Eden's Birthday Celebration

We never got to celebrate Eden's birthday with her friends because they were all out of town for Thanksgiving, so we waited and celebrated today.  Eden just wanted her three closest friends to come over and spend the morning with her.  We decided to decorate Christmas cookies and then go to Buffalo Nickels and play arcade games.  

The girls and I made the sugar cookies yesterday and had everything ready to go when the girls arrived.

Laila and Lacey said they had never decorated cookies before, but they did a great job!

They were all so creative!

I can't believe she's 11 years old!

Eden added to her Shopkins collection!

After lunch, we headed to Buffalo Nickels.  The cousins met us there to play some games.

Parker and Ryan were both BIG winners and each earned 1000 tickets in one of their games.

It was a great day celebrating Eden! She had so much fun with her friends and cousins and I'm glad we were finally able to find time to throw her a party!

Christmas Parties and Pictures with Santa

Today was our last day of school for this semester and we are officially on Christmas vacation for two weeks!  The girls had their Christmas parties at school this morning.  Both parties were simple but fun!

 

 After school, we drove up to Sundance Square in Fort Worth for our annual picture with Santa.

We always have to get a picture in front of the huge tree in Sundance Square too!

There was a fun art exhibit set up in the square.  The kids all loved making impressions of their bodies.  It was a fun day and a great start to our vacation!

3rd Grade Field Trip to the Dallas World Aquarium

Today I got to go with Lily on her field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium.  We both were excited about seeing the sloth.  They are such fascinating creatures.  I could have probably watched it all day.

 

There were a lot of schools there today so it was very crowded but Lily had fun with Ellie and Jery (and Drew- Jery's little sister).

The shark tunnel is always a favorite with the kids.

Lily thought she wanted a picture in the tunnel until they got a little too close!

I always love having one on one time with the kids so I was thankful I was able to take off and spend the day with Lily.  We had a lot of fun and got to see some interesting animals while hanging out with Lily's best friends.

The day wore Lily out and it didn't take her long to fall asleep on the way home!

Eden's 5th Grade Christmas Dance

Tonight Eden had her first school dance.  She was excited and nervous all at the same time! I finally convinced her to buy a dress for the dance and she asked to straighten her hair.  She looked absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

I had planned on staying at the dance for a little while with her but when we got there she saw Mrs. Holland, hopped out of the car and said "See you later mom!"  I was so proud of her for facing her fears and being brave enough to go to the dance alone.

 She met her best friend Reagan at the dance. They both looked stunning!

Overall, she had a great time!  The 5th grade teachers did a great job of making the dance special for Eden and her classmates.  I can't believe these kids will be in middle school next year!

7th Grade SMS Basketball

We are right in the middle of basketball season and I'm loving watching my #14 play every Thursday night.  Basketball tryouts were the week after football ended and Parker couldn't wait to get started.  He worked hard and made the A team and then the next week found out he was chosen as one of the 5 starters for the team.  He loves playing so much and doesn't even mind getting up for the 6:30am practices every morning.

Parker's rebounding skills are improving with every game.

I can't wait to watch Parker and his teammates grow and improve as the season continues.  They have their first tournament coming up this weekend and I have a feeling they will be one of the top teams.

Winter Band Concert

Parker had his winter band concert tonight.  They played all of the Christmas songs they have been working on and they sounded amazing! My favorite was "Sleigh Ride".  They also played an interactive song where the audience got to choose which section they would play next.

Parker is taking a second band class as one of his electives this year and they have started a jazz band.  This jazz band also played several songs at the concert tonight and Parker had a solo in "Feliz Navidad".  I was so nervous when he started playing but he did great! I was proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and playing a solo in front of so many people.

 

Texas Aggie Basketball

A few months ago, I found out that the Aggies were playing their rivals, the Longhorns, at the new Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.  I've always wanted to take Parker to an Aggie basketball game so we got tickets and told him he could bring a friend.  Today, we went to the game and had a great time!  The Aggies didn't win but it was fun watching them play.  Parker and his friend, Kayden, had fun and we were glad Granstan came along too!

Our seats were right on the center court line on the second level.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!