Valentines 2013

Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays!  I had lots of fun putting together some goodies for the kids' classes.  Emma took this snack mix to school but didn't have an organized class party.

Her class enjoyed a Valentine exchange and she contributed Bubble Tape that said "I chews you"!

Both kiddos gave a little treat to their teachers.  The tag said "Shooting for Brownie points"!

Owen's class also had a Valentine exchange and he gave these bubble wands that said "You blow me away Valentine!"

Owen had his very first class party :)  

"Most Eligible Bachelor" ;)

His cute class did a short performance to "My God is so Great!"

My funny Valentines :)  We had a "lovely" evening!

We gave the kids the latest version of  "Just Dance" and they have really enjoyed it!

A Beautiful Afternoon

It was a beautiful east Texas afternoon on Thursday (65 degrees).  Owen persuaded me to delay his nap quiet time and stop by our neighborhood playground after MDO.  

I'm still not completely used to living among the pine trees!

Our house is less than a mile from beautiful Lake Livingston.  Close to the water is our neighborhood pool and playground.  Owen loves to throw sticks into the water and sit on the pier and look for fish.

This sweet boy sure loves to run, play and explore outside :)

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always.
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be!"

100 Days Smarter!

Emma and her class celebrated their 100th day of Kindergarten today!  How can that be?!  Time flies when you're having FUN :)

Owen and I were thrilled to spend the whole day with Emma and her class!  Ms Thornton is wonderful!  She organized ten different activities for the students and was kind enough to allow Owen to participate ;)

Ice cream scoops ~ counting by tens!

 100 paint dots (gumballs)

 Stacking 100 red solo cups :)  (Even daddy stopped by for a minute!)

 Special '100' glasses

BFF Alyssa

The whole gang

Each student created a picture of what they might look like at age 100 :)  (The ones E&O made are in the bottom center!)  They also assembled fruit loop necklaces counting by tens, enjoyed 100 piece snacks and so much more!

Treats for everyone (Smarties for the class for being 100 Days "Smarter" and 100 Grand for Ms Thornton because she has certainly made Emma's first 100 days of Kindergarten "GRAND"!!)  We are now on the downhill slide with 78 days left.  

Under the weather

Very early on Superbowl Sunday Emma hovered over my side of the bed and announced that she wasn't feeling well.    I went and laid down with her for awhile and shortly thereafter woke up to discover that she was burning up.  The trusty thermometer proved that she had nearly 104 degree fever.  Bless her little heart.  We skipped church and rested all day long.  Alternating pain meds seemed to help a lot but as soon as they wore off her fever spiked again.  That evening Jarrod and I decided to take her to the doctor on Monday morning.  After waiting for over two hours, Dr Wells determined that she had her first bout of strep throat.  The last few days have been rough for our sweet girl but we are so thankful for good doctors and antibiotics...and our loyal pup!

I know Emma isn't feeling well when......

Her eyes have that certain sad "look"

Upon retrieving her prescription at Target she prefers to go home to rest rather than browse through the toy department

Her cheeks become red and splotchy

She refuses to eat

She naps.  Period.

She slows down long enough to cuddle

She requests medicine..."the orange berry kind"

She doesn't want anything during Sonic happy hour

She requests to be carried and held

She would much rather lounge on the couch than play Barbies

She prefers to ride (and lay down) in the grocery cart

We pray that God heals her body and that she feels better soon!!

Just Pretending

I walked into our bathroom last night to find this!  

He wants to be just like daddy someday :)

Owen is three-and-a-quarter this week.  

I sure wish I could keep him little forever!

Way to go Emma!

After enjoying so much leisure time over the holidays it has been rough for all of us to adjust back to our normal routine of early mornings and busy days.  I'm pretty sure Emma was half asleep every morning as she left the house the entire first week back.  This week she won two awards and I wanted to share :)  On Tuesday she joined the '100s Club', meaning she counted to 100 with no mistakes.  We practiced and perfected during the break and we knew she could do it!!  

She also received an award for perfect attendance this past six weeks.  Unfortunately she had missed receiving the award the first two six weeks by one day each (sick and traveling).  Way to go Emma!!!

All Kindergarten students with perfect attendance:

It's hard to believe that our girl is now officially half way through her Kindergarten year.  It has been a wonderful time of meeting new friends, learning new things and adjusting to the school routine.  It has been incredibly rewarding for her dad and I to watch her bloom into a smart, sweet and determined student.  

Winter Park Tubing

On our final evening in Ruidoso we bundled up and headed to Winter Park for some good COLD fun!  We went tubing down some steep snowy hills!  

Emma and Owen basically had the entire Kids Korral to themselves and enjoyed zipping down the big hill.  

We had a lot of fun flying as a family of four down the hill in this gigantic yellow tube.  We seriously went airborne, or 'magic carpet ride' as they call it.

There is sooo much to do in Ruidoso and we look forward to returning again soon :)