Friday, May 28, 2010

Sixteen Years Ago Today...

...I married this man.Happy Anniversary, Babe. I love you!!!!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

TIme, Oh, Time...

...Where have you gone?!?!?!

****NOTE: I just typed out a big ole' long post whining about how busy I was, and guess what?
Blogger erased it all!

HA! I find that strangely amusing...

I don't have time to type it all again, because I'M TOO BUSY!!


We'll just leave it at that, and remind you all that tomorrow is THE FINAL DAY OF SCHOOL with students.

I might make it, friends.

I just might make it!!! :-)

Monday, May 17, 2010

Titanic

Each year in 5th grade, the students read the book "The SOS Titanic". They study all about the Titanic and do some projects about the Titanic. The culmination of the literary study AND of the entire 5th grade year is the first class Titanic luncheon. Today was the big day! Kate was so excited... all the girls got dressed up in their fancy dresses, and all the boys wore ties... FANCY! They take a bus to a local church, which the parents decorate to look as much like the boat as possible. The parents also cook a first-class meal, which the students eat in a room that has been transformed into the first class dining hall aboard the Titanic. Today the menu was scones and tea, noodle soup, Caesar salad, turkey breast, green bean bundles, new potatoes, and rolls. FOr dessert, they had pound cake with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. Yum! In class, the students learn all about etiquette, including which forks and spoons to use, and where to place their napkins. It is quite an experience!

Here's Miss Kate at the luncheon.
Here is Kate with some of her friends in her classroom before the luncheon.
The day of the luncheon, the students are assigned an "escort". The boys are instructed on how to be a gentleman, including how to offer their arm to escort the lady and how to open doors and pull out the dining chair. Luckily, Kate was paired with her friend, Austin. They had a great time together!
Here's Kate with her good buddy, Taylor, before the luncheon. Don't they look pretty?
And, finally, here's my classy little lady.
At the end of the luncheon, the students are presented an envelope with a biography of an actual Titanic passenger. They are able to read all about their lives and what they were doing aboard the Titanic. Kate was assigned the biography of Dorothy Gibson, who was a famous actress from this time period. (She was pretty excited about being a celebrity! ha ha)

They all had a wonderful time that I am sure they won't soon forget. It was a great way to end their last year in elementary school!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

The Graduate

Today was Miss Gracie's Pre-School Graduation. It was quite bittersweet for me. On one hand, I'm so proud of the little girl she is growing to be... She's a baby no longer! She has always been different from the other two, but as she grows, I am really liking the person that she is becoming. She definitely has a mind of her own, but in many ways, that's a good thing... With her, I never doubt that she will grow into a strong, independent woman. She will always do her own thing, and I doubt that she will ever be pushed into something she wasn't ready for! Today was a big milestone... next year I will no longer have a pre-school aged child... that's a big one! I have had at least one pre-schooler for the past ELEVEN YEARS. Next year they will all be up on the hill at the "big school". In some ways, I am SO happy about that, but in other ways, I am so sad to see these years come to an end. It's just all TOO FAST! If somebody could just SLOW IT DOWN, ALREADY, I'd be a lot happier.

But, time waits for no one, so today my baby isn't a baby any more. I cried A LOT at graduation today (mostly because they INSIST on playing this ridiculously sad song at graduation... it's called "Let Them Be Little", and it gets me every time I hear it.)

I am ridiculously proud of my baby girl. She has grown up so much, and I love her more than words can say.

Here are "the girls" before graduation...
And here is Grace with her Daddy after graduation. (Even though he was on call this weekend, he still got to come to graduation! Yay Daddy!!!)
And here is the graduate with her proud Mother. (Notice the puffy eyes... I had already wept like a baby by this time!)
And here is our little graduate, ready to face the future. High School Senior in the year of 2023.
Look out, kindergarten, here she comes!!! :-)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Bluebonnets 2010

Here are our "official" bluebonnet pics for the year! Love them!! Thanks, Jen!


Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I hope that all the Moms out there had a fantastic day... I surely did. It's a day that always makes me OH, SO THANKFUL for this special lady right here...This is MY MOM. She's amazing! She's who I hope I grow up to be. :-) She managed our household growing up (with a little help from Daddy! ha ha), and worked full time teaching school. She always seemed so "together". She always cooked every meal (we NEVER ate take-out!) She let my brother and I participate in any activity we chose to do, and always sat there, waiting for us during our practices and games and concerts and performances. She was a MASTER at letting us find our wings and fly. She had really high expectations for us, but we ALWAYS knew how much she loved us. Now, she is the world's BEST Nana. All 6 of her grandchildren love and adore her. My children miss her when she's not with us, cry when she has to leave after a visit, and rejoice when she comes back! She is also a proud breast cancer survivor. I am so proud of her... she fought that awful disease with passion and grit. I knew she would make it, because, as she said, "I am a lot tougher than this thing."

So, today, I say, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, Mama! I love you so very much, and I am honored to be your daughter!!

AND... there are three other reasons that I am feeling proud today. Here they are!




I am also honored and proud to be their Mama. They have brought me more joy than I ever thought possible. So, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to me! These girls are the best gift I've ever been given.

Monday, May 3, 2010

GT Showcase

Kate and Abby are both in the GT program at our school, and they both LOVE it. Every year they do one major project for the year, and then they have an evening where they are able to "showcase" their projects. Tonight was the night!

Kate made a quilt, and researched about the history of quilts. She also wrote an original fictional story about her quilt.

Wouldn't it be lovely if I had a picture of her in front of her quilt? Nah... that would be predictable!! And, I am NOTHING if not UNPREDICTABLE! ha ha! Actually, by the time I got around to taking her photo, Kate had already taken her quilt back to the classroom. So, I just snapped a pic of her in the hallway!
Abby's project was entitled "Guess Who?" She had to choose a famous "Mystery Person", and then research their lives. Then she had to write a report about them, as well as a riddle about them. She also had to dress like them and read a riddle to the audience about her person. Can you "Guess Who" she picked?
Yes, that's right - she picked Betsy Ross. She looked adorable, and her information and riddle were really good, too.

I was proud of my girls tonight. They had a ball, and they learned so much by completing their projects!