Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween 2007!!

Drew dressed as a Storm Trooper this year (you may remember from last year he was Darth Vader), and Mikayla dressed as Dorothy. My plan was to dress Drew as the scarecrow or tin man, but it just didn't happen! Oh well, maybe next year I'll get them dressed alike - I have said that every year since Mikayla has been born!
**Look for more pictures of our Halloween adventures tomorrow...

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Happy Birthday Jadyn

Saturday, Mikayla and I went to Jadyn's birthday party. Mikayla has danced with Jadyn the past two years, and she loves her! They are best buds on and off the dance floor! Even their teachers say "they don't need to look at each other to remember the routines, they look at each other because they love each other"! They play well together, and they get along great! I wish I had pictures from the party, but I forgot my camera. We enjoyed pizza, cake, and enjoyed watching Jadyn open her presents! We had such a fun time, and Mikayla and Jadyn are looking forward to future sleepovers! Happy 5th Birthday Jadyn!!

Soccer Update

Mikayla was invited to her friend Jadyn's birthday party on Saturday (see above post) so we were to miss Drew's last soccer game (or so I thought) for this year. Mikayla and I leave for Jadyn's party with specific instructions for Craig and Drew about the game (time, uniform, etc.). The problem?? Craig is not able to find one of Drew's socks when it is time for the game. His solution?? Drew doesn't have to go...
My sister calls me to see if I might can help them locate this sock over the phone, but I didn't hear my phone ring. When I talked to Craig and he informed me that he and Drew did not go, I was not happy. The good news...we found out today that Drew actually has at least 2 more games - playoff games, both to be played this Saturday. If they win both of those games, they have a game on Sunday. So we have solved the mystery of the missing sock, and everything is on go for Saturday!! Mikayla and I should be able to attend - don't worry I'll have pictures...

Future Careers??


Last week was Red Ribbon Week at our school, and on Wednesday our students were supposed to choose something they wanted to be when they grow up and dress for that profession. Mikayla immediately answers that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up - she sure has a love for kids! I thought, Mikayla's would be a breeze - teachers wear dressy clothes, but nothing special. When you ask Drew what he wants to be when he grows up he replies "I don't know, but not a teacher"! That didn't really give me a lot to go on as far as costumes, and I wasn't really sure where to start. He finally narrowed it down and said a police officer (I'm sure uncle Jason would be proud to know that). That was a problem since he had nothing that resembled a police officer costume. So, we went with what we had - Drew dressed up like a baseball player, and Mikayla dressed as a teacher. Pretty cute if I do say so myself. This may or may not be the professions that Drew and Mikayla choose as adults, but they sure had fun playing the parts!

October Star


Ms. Andrea and Ms. Nicole, Mikayla's dance teachers, have just recently started a new incentive at the dance studio. They are calling them monthly Studio Stars with October being the first month they have chosen one. Guess who was chosen as the first ever Rising Star Dance Company Studio Star for October 2007? You guessed it - MIKAYLA!! We are so proud of her and all she has accomplished so far in dance - she's our "dancing queen". This award was awarded to her for showing excellence in punctuality, attendance, performance, and studio spirit. Go Mikayla!!

Drew is a Top Writer


Each month at school each teacher picks one student's writing to be displayed on our "Top Writers" bulletin board. Drew's writing was chosen for October for Mrs. Mitchell's first grade class. I was so excited when Drew told me about this. Their whole class wrote a poem titled Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall. Mrs. Mitchell said they loved how Drew's writing was so descriptive.
We are very proud of our Top Writer!! Go Drew!!

We are Still Here

It has been awhile since I have posted or been able to visit/comment on my friends' blogs. We have been very busy (at home and at school) these past two weeks. Thank you to my sweet friend Becca for checking in on us! I hope to be back to daily posts, weekly memes, and blog reading soon!!
Now on to some of the things I've been meaning to post about these past two weeks...
Okay, so I should have started this post last so it would have been at the top, but you get the picture right??

Sunday, October 21, 2007

New Puppy!!

I have made several posts about pets that we have had. I wanted to introduce you to Molly. She is a nine month old Cocker Spaniel who is absolutely precious. We received her from Pam, who works with Craig. She is house-broken, doesn't chew, listens very well, etc. We got her this past Wednesday night, and we love her! Drew and Mikayla took right to her, and she to them. She is very sweet with them, even when they like to get close to her. You can tell it makes her a little nervous, but she doesn't growl or bark, she just moves away. We have talked to Drew and Mikayla about being easy with her because of her size, and they have done an excellent job! She reminds me so much of my Brandi I had at my mom and dad's house, and we hope Molly is a part of our family for many years to come!

Drew's First Project!


Drew was assigned his very first school project last Friday, October 12th to be turned in this past Friday, October 19th. The directions were to make a "space creature". It could be any kind of creature the students wanted it to be, but it had to be made from the geometrical shapes they would be studying this past week - sphere, cylinder, cone, cube, and rectangular prism. His teachers (Mrs. Mitchell, and Ms. Wagoner) encouraged them to use items from around their house. Drew decided that he wanted to make a dinosaur, specifically a Tyrannosaurus Rex - one of his favorite things at the moment. Drew was so excited about this project and kept insisting that we finish it the Friday it was assigned. I was thankful because I don't want him to procrastinate, but at the same time I encouraged him to take at least part of the week so we (they said they needed parents' help) could do our best. The teacher in me told me that whatever Drew decided to do, I wanted him to use all the shapes to make it. Once he decided on a T-Rex, we helped him find things to use to make it. Drew loves to paint so he decided that he would like to paint his dinosaur - black, green, and blue. We used a cube (Styrofoam to hold plants) for the body, and cylinders (Pringles' cans) for the legs. We used cylinders (toilet paper rolls) for the arms, and a rectangular prism (tissue box) for the head. We used cones (Candy Corn) for the teeth, and spheres (Jaw Breakers) for the eyes. Drew painted all the pieces that were to be painted first, then he helped to assemble his T-Rex. He was so proud of his creature, and he got a great response from teachers and other students at school. Drew loved this project - hopefully he will embrace all of his school projects like this...

Homecoming Parade

Mikayla's 4k class rode in our high school's Homecoming parade on Thursday night. The plan was to ride on Mrs. Hayes' trailer pulled by her husband in his truck. Ms. Brown and Mrs. Hayes even made banners announcing these students as the class of 2021 (that was hard to think about)! Since Drew was also in Ms. Brown and Mrs. Hayes' class 2 years ago, they told him he could ride too (they just started entering their classes in the parade last year). Then Thursday at school, they asked if I would ride with them. They also asked Mrs. Birchfield (a teacher in the other 4k class) to ride, and with the two of us, there would be four teachers to make sure the kids stay seated. I agreed, and we sure had a lot of fun. With me riding in the parade, that left Craig to take the pictures. You might think our trailer was speeding down the road if you judged from these pictures. I assure you we weren't!! In the top picture you can see Mikayla in the black shirt. Her face lit up as the bulldog mascot came over to our "float" as we were passing Craig. This mascot was actually part of the "float" in front of us. You can see one of Mikayla's teachers with her back to the camera at the front of the trailer. Mrs. Hayes didn't want her picture taken...
Mikayla, Drew, and Mrs. Birchfield were all throwing candy to Craig (the kids wanted him to pick it up for them). Do you think he picked up any?? I'm at the back of the trailer pointing towards Craig to make sure Drew and Mikayla don't miss him. Does it look like they did?? LOL Ms. Brown (Mikayla's other teacher) did not get in the pictures, but she was sitting across from me at the back of the trailer. We sure had fun...again I apologize for the blurry pictures but they were all blurry so that's all I've got...

Soccer Games 6 & 7

Drew looks professional as he gets ready to kick the ball to start the game.

Poppi, Mikayla, and Jennie get ready to cheer Drew and his team on.
Drew loves playing goalie, and he plays this position most of the time. Here some of his teammates help him guard the goal as the other team throws the ball in.
Drew is serious about playing goalie. These pictures were all from Drew's game on October 13th. He didn't sit out a quarter during this whole game because one of our players wasn't there. Two of the four quarters he played goalie!This picture is from Drew's game yesterday. He played 3 quarters of this game, and all three quarters he played goalie. I'm very proud of the job he does as goalie, but it sure makes me nervous as his mom. I still don't know all I'd like to know about soccer, but my feeling is there is a lot of pressure on you as goalie. Drew's team is really good about helping him out, and keeping the ball on the opposite side of the field. Playing goalie doesn't seem to make Drew nervous at all - he LOVES it!!
Drew's last game is scheduled for next Saturday and I am not looking forward to it being over. Drew's not either - of course then we move right into basketball...

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Another Award!


My good friend Bridget, over at And Miles to Go... has awarded me the Wonder Woman award! I feel very honored to receive this award from Bridget as she is definitely a Wonder Woman!! Many times I read her blog and wonder how she does it all! Check it out for yourself to see what I mean! Thank you Bridget for your thoughtfulness and with that I pass this award on to the following "Wonder Women" (I will try to limit myself, but that is so hard for me to do...):

Jennie

Renee

Theresa
I saw where Becca, Holly, Sandee, and Barb were also awarded by Bridget - you all are deserving in my eyes as well!

Sweet Friends...

Wow! This has been a week - nothing bad, just busy!! Then I come on here and find I have been awarded, not once but four times! I'm not sure I'm deserving of all this, especially on weeks like this one where I haven't really been around much, but thank you all so much!!


Super Sweet Holly, over at Mama Pajama has awarded me with the Candied Apple Award! She thinks I'm one of the sweetest people she knows. Wow!! Holly is such a sweet person, it sure means a lot that she thinks the same of me!! I'd like to pass this along to s'more super sweet people (get it?).
Barb






My friends Becca, at BeccA's Buzz and Holly, at Mama Pajama have also given me the Community Blogger Award. This award celebrates people who reach out and make the blogger community a better one. You both sure know how to make a girl feel special!! If you've never visited their blogs you should check them out - you are in for a real treat! Now for the fun part, I tag the following people who truly make the blogger community a better one:






My friend Renee, at Renee's Ramblings awarded me the Sweet Treat Award. I think Renee is super sweet as well, and I love her blog (I'm sure you could tell that from above!) - another "treat" to visit! Here's how it works: 1. Once you've been awarded the Sweet Treat Award, make a post and award it to bloggers who you deem "One Sweet Treat to Read" everyday. 2. Make sure you inform those who you awarded that they have won! 3. Grab the button and proudly display it in your sidebar for all your old/new readers to see! You can read the history of this award at Trista's blog, The Pumkin Patch. There are tons of bloggers that fully deserve this award, and I have a hard time limiting (if you couldn't tell)! So here are those blogs I deem a "sweet treat to read everyday":







I also must say that I would have awarded one (or all) of these awards to Bridget at And Miles To Go... but she has already received each of these. On second thought, it doesn't hurt to receive an award twice, so Bridget, here you are. All of you ladies are special in so many ways. I look forward to reading your blogs daily! Take your awards and display them proudly!!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Heads or Tails # 10

This week is a Tails week with Heads or Tails. Barb over at Skittles Place has asked us to post a list of 10 things. So here are my 10:
10 of my favorite things about fall:
1. colors - leaves, decorations, clothes
2. weather - cooler, not so humid
3. football - I love going to high school and college (hopefully this year) football games
4. Festivals - fair, community festivals, and church festivals
5. Halloween - the excitement of children (and adults) as they done their costumes and anticipate the treats that are to come
6. shopping - we like to finish up our Christmas shopping for the kids in October, only leaving a few things to pick up at the "day after Thanksgiving sales"
7. pumpkins - the children each pick out one they think is perfect, they choose what to carve, and we help both of them carve (SO MUCH FUN!!)
8. food - candy apples, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, etc. which leads me right into my next one...
9.Thanksgiving - spending time with family and friends, the feast, and giving thanks for what I am so blessed to have
10. Anticipation of Christmas...
So there it is - my "10"! To see others who have participated you can click on the blogroll or visit Skittles.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Yesterday was my brother's 26th birthday. We went out to eat after Drew's soccer practice to celebrate! After eating dinner, we went back to Mimi and Poppi's house for cake! Drew and Mikayla love their "Uncle Jon Jon", and he sure spoils them rotten. Drew is real big into numbers right now and he knows that I'm 2 years older than my brother. He exclaimed at the restaurant, "mama's the oldest". I love reminding him that "daddy is the oldest" as Craig is seven years older than I! Jonathan LOVED (yea right) when we had them announce his birthday over the loud speaker at Golden Corral and we all clapped and hooted so all the other patrons would know "who" Jonathan was! He doesn't really mind the 26 part, like I don't really mind the 28. It's just that the big 3-0 is sneakin' up on me faster than I would like! Happy Birthday Jonathan - we love you!!
***Side Note: More posts to come soon - it has been a busy week so far and it's only Tuesday. I hope to even get to Heads or Tails this week, but it will be late...

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Being Silly!

These are more pictures we took while at the fair. I love these, and wish I had gotten one of my mom and dad in this thing. I also wish I had gotten someone to take a picture of Craig and myself here. Josh and Jennie
Drew and Mikayla - I love this! It's easy to see how much they look alike in these pictures.
Poppi and Mikayla
Poppi and Drew

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Fair 2007

One of my favorite times of year is fall - I love the colors, the smells, the weather, high school/college football games, etc. One of my favorite parts of fall is the annual fair that comes to town. I remember going every year as a little girl, and I want my children to experience this just as I did! I looked forward to going every year, and it always lived up to my expectations (I think this is because it's something that's consistent - same thing every year we knew what to expect). This has become a yearly tradition for our family. Some years we go more than once - I remember the year I had Mikayla we went three times (she was only 5 weeks old).
Tuesday night our family went to the fair. We told Drew and Mikayla that morning that we were going, so they looked forward to it all day. When I picked them up from Extra Edition, the first thing they asked was "when are we going". My dad, mom, sister, and Josh were going to meet us there. We came home for a quick "potty break" (while I love the fair I do not like the bathrooms there or really any public restroom for that matter), and then we were off.

As soon as we pulled in the parking lot the kids started squealing, and yelling "I see the rides, I see the rides". This to me is priceless - to see their excitement makes me even that much more excited (not hard since I love the fair too!).

Drew, Daddy, and Mikayla can't wait to get inside that gate!

Once we got inside, we ran into Garrett (was in my class last year, and played on the same baseball team with Drew) and his family. Mikayla, Drew, and Garrett ride the spinning bears.

Drew loves the bumper cars. Mikayla remembered that she didn't like riding this by herself at the beach this year, and didn't go on.

As we were waiting in line for the teacups, Annabeth (from dance) ran over to Mikayla. They were excited to ride this ride together!

Mikayla rode the roller coaster all by herself twice, and loved it. Check out that smile!

Drew likes the helicopters because they really "fly".

I LOVE Drew's face in this picture! It's like he's thinking "come on daddy do you have to act like that?" Everyone that knows Drew knows that he acts just like his daddy. In fact, his teacher said that to me today!

Here Drew and Mikayla ride the roller coaster together. They like to ride in front whenever possible, and they like to hold their hands up. Drew still doesn't look like he's having much fun here, but I promise he enjoyed himself!

Jennie and Mimi take a break as Drew and Mikayla enjoy the rides!

Mimi and Poppi look on with Drew and Mikayla as they see what the "new" bumper boats are all about!

Of course they both had to try them, and loved them! I don't think they wanted to get out. The whole time I was thinking I would not want to be the operator of this ride - they had to stand in the pool the whole time and help the boats move around.

One of my favorite pictures from the night. They were riding the boats that go around on a track (like the motorcycles) and just before the ride stopped I looked and they had their arms around each other (where they criss-crossed in the back), and I just had to get a picture! My children are perfect by no means, but when they are sweet, they are super, duper sweet!

Mikayla rode the "drop zone" for the first time this year. Drew was going to ride beside her, but decided to get off before the ride started. This is normally one of his favorites, so I'm thinking he was getting tired. Mikayla didn't mind riding by herself (without Drew), and rode it again and again. I think this was her favorite ride of the night. In the photo above she made a new friend while riding, and in the one below she is being brave (holding her arms up). This was hilarious to watch. She would hold her hands up while the ride went up but as soon as it dropped (more like bounced) down, she would grab the bar and scream! Too Cute!

Ooohhh my mom is going to get me for putting this picture on here, but I couldn't resist one of them eating. Part of the reason I LOVE going to the fair is for the food. My uncle has been at the fair the past two years selling food (he owns The Hot dog Cafe here in town), and we enjoy some of his.

After we ate it was time to see the animals - another one of my favorite parts. Drew and Mikayla look at the cows first!

Next we see the horses. Mikayla is telling Drew "he is gonna bite you"! He didn't bite. I think all the animals could smell the mustard/food on Drew's clothes because none were afraid of getting very close to him.

We all had a super time at the fair, and Mikayla was already asking to go back last night! I am glad we went when we did though because we saw last night/this morning on the news that they had raised the rates. When we went, it cost 5 dollars each for Craig and myself because we weren't riding anything. We paid 14 dollars each for Drew and Mikayla so they could have unlimited rides. We saw that as of yesterday, everyone paid 14 dollars to get in whether they rode rides or not. We saved 28 dollars just by going a day early. If they continue with those prices we may have to find another annual tradition...

Happy Birthday Bryson

After Drew's soccer game on Saturday we headed to the skating rink for Bryson's birthday party. Drew and Bryson have grown up together - daycare, sports teams, school, etc. Drew and Bryson are good friends, and Mikayla and Breanna love each other! We all had a ball (the kids skating, and the parents talking)!

Mikayla skates with Bryson and Breanna's cousin, Emily.

Drew dances to the Hokey Pokey - hard to do on skates!

Bryson blows out his candles! Happy 7th birthday Bryson - we enjoyed celebrating with you!

Soccer Game 5

Drew had his fifth soccer game on Saturday. While playing during the first quarter, Drew was really favoring his arm. So much so, that I thought (even asked) that he might need to sit out the rest of the game. He was determined to play, and kept telling me his arm was okay. He played all but one quarter on Saturday and as the game went on, his arm didn't seem to be bothering him as much. They played a tough team, and lost the game by one goal. There record is 2-3 with all three losses by only one goal. In this game, as in the others, they have tried really hard to come back in the fourth quarter! We are so proud of these little boys for the effort they put forth!

I was so proud of Drew when, during the second quarter, he was playing goalie and he cheered Jose on every time he kicked the ball to the other side of the field. It was great to hear him demonstrate good sportsmanship that we talk about all the time!

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Crazy 8's!

8 things I'm passionate about: My Family, My Faith, My Family's Health, Music, Food, Being a Good Wife and Mom, Being a Good Teacher, Helping my children and my students be the best they can be
8 things I want to do before I die: See My Children Grow up To Be Happy and Healthy, Lose weight, Go on a cruise, Swim with dolphins,
Have another child, Grow Old With My Husband, Learn Irish Step (type of dancing), Write a book
8 things I say often:
I love you, Where's my boy/girl?, Baby?, Who's boy/girl are you?, Gimme Sugar (when I want kisses from my babies), Come here, Please don't do that, You wanna read
8 books I've recently read:
I'm gonna come back to this one - all that comes to mind right now are children's books. :)
8 songs I could listen to over and over
"More Than a Memory" - Garth Brooks (okay anything by Garth really, I just love him!), "I Need You" - Tim McGraw/Faith Hill, "Never Wanted Nothing More" - Kenny Chesney, "God's Will" - Martina McBride, "I Can Only Imagine" - Mercy Me, "Stand" - Rascal Flatts (I could listen to any of their songs over and over too!), "I Hope You Dance" - Leann Womack, "I've Been Watching You" - Rodney Atkins
8 things that attract me to my best friends:
loyal
trustworthy
honest
forgiving
funny (good sense of humor)
similar interests
8 things I've learned this past year: Drew has a lot of energy (as if I didn't already know this), Mikayla loves to read, We shouldn't take our health for granted, I love naps, How to make jewelry, My new students, What's involved with being teacher of the year, How to give a newspaper interview
8 people I think should do Crazy 8's


Jennie


Becca


Nicole


Melanie


Trish


Theresa


Renee


Shelby

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage