Bon Voyage

Bill and I have moved around a lot since being married. He joined the Navy and we had 3 duty stations in 4 years. The longest we stayed in one place during that time was two and a half years in Virginia Beach. After leaving the Navy we spent a couple years in Plano, and then we found McKinney. We truly found a place that we all enjoyed and made many friendships in the 8 years that we lived there. So, you can understand why it was so difficult for us to leave. And it just wouldn't be a proper send off, if we didn't have a party. So, we arranged a little bon voyage party at Minshew's park where the kids could play and the adults could visit one last time. :o( We will miss all of our McKinney friends!!!

Video notes: Yes, Emyley was there...just too busy for pictures. I totally missed getting tons of pictures because I was having too much fun!

Revenge of the Nerds??

No, it's just the photo shoot the girls did for Bill's father's day present this year. He wanted this picture frame from Target that looks like computer memory. I had the girls dress up in nerd wear and put a picture of them in the frame. But it was so hard picking just one picture. So, here's the montage of them all....

School's Out for Summer

The end of school was a bittersweet event for us this year. We are happy that the girls did so well in school and of course are happy for summer, but we know that it also means our time in McKinney is drawing to a close. We have enjoyed the McKinney schools and all of our friends so much, that it will truly be hard to leave such a great community! But, we did enjoy our last day of school. Em's class had a bubble and chalk party outside, while Hayley's class was a little more low key with snacks and games inside. After the parties, we headed to get Syd from school so they could take off for Grandma's house in Okla.

(I was having issues with the music in the video...I don't edit them to be so choppy.)

Crazy Cats

I just love kittens...they do so many funny things because they are fearless. Maggie acts as though she doesn't like Bella much, but I think Bella is breaking Maggie out of her shell a bit. Bill refers to them as Garfield (Maggie) and Nermal (Bella)!!

Boatin' Summer 2009

We had an early first boat trip with Nana and Papa Joel this summer. The weather was great and we took Willow with us. She'll probably have to skip the later trips as she got pretty hot out there.

Crazy for Bandanas

For some reason, I am crazy for bandanas for Chloe and the other pets. At one time, they all 4 had matching bandanas...don't think I have a picture of that, though. Anyway, here is a video montage of our pets and their bandanas....

Hayley's Acting Debut

Minshew decided to split up the spring programs by grade this year (loved it!). Hayley's 2nd grade decided to do a play of 3 different stories. She couldn't wait to try out for a speaking role...and was so excited when she got the part of Little Red Hen! She did a great job, and we are so proud of her!! Sorry about the video...I picked the right spot to sit to have the microphone in her face almost the entire time..ugh! But you can still see our pretty little star and enjoy the great work she did!!

Happy Birthday, Hayley!!!

Minshew Open House 2009

Do You Know These Children?

I hosted an Uppercase Living demonstration at my home. I knew that most of my friends would need to bring their children over...no biggie...but let me tell you there were many moments when we were afraid the ceiling was about to crash on our heads!! I had an undercover spy in the playroom and here's some of the evidence of what occurred....do you know these children???

Sydney's First Violin Recital

For the Orchestra students to get ready for their upcoming solo contest, they held a recital where they each got to play their solo. The were grouped with other musicians who were playing the same arrangement. Sydney chose to play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody". She did an amazing job and helped out backstage after her performance. We are very proud!

Em's Belated Birthday Party

Emyley finally got to have her very own birthday party now that she is in school. She chose to have it at the Studio Art House. We went in and she chose a picture for her and her friends to paint. She chose "Jungle with Lion" inspired by Henri Russeau. The ladies read to the kids about the artist and then showed them how to paint the painting. It was very interesting to see the different perspectives of 5 & 6 year olds as well as Hayley and Sydney's takes on the painting.

Another Great PTA Art Night!!

Thanks Minshew PTA and Mrs. Smith for another AWESOME ART Night!! We were so glad that one of our girls got to try out the pottery wheel this year...and the finished product isn't that bad! ;o)

Emyley's a Daisy!

Emyley and her Daisy troop participated in the traditional Investiture Ceremony where they officially became daisies. It was so cute! Each girl said a line from the Girl Scout Law. Emyley's line was "Make the world a better place and". She was being very bashful that evening, and recruited big sister, Syd, to stand up with her throughout the entire ceremony. ;o) Afterwards, they sang "Make New Friends" and "I'm a Little Daisy".

More Christmas at Nana's

So, on Saturday, we drove up to Okla to meet my parents and get the girls back. We weren't too sure how they would handle the news of Bill losing his job. They actually cheered (obviously they took my "now, don't worry" speech a little too much to heart) and Hayley's first words were, "Does that mean no 360?"! LOL! On the road again, we headed back to Texas and to Nana's to spend some time with Bill's brother Steve and his family. We hadn't seen them since August, so it was nice to visit with them again. I can't believe how much Baby Gavin has grown. And Grace and Gunter played with the girls like they hadn't missed a beat. It was a very good visit, and hopefully we can see each more often than every 6 months!

Merry Christmas 2008!

After getting up at a reasonable hour, the girls dove into opening their presents. They were very surprised with a keyboard for the whole family and a Gerbil (they almost immediately named her Carly)! We played around for a bit then headed to Nana and Joel's for more presents and a delicious dinner! We got to meet their new Yorkie puppy named Jacques who the girls would not leave alone. We took a new family picture and then headed home to bed so we could battle the day-after-Christmas crowds...except there were none. Anyway, we hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and has a good year to come. Enjoy the video...

Brownie Caroling

Hayley's Brownie troop went to a facility in McKinney to spread some holiday cheer. They sang many carols, handed out cookies and candy canes. It was a great time for everyone!

Parade of Lights 2008

So, another year, another PTA float, another win! Whoop, whoop!! I didn't get to help out this year because after work, I was bushed! But, they managed to pull it off without me. LOL!!!!! My friend Joni was the big organizer and kept lists to keep everyone organized. Everytime I got an update email, I thought she was nuts!! There seemed to be so much to do and so little time. The theme was a Hollywood Christmas, and they decided to do a float of Christmas Vacation with the Griswolds. Of course, it never is just one trailer, this year they did 4 trailers!! The first scene was the house doused in lights. The second scene was the living room with the burning tree and fried cat. The third scene was Cousin Eddie's Winnebago. The fourth scene was presents. The float was not only doused in lights, but included artwork from every student. It was truly a magical float and deserved the win it received (for the 5th year)!! This year, the committee managed to get some news coverage on NBC5 as well as a couple of news articles: http://mckinneynews.net/news.php?nid=10531&cat=4 and http://www.mesquitenews.com/articles/2008/12/12/mckinney_courier-gazette/news/9731.txt.

I have created another SHE production video as I was able to take pics and video this year. And just note that at the end of the parade video, walking behind the float, is Hayley's Brownie Troop and Emyley's Daisy Troop. Emyley and Sydney were both sick with the stomach bug, so they missed the parade. Hayley decided to hang with mom during the parade, so she didn't walk, either...which was a good thing as she got sick later that night.

Anyway, enjoy the video. Joni & Steph, if I forgot any pertinent details, please post them!!!

Olympic Culture Night

Our elementary school always holds a Culture Night that involves all of the students sharing what they have learned and created about different countries. This year the specials teachers decided to do an olympic themed event. While the kids learned their normal songs and made special artwork, they also learned olympic type games and activies in PE. Now, being that I had just started working, I totally forgot to charge my camera batteries. So, I only got little snippets of video of each girl and a couple of pictures. And, my wonderful friends the Marchal's created the really cool jeep in the video that was used for the Safari Bookfair that was taking place duirng Culture Night and all the next week. It was really cool!!! So, short as it is, enjoy the video!!

Experience McKinney 2008

Every year, the childcare program with our school district puts on an expo/carnival for the city. Tickets are usually way too expensive for a family of 5, so we have never gone before. But this year, my friend Kathleen offered us FREE tickets! Of course, I jumped at the chance. We met up with my other friend Stephanie and headed to the high school for a night of food (restaurants from around McKinney), fun (bounce houses, slides, spider jump, etc) and friends (Marchals, Olsens & Kruses)! Enjoy the video...