How Do You Cook A Turkey?

and other Thanksgiving thoughts....

In Kindergarten tradition at CES, here is Caroline's unedited version of the answer to that question. I do need to qualify that at least half of this information is not true, and please no snickering from anyone about Caroline's mom cooking the turkey.

My grandma and grandpa come. We um, we sometimes go out to eat. We go to Babe's. We have turkey, and we have meat, and we have fruits and vegetables. We have pancakes for dessert. My mom cooks the turkey. She puts it in the oven for 10 or 20, then she takes it out, and she puts it on the table, and then we eat it. We sit around a round table with my Gram, my mom, my dad, my Grandpa, Allison, and my brother, Will. We have Thanksgiving because of the Pilgrims.

A Thanksgiving Feast

Before I completely move onto Christmas activities, I have to finish posting on our Thanksgiving festivities. The Kindergarten at CES hosts an annual feast. They dress up like Pilgrims and Indians, do a small singing program, and then eat a feast at a set table in their classroom. The program was so great, and the kids looked adorable. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Grandparent's Day

Last week Carroll Elementary hosted their annual Grandparents/Special People Day. Caroline and Allison were lucky to have one set of grandparents there. This year Gram and Grandpa got to visit two classrooms and attend two lunches. Caroline's class did a small program for the guests, and both girls got to show off their classrooms and some of their work. The centerpieces for the tables in the cafeteria were the turkeys that had been made by the kindergartners, so we got to eat with Caroline in front of her turkey. We are so appreciative that Gram and Grandpa took a big part of their day to come and spend with their granddaughters.

Three Reasons

Here are three reasons I am very thankful today.

Sweet Caroline

Well, now I am really behind on posts, but I can't forget to blog about the special day that my sweet Caroline turned 6. The day before her daddy and I took cupcakes up to school to celebrate in her classroom. She loved all the attention and has made a name for herself by eating her dessert and anyone else who didn't finish during birthday celebrations. Her teacher, Mrs. Small says she is a girl after her own heart. Caroline requested pink cupcakes for the girls and green cupcakes for the boys, so that is what we did. I really love to watch Caroline in her classroom. She is having such a great experience this first year of school.

The next day was her real birthday, November 15th. I made her favorite blueberry muffins for breakfast, and then we hurried and got ready for the big Hanna Montana Dance Party. We had her party at A Dance Force Dance Studio in Southlake, and Hanna Montana was the theme. There was an instructor there that taught them a jazz dance, and then we went into the party room for cake and ice cream and opened presents. Including Caroline, there was 15 girls at her party, and I think they all had a lot of fun. She has already made some great friends from school this year. All the little girls in her class were able to come.

After the party, Caroline played with some of her new toys, and then we all went to dinner with Gram and Grandpa at Babe's. This is a family favorite, and she got the Babe's birthday song sung to her and got to wear the famous Chicken Hat. After dinner we came back to our house and opened presents from the family. The highlight was the new American Girl Doll, Samantha, from Gram.

Here are my top 10 favorite things about Caroline:

1) The way she twirls her hair when she is tired

2) How much she loves her little animals and dolls

3) How well she plays with her brother and sister

4) The way she makes friends with everyone she meets

5) The way she likes to snuggle

6) Watching her dance

7) The sound of her voice on the telephone

8) Her love of Sweet and Sassy

9) The pictures of hearts and rainbows that she draws

10) And last but not least her beautiful smile!

Happy 6th Birthday Sweet Caroline!

Reporter For A Day

Today was the first Dragon Pride Assembly of the year at Carroll Elementary. The theme for this Dragon Pride Assembly was Dragon’s In The Future, and the students were encouraged to dress up like what they want to be when they grow up. There were astronauts, football players, doctors, reporters, cowboys, and many others. Dragon Pride is an exciting program that helps students strive to “be the best that they can be!” Each six weeks, the kids in 1st - 4th grade have the opportunity to complete two projects on their checklist. These completed projects are recognized at the Dragon Pride Assembly held at the end of each six weeks. This six weeks Allison read for over 600 minutes for her Dragon Pride Reader and completed a series of riddles for the Dragon Pride Math Project. Allison decided that she wanted to be a reporter when she grows up, so she wore a camera around her neck and took her notepad and pencil with her. The word GOALS was written in big letters on the stage, and the kids did a chant with hand motions for

Go for Greatness

Outstanding

Attitude

Learning to be excellent

Succeed in all you do!

We are proud of Allison's accomplishments this six weeks!

Veteran's Day Assembly

The girl's elementary school, Carroll, held a Veteran's Day Assembly last week. They normally hold this indoors, but this time it was outside by the flagpole. Here is the entry I wrote for the Southlake ENewsletter. It was a special day, and I had fun taking pictures to capture the event.

CES Hosts Veteran’s Day Assembly

Carroll Elementary School held a program in honor of Veteran’s Day. This year the event was held outside around the flagpole, and the children were all encouraged to wear red, white, and blue. The agenda consisted of honoring the attending Veterans, playing Taps, and singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” The kids enjoyed the patriotic morning while learning about the meaning and history behind Veteran’s Day.

Beach Club

Allison has had the wonderful opportunity to attend Beach Club at her school for the last six weeks. Beach Club is a Bible Study that is held on campus after hours and is sponsored by a local church. It is for 2nd - 4th Grade. They meet as a group in the beginning, and then they break up into their different grades. Each week consists of singing, praying, reciting memory verses, games, and a lesson. Allison received a medal today because she memorized all of the verses. Each week they received Beach Bucks for doing things like saying their memory verses, wearing their t-shirt, and bringing their Bibles. They could use Beach Bucks to purchase prizes, and if you know Allison well, you know that she thrives on treasure chests. It's all about the little things! The big event was last week when I picked her up early to do the Diabetes walk, she told me that she volunteered and got picked to do the opening prayer in front of the whole group. She was so excited, and when I asked her what she said, she said she didn't remember, but it was really good! I love her confidence, but I cannot say she got that from me. It must be from the other parent!

Another Turkey

Caroline got an assignment at school last week to make a turkey out of household items. She and Daddy were very creative and enjoyed their project together. I was personally glad when it they got it out of the house in one piece. There is always a risk with it sitting here that something mysteries will happen to it. I think it turned out very cute. They will be used as table displays for Special People day next week.

More Diabetes Support

Yesterday Allison and I participated in the 2nd annual Diabetes Walk at Rockenbaugh Elementary School in Southlake. Their school has two 4th graders with Diabetes, and they host the walk to honor these two boys and all the members of the CISD community with Diabetes. All of the proceeds go to the American Diabetes Association. When we arrived, we were so honored and excited to see about 15 teachers from Carroll Elementary there, including Allison's teacher, Miss Yruegas and the principal, Stacy Wagnon. Allison was beyond excited, and she had no trouble walking the 3 miles this time. There were some pictures snapped of her after she finished by a photographer, so if I ever get a copy of these, I will add it to the post. I'm sorry I didn't have my camera there. It was a fun afternoon, and we are always so grateful to the people that come out and support Allison and all people with Type 1 Diabetes in hopes of finding a cure.

A Turkey

Halloween is over, and we have immediately moved onto Thanksgiving. Will was given the assignment in preschool to cut out a turkey from a tracing and decorate it however he wished. We were both excited about the project, but I didn't have any idea how into it he would get. We had to pull out every single box in our "craft" closet and look through everything for potential material. Even with all we had, we had to make a quick trip to Hobby Lobby to buy some feathers. He worked so hard on this turkey and insisted that it have a crepe paper body, yarn for hair, foam stickers for teeth, and beads for toenails. He was so proud of his masterpiece, and we had a good time making it together. I'm just glad it made it up to school today all in one piece. Now it will go up on the bulletin board for everyone to enjoy!

Halloween 2008

The kids had a great time this Halloween. Allison was Mitchie from Camp Rock, Caroline was a cheerleader, and Will was Darth Vader. There was not much correlation between the three costumes, but they were all happy with their picks. Ray took the kids around in our neighborhood for awhile, and then we headed over to our old neighborhood to continue the tradition of being with our old neighbors and friends on Halloween. I wish I had some pictures from later in the evening, but I did get some cute ones in the beginning. The kids came back with lots of candy, and we had a lot left over from what we bought, so we are going to get all of that out of the house this week. At Carroll Elementary they are having a Halloween candy drive this week only, and all the candy they receive will go to Grace Outreach. That's a win/win as far as I am concerned. Between Halloween and dropping the candy off I will have managed to sneak in a few mini snicker bars. They are my favorite!

Book Parade

The girl's elementary school, Carroll Elementary, has a wonderful tradition of having a Book Parade the week of Halloween each October. This year it fell on Halloween day. Each class in every grade selects a book. The kids dress up like characters in the book and carry a banner that represents the book that they chose. The school parades in a circle around the park next to the school, and the drum line from Carroll High School plays and marches during the parade. The atmosphere is extremely festive, and all the kids have a blast. There are so many spectators and parents there that you have to arrive fairly early to get a parking space anywhere near the school. I love the fact that the kids get to be a part of school traditions. Allison's class chose the book Captain Abdul's Pirate School. They dressed up like Pirates, and they all wore matching red and white polka dot bandanas. Caroline's class represented the book Pumpkin Soup. The characters were either a cat, a duck, or a squirrel. Caroline chose to be a squirrel, and she is carrying a bowl of pompkin soup. Check out their fun costumes. It was a fun (and hot) afternoon, and we will look forward to Book Parade 2009.