Summer lovin'

Oh summer how I love you!  Our little family snuck away from the craziness of softball and big city for a week in the country not long ago.  It was wonderful.  My sister-in-law and her family live on a ranch in North Florida.  It's a little piece of heaven, just like out of a book or beautiful movie.  They have horses all over the property with several little ponds for the kids to fish in every night after dinner with their daddy and their Gramps.

The cell service there was hardly existent and you have to use an air card to get on the Internet.  I loved it.  One week of just enjoying creation and everything outside.  One morning, we just all sat out on the screened in front porch in rocking chairs hulling peas.  Doesn't that sound like something out of an old movie?  Who hulls their own peas anymore?  We did and they were delicious that night for dinner!!  We just loved "getting away" and enjoying the outdoors and our extended family. 

The kids favorite part of spending the week at the ranch was the cats.  Yes, I know, simple little cats.  I'm not a cat person.  I will openly admit that am not terribly fond of cats.  There, I said it.  But, my kids.  Oh, they love cats and everything to do with them!!  Thank you, Aunt Carrie!  The good thing?  She has so many cats running around her ranch that our 3 kids don't hardly know what to do most of the time.  They spend so much time outside chasing cats, playing with the cats and carting the cats around....they think that Carrie's ranch is a dream vacation in cat heaven.

I guess I can't complain.  The cats stay in Florida and I get to take the kids to visit them.  I guess that makes me super mom, right??  And I don't have to clean out any litter boxes!!

To blog or not to blog....

who has the time??? Yikes! This summer is just flying by so quickly!!  We have just been going, going and going with no real rest time in sight.  Crazy.  And I thought that summer was for sleeping in and hanging out at our pool.  Silly me. 

What have we been up to?  You guessed it.  Softball.  Remember our girlie girl, Grace?  Well, she and her little buddies won the Texas State Championship!  Yes, they did!! And after talking to several umpires at the State Tournament, our coach decided that we needed to take the team to the World Series.  Yes, I said World Series.  How many kids in their lifetime can say that they have gone to the World Series?  CRAZY!

Our girls are very excited and can't wait for us to get over to Florida and play some softball with girls from all over the United States.  Should be some fun times ahead for all of us.  Something that you forget in all of the craziness when getting invited to the World Series, though....yep.  How to pay for it!!  I just though, "Oh, we're going to the World Series!! Yippe!! "  Uh, No.  Entry fees, hotel rooms, food, etc., etc., etc.  All of the girls and parents have been running around town for the past 2 weeks getting sponsors for our little team, having "team night" at various eating places around town, we had a bake sale last weekend and then of course, the beloved raffle.  Yes, selling raffle tickets.  JOY.

Growing up, I was the kid who didn't even like to sell girl scout cookies.  I'm not shy, I just don't want to ask people for things.  I don't.  I like to do things myself.  But, this is a team and we are selling tickets for our team.  So, what am I making my child do today, you ask?  Yep.  Go out and sell those tickets, Grace and maybe you'll find a generous donor at the same time!! Until then...maybe I can find some time to blog and take a nap?  I didn't think so!! :)

2 big things for Susie!!

First off....the big girl lost her 2 front top teeth!! Oh my word, Susie Q!! She pulled and prodded on one tooth last week and now this week she lost the one beside it. So funny! She lost the second one Sunday night after pushing and playing with it all weekend...she came in my bed Monday morning, "MOM! I lost my tooth!" I was excited for her! So I said, "Well, let me see it!" She looks down, "Mom, I lost it. I lost my tooth and then I lost it!" We went up and it had fallen out in her sleep. It was that loose!! So, it was in her sheets and we found it! She wrote a note to the tooth fairy Monday night, "Please lev the tooth. Love, Susannah" So cute.

Today was Kindergarten graduation at Susie's school. They also called it the "Celebration of Learning" but with graduation all tied in...whatever! They sang 2 songs and then all 9 classes (20+ kids in each class) all got their names called and got to walk across the stage. She felt like such the big kid and was so excited. It was pretty cute.

Here is Susie and her best buddy Sammy from school....They are 2 peas in a pod and they make me laugh all of the time. I'm so thankful for cute little school friends and looking forward to summer playdates! Next year we will all be together in the same 1st grade class so we have to keep these kids liking each other over the summer!!

Mrs. Holdman has been one of the very best Kindergarten teachers that I've ever met...and I've met quite a few in my time teaching, remember. She loves these kids so much but is still has taught them so many things this year. Next year in first grade is going to be even better. We are so very thankful that she is looping up with the whole class. That shows you what a great teacher she is...not one person wanted to switch teachers...100% of the class re-signed up to be with her again. A wonderful blessing we've had and will continue to have next year.

Way to go, Susannah. Can't believe that you are a first grader now. Love you much, sweet girl.

Mrs. Holdman made us each a DVD with a 15 minute slide show and told us to watch it at home. Oh my word. I was a complete puddle by the end of that 15 minutes. Seeing how much Susannah has changed in just 9 short months. It's going by way too fast for this mama!

Celebration of learning?

Yesterday was the 3rd Grade "Celebration of Learning" or 3rd grade class awards, as I would have called it....Anyway, all of the parents were invited to the classroom to give our kids lots of love and support for their great work as 3rd graders. Grace did great. She was one of 5 kids to get all A's all year and have perfect conduct so she got the Principal's award. Yippe! She also got the leadership award from her sweet teacher, Mrs. Cowan.  She missed perfect attendance by one day.  Yeah...here is where I get the "mother of the year" award....she missed that day because I took her out of school to go to Harding's Homecoming.  Opps!  I totally thought that she would miss other days and it wouldn't be a big deal.  Um...not to her, you know, the "people pleaser, Grace"  Oh well, maybe next year, my dear one! :)

Grace loves Mrs. Cowan. Many days after school, Grace will start talking to me, "Mrs. Cowan, I mean, Mom..." It's really funny. We are so thankful that Grace had such a kind and loving teacher in Mrs. Cowan. She was so supportive of everything that Grace was into during the year and always was on her side!

Good-bye Mrs. Cowan! Grace will miss you and 3rd grade, but she is sooo excited about going to 4th grade!! Oh the joys....and who in the world said that my little red-headed baby could be this big??

Grace was also so blessed this year to have her best buddy, Brennon, in her class with her. I know...he's taller than her!! They are the tallest two in the class and even better than that? He lives 4 houses down the street! Every day after school he is ringing our doorbell to go and ride bikes or play street ball. God so had a plan when he put us in this neighborhood!!

I guess she likes it....

Well, it's official....Grace is officially in love with softball.  This past weekend they had a tournament one town over (thank goodness! no long drives!) and won big time.  The Cobras swept the tournament and took first place.  It was great! The girls were rocking the place during their Sunday games and it was so much fun to watch them play so great and be so pumped up!

We even had a visitor this weekend! Bethany came to see us and the kids were so excited and so was I !! She went with us to all of Grace's games and warmed her up before the games.  Graces' teammates kept asking if Bethany was Grace's big sister.  It was pretty cute.  Grace was pretty proud to have someone else there to watch her play.  I think I got one picture all weekend with Bethany and the kids...with her phone.  Sad, I know.  I need to really get on the ball with the whole picture taking thing.  Thank goodness that Bethany brought her good camera and took some good shots of Grace this weekend.  It helps when you have something better than just a point and shoot!! :)

I can tell how much she is loving this team now....she wakes up for her games and hops right in her uniform, she loves going to practice now and she started pitching lessons a few weeks ago.  Her coach, JD, is great.  Grace loves her and will do just about anything that she says....maybe she should come over here and tell her to clean her room! HA!  She is learning a lot and it's been great for her confidence.

Aaron had to teach on Monday (the company who must not be named doesn't take off for many holidays) so I took the kids to our neighborhood pool.  I told the kids going into the day that if the parking lot was full that we were turning the car around....well, of all things....there were like 10 empty spots!!

We swam for about 3 hours...they loved it and so did I....even better?? Yeah...FREE ICE CREAM!  Just walked up to the little vendor cart and told them what you wanted.  Popsicle?  Here you go.  Nutty Bar? Sure!  It was yummy and it turned me from mom to "Super Mom" in a matter of minutes.

I wish I would have taken my camera, but we were too busy having fun eating ice cream and swimming...maybe next memorial day I'll remember my camera, but I wouldn't count on it!! :)