PSIA Competition 2010

Lucas and Jackson

Competing TCS 1st graders

On March 27, 2010, Jackson participated in the Private School Interscholastic Association competitions of Storytelling and Creative Writing. I was so proud of him. He worked for months to prepare and he did a great job! I got to watch him tell his story and his confidence simply amazed me. He is cool under pressure. Actually, he's just cool...period. :)

Jackson Hole, Wyoming....Spring Break 2010

The kids in front of the Ski School at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Lilly Claire

Savannah Grace...ready to go!

Jackson...the cool dude snowboarder of the family

Savannah Grace skiied without poles

Jody on top of the mountain

Lilly Claire being pulled on a sled at ski daycare

The girls...

Snow Bunny

We ate at Bubba's in Jackson Hole for Bubba's birthday dinner.

Spring Break 2010! Jackson learned to snowboard and Savannah Grace learned to ski! Mommy and Daddy learned we are not as young and fearless as we use to be! We headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for our first ever family ski trip. I picked this ski town, not only because it is Jackson Hole, but because it has one of the top ranked kids ski schools in the country. Jackson's 2 day ski instructor happened to also have been Shaun White's ski coach when he was a little boy. She gave us all kinds of inside details about Shaun. I couldn't believe how brave Jackson and Savannah Grace were. I was so proud. By the end of the second day of ski school, Savannah Grace was doing jumps and totally beating me down the mountain. Jackson could do 360's on his board and actually make it down the mountain on the snowboard. Crazy! Lilly Claire went to ski daycare and had a great time! When Jody and I were younger...aka, no kids....we would ski as fast as we could from the top of the mountain down, over and over. This trip...and 3 kids later...we would leisurely ride the lift to the top and actually discuss over cupcakes whether we were going to ski the mountain or ride the lift back down. Ha! Funny how time changes things. The week was a great one, and the kids are already talking about going skiing again. I love that!

Sacred Piano Recital...February 2010

So far, Jackson and Savannah Grace are sticking with and loving piano. For the sacred recital, Jackson played "Jesus Loves Me" and Savannah Grace played "Oh How I love Jesus."

TCS Valentine's Day Party 2010

Claire...she's as crazy as I am.

Jackson stuffing his pajamas

Colton

The most hilarious party ever!

I had the priviledge of helping plan partie's for Mrs. Langford's 1st grade class and I believe the best party we had was Valentine's Day. We filled the room with small balloons and gave each child a package to unwrap. Inside the package was a one piece pajama outfit. They had to put it on over their clothes and then stuff as many balloons into the outfit as possible. It was seriously the most hilarious thing ever. While the kids had a blast, the adults had even more fun laughing and watching.

Don't Mess With My Tutu

Kylie, Chloe K., Trinity, Savannah Grace, Chloe S.

My Girl

Savannah Grace and Chloe

Kylie and Savannah Grace watching the competition

Savannah Grace (in the black) getting the trophy. She had to say her name and dance studio.

Krisitna's Competition Team

Last weekend was Savannah Grace's first dance comptetiton of the season. This year, she is on a team with 4 other little girls and they are dancing to the song "Don't Mess with my Tutu". I wasn't sure if anything could be cuter than last years competition, but this is really close!

We had to leave the house...with hair done...at 6:00am! Savannah Grace was such a trooper! She loves to dance and so it was really no big deal to get her out of bed and rolling. I really love competition days because it gives Savannah Grace and I a lot of mommy-daughter time while I'm getting her ready.

The competition was in Cedar Hill and it was a successful one! The girls won 1st place in the 5 year old division, and then they won 4th place overall.

Snow Day!

Making Snow Ice Cream

It was really good!

The kids making it snow...inside. Can you see the paper falling? They did this over and over.

Our faceless snowman.

Playing in the snow. Lilly Claire was taking a nap during these pictures.

It snowed about 10 inches last Friday! Jackson and Savannah Grace were out of school and we took full advantage of the fun day. We had snowball fights, we shook tree limbs on eachother, we built a snowman, and then we came inside and made snow icecream. A little later, the kiddos decided that they wanted to make it snow inside, where it was all cozy and warm. They entertained themselves by tearing up styrofoam bowls into tiny pieces and dropping it by the bowl fulls into the living room, over the balcony. It was a great day!

Superbowl Party

Savannah Grace and her "Go Saints" sign.

Coin Toss! Saints vs. Colts

Lilly Claire sporting her Cowboys pajamas.

Yummy Jumbalaya.

Jody and his party plate.

The girls. They got bored with the game and played with the ipod.

Since our beloved Cowboys were not in the Superbowl...again....we decided to root for the Saints. The Saints have never won a Superbowl... and the Cowboys beat them this year. So, it just felt right to be Saints fans for one evening. We cooked Jumbalaya and had lots of snacks. The kiddos made "Go Saints" signs. We yelled, "Who Dat!" By the end of the game, the Saints had beat the Colts! Again, only Saints fans for an evening. Go Cowboys.

Congratulations!

Congratulations on your first win, Coach Rudy! Coach Rudy happens to be an avid reader of my blog. :)

On Saturday, Jackson's Texoma Eagles basketball team had their first win of the season. It was amazing to watch how much these boys have progressed this season. Not one of the boys have played basketball before, but they look so good out there! It was a fun day, and a fun season!

Surprise Face

The Surprise Face
My Happy Girl

Learning to Pout...taking lessons from her sister. :)

Several months ago, before Lilly Claire was talking, she would make a "surprised face." It was so cute and I would ask her to do it all of the time. However, I'm not sure I ever got a picture of it back then. But tonight, she started doing it again. It still makes me laugh. She is so precious to our family.

We've Got a StoryTeller on our hands!

As a first grader, Jackson is eligible to participate in PSIA at school, which is a private school UIL competition. He was eligible for Creative Writing and Storytelling. When these opportunities came up, I thought they were great opportunities to expand his academic mind. He agreed to go, and actually came home after the first practice saying that he enjoyed it. :)

To get him ready for his creative writing class, Jackson and I practiced making up stories. The first time he did this, I said, "Ok, make up a story that includes a dog, a fishing pole, and a boy." Jackson thought for a minute and said, "Once upon a time, there was a boy. He took his dog and fishing pole and went fishing. The end." Oh Lord. And tryouts are in how many weeks? I told him he did a great job making up that story and made a mental note to just let the teacher handle teaching his creative writing skills.

So we moved on to practicing for storytelling. We decided that Daddy would be the judge. So I took Jackson into my bedroom and read him a story. He then had to go out into the living room and tell the story to Dad. I went out first and sat next to Jody and announced Jackson's name. He timidly walked out and stood in front of us. I said, "Ok, let's hear the story." His fingers immediately went to his mouth and he would not say a word. Bless his little heart. I was ready to tell him he didn't have to do storytelling. Just call it quits! If this makes you uncomfortable, you DO NOT have to do this! Come give mommy a hug! But...Jody said, "This is SO good for Jackson. It is out of his comfort zone, and it's a skill he needs to learn." Oh Lord.

So he continued in both creative writing and storytelling.

And...he made the team for both! I seriously could not be more proud of him. Not necessarily for making the team. He made me proud when he continued to go and practice things that were new and difficult. He even saw them as enjoyable.

Jackson, we could not ask for a better son. You have made us proud.

My Baby Doll

Lilly Claire loves baby dolls so much! She pushes them around in strollers or shopping carts. She puts them to bed, sings endlessly to them, and always ensures they have a blanket. I think she is such a little doll!

Homework Honeys

Savannah Grace started Kumon a few weeks ago...a milestone that she has been anxiously awaiting. She loves doing her "homework" every night, just like Jackson. Now, as for Lilly Claire....she likes doing her homework, too. She sits at the bar and does her "homework" while Jackson and Savannah Grace do theirs. :)

Sledding...Texas Style

Last weekend, after it "snowed", we went sledding in Tate and Houston's pasture. It was quite fun...and muddy. I think Jody had the most fun driving the big truck in the mud.

Jackson, Tate, Houston, and Savannah Grace