Father's Day

Father's Day Food...

Breakfast - Not pictured due to rush for 9:00 a.m. church, but it was yummy. Eggs, grits and toast for Grandpa; eggs and bacon for Kelly.

Lunch by Heather

Taco Dinner by Melissa, Heather and Jenna

Dessert by Melissa (with Ice Cream)

People and Presents...

 Kelly got a Willow Tree statue called, "My Girls" as well as some much needed clothing.

 From our family and Michelle's family, Grandpa got a much needed self-inflating air mattress so he doesn't have to mess with the separate mattress and pump on his overnight travels.  And he received some Reese's candy, of course.

And some fun...

Kelly and Heather playing "Blackjack"with M&M's while Jenna watches.  Don't worry, we don't support gambling.  Heather wanted to show Dad what she played at the 8th grade party.  The girls played together for a long time today while Kelly napped.  Those kinds of Sundays are always nice since they don't get a lot of playtime during the week.

8th Grade Promotion Dance

Heather's 8th Grade Promotion Dance was held tonight.  A friend helped her choose the right dress for the party atmosphere, and Heather asked me to do her hair like Danielle Bradbury on The Voice last week (my creation doesn't match, but it turned out okay).  All the committee members wore white tops with black pants to blend into the background.  Heather grabbed a sprig of Jasmine from our front yard, and we were off!

It is easy to see that there were hours of planning and work that went into getting the party ready.  We had some great parents on our team.  The theme was "Mardi Gras," and along with the DJ and dancing, there were rooms for the kids to visit (photo booth, casino, karaoke) and tons of great food.  I was in charge of the Caricatures which are always very popular. As a part of my responsibilities, I decorated the booth with supplies that are used from year to year.  I had to cover the chairs for the artists and students to sit in, and I must say I'm a little proud of my cloth-like, plastic-table-cloth chair covers. You don't see those kinds of mad skills every day (haha).  You can see the entrance to New Orleans above complete with a bridge into the party.  The balloon drop was my favorite part of the decor, and at the end of the evening during the song, "Don't Stop Believin'," the balloons were dropped for the kids to play around with (and pop) while they were all singing and dancing.

Sara, Madi, Heather and MacKenzie

 Madi, Heather, MacKenzie and Grace

 Eden, Penelope, Alyssa, Autry, Jessie, MacKenzie, Heather and Madi

After the party lots of parents and students stayed to help clean up.  The sugar and fatigue eventually overcame Heather and her buddies and as they waited for moms, they swam on library tables, ran around, and giggled themselves silly.  We were all so tired, but what a great event!

More 8th Grade Dance Photos

Jenna Shines

Grace, Rachel (Gold Award for 4.0 GPA!), Ellie and Jenna

My dad and I attended an awards assembly for the 5th graders at Gisler on Friday morning.  Jenna was among those who were honored with the President's Education Award for outstanding academic excellence.  Jenna received the Silver Award which means she maintained between a 3.5 and 3.99 grade point average for all of 4th and 5th grade.  She even got a signed letter from Mr. President himself.

Jenna has been a trooper during her elementary school years.  When she started Kindergarten, we were just beginning to research and discover ways to help big sister with her academic career.  Although Jenna didn't need help, she would sometimes ask me for some help, I think, so that she could have some homework time with mom like Heather got.  As she progressed, it was apparent that Jenna could organize her binder, maintain her school planner, and remember to get her homework done, and do it primarily on her own.  We have watched over her studies these past few years, but Jenna has been cookin' along on her own.  She would probably be driving a car and managing a business by now if we'd let her.  She is an amazing girl who gives a lot of attention to detail, and we're so proud that her hard work has been recognized.  Way to go Jenna!

Giant Cookies

We picked Heather and her girlfriends up from school today to "have lunch at Heather's house."  We were really planning a little surprise birthday celebration for Madi whose birthday was in March.  She didn't have a party, but since they celebrated both Kenzie and Grace's birthdays, we decided they should celebrate for Madi.  She was surprised, and it was really cute.

Our treat was a giant cookie for each girl.  They were a hit, but man did they take extra baking time!  I'll have to remember that next time we go giant.  We just love these girls and their families.

Heather Shines

Heather got a cute haircut after school today.  Our stylist braided her bangs over, and it was super cute. It was great timing to be able to have this cute hairstyle because we were dashing off to...

8th Grade Awards Night!

This was an invitation-only event, and Heather was thrilled to receive an invitation.  She was awarded for outstanding achievement in her Yearbook class which specifically honored four girls who were considered to go "above and beyond" what they were asked to do.  Many of Heather's friends were honored in all different areas, and we were so proud of everyone.

One of the awards Heather wasn't eligible for was the GPA award, but I want to document something special here.  The GPA awards were presented to the kids who had GPAs above 3.5 for all trimesters all three years of middle school.  Heather's GPAs have been well above 3.5 for both the 7th and 8th grades, and that's what I wanted to shine a little light on.  Sixth grade was problematic for many reasons (I'm sure I've posted plenty about that year), but when Heather switched schools she gained a combination of outstanding teachers and the support of her dear friends.  Heather is leaving middle school with GPAs of 3.8-4.0 for her 8th grade year.  We are so proud of her accomplishments that we could just burst.

Thanks for letting us brag a little.  When Heather's grandkids and great grandkids read these posts, they'll know that their grandma persevered and never gave up.  Heather is made of some great stuff!  Way to go Heather!

The Little Things

•  Sunday afternoon...Heather reading and Jenna sewing
•  The card Jenna was sewing on...a 'thank you' for me for all I do
•  Finished off the last of the lunch box notes

We are enjoying 9:00 a.m. church.  The afternoons are relaxing, and I was loving the girls' choices on Sunday.  Jenna learned how to sew with embroidery floss on card stock at her teacher craft day.  She loves creating!  The lunchbox notes have been super fun all year.  I found them via Pinterest, and there have been a variety of jokes based on seasons.  These last few were generic.  I don't know how cool it is to have these notes in the lunches, but the girls have never asked me to stop putting them in there.  They secretly love it, right?  I loved doing it and hope that it will add to the fun memories of mom when they're older and looking back on their childhoods.