Whew, what a month!

Okay, so this month has been nuts! The end of the school year, while awesome and fun, was soooooo busy. I can't imagine being a teacher and trying to finish up everything because being PTA President was crazy enough. The month of May started out with Teacher Appreciation Week, which at Baker is a HUGE deal! That took up quite a bit of time, but was amazing thanks to a LOT of AWESOME help. Then I went to spend time with the Kings in Jacksonville. I am so glad that I got to do that because it was an amazing time. It is always so much fun to hang out with good friends and especially when those good friends move too far away. When I got home from there it was time to start getting the year closed out.

2nd Grade ended on a high with Jack and Annie Day. This was so much fun and a day that will always mark the year. They had different rotations throughout the day and played and had a great time outside. I was in charge of High Tide in Hawaii booth which was so fun! We had a limbo stick, grass skirts and lays for everyone. We did some light hula dancing and a good time was had by all. The other booths were wrapping each other up as mummies, a parachute, stick horse racing and several other fun things. Also with Claire she did do the Spring Olympics and I was so proud of her. She was really intimidated at first but ended up having a great time. It was so fun to see her do something like that! I was so overwhelmingly proud of her for overcoming her fear and doing it anyway. This year was a perfect year for Claire. Her teacher was so amazing and the kids in her class were the sweetest kids. I am so thankful for the wonderful year she had. She grew up so much and ended up with great grades and Tim and I could not be more proud of her. She continues to amaze me and I am so thankful to be her Mom! God couldn't have done a better job when he made her.

Kindergarten ended with a bang to say the least. The kids had the annual Splashdown/Luau Day and we had so much fun. It ended up being a cool day, but that didn't spoil the fun for them. They were so cute running around squealing and playing in the mud. I was really sad to see Kindergarten come to an end! It seems so strange that I will never have a kindergartner again. The year went way too fast and it was so much fun. Brock learned so much and has turned into quite the student. He gets very serious when it comes to school. Tim and I hope that we will be able to guide him to great things academically. Baseball went really well. He had so much more fun this year than last year. He worked with my Dad and really learned to hit the ball. It was exciting to watch and he ended the year with only one or two at bats where he didn't hit off of the machine. We really enjoyed seeing him progress this year and hope that next year goes as well.

Field Day was terrific and I would say the best ever! I loved it particularly because it was the first event of the year that I just got to show up for and enjoy. It means so much to have other parents that are committed to making a day fantastic for the kids. We had a great time dancing, going to different booths and just enjoying being with friends. I am already looking forward to next year's event. I love having my kids at such an amazing school!

I promise I will get Disney pictures up as soon as I can. It was the best vacation ever and there are so many things to show and tell. I literally took 500 pictures so you can imagine how much work that is to get ready to blog. Disney was so very fun and magical and everything you can ever hope for in a trip to Orlando. Keep checking back and hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have the pictures posted.

I have a new man in my life....

I need to let you all know that I know that I have a new man in my life. He is about 9 lbs and has fuzzy brown hair and hates to ride in his carseat, but does like to have his tummy rubbed. It isn't a puppy, nope his name is Paxton Dean King!

This past week I took off and went to Florida for a few days to visit the Kings. It was such an amazing week just spending time with one of my dearest friends and her precious family, who I consider part mine anyway. I got to sit and talk and laugh for four glorious days. It has been way way too long since we got to spend that kind of time together. I miss them so much, but am very grateful for the chance to have made the trip. More treasured memories were made with treasured friends!

Bailey and Beckham are growing up so fast so it was so fun for me to get to spend time with them. Bailey let me braid her hair at night while it was wet so that it would have some wave to it in the morning. It was our thing, and I loved it! I meant to show Shannon how to french braid, but we got too caught up watching American Idol and voting for Kris Allen to have a braiding lesson. Maybe next time. Beckham and I were just a team and we enjoyed cooking, breakfast and watching tv together. He is so funny, and I am really missing his chatter. Paxton, well he is just yummy! I loved him before I even met him, but now he and I are bonded at the heart. I figured out that when he was crying really hard that I could rub his belly a certain way and he would calm right down. I love knowing that I had a special touch with him. It helped me know that he and I will have a special relationship like I have with the other too, even if too many miles separate us to suit my liking. It was a great time and I miss them already!

Brock Happenings...

Baseball season is in full swing, and we are swinging away. We are lucky enough to be on the same team as last year which means playing baseball with our best buddies. This year there are 6 boys from PV on our team. It makes playing so much fun. Plus we are with our favorite coaches who make playing fun. I appreciate their patience with a bunch of 6 year old boys! As to date, Brock, who has been working with Coach Pops on batting has had 3 hits in the last 2 games. Of course he got his first 2 while I was in Florida. He scored his first basket when I wasn't there so the only thing left is that one day when he plays football that he will score his first touchdown when I am not there. But, tonight, he got a great hit, and I got to see it! I love watching him play sports and am looking forward to many more years!

This is year 3 of playing together

We have taken a picture of them from behind each year, this year just has a little twist to it, literally!

All the boys love to wear the catchers gear, and it is just too cute not to photograph!

The cutest fan in the stands!

Soccer is winding down and would have been over if there hadn't been so much blasted rain. Brock moved up a level for Spring and has done pretty well. It has been such a broken up season that it hasn't been as easy to tell how much he is improving as it was in the fall. His footwork does impress me, and he truly does love playing the game. It has been a pretty big time stretch getting between two sports plus Claire's activities, but hey, that's my job!

The Friday before Mothers Day, we had Muffins For Mom at school. It was so precious! They had several songs that the five classes sang together for all the Moms, and then we were escorted back to their classrooms for some special treats. They had done a questions list about their Moms and it turns out that I am 20 years old and I weigh 15 lbs! Seeing as how I started a diet today with the goal of losing 20 lbs that is good news. Soon I should be -5 lbs! I will let you know how that feels!

Claire Bear Happenings...

The other day I was taking supper to my Grandpa. Gran has been in the hospital, and I wanted to make sure that he had some good meals to eat. He is 91, and the back and forth has caused even more wear and tear on his aging body. Anyway, it worked out where Claire was with me when I made the food delivery. She and Grandpa have always had a very special relationship that warms the soul to see them together. That day was no exception. He took her out in the front yard and cut her some of his fresh flowers. Fortunately, God whispered in my ear that I had my camera in the car. I got it out and took some precious shots that I know will be cherished for the rest of her life.

The 2nd grade class performed at the last PTA meeting of the year. It was such a great performance, and she really enjoyed it, at least most of it. The funniest part was that during one song I noticed that she wasn't really singing so I leaned over and mentioned it to her teacher. She said "oh yeah, she hates this song, but she loves the next one." Sure enough the next song she was back to her previous animated self. Too funny that girl! She is supposed to have a gymnastics program tomorrow, but she says that she isn't going to do it. I told her that I had already paid for her to be in it and she said, "Well, you better get your money back!" We will see how tomorrow goes. You never know with Claire Bear, it could go either way. I will keep you updated!

This is when she spotted Pops, Heidi and Dan in the crowd.

So much to blog!

First I have to say it has been awhile, because I am entering the spring phase of craziness! Of course that is always fun because I love the feel of school as things are winding down. There will be so much to cram in the next two months and of course they will fly by. Anyway, here is a wrap of all the fun things we have had going on lately....

PV Father Daughter Banquet...

This is always such a fun time for my family. Claire and Tim have gone every year of her life and my Dad, Sheila and I have missed only one time since they started putting it on. It is such a blessing to have him to ourselves every year, not to mention the fact that he always comes with some bling for each of us. This year he did not let us down and gave us the most amazing tanzanite rings. I have to get mine sized so that I can wear it! For Brock, the evening is a lot of fun because he and my Mom have a date with the other boy cousins. This year they went to Gator Golf and Chuck E Cheese. I think that he got a pretty good evening! Here are a few picture recaps of the evening

Traditional Photo shoot by Mom

Getting to see all our friends and cousins with their dads is fun too!

The boys were waiting on Grant and NeNe to get there to start their evening.

Spring Break

We didn't do too much on Spring Break this year. We are saving up our dimes for our blow out in June to Disney. We had so much fun though just chilling out around the house and taking it easy. Monday and Tuesday, my niece Kayely "kidsat" (Claire's words) while I worked. Brock went to play at the Bowmans and then the Coopers on Monday and had too much fun for words. Pictures of that are available on Cortney's blog. Wednesday we just did nothing but relax and then on Thursday, Heidi came and picked them up and whisked them off to the lake house. All the cousins went and those kids had a blast. My mom let them do 2 Polar Bear Plunges, THEY ACTUALLY GOT IN THE LAKE! They thought that it was great. It makes me wonder if we are raising mentally sound kids, but hey, to each their own. If I can get pictures from my sister I will post them. Friday morning, I picked up Vanesa and we joined in on the fun. When we got there we all went to Fairfield Bay to play golf. Well, some of us drove golf carts and cheered for the others. It was a blast! That pretty much sums up Spring Break, here are the pictures.

The Indian Rock House

My Mom used to come here with her Grandparents. It is really cool!

Soccer AND Baseball

I have become that Mom that I used to talk about. Brock is playing 2 sports at one time. I didn't necessarily intend for them to overlap, but oh well, they do. Anyway, here are a few pics from the game yesterday. I have not taken any at baseball yet, shame on me.