one. Again I was so proud of Kaylee for all the hardwork and effort she put into her performance. It made my heart smile.

Both girls taking their final bows at the end of the show.

A few photos after the show. What a wonderful day!!

Busy Week...

Last week was a busy week at our house the first two events of

the week were...

Campbell's school birthday since her real birthday is not until June 16th her sweet teacher lets them have a day in May to be special. Instead of cupcakes Campbell wanted to take donuts so we woke up and got ready early so we could go pick out the perfect donuts for her class. Since the choice was a breakfast food we took them first thing that morning. The class sang Happy Birthday to her and she got to wear a special crown all day. I love that her teacher thinks of those who have summer birthdays.

The next day Cary and I went to an assembly at the Intermediate to celebrate Kaylee's accomplishments for the past year. Kaylee received an Academic Excellence award for maintaining a 95-100 average in all subjects on her report card. Then she got an award for having a 90 to 100 in all subjects on her report card each six weeks for the whole year. We are so proud of Kaylee and the way she always puts her best effort in everything that she does. We love you!

Kindergarten Zoo Field Trip

Yet another day all the kindergartners look forward to is the Zoo Field Trip. I am so thankful that I have been able to be at both of my sweet daughters' zoo trips. Campbell was so excited all week to have Mom going with her and I am so thankful we have not yet reached the age where she does not want me there. (Hopefully that day will never come.) It was the perfect day to be at the zoo because the temperature had come down from 100* earlier in the week to a mere 83*. After walking around the zoo for about two hours and checking out several of the new exhibits we made our way to the park close by for a picnic lunch and playing on the playground. Around 1:00pm we left to run some errands together before going to get Kaylee from school. Another fun day to be a kindergartner!

Family Ties Talent Show and Mother's Day

Some of my sweet friends at our church have started organizing Family Ties events at our church and the one for the end of the school year was a talent show. It was wonderful to be able to watch all the children display their talents that the Lord has given them. Kaylee and a few of her friends have been taking piano from my sweet friend Julie for two years now so they used the show to practice in front of a crowd and show what they have learned. There were all kinds of acts from piano to karate to Bible Bowl skits to native dancing from some refugees from Nepal. Talk about talent of all ages and backgrounds. Amazing!! Kaylee played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Is anyone shocked by that? She did a super job and we were so proud. Afterwards there was a reception for all the families and a chance to write a note to encourage those who participated.

One of our favorite 3rd grade boys, "R"

Kaylee's other friend Aubrey

Next on my camera was this picture with my sweet girls from Mother's Day. My family really made me feel special this year with some breakfast in bed, cards, special creations from school and beautiful jewelry. We enjoyed a delicious lunch out and then I was surprised with two movies my sweet husband bought me for my Sunday afternoon rest time along with some of my favorite candies. He got bonus points for that because I though it was a great way to show me he put some thought into it. Thanks to my wonderful family for the perfect day.

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with my parents and Papaw. It is always so much fun to have them come here and celebrate with us. We kicked the weekend off on Saturday with an Easter Egg Hunt at our church. As usual the girls enjoyed hunting the eggs, the barrel train and the bounce house being there. They were even both prize winners and walked away with a stuffed duck and a water bottle filled with jelly beans. Then we enjoyed a little shopping and family time together to end the day.

On Easter morning the girls got up and found their loot before we headed to church to celebrate Jesus and the real meaning of Easter. The service was great!

Next we headed to the Country Club for some lunch. I just love their Sunday buffet and today was no exception. Of course, the girls got their usual waffles and then dessert. Once we were done Kaylee and Campbell got to enjoy another egg hunt...

with a really cute Easter Bunny.

After a few family photos my parents and Papaw hit the road for Waco and we hit the sack for a little rest before the week ahead. It was a perfect end to the Lord's day.

Great Papaw with the girls

Papa and Nana with the girls.

Wylie Kindergarten Easter Egg Hunt

Well the fun day for kindergartners at Wylie finally arrived, the Easter Egg Hunt at a local park and play day. Campbell was so excited all week to be able to hunt eggs with her sweet friends. It made it even better this year that daddy had Good Friday off so both of us could be there to enjoy the festivities.

After getting there at 8:30am to help spread the eggs around the children arrived at 9:10am and were ready to begin.

Once the teachers took some time to line up the 12 different classes they were off and running to get their 12 eggs each. I will have to say I think the hunt was over in about 5 minutes, sooner for some;-) Look at these happy faces and can you tell that the wind was gusting. Just look at Campbell's hair.

All of the children immediately dropped off their baskets at their teacher's area and began to play. It was so much fun to watch all of them interacting with their friends and having such a great time.

Next up was a picnic lunch with their class. It was so funny to hear the conversations that they have at lunch. After this my friend Kelly and I had eaten enough dirt thanks to the wind so we bribed our daughters into going to Red Robin for a treat instead of staying another hour or so. It was a great end to a wonderful afternoon. I have to say that in the end I was a little sad to never be experiencing this tradition again since my baby is done.

Kindergarten Music Program

Today Campbell had her much anticipated music program at school. The theme was Western/Prairie type songs. She was so excited to have several roles to play. Campbell had a speaking part, singing of course, played an instrument and got to square dance too. We have been practicing songs and her one line which was "Because we have a tale to tell" for about two months now. By the time the program came around she knew her lines as well as everyone else's. I do not think she could have been any more excited especially since Papa was able to come and watch too. Kaylee even begged to be checked out of school for a little bit so she could join the fun.

In the end all the students did a great job and were so much fun to watch. We were all so proud of our little cowgirl!

Kaylee w/ Papa

Campbell, Morgan, Hannah & Ella

Campbell square dancing away!

Campbell with one of her sweet friends and square dancing partners.

Our 1st Place Winner

Well, over two months ago Campbell found out she was the 1st Place Conservation Poster Winner for all of kindergarten at her school. She has been counting down the days until her awards banquet and we have been excited to see what her poster looked like since the days it was suppose to be displayed in the downtown library were ice days around here. I think Campbell was more excited about the banquet than she was about Christmas. We were all pretty excited for her too.

The night finally came and she got to pick out what she wanted to wear and how she wanted to fix her hair for the big event. The whole way there she talked about how excited she was to be getting an award. Kaylee was a sweet big sister and kept telling her what a good job she did and how proud she was of her. Let me just say that for that evening the Wylie High School cafeteria was magical for our sweet girl. She loved celebrating with some of her friends who were also winners and getting the coveted big blue ribbon. We are so proud of you Campbell Grace and loved every minute of the evening celebrating you!

Campbell getting presented her award with her sweet teacher, Mrs. Powell. The slogan on her poster was "Be(with a Bee drawn for this word) a friendly face(Smiley face drawn here) in the forest."

Our family celebrating with Campbell.

I have to also thank all of our family and friends who have "ooohed" and "ahhhed" over Campbell's ribbon. You have no idea how much you filled her heart with joy with your interest and sweet words.

Let's Play Ball!!

Well it is that time of year...Softball Season has begun around our house which means we are now even busier than before. Especially Cary who is in the middle of tax season and is coaching Kaylee's team too. Kaylee's team this year is called the Wizards and they are all such a sweet group of girls. We kicked off the season at Opening Ceremonies on March 25th and have hit the ground running ever since.

We have already played two games this year and we are 1-1 as far as our record goes in pre-season games.

Here is Kaylee all ready to play ball!

We are all looking forward to a great year with the Wizards.

Spring Break 2011

We had a great Spring Break this year. The girls and I had a lot of fun at the movies, the zoo, and sleepovers with friends before heading to Waco for some time with Papa, Nana and Papaw.

Here are a few photos of our crew at the zoo. It was a beautiful but cool day so there were tons of people at the zoo. We even waited in line for quite a while to ride the train that was there for the week.

Once we arrived in Waco our days were filled with shopping, playing and getting spoiled by family. Campbell really got into the shopping, once she figured out she wore a shoe size 13 she was pulling every 13 off of the shelf and stacking it in a tower form for us to buy. Kaylee also got into the shopping this year but her eye was a little more particular. I think other than the shopping, a favorite for the girls was the trip to Lion's Park. The time we spent there brought back so many memories for me, of course I also remembered it being much larger when I was little. The girls rode the train, the boats, the flying space ships and the new beautiful carousel. Thanks for all the fun Papa, Nana and Papaw!! The girls are already ready to come back and have more fun.

ACU Cheerleader Camp

Well I have a lot of catching up to do so let's start with the end of February, shall we??

Around February of each year the ACU cheerleaders host a camp for girls are interested in learning some cheers and a routine to perform that night at halftime of the ACU basketball game. Kaylee has never been interested but Campbell on the other hand could not wait to sign up. When we got there that evening to watch her perform she was so excited! When halftime came around she was a little shy at first but then she got into it. You could tell she was trying her best to do all the cheers and moves just right because I do not think she took her eyes off the cheerleader performing with her the whole time. I loved watching her giggle with joy as she performed. She had a wonderful time and has now decided that she wants to try gymnastics/cheer next year instead of dance. I suppose we will give it a whirl.