Last Day of First Grade!

It's here... SUMMER!

Today is Max's last day of 1st grade.  What a great year he had, too!  As is typical of Max, he was a bit emotional about it being the last day.  We did the usual things... showered, got dressed, took "last day" pics but then also threw in a few other fun things like last minute visiting with Grandma and Grandpa who were visiting from Texas and an early morning breakfast run to The Donut Haus.

Max has grown in so many ways this year.   He has made many new friends.  He learned all about what being at school for a full day includes.  He mastered the "shaky monkey bars", as he calls them.  He got his tonsils out!  (remember???)  He advanced in reading and math and thoroughly enjoyed school.  (thank you, Mrs. Clark!)  He is just a really well-rounded, smart, fun, kind boy... if I do say so myself.

And while it has been a wonderful year in 1st grade we are looking forward to summer... days filled with swimming and tennis and camp and baseball and friends.  Cheers to a great school year and a fun kick off to the summer season!  Here's hoping it doesn't blow by too quickly...

Enjoy the photos of Max on the first day of 1st grade and again on the last...  He grew 2.5" since August! Wowsa!

(choosing his breakfast at The Donut Haus)

Career Day at Dennis!

Last week was Career Week at Max's school.  On Friday the kids were encouraged to dress in something to show what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Two years running now Max has wanted to be a tennis player.  (fine by me... so easy!)

Here are a few pics I snapped out back before heading off to school...

Other choices he considered were a baseball player and a swimmer.  It was a hot day though so tennis beat out baseball due to the "uniform" and as for swimming well, wearing his Speedo just didn't seem like a viable option for school so...

Cub Scouts Cross Over Ceremony | May 12, 2012

This weekend Max got to participate in his Cub Scout Pack's crossing over ceremony.  The 5 boys in his den had accomplished their requirements and were crossing over from Tiger status to Wolf.

The weekend kicked off with lots of games and fun and ended with a  camp out at Warren County (i.e. Armco) Park.  From 9am on Saturday through 9am Sunday Max and Chris were knee deep (literally) in creek water, relay races, regatta racing, campfires and crazy boys.  Although they did take a 90 minute break in the afternoon so Max could play in his baseball game.

At 7pm on Saturday the Pack held the ceremony for the boys to "cross over" to another group.  And cross over they did.  A bridge was constructed by the older kids, with parental help, and as part of the ceremony the boys went over it one by one.  Max's neckerchief went from orange to yellow and he was very proud.

This was his first real camping experience and he absolutely loved it.  If you ask him his favorite part was the creek.  (we really need to clear our back yard of all the crappy weeds because we have a creek he could play in daily!)  I received many text and video updates throughout the weekend showing me all the fun he was having.  Pretty sure naps are in order today though... for both Max and Chris!

Here are a few pics I got when I went for the ceremony.  Not great but pics nonetheless...

First Grade Spring Music Program

Last week we got to watch Max perform with some of the other first grade classes in a musical program at the school.  Remember the ones in preschool?  Specifically then one where he decided he was too embarrassed to sing so he marched off to one side of the stage and kicked the drum?  Well luckily he has matured since then and this time he was thrilled to be on stage.  

The class had been practicing their songs (and dances!) for months.  It was fun to see it come together.  I giggled the entire time and I'm not sure why.  Sure it was silly and a bit cheesy but I think I thought it was so funny just because Max was loving every minute.  He nailed those dance moves, too!  Of course.  ;)  What a fun night.  

Teacher Appreciation Week is going on at school right now and as one of the room moms I collected hand-written notes from the kids in class and stuffed them into a pretty keepsake box for Mrs. Clark.  Max's letter is below.  Completely written by him and heart-felt.  I had to ask if Mrs. Clark was a bit down on herself or something because he was sincere in adding that she is "young" and "pretty" (preety) in his note.  He really loves her and she has made it such a great year for him.  Hoping to have the same kind of experience for Max next year in second grade.

Summer starts for us in 11 short days.  Am I ready???

It's Baseball Season!

With boring ol' t-ball behind us Max's first season of Coach Pitch Baseball has begun.  Thank God!  Admit it, t-ball is SO slow...  

This year he is on the Cubs (yay, no white uniforms like last year!) and is loving it!  The games are so fun to watch too because the kids are actually starting to "get it".  The details:  Each inning they play a new position in attempt to get the other team out in three outs.  If they don't get three outs the inning ends when the hitting team scores 5 runs.  Each batter gets 6 pitches then a tee is brought out for ONE swing.  You miss, you're out.  Typically most kids can hit the pitch and the games move along just fine, although we have yet to get in the scheduled 6 innings in 90 minutes.  More like 4 innings get played.  

Max is having a great time and loves to hit!  The habit we need to get him to break is to watch the ball and the goings-on whenever he hits.  He watches everything and sort of trots to the base.  RUN, MAX!!!!  (that's what I am often heard screaming)  ;)  It's funny to watch him come into home plate as well because if there is a play he stops and lets the catcher try to catch the ball and tag him.  I told him last time that it's a race (he's competitive so this should help) and his goal is to beat anyone and everyone, including the ball, to the bag.  Do not stop and look.  Do not let them catch it.  Plow them over if need be.  We'll see how far he takes that advice.  He's not as aggressive as I am.  Thankfully.

We are looking forward to a fun season ahead... and he'll be busy with other sports too!  Swimming for CFY (long course) starts this week.  Dunsinane swim team starts May 29, 5 days a week plus two meets a week.  Tennis starts in June and it's three days a week.  Plus baseball... and don't forget summer camp!  

It all can't come soon enough for Max.  His favorite time of year... and mine!

A Little Bit of This and a LOT of That.

It's been so long since I posted I almost feel too overwhelmed to begin... I guess we'll practically skip right over March and just pick up in April?

I had spring mini-sessions at the end of March (many of you received an Easter card from us with some of those images) for 6 clients. For boys I set up an "Opening Day Baseball" themed scene (finally, something cute to get excited about for boys!) and when my work day was over I snapped a few of Max. He's such a good sport. Cute, right?

Spring came way early for us this year... an entire month! In March we had warm temps. That made for some fun outdoors with Max. He has been practicing his swing in both golf and baseball and is loving both sports. His first baseball game is this Thursday. Coach Pitch. FINALLY. We'll see if it makes the game more exciting. Tee ball is awful!

To end spring break we got to celebrate Easter weekend. On Saturday we invited our friends to go with us to a new egg hunt (as Max was quick to point out, "it's not really a hunt because they aren't hidden") in Lebanon. The fun part was a helicopter flew over and dumped tons of eggs onto the field. The kids thought that was extremely cool. I was a little worried about who was steering the thing when the pilot seemed to be using both hands to dump the eggs but whatever.

After the egg "hunt" we came home to color eggs. Max left a plate out for the Easter Bunny, since we didn't have carrots to leave him, and then we were off to church. The next morning Max found his basket of goodies by the door, just where the Easter Bunny left it.

On Easter afternoon we had the whole family over for our third annual Easter celebration. The weather was great, we ate lots of yummy food, and the kids got to hunt (yes, some were hidden!) for eggs filled with candy and money (score!).

We have also been doing several home improvement projects this spring... I guess we are at the three year itch (is that such a thing?) where I want to actually decorate. Our office will get the biggest makeover but it's not complete so that will have to wait for another blog post. Thanks to Pinterest I get all kinds of great ideas for our home! Starting with our covered patio... I have wanted outdoor drapes since we built this house but they are so expensive! Well wouldn't you know painter's tarps from Home Depot do the trick? They were the perfect length! We spray painted some pipes, hung them and used clips to hang our new outdoor "drapes". So perfect!!!!

Before... (well actually one drape on the far right is hung)

....and after

I also finally got around to filling the frames for one of many photo walls I want to create! Here is the before and after... we actually painted the kitchen for the third time as well. Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. A beautiful, light gray that I want to use all over the house but Chris won't let me. You can see a bit of it in the after pic below by the door vs. the greeny-gray we had in the before photo.

Happy Spring, all! :)

New Orleans Rock n Roll, March 4, 2012

Things that happened in NOLA: (once we finally made it after a 9 hour drive from Houston that should have been 5)

1) a man selling me compression socks for the race told me "you're tall so I'd go with this size". I'm tall? Who knew!?

2) a 5 year old (or so) kid kicked a beach ball smack into Carrie's face (ON PURPOSE!) while we were heading to the shuttles after the race. When I asked "where's your mommy?" he yelled "I'll hurt you!" Uh...

3) somehow we were VIP and gained access to a rooftop cafe at our hotel 24/7 where we enjoyed free cappuccinos, water, Pepsi, snacks, sandwiches, and much more. We thought we were very cool.

4) I learned that penny slots let you play your $20 much longer than 25¢ slots do... but you still lose (unless you're Amanda)

5) Bourbon Street is absolutely the most disgusting place on the face of this earth. I mean it's horrific. You can smell it three blocks away; it's all vomit and urine. I experienced it Friday night and don't care if I ever set foot there again! *

6) *disclaimer from above... I will set foot on Bourbon St for the Red Fish Grille and Pat O'Brien's though. Both worth braving the nastiness.

7) I was waiting for guns to be drawn at 5 am as we were hailing a cab at our hotel. Big fight between the Hyatt worker trying to get us a cab and the taxi driver who wanted to take us to the airport. For real. I was so scared. The taxi business is no joke.

8) The people in NOLA are so friendly! Even though it's such a gross town they are still so nice. Go figure. ;)

9) I ran my first (but not my last!) half marathon in 1:41 and was so emotional about it. There were so many people holding up signs throughout the 13.1 miles. One was a 6 year ovarian cancer survivor who was genuinely thanking everyone for running for her. (The Rock n Roll Series is sponsored by the American Cancer Society) Another read "you're running for my son". Every time I saw a sign like that I got choked up and had to calm myself so I could breathe and keep up my pace! Don't get me wrong, there were funny signs too... "Go Complete Stranger" or "Worst Parade Ever". It was an awesome race! I'm so proud of the four of us (Carrie, Amanda, Jennifer and me) for doing it, and thankful to Chris for being our cheerleader and holding all our crap!

10) and finally... I had a great birthday celebration with Chris after the race... sight seeing tours, beignets, shopping, roulette playing, and food, food, food. What a way to ring in a new year! Amazing!

Carrie and Me on Decatur St by the Mississippi on Saturday

Pre-race.... 6:30 am, 3/4/2012

Tour of the French Quarter, so fascinating!

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

Sharing a yummy beignet at Cafe Du Monde

Inside the cathedral