karlee walked

I've mentioned before that Karlee was accepted into the Duke Tip program.  Today a ceremony was held at TCU for the students that qualified for state recognition.  There were 16,578 students in Texas that were accepted into the program and just over 5100 qualified for state recognition.  Go Karlee!!

 We arrived early.  I never know about traffic.

 The boys were tired of waiting.  "S" takes forever to get to.  Carson actually fell asleep.  He can fall asleep almost anywhere.

Yea!!

Keep it up Karlee and before we know it you will be walking across a stage graduating.    

our first swim

Yes, we've been in the pool already this year.  But this is the first time for the entire family.  We had a fun Monday.  Swimming, grilling, we even had smores. 

Our pets even joined in for the fun.  Stella ran and ran around the pool so much that her nails started to bleed.  Today she is limping and favoring her front right paw.  Poor girl.  I didn't take her on my walk/run this morning either.  She probably thinks she's being punished.

Then, when I was putting pool toys away and the pool was calm I heard a plop.  Oscar some how fell in.  He was sitting next to the pool and I think Stella pounced on him.  Poor thing.  With having three cats hang out by the pool, he's the first to swim.  :) 

readers theater

Last Friday Mason's class did a readers theater of "Charlotte's Web".  They did a great job.  I think all of the parts were shared with another class mate.  Mason was Templeton.  They all knew their lines and did a great job.  When it was Mason's turn you knew it before he said a word.  He had the biggest grin ever. I love his smile!

events of the day

This morning was the 7th grade awards ceremony.  Karlee received 6 awards but two are big ones.  She received a plaque for high "A" honor roll.  Plus she received Duke University Talent Search State Recognition.   This recognition is a ceremony at TCU in a week.  Way to go Karlee!! 

Then this afternoon Mason's grade had their field day at the high school.  Carson ended up going to a friends house.  I was hoping Adam's dad would be able to take him for the afternoon.  But schedules wouldn't work.  He tagged along with me and loved all the attention from the kids. 

Mason has always had lots of "girl" friends.  But this is new for him.

If you look close at Adam you can see how hot he is.  His face is super red.  Shortly after this we found a large bucket full of water and I let him splash in it.  It really helped his attitude.

Mrs. Clyne's class won the tug of war!!!  They were soo excited.

It ended up being rather hot.  I think about 92.  We all had fun but was grateful when it was over and we could find the AC again. ;)

presents

I captured some great pics of Mason!!  He loved everything.  From "Whimpy Kid" tee, books, Lego's, kid size tools, to all the attention all day.  :)

 In between presents and cake we looked out the window and saw some pretty cool clouds.  The sirens then went off...

 ...and Bailee went and hid.  Trying to take her mind off of what was going on outside.  The wind blew so hard we actually saw shingles blowing though the air.  When Kinz went home after cake she noticed 17 fences down.  Many large trees snapped from the wind or pulled out of the ground.  It got a little intense.  Now, as I type, sirens are going off again.  It's been about an hour since the last warning.  Brian is out driving, checking on families.

Today this amazing boy turned 9!!  I can't believe it.  I took this picture of him when I met him for lunch at school.  During lunch he told me that this week has been great.  Perfect since Saturday.  That's a lot of great days. 

I brought him a Happy Meal for lunch.  He only started liking McDonald's about 2 weeks ago and now that is all he wants.  He asked me to bring him two cheeseburgers for lunch so I did...he ate it all...and fries.  I left the cookies in his classroom at lunch that he's sharing with his class.  It turned out to be a good thing.  They had to have their treat early because they had an assembly at the time we planned.  I didn't know this until after I arrived at school.  So I stayed for the rest of the assembly and gave him a ride home.  Parent pickup!!! A dream come true for him.  It's now been the best birthday ever, his words.  Mason it easy to please.  :)

Tonight we are going out to dinner as a family then back home for cake and presents.  I'm not sure it can get here fast enough. 

Mason, I hope you know we love you.  Happy, happy birthday!!!

graduate

Carson had his Pre-K graduation ceremony this morning.  It was a nice program.  The kids sang three songs and they even walked across the stage to receive their diploma.  :O)

Here is Carson with his teachers.  Miss Keron on the left and Miss Kara.  I think their names confused the kids sometimes.  They were great teachers.  Carson loved school everyday.  Although, he's now ready to be finished and be a Kindergartner!!

all about mason

Saturday Mason had another game.  The coach is great about moving the kids around to try all the positions.  Mason played first base and he did great.  The first batter hit the ball toward him and Mason casually went to pick it up as all us parents yell at him to touch his base.  He understood and ran to the base and the runner was out.  The second batter made it to first.  The third batter hit it towards Mason and he picked it up and beat the runner to first.  He got two of the three outs for that inning.  So cool!!

After the game we hurried home before his friends arrived for his birthday party.  We went to Laser Quest, a first for all of us.  It was lots of fun.

Just a few more days until his birthday.  Wahoo!!

doctors

Thursday was full of doctor appointments.  Carson was the first.  Wednesday at 12:30 am it all started.   He woke up with a fever and by mid day it was 103 degrees.  Thursday morning his temp was normal but he started vomiting.  I was able to get him in at 9 and we found out he has strep.  That's a first for our family.  The strange thing was, he was acting himself by 1...I hadn't even started his meds yet. 

Mason had an ortho appointment at 11.  He is on schedule to have is braces off in August.  He's excited!

The most exciting appointment was Karlee's.  She had her cast removed.  Very exciting news.  She needs to wear a brace until her next appointment.  Not such a big deal.

The rest of the day was just as busy.  Mason had a baseball game at 6.  He really didn't want to go.  He all of a sudden doesn't want to play because he doesn't get the ball often enough.  I told him he didn't have a choice.  That he couldn't let his team down, plus I paid money for him to play and he will finish.  He still wasn't very happy.  He got ready and we left.  He played great!  Afterward he told me it was fun.  :)  That he would try and remember the games are fun.  I might need to remind him of the fun often. 

Baseball games are supposed to last an hour.  Not this night.  I'm sure because I needed to be somewhere.  Karlee had her spring choir concert that started at 7 and we weren't able to make.  Brian saved the day and was able to be there for her.   

FHE

Monday night we had the Bishopric over for a potluck BBQ and FHE.  Just the week before a new counselor was called.  It was a great way to get to know the family.  Almost all the kids ended up eating outside.  It was beautiful.

 Across the top is Bailee, Karlee and Diane.  The bottom is Phoebe, Aiden, Mason, Carson, and Brian.  Those three boys ended up having a lot of fun together. 

We were disappointed that the Cook's weren't here to join us, but change happens.  And most of the time change is good.

tradition

Every Sunday night we have popcorn.  That's how I grew up.  It was never a question.  It's also a "Dad job".  It took me many years to train encourage Brian to take on the responsibility.  ;)  Now it happens without any thought.  With Brian serving as Bishop, there have been many Sunday nights I popped the popcorn.  Some Sundays we have a mess like this.  It's not too often now that we have a dog...and Adam.   

My spot is next to Brian.  Somehow Adam beat me.  When I picked him up and put him on my lap he climbed down and pulled at my leg to move.  I gave him is own small bowl of popcorn and it seemed to make him happy.