Fly Away Little Butterfly!

Today was Lyndsey's pre-school graduation.  Will somebody please push the pause button?  Now!!!!  I love this precious little 5 year old.  She is so FULL of life and love and energy!

Lyndsey and her classmates presented an awesome musical for the parents.  She sang her little heart out!

Then, Mrs. Alice called each child one-by-one to congratulate them!  (Lyndsey's foot came out of her sandal as she gracefully (not!) jumped off the back of the risers instead of stepping down the risers.  She is a bit stessed in this picture because she can't get her foot back in!)

Next, her teachers Miss Kim and Miss Milla presented her with her diploma.

I Did It!!!!!!

I love that smile!  Seeing that smiles makes me forget all the wild, chaotic days with this little angel that make me want to scream and pull my hair out!

The most amazing Pre-K 4 teachers, Miss Milla and Miss Kim!!!

Just one more thing in May...

Because we do not have enough going on in the month of May and the kids just love doing one more school project...Yes, that was sarcasm you were reading between the lines!

Tyler had a project due in Bible class.  It was suppose to be a timeline of Tyler's Christian walk and milestones in his faith...if he had read the directions correctly!  Good thing he had an understanding teacher or he would have gotten a big fat "F" for not following directions.  Next time, I will read over the assignment also for safety!

Lauren had to make a volcano for the LAST WEEK of SCHOOL!  Seriously, I really wanted to throw in the towel at this point.  I am waving the white flag of surrender!  Let's just say that if Dad had not have been home to help, this project would not have happened.  Not that it is a difficult project, it is just one more thing on a long list for the month of May!

Lyndsey wanted to plant a strawberry plant this year.  This was the easiest of tasks for the end of school.  But it was not until the middle of May that she got to pick her first strawberries.  The birds kept beating us to the bounty!  Then, a wise 2nd grade teacher, Ms Ford, told us to drape a net over the plant.  Oh!!!! Why had I not thought of that...probably because my head is overloaded at the moment!!!

Yes, she ate her sweet, home-grown strawberries immediately!

In all the hustle and bustle, this little baby is growing up to FAST!  She is taking "how to be a star where-ever you are" lessons from her sisters!

Play a song for me...

 Today was the girls piano recital.  They have both taken from Mrs. Gloria Bryant for years, and they are both progressing at a reasonable pace for as many other activities as they participate in!

Corynne received an award for 5 years in the National Guild.  She was surprised!  I don't think any of us had kept count!

Lauren received an award for competing in the National Guild for her 3rd year, and she received an award for receiving "0-0" at AMTA this year.  She was very proud of herself!

Moving Up

Today I got the privilege of attending Tyler's "Moving Up" ceremony.  I can not believe that I am the mother of a high school child now.  I always dreamed of being a mommy, but my dreams never took me to this stage of life!!!  In my dreams, they remained sweet, obedient, little kids and they run, play and take naps!!  WOW!  That is the stuff that DREAMS are made of!  

Tyler has grown up so much this year.  Of course, height wise he surpassed me a few years ago.  I think he has officially passed JM, but JM is not admitting that yet!  He has done a lot of maturing this year through lessons learned the hard way.  It is not fun watching those "bad consequences" happen to your child, but you hope and pray they learn the lesson well the first time.  Some issues have dragged us through the wringer multiply times, and we are hoping that high school will bring a new sense of ownership to his actions.  I am very proud of the man he is becoming!

This is his group of friends.  They have had a lot of good times together in junior high.  The next 4 years should be fun with this group of diverse personalities!

Congratulations, Tyler!

Cinco de Mayo

 Just taking an ordinary taco night dinner to another level!  Oh, LaLa!!!  I love a reason to decorate and party!  The girls enjoyed Dad's special drinks again tonight!

 Colleen...she is my sweet princess!

Lauren's Luau

 What started as a few friends over to play, turned into Lauren's 9th birthday Luau!  I guess I just love a good themed party!  Lauren greeted each of her guests and handed them leis.

 Dad even got in the spirit with his "worst shirt ever" as labeled by his children!

 We had hot dogs, hawian punch, shirley temples, and an assortment of festive snacks!

 We played all kinds of tropical games and races...

 Of course, there was plenty of pool time and drink time!

 Limbo...

 HaPpY BiRtHdAy to LaUrEn! HaPpY BiRtHdAy to YOU!!!!!!!!

April Happenings

I have been wondering where the month of April went so I decided to go thru a few pictures to see where we've been and what we've been doing!!

April 13

The 8th grade class had a Scavenger Hunt at school today!  Mrs. Prittle does this every year with the 8th graders to make reading Treasure Island fun!  I helped out with snacks and stood watch/monitor at one end of campus during the hunt.  The kids had a great time running around campus and into classrooms to gather special items from over 40 different places.  To know where to go, the teams first had to decode riddles!

April 14-15

We went down to Panama City Beach for a little fun in the sun this weekend.  Well, actually, the older girls had a dance competition on the beach so it was a good excuse for a little sand and sun!

It was 2 long days in the hot sun!  The little girls were so good and enjoyed playing!  It was a great concept (competition on the beach) because instead of sitting in a stuffy auditorium for endless hours waiting, we played on the beach and in the pool.  The girls and their groups did an awesome job at the competition!  They danced beautifully!

April 17th

Tyler and the Trinity Varsity Tennis Team competed at Sectionals here in Montgomery.  The team placed 2nd in the tournament.  Tyler and his doubles partner, Warner, won 1 match and lost 1.  Tyler won 1 and lost 1 in singles.

 

 Somewhere in the month, Corynne and Lauren started up a 2nd season of YMCA volleyball.  Corynne also tried out for the Middle School basketball and volleyball teams for next year.  She made both teams, and she is excited to be playing school sports next year!

April 20

Of course, school just kept plugging along during all these activities.  Lauren completed an insect collection thanks to Ms. Amy (Dad's NA).  She collection 6 of the 8 insects for us!  She lives in the country.  We live in the city and apparently the $ I pay the bug man each month is well spent!!!!

April 21

We hosted a State Send-Off Dinner for Tyler's tennis team.  JM grilled steaks for the boys, and the moms all pitched in on the side dishes and dessert.  It was a nice evening with a great group of guys.

 Before dinner, the guys set up a ping-pong tournament for entertainment!  It was Tyler's dream of the perfect party!!!!

April 23-24

John Mark went to Huntsville to watch Tyler and the tennis team compete at state.  In doubles, Tyler and his partner won the first round but were eliminated in the second round.  Tyler lost is first round singles match later that afternoon.

 Granddad drove over to watch Tyler.  Thanks Granddad!!!

The little princesses just love going to preschool!  They jump out of the car ready to go each school day! 

 Sometimes they play good together at home....

 Lyndsey loves to show off her reading skills!  She amazes me everyday (and she reminds me of her brother who was an over-achiever at age 5 also)!

It has been a busy month as we start to wind down this school year.  Busy, but fun and packed full of memories!