Last Day of 2nd Grade!!

I cannot believe that another year has passed us by and Kaylee is now a 3rd Grader! I know that I was just taking her home from the hospital yesterday;-)

Just to show you how much she has changed the first picture is from the first day of school and the second is the last week of school.

Kaylee has continued to love school this year. We were once again blessed by an Amazing teacher Mrs. C , God continues to know the best place for my sweet girl. Here are a few things about Kaylee and 2nd grade:

1. There really is not a subject that she does not like yet, but if I had to pick I would say that Math and Reading are her favorites.

2. She is still our rule follower and would never say or do anything to hurt anyone's feelings. My tenderhearted girl.

3. Kaylee was once again Student of the Six Weeks during the school year.

4. She also found a love for school projects. This was right up her alley since she loves anything requiring Art type talent. The only hard part is not letting her perfectionist personality get in the way too much. Of course, she gets that honest from both parents.

5. She is still loyal to the end to her friends and does not want anyone to be left out, very giving spirit. Even if she has to loan them money to go to the book fair;-)

6. Social. Each time I ate lunch with her she knew almost ever kids name in each class, how she knew them and sometimes an interesting fact about them. Considering there are 12 different 2nd grade classes I think that is pretty amazing.

7. She will still wear whatever clothes I buy for her. No opinion what so ever, very easy going.

8. Loves life!! Kaylee loves school, church, her family, friends and just about everything. If you want to find a bright side just talk to Kaylee and she will help you find one.

Kaylee we love you so much and are so honored to be your parents. You have the most precious spirit and I love every moment that I am getting to watch you form into the beautiful girl you are inside and out. I would not trade a moment. I love you Princess!

It's All Fun and Games!

This year Campbell wanted to try a dance class so we decided on the First Steps class at a local dance studio. Each week she could not wait to get there and work on her routine for the big show in May.
I remember thinking in January that it seemed so far away but as we all know time flies when you are so busy.

The recital day arrived and Campbell was on Cloud 9. Her class performed a dance titled "A Walk in the Park". We had a cheering section for her which included Papa, Nana, Daddy, Kaylee, Great Papaw and Mommy. I wondered if she would be nervous or shy but none of the show experience rattled her at all. She went on that stage and danced like a pro. We were all so proud of our Tiny Dancer.

Campbell with her BFF Abba

Do you think that they look a little excited before the show?

Don't they look adorable? Campbell is the second one from the right.

I loved this pose in the dance. So Sweet!

As they are walking off the stage they are blowing a kiss to the audience. Precious!!

The photo shoot after the show:

Campbell w/Great Papaw

Papa & Nana w/ Campbell

Daddy & Mommy with Campbell

Campbell & Kaylee

Last Day of Pre-K

Well I cannot believe that the school year is over for Campbell and she is a kindergardener. It seems like just last week we were taking this first day of school picture and anticipating all that the new year would bring.

Campbell has learned so much this year thanks to her amazing teachers Mrs. Tiffani and Mrs. Anne. They have loved and nurtured her the whole year through. She loved school each and every day that she was there and on the days she was home with me we were talking about when she would get to go back to school again. These two sweet ladies taught her so much that she passed her kindergarten readiness test with flying colors. My baby is ready to fly...I am just not sure I am quite ready yet.

A few of the things Campbell enjoys:

*She loves to practice her numbers and letters or anything else that includes school work.

*She loves to dance. The recital was not even over yet before she was telling me how many classes she wanted to take next year. It is also not unusual to find her dancing her performance in full attire all over the house now that the show is over.

*This girl has an imagination. She is always playing with her My Little Ponies, Littlest Pet Shop animals, Barbies or baby dolls.

*Anything that involves drawing, cutting, glueing, or painting is great with her.

* She loves to sing in the car and I love to hear her sweet little voice worshiping the Lord at the top of her lungs. It makes my heart happy.

* Campbell loves to shop! We do not have to buy anything, she just loves to look and see what is new in the store. She has been a great shopping buddy for me while Kaylee is at school. I am going to miss that so much.

*She loves playing with her friends.

*She loves her family. There is nothing like the tight hugs that she gives to those she loves. It is also part of her daily routine for her to just say "I love you Mommy" just because she feels it in her heart. Talk about precious.

*She loves having a sister (most of the time). I am not going to say that they do not have their disagreements but as a whole they love each other and take care of each other. Neither one wants the other one to be upset or hurt.

*She cannot wait to go to kindergarden. Each day she tells me how excited she is for fall to come. I wish I was as ready as she is;-(

It has been wonderful to sit back and watch Campbell grow into the sweet girl that she is this year. Just watching the personality and gifts that God has given her is an amazing journey. I am so proud and blessed to be her Mom. I love you and cannot wait to see what the next school year will bring for you.

May Madness

I feel like the title here is appropriate. We have been running all over the place this month and it seems like each day brings along another fun activity for the kids at school to change the schedule a little.

On Monday we got to celebrate Kaylee's achievements in 2nd grade this year. The Awards Assembly went well and she managed to get an award for completing 2nd grade as well as an award for maintaining a 95 or above average for the whole year. I still cannot believe that the school year is almost over for Kaylee. It is amazing how much faster the year goes when you are the parent and not the teacher;-) I am so proud of all of Kaylee's accomplishments this year including being Star Student last 6 weeks. You are such a joy to me and I am so proud of you and blessed that God chose me to be your Mother.

Also on Monday we got to go to Campbell's last YCW pre-school program ever!! I cannot believe after 4 years there she will not be returning next year. For about three weeks now Campbell has been singing the songs of which I believe there were five and reciting her memory verse in the car everywhere we go the big day arrived. What I did not know from being in the car was that she would have hand motions to go with every single song and she did not miss a beat. Campbell loved being on stage and showing us all of her talents.

We loved being able to watch her too. I am so proud of my baby girl and cannot wait to see her perform again this weekend in her dance recital.

It is wonderful to have two amazing girls to celebrate!!

Where are we?

In case you have been wondering where we have been I can pretty much guarantee it has been at a ballpark somewhere watching Kaylee play. There is nothing she would rather do than play softball. I have to say that there is nothing like watching your children do something that they enjoy with every fiber of their being. She is really good this year, it seems like everything just clicked. Kaylee loves playing first base because she says "that is where the action is." Batting is going great too. The past three weekends she has even been piked up by other teams to play with them. The most important thing is that she is having a great time. Even though I was never an athlete on a sports team I really love being a Softball Mom.

If you do not find us at the ballpark then you are probably going to see me running all over town for all of the end of the year activities taking place at both of the girls' schools. I remember as a teacher cramming every possible fun activity I could think of into the lesson plans the last few weeks once testing was over. That is when all the fun began;-) Here is a picture of Campbell from Cowgirl/Cowboy Week at her school. She was so excited to get to dress up and also ride a horse. Her school really has made learning fun over the past few years that she has attended. We are going to miss all the familiar faces when she is in kindergarten next year. Well I am off to the races or so it seems. Hope you are all enjoying the end of year activities too.

A Weekend of Family & The Little Mermaid

The weekend after Tax Season was over ended up being a busy one for our family. Cary got April 16th off so he and Campbell had a Daddy/Daughter Doughnut Date that morning while I went to Ladies Class at church. After their date they ran some errands and went to the Elementary School to have lunch with Kaylee. Then when school was out we surprised the girls by taking them to see "How to Train Your Dragon" which was a really cute movie and that was just Friday.

Saturday morning Kaylee went to a Kidquest reunion at the ACU bowling alley and I thought when Cary went to pick her up they were not coming home. Evidently they decided to go tour the ACU library and play with the iPads in the bookstore. Who could blame them for that? Once they returned home it was time to go to a birthday party which happened to be at the bowling alley on the Air Force Base here in town. The girls and Cary had a blast bowling while I I caught up with some friends I had not talked to in a while. That night we played a little Wii as a family and enjoyed a good night's rest.

On Sunday the girls had a date with their Daddy to see The Little Mermaid at a theatre here in town.(Thanks Cary for taking the pictures and being such a big help.) Since I am on the Children's Performing Arts Board, I was helping some friends set things up for the fun after party with the cast so I missed the actual production. Speaking of the cast they were great to work with. Each member of the cast stayed at the after party until each child had a chance to get their picture taken and visit with them personally. There were over 100 people at the party!

The girls had a great time meeting the princess and sharing in the fun with their friends. It looked like all of the children had a great time which is what we had hoped for.

Thank you Lord for a great end to a wonderful weekend!!

May Farm

Over a week ago we were invited to a Birthday Party at May Farm. We never pass up an opportunity to go there since Ms. May is one of our favorite people. She is so wonderful with children and the animals she takes in alike. This woman has a gift. The girls enjoyed feeding the animals, holding the animals, going on a hay ride minus the hay, riding a horse and of course celebrating with Jaxton.

Here are some pictures to re-cap our fun day!

Can you tell she loves horses?

Easter Sunday

Today we have enjoyed a wonderful day celebrating Our Lord with a great church service and some more family time. I am blessed in so many ways because of Our Savior dying on the cross and being risen from the dead all for my sins to be washed away. Thank you Lord for the gift of your Son, the gift of family and the gift of friends. Blessed be Your Name!

Our Family!

Great Papaw with Kaylee and Campbell

Papa, Nana, Oliver, Kaylee & Campbell

Two of my greatest blessings!

Saturday Easter Fun!

Well today has been a fun filled day for all of us except Oliver. He decided to jump out of Kaylee's arms when he heard Papa, Nana, and Papaw enter the house and landed incorrectly. After a trip to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic, he now will be sporting this for the next 8 weeks. Poor boy;-(

I am happy to report that the rest of the day has been accident free. We went to the church Easter Egg Hunt after lunch where Kaylee and Campbell had a blast as usual. Kaylee insisted on wearing her sunglasses and they actually matched her outfit. Haha. My little Miss Hollywood is pictured here.

Campbell also had a lot of fun hunting eggs and playing with all of her friends. We managed to jump in the Jump House, ride the Barrel Train, and see the Easter Bunny all while at the church Eggstravaganza.

My two sweet girls riding the barrel train.

Campbell with Abba

Kaylee with Matthew

Once we had completed all the activities at Eggstravaganza at least twice we went home and play croquet with the new croquet set Papa and Nana bought for us to enjoy. We have had so much fun playing with it too as you can see from the photos.

After Cary got home from the office (it is tax season you know) the girls had another Egg Hunt at the house. Then since we had all worked up such an appetite Cary grilled some delicious hamburgers and we ate a yummy Easter Egg cake for dessert. You would think that would be enough for one day but since we still had not decorated cookies for Easter or dyed eggs so we got that done too before going to sleep. Whew! What a busy but very fun day!

Last YCW Easter Egg Hunt

I am sad to say that yesterday was the last Egg Hunt we will get to experience at YCW. I cannot believe it! Campbell's teachers decided to try to stretch the hunt out this year by placing numbers on each of the eggs and each child just hunted for the eggs with their assigned number on them. Aren't they clever? Campbell got number four which she thought was perfect since she is FOUR. It was so funny to watch them searching for their number. Campbell's friend Ella found almost as many eggs for her as Campbell hunted herself. I thought it was so sweet of her to be looking out for Campbell;-)

Look at all those sweet kids running around hunting those eggs.

I did manage to capture a few pictures of Campbell with some of her sweet friends.

Here is Campbell with Mallory.

Softball through Pictures

I just had to post a few of my favorite shots I captured of Kaylee's first official game of the season.

Kaylee in her hitting stance. She looks like such a pro;-)

Kaylee ready for the ball as her best friend Anna runs to second base. Later in the game Anna hit the ball and Kaylee tagged her out on second base. I asked Kaylee what she said to Anna and she said "I told her I was sorry, I was just doing my job." (hahaha)

I love this picture of Cary giving Kaylee five while he is coaching first base. They get to have great one on one bonding time during softball season and I love watching them!

A quick story: At the end of each game the coaches get the girls together to talk about the game and give a pep talk before snocone time. Last night all the girls were very excited about the snocones and were not focusing on what the coach was saying. I heard Kaylee say "Listen it is not about the snocones people, it is about the game!" I had to chuckle a little inside. That's Cary's girl!

Softball Opening Ceremonies 2010

Well we are off and running with our busy softball season. The official opener was last Friday night at 6:00pm and that is when the gusty West Texas winds decided to show up too. After the opening ceremonies we had an hour wait until our first game of the season. Kaylee was beside herself with excitement. When the time arrived for Venom to play all the girls were shouting with glee. You would have thought it was Christmas morning for Kaylee. I am glad she has found something that she loves so much. This year she is playing first base which is great because she gets a lot of action. I could tell after her first hit that this year is going to be great for her. She has her first year under her belt, she understand the game better, and her hitting is great! Each time she got up to bat she made at least base hit and I was so excited for her. The smile she gets on her face is worth a million dollars.

The first night they played two games back to back and Kaylee did great all night long. Doesn't she look ready to hit the ball out of the park? I am looking forward to a wonderful season for Kaylee. After the first two games she said that she was going to make the All-Star Team this year because she was "that good", nothing wrong with her self-confidence ;-)

Some how Campbell and I managed to not get blown away by the winds either.

However, we did look quite windblown as evident in this picture of Campbell.

In closing, if you need us for the next few months you can catch us at the ballpark.