100th day of school

Today was the 100th day of school....which has become quite a day for celebration in schools. I don't recall any type of celebration for the 100th day when I was at Campus school other than the 180th day which was the LAST day of school. Lots of cheers heard on that day. The younger kids have more fun with it than the older kids we are finding out.  Caroline's class made hats, each brought in 100 of something to show the class, brought in fun foods/snacks to create a mix of 100 things for their snack and did graphing and other math related games. They even paraded up and down the kindergarten area with their hats on as they counted to 100. When asking Anna what her class did for the 100th day, she simply replied "took a math test and did nothing special". You can tell she was fully into the celebration!

caroline with her 100th day of school crown

showing off counting to 100 with fun snacks

My own pinkalicious

When I came home from work today, this is how I found Caroline, my very own Pinkalicious......

Magic School Bus

We love the Family Series hosted by the Orpheum Theatre each year. They bring family friendly, 1-hour long shows to the theatre for families to enjoy. It exposes the kids to live theatre in a beautiful environment and it is a relatively inexpensive way to get some culture in them as well. The latest show was The Magic School Bus. Anna enjoys the books, even though she mostly read them in first and second grade. The books have the premise of the crazy science teacher Mrs. Frizzle taking the students on her Magic School Bus, that often turns into another form of transportation, to teach the kids about science. The show we saw was on the climate and global warming. It was a musical and the girls really enjoyed it. They even both learned a little bit along the way. Aftewards we went to Cafe Eclectic in midtown for dinner and dessert. The girls were eyeing the soda fountain desserts when we walked in! They did not disappoint!

Next up is Eric Carle's stories including The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear Brown Bear.

The Magic School Bus on stage!

The recycle "pledge" wall the girls signed to commit to recycling at home and school

craft before the show to make a sun

daddy and caroline are ready for the show

anna and mommy excited for the story

girls enjoying an ice cream sundae afterwards at cafe eclectic

Welcome to the Jungle

Welcome to the Jungle was the title of the third grade musical program this winter at Harding. Anna and her classmates had been practicing since before Christmas and they were ready for the show. The program's story was based on Aesop's fable of The Lion and the Mouse. Anna was one of the mice. She wanted to be one of the lions, but as Caroline would say "you get what you get". We can bring that back up with her when she one day does not get the part she would like to have. Turns out the mice and the lions are the main parts and she did a great job. I was impressed with how many songs they had to memorize and how well they did in front of the crowd. Luckily the costume accessories were provided by the school. Anna was instructed to wear khaki pants and either a white or pink shirt. We had agreed on a white shirt, since we already owned one and then the night before she just had to have a pink shirt. We went to Target and I told her that if they did not have it there, then we were back to the white shirt. Luckily, we found one for $2.48 on the sale rack at Target. It was the next size up but it worked. Of course, she was the only one in the group that chose pink but she was fine. Overall, good program. Caroline got to see it twice since the Jr K students attended the dress rehearsal and she came with us as well. Next year is the 4th grade talent show. What in the world will we come up with for that??? Start thinking now!!!

welcome to the jungle!

most of the group aftewards; so hard to take pictures during the program!

the mice!

walking out aftewards! she was so proud!

caroline and jamie

anna with gramma and grampa

anna with mimi and papa

anna with the proud parents

anna and kennedy, one of the lions

38 and counting.....

Happy Birthday to me....of course, I have zero pictures of myself from my birthday because I am always the one behind the camera. It was a great day, even few days of celebrating. We started back several weeks ago in Dallas with a birthday cake and fun with my brothers and sisters and Dad and stepmom. That was great as I never get to celebrate with the out of town family. Gary and I went out with our friends Zack and Lauren to the Grizzlies game on Saturday night to celebrate and enjoyed Muddy's cupcakes after the game. That place cracks me up. We got there at 10pm on Saturday night, and there were tons of people in line to get a cupcake!!! Monday night after Caroline's cheerleading game we headed to dinner with my mom and stepdad. Yummy food at Huey's always hits the spot! They brought over Gigi's cupcakes on Tuesday as a surprise. Those things are huge and filling!!

Tuesday morning brought a tough running workout so I got up at 4:45 as usual for a morning workout and headed to the gym. Wish it was a sleep in day for sure!! Got my workout done and when I got home, the kitchen was all decorated with balloons, flowers, cards and gifts from Gary and the girls. So fun!! I loved it. Nothing like a little celebration at 6am!!

My friend Megan made me a cake at work and we celebrated with our department that afternoon. In our finance division there were 9 birthdays in January! We have had a LOT of cake and cupcakes this month and glad for the calendar to turn to February where we just have one!

Gary had a sesion meeting at church that night so we just met up at Moe's after that for a simple, kid-friendly and approved b-day meal. Overall, great day. Lots of love on FB and from phone calls, texts and e-mails throughout the day. Caroline says I am now "the next number" as she got so used to saying I was 37! Here's to 38 and beyond!!

fun decorations by gary and the girls

yummy cake at work!

Gary, the Ruling Elder

Gary was installed and ordained as an elder in our church on Sunday. The process has not been a short one, that's for sure. He was nominated back in the late fall. Had questionnaires to complete, interviews to share his faith journey and then he was placed on the slate for a vote by the congregation. Jokingly, people indicated they were glad it was a slate and not an individual ballot as they just were not sure about Gary. We are so proud of Gary and what a huge honor this is for him to be a part of the governing body for our church and sit on the session board for Hope, which is the largest church in the state of Tennessee.  He has learned so much through his training and even taught me a few things, even though I grew up Presbyterian! Gary is humbled by the process and enjoyed having my parents, the girls and some friends in attendance as he was ordained in front of the congregation. Congrats Gary!

the family in attendance to support Gary

awesome friend zack who joined us with his wife lauren

Bumbletees sewing class

Anna has been interested in a sewing class for a while. We gave her a gift certificate to Bumbletees to a beginning kids sewing class for Christmas. She and a friend Emily attended the pillowcase class on Saturday morning and I was so impressed with the finished product. My mom can sew and did sew for us growing up and still helps with sewing repairs for us these days (Caroline says you don't know how mommy but Mimi does) so I think the sewing skills must have skipped a generation!! Emily has a mom that is the craftiest mom I know and even has a huge dedicated space upstairs in her home for all of her craft projects. She is serious! The girls were dropped off at 9am and chose their own 3 fabrics for the project. Anna was into the florals and Emily chose polka dota. By 12:15 when I returned both had created their pillowcases on their own and as Anna added, "we even learned how to iron them". Hmmm, a skill to be used at home for sure one day :). Both girls want to go back and I think it is a great skill to learn.  Here is the website if anyone is interested in a class in the future for adults or kids! http://bumbletees.net/ and then visit the sewing studio page for calendars of the classes offered.

they have picked out their fabric and are ready to go!

great job girls!! i was very impressed!!