Friendship Day!

It was Friendship Week at school and the last day they got to have their Friendship party.  The school is really pushing the importance of being a good friend by complimenting and encouraging others.  All good things!  This year, the kids and I went above our standard paper valentines and baked 8 dozen cookies for all of their classmates!  I found these really cute tags, too.  This is probably my only etsy project for the year, and it was really pretty easy.

Jackson's valentines were all sports themed, with four different sports.  The football ones said, "You're a great catch!" The soccer ones said, "I get a kick out of you! and the baseball ones said, "Valentine, you're a hit!"  Perfect for this kid.



Lila's were more traditional, but still cute--they read "Happy Valentine's Day, from your friend, Lila."

Both kids were so excited to pass out their treats at school that morning.

But first, they went to school early for Donuts with Dad! 

A few hours later, I was in J's room first.  His teacher was all smiles, as always. 
She's such a sweet lady and really likes him.

J and his posse--CJ and Ben.

Within a few minutes, his box was full of treats.  We resurrected it from the closet and just added a few more stickers this year--one less project for me!  I left before they made their ice cream sundaes, but I heard they were a big hit.

 Meanwhile, in Lila's class, she and her girlfriends were getting ready for the
Valentine Teacher Parade.

All five teachers looked amazing!

Woo hoo!  Mrs. Pool!

Get it, Mrs. Kern!  The kids had a ball watching this spectacle.

It's such a fun party for everyone.

The kids made crafts and decorated sugar cookies...

then got divided up into two teams for the Hershey Kiss relay game.  Lila was at the end of her team and came through in the clutch for them.

She got the team back into a spot to win, and then big brother came from behind to clinch the victory for Team Hearts!

Way to go, Team Hearts!

Here's proof--they really do like each other:)

The love continued on into the night when we met Nash and his family for dinner before Jackson and Tucker's basketball game.  Cami sat across the table from her sweetheart and then just couldn't take it any longer.

'I go see Nash."  She is so cute with him.

A fun friendship day indeed!

Mrs. Pool is so cool

Only one Kindergarten teacher dressed up like she was 100 years old on the 100th day of school.  Which one?  Lila's teacher--Mrs. Pool!

This was such a big hit with all the kids, and Mrs. Pool said that Lila just died laughing when she walked into the room.  She was most impressed with the gray hair, I think!

For our 100th day project we made a jewel shirt with 100 jewels.  Easy peasy, and it was super simple.  For a mom with 15 other things to do on any given afternoon, this fit the bill just perfectly.

Just say yes!

"Mom, can I take a bubble bath tonight?"  Sure!

 

A random Monday night, after dinner.  Why not have a good soak in your mom's tub?
Of course, our house in always eventful, so in no time at all, the tub was almost overflowing with bubbles!  Little sister thought this was especially great and kept running back to get more bubbles on her hands.

 

"Go my gym class, mom?  See baby Nash?"  Sure!  These two had a ball running, jumping and horsing around at the their favorite hangout.

"You know, it's been 104 days and you still haven't had lunch with me at school."  Not that anyone is counting...but today we ended that streak by joining big sister for lunch!

Cami and I picked up chicken minis and hashbrowns from Chick-fil-A and had brunch with Lila at 10:30 this morning.  She loved it.

And who are we kidding--I did, too.

After brunch, my sidekick and I hit up the carwash, Hobby Lobby, Dillard's, and Stride Rite.  She was such a little doll that I agreed to a cookie and sitting by the big water fountain. 
What a beautiful day!  I'm going to try and say yes more often.

Super-sized Super Bowl Sunday

Go big or go home, right?  That's our family motto, and we try hard not to disappoint.  Sunday morning began with a bang.  Jackson had his last soccer game of the season.  Even though he's super-athletic, soccer hasn't come easy so him this season.  His "baby giraffe" legs leave him looking a bit gangly out on the turf. 

Imagine my surprise and delight, when I got a text from his daddy saying "Jackson scored a goal! Left foot!!!"  I could feel the excitement and was so very happy--for both of them!

 

His team beat the second place team 3-2, so they took 2nd place for the season.  Not too shabby for a non-academy team playing in a club league.  I'm so glad they went out on a good note. 
Like I said, go big or go home.

The boys met us girls at church, we came home for lunch, and then got ready to go watch Jackson pitch in the Fury's first scrimmage this season.  He was on the mound first, throwing against kids a year older and was a little rusty.

 

He had his fan club there, though, with the littlest member yelling "Go Bub!"

Throw 'em the heat!

All in all, he walked a few, struck out a few, and did pretty well for not having pitched since November.  Way to go #7!

It was a gorgeous day--68 degrees and sunny, with no wind.  Perfect.

We watched him bat and then had to hustle ourselves back home.

 

At the same time, Madison and the Blue Thunder were busy clinching 1st place in their league.  They had an amazing season.  Her team is made up of 1st and 2nd grade girls, but they play up against all 3rd graders.  You'd think they might be at a disadvantage.  Not so fast!  They had a 61 goal differential, meaning they scored 66 goals and only allowed 5 goals to be scored on them.  WOW!

 

 

Fast forward to an hour later, and we were back at our house hosting a Super Bowl party.  Dusty, Tim, Corey and Price all hung out with Jared and Jackson outside...

while Taylor, Baby Matthew, Jenny, Mandy, Lindsey and I were inside.

Jenny enjoyed her break from baby duty and was so thankful for Teagan and Presley, who watched over Dylan like two pros.

I enjoyed myself as well, letting Cami hang out with her friends Finley and Carter.  I was so thankful that she chose to only color the dry erase board with the black marker, and not herself!

Brooklynn, Maddie and Chloe were having a blast just running around and rough-housing with each other.  We let everyone play, inside and out, until it was dinner time.

A little mac and cheese, nuggets and fruit were just right for this crowd.

Happiest kid on the block:)

While the kids were eating, the hot tub was getting warmed up.  They were thrilled when we said it was time to get in!  Cami was so excited, but then changed her mind almost instantly.  She said it was "too hot," but I think it might have been a tad "too wild" for her. 

There were so many smiles--I just love it.

Never underestimate the craziness of kids, though.  Brooklynn, Finley and Madison were going bananas jumping into the cold pool and then running around to the hot tub!

Meanwhile, inside the house was a little more tame.  Cami and I got to hang out with Matthew for a few minutes.  He's such a doll.

She was really sweet with him, being so gentle the whole time.

"Take my picture, mom!"

It was such a fun night with some of my best girlies.  Taylor picked the winner--her Broncos won 24-16, and we had 4 different Super Bowl square winners, too.

This guy was all smiles all night long--everyone loved his chili, he got to watch football outside, by the fire, with his buddies.  Then he found these delicious dessert bars that Jenny made.  A very successful night indeed!  We enjoyed seeing all of you.  A Super Sunday for sure.

 

Undefeated Season! Go Bumblebees!

The Bees had SUCH a great indoor season this winter.  They played their last game yesterday and won 8-0!  These little girls have really started learning the game and playing more as a team.  It's so fun to watch.

Jasmina, Teaghan, Malee, Emma, Madison, Lila, Evangeline, Brooklyn and Grace all came to play!
And let's face it--winning is simply more fun!  For a while, Brooklyn and Madison were our main two goal-scorers.  Yesterday, though, at least five girls got goals!

Coach Jared is doing an outstanding job with them, and they all like playing for him.
We're #1!

Coach Dad was super proud of #12 yesterday.  She got two goals and played superb defense, too!

As always, she had quite the fan club to cheer for her team.  We roll deep!

I couldn't be more proud of her--she plays with such intensity, is a good teammate and has great sportsmanship, too.  All good life skills.  You go, girl!

I hate you, strep throat.

On our craziest day this week, my youngest woke up just a little too warm.  When she went back to sleep in my arms at 9am, I knew something wasn't right.

When I took her temperature, it was 103 degrees.  Poor baby girl.  I got it to go down a few degrees, and all her little body wanted to do was sleep in my arms.  So that's exactly what we did.

Three hours later, it had gone back up--getting over 104 at one point, and then back down again. My heart just broke for her.  By 2:00, I realized there was no way that I could take Jackson and Ben to football practice, nor Lila to dance.  Ben's mom offered to take the boys for me, and Memaw said she could take Lila.  Thank goodness for good people!  We went to the doctor the next day and found out that stinky strep throat was the culprit.  After a couple doses of omnicef, she was SO much better.  Laughing, running, and playing again.  Hooray for modern medicine!

A bonus is that I read half of Amy Poehler's new book, as well as the latest People Magazine. And I got tons of sweet snuggles.  The best moment, though, was hearing my angel baby say "I feel bedder, mommy!" on Friday afternoon.