Where to I begin? Tomorrow is a big day around here. Kaylee starts kindergarten! I know that she will do great - she loves to learn new things and make new friends. She loved pre-K last year and has been talking about kindergarten all summer, but I am a basketcase! I have been this whole summer, but it has been worse this past week or so. I have found myself crying when I wake up in the morning thinking about school, dreaming about school, and today getting sad every time I look at Kaylee. I've tried to make myself stop and realize that there is no way I can stop her from growing up, but it still doesn't make it easy. Last week, we went to meet her teacher, and were very pleased. This is the first time I have been on this side of things. In the past, I have been the teacher that was waiting for all of the new students to come in and meet me. It was kind of different. The school is huge, but it does have a "family" feeling. The principal is a Christian, and is not afraid to stand up in front of everyone to say so. It helped me a little with my concern about handing my "baby" over to another person who will have a HUGE impact on her life. I know that she comes home to us every afternoon, but teachers are so influential in kids' lives. I think that this is going to be a good year - I just have to get through tomorrow. :)

Here are a few pictures of Kaylee in her new classroom, and also a few from the last day of preschool just a few months ago.

 Last day of preschool - she grew so much last year, I can only imagine how she will change this year!

Here are a few of her friends that she met last year. The little girl standing beside her will be going to the same school as her this year. She kept telling us that, but we didn't believe it. Sure enough when we showed up for kindergarten round up, the first child we saw was Kaylee's preschool friend. They were both so excited! They ran up to eachother and hugged eachother like they hadn't seen one another in years.

Kaylee's teacher - Ms. Donna - she was so good with Kaylee last year. She really helped Kaylee enjoy going to school.

Kaylee showed us her Pre-K scrapbook. It made us both tear up as we looked through all of the things that she did this past year. It was the coolest surprise we could have asked for.

Ms. Maddie - Kaylee really liked Ms. Maddie and kinda knew how to get sympathy and extra hugs from her on days that she wasn't quite ready for me to drop her off. We were so blessed to have two teachers who were absolutely wonderful for Kaylee.

This is the assistant principal at Kaylee's new school. She was very friendly and made the kids all feel very special.

Standing outside of her new classroom.

Kaylee's kindergarten teacher - Mrs. Earl.

Ready to learn something new!

Her "big kid" desk.

We have done alot of things to get ready for this new school year.  Of course we have tried to work with Kaylee as much as possible on her reading, writing, and numbers.  Luckily, she LOVES to learn new things and has done alot of that on her own.  As we got closer to the end of the summer, we started to get some new clothes for school, and the last stop was a trip to her favorite salon - Sweet and Sassy - for a back to school haircut.  She was so excited and loved every bit of it.  Here are a few pictures of her getting ready for school...

She doesn't like being pampered at all, does she?

Her new "do."  She was so proud of the curls and didn't understand why they were gone the next morning. 

This is what little brothers do while they are waiting on their sisters at Sweet and Sassy...

And this...

And this...

He did make sure to tell her she was "beeeeeeeuuuuuutiful" when she was all finished!

One of many "home improvement" projects

This was a very expensive spring for us. We had our patience tested quite a bit, as several things broke around our house all at once. Luckily, we have been in the habbit of saving some money each paycheck for "emergencies" and were prepared for most of these. We started off with one side of the fence falling down. Of course, we didn't have time to replace it right off, so Matt and Braden created a "brace" to keep it from falling while he was on a trip. It actually helped even though there were some days that I wondered if it wouldn't. The kids and I would actually look out the back door on windy days and think each time a big gust of wind came through the fence would fall. Here are a few pictures of Braden "helping" brace the fence. Later on in May they actually replaced it all, but Matt wouldn't let me take pictures that day. I thought I had an "after" picture, but I cannot find it. You see, another thing that broke this spring was the computer. Unfortunately we had about 1 1/2 years of pictures on it when it crashed. Luckily we were able to get most of them backed up, but I cannot figure out how to get them off of the back up disk. Oh well, maybe I will figure it out someday and come back to post the picture.

Time To Catch Up

Okay, I'm seeing a habbit here... I tend to get so busy and forget to update this blog. Maybe someday I will get it all figured out, but for now I will have to update with lots of pics of the last few months. Here goes...

This spring flew by - I cannot believe that we are already one month into summer! I guess when you just go from one activity to another that is what happens.

I left off with soccer... The last weekend of March, my cousin got married. It was at the Botanical Gardens and was beautiful. Of course, you never know what the weather will be like in March in Texas, and it ended up being quite cold that day. Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

The flowers were beautiful - I could spend days walking through and looking at all of the flowers.

As the cerimony came to a close, the sun came through this path and lit up the stage. It was awesome!

Some of the candy from the "open candy bar"

"Milk shots" to go with the chocolate cake!

My aunt told B he could pick any cookie he wanted (before they even cut the cakes). He decided to get a little icing to go with the cookie!

B and PaPa took a walk and found a cool pirate ship to play on. They were gone for quite a while, but I think they had fun.

B with my Great Aunt.

B wanted to try some of the crawfish, but was afraid to ask. He got over that soon and loved it!

Here the kids were visiting with the bride. We asked them what their favorite parts were and B answered, "The Bride. She was BEEEEAUTIFUL!" K liked the open "candy bar" and the dancing.

Little miss thing! She loves to have her picture taken and we can't get her to stop "posing" for the camera!

More of the flowers. The colors were great!

Here is my Grandma. She doesn't like having her picture taken so I kind of had to sneak one while she was talking with us.

The day after the wedding was my Dad's 61st birthday. We were so glad that we got to spend the day with him. We took him and my mom out to lunch before they had to head back home. Here are a few pictures from that day.

My dad and Braden were shocked at how much food came out!

Skipping into the restaurant for lunch. Braden loves his PaPa!

Braden was actually not feeling real well that weekend. In fact, we had to take him to the doctor on Friday to see what was going on. It turned out to be just asthma aggrivated by allergies or a cold. He gets that way about once a month or so. It has gotten to be a little easier on us because all we have to do is breathing treatments and over the counter allergy or cold medicine for a few days. However, he is quite used to going to the doctor. In fact, he has the doctor's routine down. When we walked into the exam room with the nurse, he looked up at her and said, "I won't be needing any shots today, okay?" I don't think she knew what to say. When the doctor came in, he did his regular exam - checked B's ears and throat, and then listened to his lungs to make sure they were clear. Before the doctor could say anything, B said, "Do you hear Pizza? What about chicken? You don't hear french fries though because I threw them up last night!" Once again, the doctor had to just sit back and laugh.

Pictures from Lindsey

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"Great Job Bubba!"

I want to take a quick break and brag on my little girl for just a moment. Yesterday was just like many other Saturdays around here - BUSY! We got started early with a soccer game for Braden, and then rushed off to a wedding, got home late and followed it with an early morning church service for Easter Sunday. As we sat at the soccer game yesterday, I really hoped that Braden would get his chance to kick the ball more than just a "kick off" from the center field line. (His team is full of 3 year olds and half of them don't want to play. This makes for one opportunity after another for us to get pounded by older kids, and is VERY hard to watch as a protective mama bear). He started off the game very enthusiastic about chasing after the ball. He tried really hard, but the other kids were just bigger and faster. When he finally did get the ball and kicked it once another player ran up behind him and jumped on top of him to tackle him to the ground. (Can you say upset mama bear? My tongue is still a little sore from the holes that I bit through it!) It is so hard to watch your baby get defeated. I want so bad to jump in there and protect him that it hurts at times. It is also hard when both parents are as competitive as Matt and I are. Like I said, Braden tried really hard. He did his best, and he did what we told him to do, but he got frustrated because he kept getting defeated one time after another and another. By the end of the game he was sobbing because he didn't want to go out there and get hurt by those kids again. I really didn't blame him, but encouraged him to finish the game. When the final whistle blew I have to say I was a bit relieved that it was over - for his sake. He was frustrated and done for the day.

Like I said, I wanted to brag on Kaylee though. She sat with either Matt or me on the sidelines and did something that made me so happy for her. No matter what was going on she screamed and cheered for Braden like he was a little hero. She continued to say, "Go Braden!" or "Yea Braden" the entire game. When the game was over I found myself holding back tears because of what she did. The kids lined up on center field, shook hands, and then began to walk off of the field. Before Braden made it to us, Kaylee ran out there to center field, gave Braden the biggest hug and told him, "I'm so proud of you, Bubba - you did GREAT!" She knew that the other team definately "won" (even though they don't "keep score" in this league - the dad next to us sure did). She also knew that he was sad about not getting to score a goal, but she was so proud of him and wanted him to feel good. I had already put my camera away, so I missed the opportunity to get a picture, but I wanted to make sure and remember them walking off of the field - Kaylee with her arm around Braden and his tired little red cheeked face just relieved that it was over.

I know that there will be times that they fight and get frustrated with eachother, but I really want to remember the times that they show love and encouragement towards eachother as well.

More K and B "isms"

I almost always have a story to tell Matt about something that the kids say or do while he is out on a trip. I am so thankful that I get to spend so much time with them and get to hear and see all of the things that they do. (Even on the days that I want to pull my hair out because they have completely worn me out). I know that there will be a day when they don't want to be as open with their thoughts, so I want to soak them all up while I can. Here are a few of the things that they have said to me or in my presence lately...

Braden often goofs off and ends up hurting himself. When he does he runs to me and tells me what happened. Here are a few examples:

"Braden, why are you crying?"
"I was jacking around and I bumped my dome!"
(Translation - I was goofing off and hit my head)

"Braden, what happened?"
"I was jumping on my bed and I hit my chinny chopper."
(His chin).

This morning I made monkey bread for their breakfast. They got to help a little, but mostly just stood at the counter to watch. After eating all of his breakfast he said, "MMMMM, that was mighty good monkey bread I might add."

Kaylee has been learning to read lately. One night I was reading the book The Shack (which is wonderful by the way), and she decided she wanted to have some "adult" conversation. She sat down beside me and said, "So, mom - How's The Shack? Let's talk about it."

Today we were talking about why she doesn't need to be taking nail polish from the top of the refrigerator and taking it to soccer games to paint her friends' nails. A few minutes later I heard her say, "Yeah, I am kinda clumsy at nail painting..."

This evening we were talking about the fact that our pastor is moving and we will be getting a new pastor someday. She responded with, "Oh, I'm sad. I'm sure gonna miss Pastor Bill. What's Kentucky like? Do they talk funny there? I wonder if we'll get a new pastor from China? If we do, I won't be able to understand him? They talk really different there. Well, maybe Mr. Roger can be our pastor." (She took very few breaths between each sentence. She didn't give me a chance to even respond to each question before asking a new one).

Back to the lack of "l's" in our vocabulary. About a month ago we were eating lunch with Matt's mom and brother and sister in law's family. We were in a fairly nice restaurant and really just wanted the kids to behave. They did okay until the bowl of lemons came out. The three girl cousins grabbed some first and left no lemons for Braden. He's not the best at controlling his temper at times and he shouted out, "I reawwy, reawwwy want a wemon." It sounded really funny and we told a few people about him saying that in a quiet restaurant. They thought it was funny and asked him about it. When the ladies that cut his hair asked him if he liked lemons, he responded with, "Yeah, I wike reawwy big, huge wemons!!!" I think Matt wanted to climb under the chair at that point because he knew that did not come out good at all.

Apparently I don't give my kids enough treats when we are out running errands. One day I decided to take Kaylee with me to the school for an hour of tutoring. On our way we had to stop at Wal-mart and mail a package for Matt. I decided that I would let her pick out one pack of candy and a drink to take with her to the school to give her a little extra special attention. She was so excited and went right to the starbursts. On the way to the school she was just beaming with excitement over the silly starbursts. Finally, she said, "Mom, whenever I ask you for candy at the store you just say no! But, not today - today you said YES! Today is THE day! I am so happy!" (If only starbursts would make her happy when she is 16)...

This is the conversation I heard in the back seat the other day...

"Look - it's an airplane. I wonder if Daddy is flying it. He's a pilot you know." (Braden)

"Daddy's not a pilot!" (Kaylee)

"Yes, he is! He flies the Hawker XP" (B)

"Well, yes he does fly the Hawker XP, but he's not a captain. He only has three bars, but when he gets four bars he'll be a captain." (K)

(And you think that they don't pick up on things we talk about from time to time...)

"I need a break"

Well, today was Braden's first soccer game. For the past two and a half years he has sat on the sidelines with me as we watched Kaylee take swimming lessons and take part in dance class. He was so excited that this year he would be able to do his own thing. Even more - he would be playing with his best buddy. As far as he knew it would just be the two of them out there playing by themselves and that was okay with him. Over the past few weeks he has told every one we come into contact with that he is going to play soccer. He got really excited when he got his new soccer shoes and his "knocker things" that I had to remind him are really called "shin guards." He has done a great job at not kicking his soccer ball in the house (because Daddy D says not to play ball inside). His first practice was quite interesting from what I hear. Actually, Matt described it as a "kindergarten fire drill." Since I taught kindergarten for one year, I quickly understood. However, I don't think anything could have totally prepared me for today...

The game was at 1:00. We planned on leaving at 12:00 and being there 45 minutes early, but I wanted him ready early. At 10:30 I put his shirt and shorts on him. Kaylee came in and laughed because "Mom - he's so cute - it looks like he's wearing a dress." (Yes, the smallest jerseys are still huge on the 3 year olds). I tightened his shorts and walked away for a few minutes. When I came back they were on the floor and he was just standing there looking at me saying, "Mommy my shorts fell off." Okay - we already had a wardrobe malfunction at Kaylee's dance recital last year and I was not about to have my little boy on the soccer field run out of his shorts. We still had an extra hour, so we loaded up and went to look for some smaller black shorts. He walked through the store holding onto his shorts because he was afraid he would lose them, and whining the whole time. Finally we found some shorts, and were on our way. I even let him change into them in the Target bathroom so he would not have to hang onto his shorts any longer.

After sitting in traffic forever - apparently everyone around here plays soccer on Saturdays, waiting to find a parking place and a half mile hike to the field we were ready to play. He got out there and did a great job at kicking the ball when he got close to it, not the best at going in the right direction, but we'll work on that. After about 4 minutes of playing he said he was ready for a break. WHAT?!?! You're kidding me, right? He was DONE! We took a quick trip down to the bathrooms and then came back to play again. He said, "Nope - I'm just going to sit over here and eat some cheetos and take 3 breaks!" Finally, after a few begs and pleads from his coach and myself, a phone call to Daddy for some extra encouragement, 3 cheetos, a few threats and a bribe for a sno cone on the way home he decided he would finish the game. Geez, I never knew that you had to be a psychologist to get kids to get out there and play. By the time it was all over I was spent. (And we still had to hike back to the car).

Where was Kaylee during all of this? Well, you see - she decided that she would climb on the kitchen counter this morning and get her finger nail polish from the top of the refrigerator. (The child has NEVER been a climber and she decides that she's going to do this now?) She was sitting off to the side with her friends and being pretty good. However, I noticed that she had a purse full of goodies and thought I should check things out. Yeah, it was too late - she had already painted her nails and a few of her friend's nails as well. Oh, joy. (There's a reason we have not signed her up for soccer. I'm pretty sure that nail polish and a purse are not part of the standard uniform). :)

Well, it's all about the memories and hopefully a few good pictures along the way. Here are a few from today...

This reminds me of a song, "My Buddy, My Buddy..."

Waiting patiently for the okay to kick the ball.

Determined to kick the ball really hard.

After it was all over.

The infamous "phone call to dad"

"Good game Buddy"