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.)

Our Kinder Graduate

Emyley had such a great year in Kindergarten. We all loved her teacher, Mrs. Durrick who was also Hayley's Kinder teacher. She got to be in class with her best friend, Nathan and she made many new friends, too! And we were so happy when she learned to read...yay!!! We are proud of you baby girl!

"Listen. Can you hear the sound?"

BFFs

Em & Mom

The Best Kinder Teacher

Grandma & Em

Cake and Skateboard for the Grad

Hayley's a Blue Ribbon Colt

Hayley was the blue ribbon colt award winner for her class in May! We are so proud of her!!

Sydney's Spring Orchestra Concert

Sydney's Orchestra got together with two other schools (another middle school and the high school) to put on an awesome spring concert. She had extra practices and a dress rehearsal at the high school to prepare. I wasn't sure how she would handle it because new places freak her out (she comes by that honestly). She did an amazing job and the performance was so good! It was sad that Bill had to miss out....and, bad mommy that I am, I forgot the camera (this is an old pic)! We plan to order the DVD that they are offering so we will have at least some proof. LOL!!!

Syd's Production Debut

Sydney had to put together a visual project for her ELAR class. She wrote, planned, directed, filmed and produced this video. I think she did an awesome job and so does her teacher as she got an A!!

Teacher Appreciation

This year we made gifts for the girls' teachers for teacher appreciation. We came up with these neat ideas from our Uppercase Living stuff!

This one was for Hayley's teacher who's first name was Summer.

This one was for Em's teacher her taught that the sound of "Ff" is FFFFfffff like a scared cat!

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!!

Maggie's a Minshew Colt

Well, for a day anyway. The Kindergarten classes are having pet week and Maggie decided that she would love to visit all of Em's classmates. She had a great time...and though I had my hands too full to take pictures, she wanted to be sure that I blogged that it was a lot of fun and she can't wait to do it again.....LOL!!! Okay, maybe those weren't her exact words.....and this probably wasn't the picture she wanted me to post, either!

Minshew Open House 2009

Em's a Blue Ribbon Colt!!

YAY...it is her first one! We are so proud of her. She has been working really hard to bring her reading and writing up to par. It is great to watch her finally take an interest in trying to read on her own.

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)

Hayley - Principal Award Winner!

Hayley was one of the 2nd grade Principal Award Winners for December. I couldn't make it to see her get her award, but my BFF, Steph Marchal took some pics for me!! Great job, Hayley! We are proud of you!!

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!!

Emyley's an Artist!!

Emyley's art was selected for this season's school art show. She made a Mexican Miraculous Milagros by stepping on model magic and spraying it with metallic pain. She is so proud (her's has the purple ribbon) and we are, too!!!

Go for the Gold!

Yesterday, Hayley and Em participated in the PTA's walkathon. It was a great day for it (maybe a little hot), but we got to be outside which the kids really loved! My friend, Kristi is in charge of our FUN-raising this year, and she did an awesome job putting together this walkathon!

I had to crack up when Kinder walked.....all 5 classes thought they had to stay in a straight line....and if someone in front of them stopped for water, they all stopped! It was funny! Didn't last long, though and they all got the hang of it. Some more than others as I looked up to see Emyley and her friend Nathan cutting through the middle of the circle! LOL!!!

PTA Math Night - 2008

Another great PTA family night tonight and this one was organized by my friend, Steph! She did an amazing job and all of the Colts loved the games and estimation jars! I have to say, this was my first general meeting as Treasurer, and I had to read so many documents and numbers, it is a wonder that everyone wasn't asleep by the time I was done! LOL!! But, I did it, and I am still alive...whew! ;o)

Anyway, I created this video in honor of Steph and her husband, who helped planned the event but couldn't be there. Way to go, guys, it was a great success!

Three Weeks Gone?? Already???

I'm not even sure what all has happened since that first day of school, but I know it has kept us all busy! I'll see if I can come up with a recap for you all....

The first week of school, I didn't really get to enjoy the whole "having the house to myself" thing as I had hoped. I spent alot of my time helping out in the school. I had intended to clean up the house, but that didn't happen (and still hasn't happened)...oh, I did get the living room rearranged and the base boards cleaned. The girls love school and spent the week adjusting to new schedules. Emyley lost her 2nd tooth on the 2nd day of school! It was particularly hard for Sydney who had to get up an hour earlier than her sisters since her school starts an hour earlier. Since she is a late sleeper, that was really difficult on her. She really enjoys her violin and math classes.

The Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Bill and the girls spent the day at Nana's watching the OU football game. The girls ended up spending the night, while Bill drove home at 1:00am (crazy!). Sunday was designated as Gavin day, and so we made the drive back up to Nana's that morning. We spent the day visiting with everyone, and were happy that Grace and Gunter got to make the trip, too....along with Charlie the dog! LOL! I still didn't manage to get a family picture of Steve and his gang....ugh! We had hoped to make it onto the lake that day, but Bill and I had to leave early for a get-together at my friend Stephanie's house. The girls were pretty disappointed, so we left them there to spend the night again. They got to go out on the lake that evening and spend more time with Grace & Gunter...so they were all happy! Monday, Bill and I went back up to Nana's and spent some time on the boat and then had some yummy ribs and chocolate cake! It was a crazy weekend!

So, after that big of a weekend, you can imagine how all of my girls were so excited to get back to school.....NOT! I had a big day planned on that Tuesday that included lunch with my girls: Steph, Joni and Kathleen!!! Sydney ended up calling me around 11 to pick her up from school, and she spent the rest of the day recovering from her big weekend on the couch! My lunch date was great, though. We went to Spoons in downtown McKinney....my first visit, and I had a great BLT sandwich and pasta salad. I can't wait to go back!! And it was fun to hang out with my friends without any business (PTA) talk....can't wait to do that again, too! The rest of the week was spent helping out at the school.

That weekend we did....nothing! It was nice! But it was back to business on Monday with more volunteering at the school. I helped out in Emyley's class that morning. For a group of 16 5 year olds, they are very well behaved and quiet!!! I was amazed! I also volunteered in the library which was fun and right up my alley....cause you all know how I don't like to read at all....LOL!!!! I did get some days at home this past week, but I chose to spend most of it on the computer, couch and tv! LOL! There was some excitement (anxiety) when my PTA Treasurer books had to be audited due to my friend Kathleen stepping down as President. I hope not to have to go through that again until the end of the year.....hint hint Marchal!

That brings us to yesterday when Bill and the girls along with Chloe spent the morning walking in the American Heart Association Heartwalk in downtown Dallas. I was pretty nervous about him taking Chloe because she is such a menace when people come over to our house.....barking, growling and trying to bite. But she was on her best behavior and only growled at someone (the president of Bill's company) once! LOL!! She spent the rest of the day pooped out and sprawled on the couches....2 miles was a long walk for her! ;o)

I spent the day yesterday creating the new Minshew PTA website. This will be my first website from scratch (no wizards involved)....scary! Right now I am just trying to decide which software I want to use, so I spent the day playing around with a couple of them. I found out this will be a much larger undertaking that I had thought, but it will also be great practice! Today will be laundry, cleaning, family banner day, so we can get ready for another week of school and volunteering!

First Day of School

I can't believe it is actually here, and I can't believe that I am so calm as I sit here typing this! ;o) We started the day off getting Syd to 6th grade at the new middle school! She was such a grown up about it all and didn't even let us walk her into the building!

An hour later, we dropped off Hayley to her 2nd grade class and Emyley to her Kindergarten class. Hayley has a teacher who is new to Minshew this year, and she seems so nice and fun. She also had a couple of kids from her 1st grade class in this class, so I know she will be fine.

Emyley was lucky enough to get the Kinder teacher who Hayley had two years ago! And her best friend, Nathan, is in the same class!! Of course, my friend, Joni & I are beside ourselves with joy!! LOL!!

And, now I sit here updating the blog in my totally silent, cartoon-free house! Whew! Wonder what I'll have for lunch......

Back to School with new 'dos!

Yep, the Mullen Darlings have new 'dos.....again! I had to take them in for their back to school cuts, and they each decided to get a new style. They are almost identical to each other, but they each have their own little twist.

So last Thursday night was Back to School/Meet the Teacher Night and we got to meet the girls' new teachers and visit their classrooms. And the PTA spent the evening selling memberships and spirit wear. It was a great night for all of us! Although, I think my family would like for me to re-think this whole Treasurer thing, as we were one of the last families to leave the building that night! Oh, and thanks to my hubby for helping out so much!! The ladies were all grateful!

Another New School & Picture Day!

Since moving to McKinney and Sydney starting her school career, we have opened 2 new elementary schools! Amazing, right?!? Well, the tradition continues (and stops) as this year, we open the new middle school! CRAZY! Wednesday was schedule pickup day, and we finally got a peek inside the new school. I have to admit to being pretty nervous about this whole middle school idea, as I remember how kids act (especially girls) at this time in their lives. But after being inside the school, and walking Syd's schedule through with her (all of her classes are in the same hallway), I am feeling more mellow about it all (Syd is too). I will continue to be on alert, though, as I know there are going to be issues! It should be an interesting journey to say the least! ;o)

One very cool thing about schedule pickup day, was they also took the students' pictures! Yep, picture day has already come and gone, for Syd anyway! YAY! I loved this, as Syd was able to wear something really nice and take a great picture.