Dragon Living

Our house backs up to the Carroll Senior High School practice fields. A small greenbelt seperates us. We did not realize how nice it was going to be to take advantage of these areas. A couple of months ago Ray decided to put a gate in our back fence so we could get to the fields from our backyard. We have gone out there as a family to play before, but Ray takes them out often sometimes one-on-one and sometimes all together. A couple of Sundays ago I had lunch in Dallas with some friends for a birthday, and Ray had the kids for the afternoon. Again, I didn't know this had happened until I downloaded the pictures. Also notice the mismatched outfits again. He was proud of his action shots, and the kids really do have such a great time playing back there. My personal favorite is the soccer goals and getting score on Ray repeatedly out there.

A Day Out With Thomas

I think I have mentioned before that Will is obsessed with trains. While the girls were off with Ray this weekend for an Indian Princess camp out, I decided to take Will to the Grapevine Railroad station to ride Thomas the Train. He likes Thomas, although he told me he would rather ride with Percy, but the real draw is the train ride. He asks just about every day if we are going to get to ride a train that day, and he talks incessantly about it before and after a ride. We were on the last ride of the day, and the weather was terribly cold, but after the ride we did get his picture taken in front of the train and he was able to view the mechanical train display that was set up in the nearby tent. Then we had to make a quick stop in the gift shop to purchase a mechanical train. The last thing we did was going into a large tent where they had trains set up everywhere that the kids could play with. We had such a great time, and I loved that we used our one-on-one time to do something that he loved so much.

Jack Turns Two

Saturday while Ray and the girls were camping at Indian Princess, Will and I headed to Frisco to Jack's 2nd Birthday party. Jack loves Elmo, so the party theme was Elmo. All of the children did so great with Elmo, and Will couldn't have been happier. He has always loved characters, and Elmo is one of his favorites. Elmo played lots of games with the kids and even made balloons for them. Will got a balloon sword and was very happy about it. Then the kids all got together to sing Happy Birthday to Jack and then dug into the ice cream and delicious homemade cupcakes. Robin is a very good cook and is especially fond of making and decorating desserts. These cupcakes really did look like they had been professionally done. After cake and ice cream, the presents were opened, and Jack got some really cute things. We were so happy to be able to celebrate with him and cannot believe he is already 2 years old. Happy Birthday, Jack!

School Fun

This week the kids had several fun things at school. Tuesday night was Open House, which always brings in a lot of excitement in our house. The girls could hardly wait to show us their stuff, and it was so fun to see all the things they had made and all their accomplishments this year. Allison had so many things to look at including writings, drawings, math, and their unit on Dr. Seuss. She was most proud of the welcome letter she wrote us in cursive. She loves her class, friends, and especially her teacher Miss Yruegas.

Caroline's work included mostly things from her last unit on dinosaurs. She was very proud of her knowledge of dinosaurs, and enjoyed showing us her artwork, writings, and riddles. She even made a dinosaur fossil. The best part was going through her book of writings from writer's workshop throughout the year. It was amazing to see the progress she has made during the year. She is turning into quite the writer. Caroline also loves school, her friends, and especially her teacher Mrs. Small.

On Thursday, Will and Daddy attended Donuts with Dad at Chapel Hill. They took a book for Daddy to read with Will. Will chose a book about Fire Engines. Will also presented Daddy with some artwork that included his footprints that had been turned into putting greens. Donuts with Dad is a fun tradition at Chapel Hill.

The week ended with Caroline dressing up for school like what she wants to be when she grows up. After some deliberation she chose to be a ballerina. They are doing a unit at school on Community Helpers. Caroline was very excited to leave for school on Friday.

Spring Break 2009 - Broken Bow

For spring break we hadn't planned on going anywhere, but I was a little restless about that, and when a friend mentioned they were going to Broken Bow, OK, I got intrigued. Ray liked the idea of renting a cabin and hanging out for a couple of days, but everything was booked. We left our name on waiting lists, and we got a call back that the two nights we wanted had opened up. We were so excited for the three day getaway. We had a beautiful cabin in the mountains (who knew?) of Oklahoma, and the kids were beyond excited. Ray and I decided we really didn't need to do Disney if they were this excited over two nights in a cabin in Oklahoma. We left Wednesday morning and made it into the area right after lunch. We couldn't check in to our cabin until 4:00, so we went to the visitor area in the Broken Bow State Park and got some information on things to do. We did a hike from there and I scouted out some good picture taking places. After the hike, we headed over to the train area and rode the little train. Riding trains is Will's very favorite thing to do, so this was a big hit.

After that we checked into our cabin, and we had so much fun exploring the place inside and out. We had brought all of our food, and we cooked out hot dogs and steaks and then roasted marshmallows by the fire.

The next day we went on a different hike in the morning and then came back to the cabin for lunch.

We headed out to another hike in the afternoon and to do a small photo shoot. We ran into our friends from home out on the trail, so that was fun.

After hiking we tried to go fishing, but the rain that had been threatening finally happened, and it started raining pretty hard. We settled for a trip into town for ice cream and then went back to the cabin to relax. The weather cleared up and we were able to enjoy a cookout, the fire pit, and the hot tub. Friday we slept in and got in the hot tub one more time before packing up and heading out. We had to check out by noon, but then we headed to the lake for some paddle boating. Allison and I shared a boat, while Ray, Caroline, and Will shared the other. Caroline was not so sure about the whole thing, and I think I got the better end of the deal! It was beautiful on the water, and it was so much fun being out there. I had a great partner helping me pedal.

After that it was time to head back home. We really had a great time together, and it was nice to get away, even if it was only for a short time. I think we all came back a little refreshed and ready to start back to our schedule after spring break.

100th Post

I noticed this will be my 100th post since I started blogging. I have loved being a blogger and find myself thinking of so many things in terms of a blog post! In honor of my 100th post, I will just post this picture of my future American Idol. I had no idea this event occurred until I downloaded the pictures from the camera. I guess this is what happens when you leave Dad in charge of picking out pajamas and entertainment.

Good Friends

Saturday night Ray and I got to go out with my dear friends, Marci and Susan, and their husbands, Ray and Scott. The reason for the celebration was Marci's 40th birthday. We weren't too late considering her birthday was December 23, 2008! Sometimes it is hard to coordinate our schedules, but we finally did it and had a wonderful time. We met for dinner at Cafe Italia in Colleyville, and then we headed over to the Glass Cactus at the Gaylord to listen to the band and do some dancing. Ray and I had not been to the Glass Cactus before, so it was a new experience for us. The band was awesome, and we had fun people watching and doing a little dancing. It is always an amazing time when we are all together. We were missing our 4th link, Becky, but we will all be together soon for a girl's weekend in just a couple of weeks. These girls have been my close friends for so many years, and I will never take their friendship for granted. It's so nice, too, that our husband's have formed a friendship, and we can have these fun evenings out. Happy Birthday, Marci. You were the last one to join the 40 club.

Sport's Day

Will had a blast last week at Sport's Day at Chapel Hill. The students got to come dressed in their favorite sporting attire, and, of course, he picked his new soccer uniform. Unfortunately, it was very cold and rainy, and he was still able to wear the jersey, shin guards, and cleats. His class was given the name Bolt, and each time they left an event, they did a cheer for the Bolts. They did everything from the limbo to hockey to football to golf and even some relay races that involved dressing up for a beach party. I worked the first part in the hockey station, and then I walked around with Will some for the second half. He loved his special day at school and was especially proud of his new red wristband!

John Sammons

Last Friday I had the honor of attending a funeral in Temple, TX, for a very special man - John Sammons. I have known Mr. Sammons for a very long time, and he was such a wonderful person. He would have been important to me just for the fact that he was the father of one of my dearest friends, but there was something about him and Mrs. Sammons that made you feel wonderful every time you were around them. It's funny sometimes how much you can learn about a person by attending their funeral, but there were many things said at this funeral that I already knew. I already knew that he had a wonderful marriage - one that was admired and one that I could only strive to emulate. There was true devotion there, and it was a gift for the entire family and all of their friends. I already knew that he was a terrific father and would do anything for his children. He made it clear that he wanted nothing but their happiness and showed that throughout their lives. I already knew that he was a humble man and made others feel more important than himself. I already knew that he was a man of true faith. His commitment to God was complete and he never wavered in who he was in Christ. It made me really stop and think about how I live my life and the people that I impact on a day to day basis. I hope that I will show some of these qualities and that I will purposefully choose to live a life that puts others above myself. I wish Mr. Sammons were in this picture, but the above shows Mrs. Sammons, my friend Lynn, and my mother at my wedding on June 20, 1998. He will definitely be missed.

Helen Keller for a Day

The 2nd graders at Carroll Elementary dressed up on Monday as a famous American. Allison was Helen Keller. She had to dress up a big cut out doll as her American, do an outline, write or type a two page report, and do a 2 - 5 minute presentation to the class on her American. During the presentation, she was dressed up as Helen Keller, and she had to speak as if she were the character. That was a little difficult given the Helen Keller did not talk in the traditional way, but Allison learned how to sign the name Helen and The End. We were also able to check out a Braille book from the Library that she could share with her class. We were a little stumped on her costume since she doesn't have any clothes that look like they are from that time period, but I was lucky and found an old-fashioned looking dress at a thrift store. We found the hat an antique mall. In the afternoon the 2nd graders hosted the Famous American Museum. They stood as statues in groups and when you pushed the button on their hand (a sticker), they came to life and told you all about themselves. Some of the costumes were so impressive, and all the children did such a good job on their presentations. Between this and the dinosaur project, I'm glad we are finished with these, and we're really looking forward to Spring Break next week.

Dolphin Fun

Saturday was finally the day where Will got to play his first soccer game. He was SO excited and very proud of his uniform. He could hardly wait to get out there and played very well. The gather them all in a huge group at this age and teach them three small drills. Then they go back with their teams and practice the drills with their parents. Will was so funny and really gets many of the concepts of playing, but not all of them. They do a scrimmage after the drills, and Will scored four goals - 2 for his team and 2 for the other team. The ones for the other team were not accidents. He took the ball on breakaways and went down the field to the goal. The other team's goal just happened to be closer on those occasions. I am confident we will work this small issue out over time. He was really just so proud of himself and thrilled with his costume as he called it. I think he has been listening to his sisters dressing up a little too much. We are looking forward to the rest of the season with the Dolphins and many more years of watching his activities.

Marching to a Different Beat

Last Friday was the 3rd Dragon Pride Assembly of the year, and the theme was Marching to a Different Beat, and the children were supposed to dress in the wildest and wackiest clothes. Allison put her outfit together all by herself. This time, in addition to getting recognized for a reading and PE award, she was chosen by her peers as someone who exhibited fairness. Fairness was the word of the six weeks, and we are so proud of Allison for demonstrating this quality. She got to go up on stage and be part of a small play. She had two sets of lines she had to read, and she did a great job. She is definitely comfortable on stage. They also had a part of the program where they were able to free dance, and she also showed she is comfortable dancing for the crowd, too. We hope her fearlessness on stage continues!

Soccersaurus

Meet the newest dinosaur:

Scientific Name: Soccersaurus

Weight: 6 million soccer balls and two soccer goals.

Height: 36 soccer referees

Diet: Grass from soccer fields, orange cones from sidelines, black and white soccer balls, and chocolate covered pretzels for dessert.

Interesting Characteristics: Soccersaurus is a very happy dinosaur. She loves to dance, play soccer, run really fast, and eat Popsicles. She can jump over a house.

Discovering Paleontologist: Caroline Semadeni