a middle school play

Layla's theater class performed this morning.  

It was a great performance with a wonderful message.

Layla did great playing the sad girl.

Here is Layla bowing at the end with her "parents."

 

 

Layla played the role of a teenage student. ha! In the play, she was in the locker room and one of her best friends took a picture of her in her undies.  The friend then posted it to the Internet.  Tori, Layla's character, was very upset and sad.  Her parents, teachers and principal helped her through this awful time.  Her friend didn't mean harm, but she suffered the consequences of her actions.  

It was a cute production and well acted out by the whole class!  I enjoyed it!

student of the month!

We are so thrilled that this guy is student of the month!

Gary and I tried to sneak into the gym so he wouldn't be suspicious, but he saw us and then I felt like he knew he was chosen. 

It was also pajama day!  He was so comfy!

We are two proud parents!!

This guy turned 44 today!

 

We love you Mister!!!

it's the first day of school here in Texas

we have a new routine for drop off and pick up since I'm working this year.  i'm nervous for their first day and mine.  it is crazy that after 11 years we are in school together.  i think this will be a wonderful year as we all get into our family groove together.  we are all adjusting and adapting and dad isn't left out of this equation as he just started his brand new job in July!  

(sixth grade)

(third grade)

school starts tomorrow!

 

I can't believe summer is already over!

Goodness, time flies when you're having fun.

Tomorrow I will have a 6th grader and a 3rd grader!  I'm so proud of these two!

last day of school

These two munchkins had their last day of school here in Texas!  

Hayden was promoted to 3rd grade and Layla is moving up to 6th grade.  I'm so happy for them and they are thrilled to know they will not be moving again.  They are in their school district they will stay in for the rest of their school days.  YAY!  

Let the summer begin! Whoooop!

she's a new picker

This is exactly what I posted on Instagram today,

"I'm so incredibly proud of this girl and I've never wanted to rush out and buy a classical guitar as much as I do right now.  Wow!  This recital was just perfect and these kiddos are all super talented.  Also, I had that teary eyed proud mom feeling especially when she sang.  I'm such a sap."

The last 6 weeks of 5th grade the intermediate school kids get to take guitar lessons in music class.  Layla has been curious about guitar for years and she has done amazing learning and wants to stick with lessons.

Today us parents were invited to a recital during the school day.  They put on a nice show for us and played and even sang several songs and then ended with the 6th grade orchestra joining for the last few songs.  It was an awesome recital and their music teacher has done some wonderful instruction.  What a talented bunch!  

Layla saw the pictures of herself and said, "Gosh, I'm glad I didn't wear a dress with my legs all sprawled out, but that is how I'm supposed to sit with proper posture."  I'm proud of my guitar playing soon to be 6th grader.

a school cafe lunch date

We got to have lunch with the special guy today.

He asked us to come have lunch with him and told us he eats at 12:20pm.  Well I thought I'd check his teachers website just to be sure, and it said his lunch is at 11:55.  Gary and I met at the school with Bush's chicken at 11:45.  (Hayden said he was feeling like chicken...lol)  

Wellllll.....guess who was correct.  Our neighbor works at the school and she saw us sitting at the parent table.  She mentioned that half way through the year the lunch schedule changes.  hahahaha!!  You know what?  It was ok.  It was so fun to sit in an elementary school cafe and tell stories about school lunches of ours.  We had a nice little break and even saw a few kiddos we know.  It was God's way of telling us to slow down and just enjoy the moment.  Even if it was in a loud cafeteria.

As the clock struck 12;20 guess who giggled and laughed and said, "told you so!"   His little face was so cute as he entered the cafe doors.  He ran-walked up to the parents table and sat right down so happy to have us there.  He scarfed down 2 rolls and several pieces of chicken.  He pointed out his friends and where he usually sits.   He gave us the scoop on how many servings of tater tots you can get away with eating.  

Oh that boy is just such a good little man and so full of sweetness.  He has a friend who gets food sent home from the school with him every weekend.  He was so carefree as he told us the story.  It sorta broke my heart, but Hayden doesn't care and the little boy doesn't care either.  We all need to take some tips from pure hearted kiddos.  God love them all!!

I'm thankful for my soon to be carefree 3rd grade little man!

busted up elbow

This guy gave us a scare this morning when the school nurse called me to report he had fallen on the concrete at recess.  She said he hurt his arm and he was hurting pretty bad.  The only other time Hayden fell at school was in Ohio when he fell off the monkey bars and hit his head on a pole.  He had quite the goose egg, but thankfully his head is hard and he ended up being just fine.  The hard part then was keeping him still so his headache would go away.  

Gosh, since Layla fell back in first grade I try not let myself get to worried as I drove to the school.  She got hurt pretty badly when she collided with another student during P.E.. They bumped heads and she had quite the gash, but thankfully she turned out to be just fine.

Today Hayden is going to lay on the couch and chill the rest of the day.  He fell while running and he's a pretty fast runner y'all.  Some other kid bumped him and knocked him off balance.  He slammed his left elbow into the cement and ripped his jacket sleeve.  When I got to him most of the bleeding had stopped, but he had a super deep gash and he wasn't moving his arm.  That worried the school nurse the most.  Thankfully I think he will be ok and ready to head back to school tomorrow.  What a crazy morning it was, but I'm so happy it didn't turn out worse!

Two Cells!

Layla worked her tail off this morning creating an animal and plant cell.  

As a 5th grade project the kids had to make model cells.  I took her to Hobby Lobby where she went crazy with ideas and picked out fun sparkly things to glue to Styrofoam.  Layla reminded us that this was her project to do and that her teachers wanted her to do most all the work.  I'm totally cool with that.  Projects make me nervous, so Gary is usually the project parent and that is fine by me forever. 

Layla did have to have Gary's help with the hot glue gun.  Regular glue just wasn't sticking, so she told dad where to glue and when.  I think they did a fabulous job and I just love Gary's patience!  He burnt his fingers a time or two, but he had fun!  The messiest part was definately sawing the styropham.  Geeesh...that stuff was everywhere.  Hayden used the spare parts for a cell project of his own.  He created a fun monster of sorts to keep him busy while they worked and worked on Layla's creations.  He doesn't get on Instagram much (Layla insisted he have his own account) but he posted his pictures on his Instagram page.  I had to giggle at that!

The pictures don't do the cell project justice. It so bright and colorful and she made a great key to show and label each individual cell part.  I think she did a great job and she had fun with it.  I hope she gets a great grade!   I'm pretty sure at this point in the school year so far science is Layla's favorite subject!  I always liked science too!

read read and read

Wow.  

The kids are back into the groove of school after this fourth day.  They seem to be adjusting to their new schedules quite well.   

For Hayden second grade is all about reading.  He has to read so much and he's not really a fan of reading.  BUT he's doing it and not complaining too much!  Layla has to read for 20 minutes every day also.  I enjoy a little quiet time after homework and snacks, so the reading in a nice little chill time before the chaos of dinner preparation starts.  

P.S.  Why oh why dont' they like reading?  I'd sit and read all day long if I could. 

first day of school

School days are here!

These two are ready for their first day of 5th grade and 2nd grade!

I can't wait to see their cute faces when they get off the bus this afternoon!

Aloha Party!

Today was Hayden's first grade end of school Aloha party.  The kids played tons of games including pineapple bowling, tube races and bag jump which in my day was the potato sack race.

They ate a fun lunch of pizza and cupcakes in the classroom.  I'm so thankful I was able to be there!  I can't believe they only have two days left.  Ssummer is so close.  Tomorrow Layla has her fourth grade party.  I'm about to have a second grader and a fifth grader!  Oh my!

fourth grade musical treat!

This morning Gary and I went to see Layla's music performance at school.

She made me giggle.  She was all business.  She sang every word and barely cracked a smile.  The group of kiddos were so cute and they put on a great show!

I'm thankful for some of the great kiddos Layla hangs out with!

first grade field day

Hayden's field day was bright and early this morning.  Gary and I went to school to hang out for a bit.

Hayden loved his sno-cone and he loved running and playing even more.  He is so competitive!

My favorite game was this one above....

The kids had to fill a bucket with water with a cup that has holes in the bottom.  It's so funny to watch them giggle and laugh as they try to strategically fill the bucket!  They love getting soaking wet!  

What a fun way to start the week.  

Only 12 more days of school and then summer is here!!  WooHoo!

how does your garden groove?

Three classes from Hayden's school put on a fun production of "How does your garden groove?"  It was so cute to see the kiddos singing and dancing.  

Each student had a part in the production!  Everyone was dressed up as a kind of fruit or veggie.

It was a great treat to watch them all work together and sing their hearts out.  Hayden sang almost every word to every song!!  Gary and I enjoyed the spring time show!

cards and heart stickers and temporary tattoos too

It's that time of year again.  The kids picked out their Valentine cards for their classmates.  

Our living room floor looks like a huge Valentine mess this afternoon!  

homework homework and more homework

this is what most afternoons look like when the kids get home from school

we pop popcorn and eat snacks and DO HOMEWORK

Daisy waits for the popcorn to fall onto the floor

it is homework for me as much as it is for them

i keep my laptop handy so i can google stuff

i really have to google stuff

homework is hard for me and for them

we are into fractions and inertia in fourth grade

we are working on math facts and nouns, verbs and adjectives in first grade

thankfully we have come up with a great routine

we found a way to stay organized and that makes a big difference while settling in to do homework after school

not having a pencil or paper or the weekly classroom newsletter makes for a chaotic homework event

no one has time for cranky unorganized homework time

the kids are already tired after a long day at school so being organized pays off for our family

I am thankful I get to be home with the kids while they do homework

it isn't always fun, but we make the best of it!

learning, adjusting and learning some more!

School here in Georgia is very different than in Ohio.

We are all adjusting to not only an earlier school day, but different curriculum.

Hayden has a lot more homework than he did in Ohio.  He HAS to bring his reading book home every single day, but he forgets.  He has spelling tests and vocabulary tests and didn't bring home his spelling list, so that is fun.  Ugh!  It is all stuff he can totally handle, but it is very different and harder for now.  I think now that he understands what is expected of him he is better, but at first it was a challenge and we were all frustrated.

Layla seems to be adjusting just fine, but math is much more intense here.  She has some catching up to do.  For instance, she hasn't even started learning long division, and here in Georgia they are done with it.  She will be just fine, and we'll catch her up, but it's crazy how different states can be when it comes to learning.  

This picture of her is perfect.  She has a mouth full of chocolate.  In a groggy sleepy morning voice, talking with food in her mouth, she is telling me about how disappointed she is in the Advent calendar this year.  Apparently they didn't mix up the chocolate shapes.  There is basically a boot, a house and one other shape for each day.  Well, now I know.  Next year I will have to step it up and get a better calendar. :-)  

carpool line faces

We have to wake up sooooo early for school in our new town. 

Look at their sleepy faces! 

School starts at 7:30am. 

 In Ohio school started at 9:00.  

I have to get my hiney to bed at night or I can't function.  The kiddos are worn out from adjusting to our new schedule, but I think it is so fun to be done with school before 2:30.  It feels like we have all afternoon to play and do errands and homework.