Awards Day 2013

Kindergarten has certainly been a year full of firsts for our sweet girl!  On Monday we attended her first end of year awards day.  Each of the Kindergarten teachers carefully selected two deserving recipients out of their class for the citizenship award.  These students stood out for always being helpful and for being a kind friend to everyone.  We are so proud of Emma and her good friend Ashanti :)

Emma was also awarded as the top Kindergarten reader for the school year!  She read and tested on a total of 25 books since mid Spring.  We are thrilled that she has developed such a love for learning and reading!

Proud little brother loves to be in photos :)

The more that you read,

the more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

the more places you'll go!

~Dr. Seuss

Field Day 2013

Last Friday was Emma's first field day.  I have really enjoyed getting to know each of her sweet Kinder classmates this year.  They are very competitive and cooperative.  They are willing to try new activities and always cheer each other on.   Owen jumped right in on the action and thinks he is a big kid, too!!  :)

Our first station was the bouncy ball race.

 Owen was a pro at this one!  This is his concentration face.  The tongue is always out :)

I was so impressed at the limbo skills of some of these kids!  

Jayda, Emma and Ashanti balancing a wooden egg on a spoon :)

Even the athletic director made an appearance!!  It's safe to say that Emma's classmates LOVE him :)

The monster stomp relay definitely required some serious coordination....

What's field day without a fun potato sack race?!?

Kemon, one of our great student athletes, motivating the kids to hop faster toward the finish line :)

Students were divided into pairs and raced with their legs tied together.  

There is no doubt that their favorite station was eating snow cones!!  They did a great job but were exhausted by lunchtime :)  So proud of these kiddos!!

An impromptu adventure

This weekend we took an impromptu overnight adventure to downtown Houston.  We may never live so close again so we decided to take advantage and go explore!!

On Friday night we checked out the Aquarium.  We saw lots of sea creatures including an octopus, huge lobsters and sea anemone.  Owen even spotted Nemo and Dori :)

We also stumbled upon a huge white tiger exhibit.  They are beautiful animals!  

After visiting the sting rays we headed outdoors for live music and more fun!  

All aboard!!  The kids chose the shark train as their big ride!  

Here is the gigantic ferris wheel that we always pass on I45 :)

Right before we left the kids had a caricature done:

He was very talented and thankfully the kids did a super job of sitting still :)

Fun was had by all :)

On Saturday morning we browsed through the galleria.  We shopped 'til we dropped :)

Meet Muffin!

Meet Muffin, our newest furry family member!  Last week one of Jarrod's athletes discovered her near the elementary school.  She was very timid and lethargic.  After a good bath and some rest she became spunky and sweet!

Emma has a purse puppy!

And this must be why there is a basket on Emma's bike ;)

She naps a lot during the day and is crate training pretty well.

She is such a baby and loves to be held.  

 Roxie seems rather indifferent but puts her in her place a lot.

Taking a ride :)

When outside alone she stays close to the house.  Several times we have found her lounging on the kids' bench.  

"Whoever said you can't buy happiness

.....forgot little puppies!!" 

~Gene Hill

THS Athletic Banquet 2013

The annual THS athletic banquet was held last week.  The kids and I were glad to be in attendance this year (we weren't here yet last year and hated to miss).  

Owen and I right before the program began (this is his crazy smile after "helping" us set up for 5+ hours!  Bless his heart!)

Mrs Coach O'Keefe was so sweet to spend her afternoon at the community center with me to help set up 25  long tables with chairs and to decorate.  I couldn't have done it without her and some other fun ladies!

Each sport was represented with some sort of decor.  Here is one of the table centerpieces.

My handsome hubby was emcee for the evening.  Here he is introducing his wonderful football staff.  Some were first year coaches while others have been coaching since before fellow coaches were even born!!  

Here is the 2012 Varsity Tiger football team.  We are so proud of them and anticipate another successf$ul season!  

The Tigers had a great year and excelled to post district play in eight out of their eleven sports for the first time in many years!  

Tiger Heart award winners:

Coaches' Kids 

(we sure are going to miss the O'Keefes next year but we are so excited for their new opportunity!) 

Both of our kids were exhausted during the events but they sure were troopers!  Half way through the evening Owen asked if he could take home balloons. 

We had estimated maybe 200 attendees max but ended up setting up several extra tables and cooking extra fajita meat.  Such a blessing to have so much support :)

GO FIGHT WIN TIGERS!!!

Insect Detectives

Beetles and spiders and rolly pollies, oh my!  

This Spring the kiddos have become quite fascinated in flying, creeping and crawling insects of all kinds!  

I knew it was meant to be when I discovered  butterfly nets, magnifying glasses and bug houses in the dollar aisle at Target!!  :)

We sure hope the weather remains tolerable for awhile longer.  We still have so many bugs to investigate :)