November Little Things

I can't believe we only have a few more weeks left of 2019!  The year has flown by and overall it's been a good year for our family.  I'm looking forward to the holidays and having a couple of weeks off of school to celebrate with family as well as rest and relax.  Here are a couple of little things from November:

Smith Middle School always has a Veteran's Day program to honor the veterans in our community.  The band, choir, and theater arts department all perform for the veterans and the student body. 

This year, Parker played in the band and my dad was one of the Navy veterans who was honored in the program.  My favorite part was when the band played the anthems for each branch of the military while the veterans from that branch stood to be recognized.

Afterward, the veterans were honored with a reception in the cafeteria.  It was so nice and my dad really appreciated everything they did.  I hope we will be able to go again next year.

Mrs. Click had her students disguise a turkey so he wouldn't be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner.  Lily chose to disguise her turkey as a volleyball player.   The kids are always so creative and it's fun to see what fun ideas they come up with every year.  Lily worked very hard on her turkey and I thought it turned out so cute!

Happy 11th Birthday, Eden!

Today Eden turned 11! This is the first time she has been able to celebrate her actual birthday at school since Thanksgiving falls so late this year. We started the morning with presents and donuts on the way to school.

Eden was twins with Mrs. Holland and Mrs. Ledbetter today!

She requested chicken alfredo for dinner rather than going out to eat and then got to celebrate at AWANA tonight too!  We are having a hard time planning her birthday party because all of her friends are going out of town for Thanksgiving.  Hopefully, we will find time in the next few weeks to celebrate our 11 year old!  Happy Birthday, Eden!  We love you so much and hope you felt very special today!

11 Years Old

My beautiful Eden-
     Today you turn 11 years old!  I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday and it's hard to believe that you been blessing our family for 11 years already.  You continue to make my days better with your hugs and words of affirmation.  You have a gift of encouraging others and making them feel loved.  I pray that you will be blessed beyond measure this year! Here are the things I want to remember about you as you begin your 11th year:

-You are growing taller every day! You are still one of the tallest in your class and have the tallest/skinniest legs!  You are wearing size 14/16 clothes and size 8-9 shoes.

-You have always worn yoga pants but decided this year that you wanted to try jeans.  We found some very soft jeans and you've worn them every day since.  It's fun to see you branching out with your clothing choices.

-You are having a great 5th grade year.  I can't believe this is your last year at Gerard.  The past 6 years have gone so fast! You are making great grades this year and love being in Mrs. Holland's class.  You are getting more comfortable participating in class and taking risks that are out of your comfort zone.

-You are still quite a picky eater.  You have your favorites like beans, applesauce, yogurt, chicken nuggets, chicken alfredo, and any kind of cracker/chip, but you still do not like to try new things.  I think you'd eat the same thing every day if I'd let you!  I still have hope that one day you will branch out and try some new things!

-You have really enjoyed playing volleyball this season and are excited about basketball starting soon.

- You have started reading a lot more this year and have chosen some longer chapter books to read.  Mrs. Holland has really been encouraging you to try some new things and I'm so proud of you for challenging yourself with your book choices.

-You are still taking piano lessons but are not enjoying it as much this year.  You have a lot of talent so I hope you will continue lessons for a few more years.  You are excited to start band next year in middle school.

-Your best friends are still Reagan, Laila, and Lacey.  They are such sweet girls and I hope you will stay friends throughout middle/high school.  You are constantly looking for things to buy them or give them... you have the most generous heart.

-You still love to give me hugs and kisses every day before you go to class and every night before bed.  I'm savoring every last one of them because I know they won't last forever.

-You started Math Pentathlon club this year and have done a great job learning the games so far.  I can't wait to go with you to competition next April.

-You love to play outside on your scooter but also love to play inside with your Shopkins and Legos.  You also love to play Roblox on the computer, especially when you can play online with Reagan.

-You still deal with anxiety a lot but it seems to get a little better with each year.  You are sometimes able to get out of your comfort zone but often your anxiety and fear stops you in your tracks.  I hate watching you struggle with the "what-ifs" in life, but I love those moments when you are able to face and overcome your fears.  You are one of the bravest kids I know, Eden, and I'm so proud of you for everything you've accomplished in your 11 years.

I love you so much Eden and am so proud to be your mom!  You love others fiercely and deserve all the best as you begin this new year.  I hope that you will always know how much we love you and what a blessing you are to us!  Your beautiful smile brightens our days and your hugs make even the gloomiest days better.  Thank you for just being you!  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

I love you to the moon and back! Mom

Horseback Riding with Aunt MerMer

Aunt MerMer wanted to give Lily an experience for her birthday gift this year so she decided to take her horseback riding at the Benbrook Stables.  Lily had wanted to ride horses when we were in Colorado this summer but we just couldn't find time so she was thrilled when Meredith told her what they were going to be doing.   I wasn't going to go but it was such a beautiful day that I decided at the last minute to join them!

Lily rode a horse named Turtle.  She was a little nervous at first but quickly became comfortable riding.

Aunt MerMer's horse was named Rebel and mine was Blaze, which is ironic because he was the slowest horse in the group and was at least several paces behind all the other horses the entire trail ride!  There was definitely nothing fast about Blaze!

This was my view the whole ride!

The trail ride lasted an hour and Lily loved every minute of it!

It was such a fun afternoon and an experience that I know Lily will never forget!  Thanks Aunt MerMer for such a memorable birthday outing!

2nd 6 Weeks Awards

The girls had their awards program for the 2nd six weeks today.  They both received awards for Perfect Conduct, Perfect Attendance, and A Honor Roll.  Cory and I are so proud of them for their hard work!

The 5th grade teachers also announced during the awards program that the 5th graders will be going to an overnight camp in April.  This is the first time they've taken this trip and the students are very excited!

Family Pictures 2019

To say I'm pleased with our family pictures this year would be an understatement!  We didn't have pictures taken last year, but the kids have all grown and changed so much this year that I knew we couldn't go another year without having them done.  They turned out great and I can't wait to have some printed for the house.  Thank you Catherine Southwell for capturing our family so well!

7th Grade SMS Football

Parker just finished his first season of football.  He wasn't sure in August if he wanted to play but decided at the last minute that he wanted to give it a try.  He made the A team as a receiver on offense and linebacker on defense.  After several weeks of practicing but not getting any play time in games due to having no prior football experience, Parker became very frustrated so we asked for him to be moved to the B team.  Coach Ellis, his coach, was very encouraging and said that if he moved to the B team, he would get a lot of play time during games.

During his first game on the B team, Parker had two awesome touchdown catches and one catch for the extra point after a touchdown.  He was so excited to finally be playing and getting some experience.  As a result of having such a great game, he was chosen as 7th grade Player of the Week.

 

He got to go to the CHS varsity football team dinner and was recognized for being Player of the Week.

Overall, it was a good experience.  I don't think Parker will play football again next year but he learned a lot of good lessons as a result of being on the team and we are proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying something new.

Happy 9th Birthday, Lily

Last week, my baby turned 9 years old!  I'm not sure how that happened so quickly but Lily is becoming a beautiful young lady!  We started her birthday morning with presents and her choice of breakfast- a puffy pancake.

Parker had a football game that night so we couldn't have an extended family dinner but we did take Lily to dinner at Barreras after the game.

Two weeks ago, Grandma took Lily for an early birthday dinner since she's out of town this week and they surprised her with a huge banana pudding dessert for her birthday!

Lily didn't want a big party this year so last Friday night, we had a cousin sleepover and this weekend we had a sleepover with her two best friends, Ellie and Jery.

A friend from my small group at church made these tents for her own daughter's birthday party last month and agreed to let us borrow them for Lily's sleepover.  They were so cute and the girls LOVED them!

We started the sleepover with a treasure hunt that led them to matching pajamas!

We made personal pizzas for dinner and Shirley Temples to drink.

After dinner, we soaked our feet in a foot bath and pampered our skin with face cream.

Finally, we ended the night with ice cream sundaes.

Lily definitely had a wonderful birthday celebration!  I hope this is a great year for her- I can't wait to watch her do amazing things this year!