Bye Bye North Star, Hello Kindergarten!

Just like that, three years flew by.  Lila woke up on Friday morning and was all smiles for her last day of Pre-K.  I, on the other hand, was just a little bit sad.  I really do love her school and will be sad that she's not there next year.  The teachers just adore her and have always treated us like family.  She has learned so much this year, though, and is ready for the big time.

Who's ready for Kindergarten?  This girl!

 

 

I think another reason I'll miss North Star is I won't get to see some of my best friends many times a week.  It's been so fun having our little ones in school together.  We met at Angela's Café for breakfast after dropping off the kids for the last time.  Love y'all!

A few hours later it was time to pick up this girly.

She had an awesome last day, and told me that they "didn't even have to do one worksheet" on their last day.  Just play, play, play.

We met her cute class at Braum's for an after-school celebratory dessert.

No doubt about it--some very happy girls!

As a bonus, their super-nice teacher even joined us.

Lookout world, here comes Lila Lou.  She's sweet as sugar, too:)

Big League Dreams

Last weekend we went to J's first baseball tournament with his new team.  It was at the Big League Dreams ballpark in Mansfield and was such a cool place.  They have replica ball fields of the most well known or iconic baseball parks in America.

After some rain earlier in the day, the boys were pumped to take the field in the Brooklyn Dodger Stadium.  They got some last minute words of encouragement from Coach Mark and then all took a knee to say a prayer.  I love this so much.  He's got really great people around him, not just looking out for what's best in terms of baseball, but what matters so much more--building their faith and helping mold them into strong, confident young men.

Cole and Jackson were in awe of this place--those are fake people in the stands out past the outfield.  They may or may not have fooled Gigi when we walked into the park!

No water bottles allowed, either.  These boys got treated just like the pros with water available to them in the dugout.

By gametime even Mr. Sun came out.  Let's play ball!

J was batting second and hit a good one to the third baseman.  He outran the throw to first and got on base.

A few plays later, he crossed home plate and The Fury was on the scoreboard.

We had brought umbrellas, ponchos and raincoats, but didn't think we would need any sunscreen.  Thank goodness for other moms.  The sun was beaming down on us by the second inning.

Jackson hit a good one to right field the next time up to bat--yeehaw!

Don't watch it, son--get going!

Unfortunately they got behind a little, made a few throwing errors and couldn't come away with the win.  That's ok--we thought we would just go have a snack inside the food court and then come back in a few hours and win the next game.  But alas, the rains came, and we were stuck inside for what felt like forever.  This little lady actually did really well.  We took her on a few strolls outside in between the storms and even let her get soaking wet at the playground because she was as happy as could be climbing inside the tunnels and going down the slide.

The boys did well too, although I know they were dying to get back out there.  Cami was thrilled that they came over to talk to her, though!  She loves all of J's friends, especially the ones who will speak Jibber Jabber with her!  Thanks, Cooper and Brock:)

And Miss Lila was a trooper, too.  She could only eat soft foods because she was still sick.  Thank goodness for a good food court and a sweet Gigi--this kid had an ice cream sandwich and this huge popsicle.  Smiles all around.  Three hours after first coming inside, they finally called off the games for the day.  Three hours!  Hopefully our next tournament won't be in the middle of monsoon season, but it's not looking that way.  Both games got rained out for today and it's still pouring outside.  Good grief.  Enough already!

Carry the Load

Memorial Day Weekend 2015:  When we finally learned what it's all about.

 

I am 35 years old and sort of ashamed to admit that up until yesterday I had never really given Memorial Day too much thought.  Now don't get me wrong, I'd thought about whether or not it was going to be a good swim day.  If it was going to rain or be a great day to cookout.  But I'd never reflected on what we are supposed to be celebrating.  We are the land of the free, because of the brave.  And because of the brave, my kids get to grow up in a much safer place than many other children all over the world.

So when my friend Mandy asked us to join her team for Carry the Load, I didn't have to think very long before I knew it was something I wanted to do.  Jared agreed and we both were excited to teach our kids more about our great nation and the men and women who protect it.  We joined Team Together, raised $350, and were at Reverchon Park for the opening ceremonies yesterday afternoon.

Ready to Carry the Load!

We were so happy that Colleen, Madison and Gigi decided to join us, too. 
We met our team at the tent...

 

cheered for veterans and military families as they entered the park...

 

and then set off on the two mile loop.

It wasn't long before Lila and Brooklynn hopped out of their strollers and were running with Maddie.  Happy girls!

We made it the two miles with no problems and were soon back at the base area.

The kids did a few rounds in the Black Ops bounce house obstacle course...

and then we met up with more friends at the Memorial area.  Hi Henlee!

Soon after, we found Carter and Chloe and set off on the 7 mile Katy Trail.  Yee haw! 
These kids were pumped!



The littlest one in the bunch was just as content as she could be riding shotgun in her stroller.  She stayed in it for about 6 miles and even took a little nap.

We trekked over streets, through wooded areas, picked up water and Gatorade from the volunteers, and walked on.  We walked with soldiers who were wearing very heavy backpacks, some pushing other soldiers in wheelchairs...it was inspiring, to say the least.

I'm proud to say that my team of 5 made it 7 - 8 miles!!  There was no crying and little complaining.  And the best part is that we taught them something--freedom is not free. 
We are so grateful for our soldiers and their families. 

 

The best part is that Team Together raised over $6000 for Carry the Load.  Way to go, team!

 

Thank you, Shubzda family, for an amazing day! 

 

Pre-K Grad Night

In the blink of an eye, Lila Lou went from this...

 

when she started her first year at North Star...

 

 

to singing in her Pre-K graduation almost three years later. My goodness.  How time does fly.

Lookout world!  Here comes Lila Grace!

After watching her perform, we all congratulated her on a job well done.  Also in attendance were Memaw, Poppi and Cami, but it was too hard to find everyone at the same time!  She appreciated all of you being there for sure, though.

Mrs. Rains has been such an awesome teacher for our little girl.  She has loved on these kids every day this year, showing them how God wants us to treat everyone.  Lila loves her and will miss her dearly next year.

And while we were celebrating our favorite graduate, the award for worst child in the performance went to....Cameron Nicole Hays!  Yep.  Out of the entire audience, she took the cake.  Hollering, crawling out into the aisles, yelling, "ouch!" whenever I picked her up to take her out.  Then crawling all the way to the back of the church, then up the stairs to the balcony.  I watched Lila as best I could, popping in to see her from many different angles.  It was adventurous to say the least!  And I was relieved when it was over.  Oh child of mine, things are never dull when you're around.

Happy Graduation, Lila!  We are so very proud of you.

Fury Baseball

One of the dads on J's new baseball team has a really nice camera.  Here are some of my favorites that he took of Jackson this past weekend.

If this kid grows up to be a MLB pitcher one day, we can compare his form, frame by frame. 
I know it's a long shot, but crazier things have happened!

Cheering on his teammates.  Let's go boys!

And my favorite--from the batter's perspective.  Bringing the heat!

Bragging Rights

Yep...I've got bragging rights...because I'm their mama!

This little girl is pure sweetness through and through.  She loves her friends, her family and Jesus.  What more could a mama ask for, really?

 

"Innocence."  I may very well have this blown up and framed.  I love it so much:)

 

Our oldest--one heckuva ballplayer!  He pitched the first game on Saturday.  After getting off to a rocky start and walking the first two batters, he struck out the next three.  No runs scored.  Then he got up to bat and hit a triple!  He came back onto the pitcher's mound the next inning and struck out the next two batters.  The last one hit it back to him and he threw that kid out at first base.  The Fury boys beat a team of 4th graders (again!) and then we high-tailed it over to another field in Sachse for their second game of the day.

After being down 5-9, these kids rallied and got the win!! 

Jackson hit a double, but they overthrew the pitcher, so it turned into a home run.  Yeehaw! 
We will take it!  I am so proud of this kid. 

Maybe it was all that good crawling around at the ball fields on Saturday that inspired her, but on Sunday, May 17th, this little girl finally started walking!  It may have taken 16 months and 2 days, but who's counting?!  Go Cami!

 

And last but not least, Miss Madison had her biggest game of the season yesterday and scored 3 goals!  Three!  In the first half.  She was on fire!