First Grade Girl

Enjoying a cupcake at church on Sunday since she has an August Birthday.

Practicing trying to tie her shoes. These are the generic "Twinkle Toes" that we searched and searched for.

First homework of First Grade

Ava has taken her lunch everyday of school so far. I have been including these little jokes/messages and she is loving it!

Back to School

Ava has had a successful start to her first grade year. Her teacher is Mrs. Renae and Ava thinks she is the best!


While filling out paperwork I caught this lovely beauty of Ava. Love the action!

After her first full day of school we enjoyed some ice cream to help cool off.

At her desk

My diva in full effect. Love the outfit and the scarf that she choose.

She was so ready for the first day that she wore her backpack all morning.

Harrison hung out reading while everyone got ready.

Walking in to her new school for the first time.

First Grade is 2 days Away

In just two more days Ava will start back to school. My little first grader is growing up so fast. We went back to school shopping for her supplies yesterday. It's exciting, but bittersweet that time flies so fast!

Recent Happenings

This summer has really flown by. With my new job, I have already been logging some hours so summer is pretty much over for me. It is hard to believe that next Wednesday, Ava will start first grade. I am very anxious to find out who her teacher is going to be and I am hoping we have a great year. I haven't gotten nearly as many things done this summer as I would have liked, but that's life. Here are some recent pics. ;)

It seems that whenever I am sitting down, I usually end up with this 37 pound growth on my head!

Ava and I headed out for Girls' Day.

Harrison after his new haircut. (Note the snotty nose that was seriously stirred up since he SCREAMED the entire time!)

We have been dealing with some behavior issues with our little Harold and Bradley made him stand in the corner.

Words cannot express....

Enjoying Girls' Day

Summer Reading

Both kids have already hit 100 books for the summer reading program. We haven't been as active in the activities as we have in the past, but we have spent lots of time this summer reading. I love spending time with the kids reading and talking about books. It is one of my favorite things to do.

Ava's reading is blossoming and she is getting more and more confident. I love that she can pick up books and just start to read them. It is so fun to hear her read and know how fast she is progressing. I also love seeing her read to Harrison. It is so great to see them interacting together and enjoy spending time together (even if in the next 5 minutes they are fighting like cats and dogs!).

Birthday Partying - Rocking the Circuit

We have been on the birthday party circuit this summer and the kids have been to several parties since school let out.

Harrison had a friend from daycare who had a party and it was a ton of fun for the kids because of the INFLATABLES! The kids love them. Then two weeks later, Ava had another daycare friend with a pool party at Nana Cheryl's. Follow that up with Ava's friend, Savannah, that afternoon at the park. And then it was on to Uncle Nick Knot's 27th birthday which we got to spend with him.

This summer has flown by in a whirlwind, but I definitely want to remember these fun celebrations that we got to be a part of this summer.

For your viewing pleasure...

another Scooby-Doo video. :) I just think it is soooo cute! And maybe it will tide you over until I can get some more blogging done! (I am back to work and super busy already!). :)

Celebrating

For the past couple of weeks I have been thinking and praying about a new job opportunity that I was hoping was going to come my way. After a couple of interviews, a lot of praying, and a lot of discussions, I was offered a new job. I have been in the classroom for 10 years and have had so many wonderful students (and some not so wonderful... ;)) and have made many wonderful co-workers who are also my friends.

One of these friends was offered a job as a principal at one the elementary schools in our district which left her position vacant. I am happy to say that I am now Dyer County's Special Education Consulting Teacher for the middle schools and high school.

Basically my job takes me out of my classroom and puts me in a position that allows me to focus on making sure that our students are getting the services they need and that all of the paperwork is getting done. It is a very big job with very big responsibilities and I am sooooo nervous because I know that I will be forced into situations that are definitely out of my comfort zone as I mediate between the schools, students, and parents. But I am looking forward to the challenges of this new job and helping my students in a new way.

To celebrate, we all went out for Mexican (of course!) and had a fun time. It was the first time we had been out as a family in forever and it felt relaxing and good!

Thanks to all who have congratulated me on this new opportunity. Keep me in your prayers over the next few months as I get settled into my job and learn the ropes! :)

10 Years Ago

Today is our 10th Anniversary. I can't believe that 10 years have passed since Bradley and I got married. We have been so blessed to have bought a beautiful home in our little town and sooo super blessed to have Ava and Harrison. I told Bradley that for our 10th anniversary, I wanted to renew our vows in front of an Elvis impersonator, but maybe we will shoot for the 15th now! :)

Happy Anniversary to my husband. Yes, you totally get on my nerves and we can fight like cats and dogs, but I wouldn't trade you for anything. You are my love. I love you! :)

Post from our 4th anniversary. Here

This photo was taken in May. :) We are so awful about taking pictures together!

Scooby, Dooby-Doo, Where Are You?

Over the past couple of weeks, the kids have gotten hooked on Scooby Doo. We have recorded tons of them onto our DVR and they watch them over and over again. I love the way that Ava acts like she is seeing the mystery for the first time and has it figured out. I am just glad that something I loved to watch when I was younger is something that I can share with my kids.

So here is Harrison singing the song to Scooby Doo. He usually does much better, but he is camera shy lately when it comes to video.




As an added bonus, here is Harrison talking about a hyena (aka CHI-NINA). :)

Kindergarten Wrap-Up with Ava

What will you miss about Kindergarten? Being with my teacher.

Who are your friends at school? Not everybody because some people don't want to be my friends sometimes.

Who did you play with? Mikayla, Savanna, April, and Abigail

What is the best part of the school day? Going outside

What is your favorite thing that you learned about? I Don't Know

What food did you like to eat at lunch? Pizza

What is your favorite game to play at recess? Princesses

What do you like about your teacher? When she lets us do free drawing.

What are some fun things you did in class this year? The Christmas singing

What was fun about the first day of school? Staying for a half day.

What was the best about the last day of school? Having the picnic on the floor with the brown paper.

What was your favorite thing to do in the classroom? Watching movies at the end of the day.

What will you remember most about kindergarten? Doing work.

What are you looking forward to this summer? Having play dates.

What are you looking forward to in 1st grade? Going outside.

Father's Day - 2012

Father's Day really snuck up on us this year. With Bradley being so sick, it just came to quickly for us to get a plan in place and he didn't feel like going out anywhere to eat or anything. I did manage to have the kids fill out this interview form with questions about Bradley. It was funny to hear their answers. They both know that he loves to watch ball games and Ava thinks his favorite food is a salad covered with his favorite dressing (Harrison's answers all consisted of tractors, lawn mowers, tillers, and weed eaters). ;) So while Bradley was with Joe, the kids and I ran to the store and Ava chose to have a big salad for supper. While I was working on the fixing, she made a quick sign for Daddy. We also enjoyed some Brave cupcakes which were served to Daddy and Pop while we sang Happy Father's Day to You (to the tune of Happy Birthday). I thought it was a nice Father's Day.

I am so thankful for all the wonderful daddies that have been placed in my life; my dear Bradley, my own Daddy, and Joe.

I just love all of these crazy facial expressions my children are giving.