a Buggy birthday

groovy - Cassidy turned 8 on Friday. My baby...when did my baby get to be 8 years go. Didn't I just give birth to her? It sure seems like it...now she's 8. Next thing I know, she'll be curing cancer or President or something... anyways...we had a groovy, fab 60s birthday pool party with her bff Alyx on Sunday night. It was awesome. Except for the rain. and the thunder. But as things often do, it all worked out, and the kids had an awesome time and did get a good hour of swimming in. Happy Birthday Cassidy, and you too Alyx!

Dance Recital

The girls' dance recital was on Saturday. They did a great job. Cassidy danced ballet to the Carousel Waltz. Megan danced ballet to Peer Gynt Suite 1 Op. 46 (you've heard it before in the morning in old cartoons - look it up on youtube), and jazz to Happy Workers (a crazy little song from the movies Toys). It was a long day, but they loved every minute of it and enjoyed their time to shine on stage. Megan lucked out and her jazz number made it into the finale, so she thought she was all that and a bag of chips. These pics are from dress rehearsal. We were extremely excited to have Mama Sandra and Uncle Josh in from out of town to see the girls dance. I think Uncle Josh got more than he bargained for coming to the recital, especially with Megan being in the finale! I think Jon misses the days of the girls being little girls, when you could leave after Act I...me, I LOVE staying til the end!

DSHS Graduation 2009

Mission accomplished!! I can not believe that I have a nephew that has graduated high school. I am so proud of him. He's so handsome! And such a good kid. The girls were surprisingly good at the graduation ceremony, considering that it was pretty long, but luckily it wasn't really hot, which was awesome since it was outside (that insane Yellow Jacket tradition about walking across that football field!). Afterwards, I got to help chaperone the Project Graduation (no comments about my lack of skills chaperoning - I did just fine!), and I got to spend all night with my sister, having fun with all these crazy graduates. And we really did have a good time. I got to paint fingernails and paint hair, and put on tattoos, and take fake money for raffle tickets, and get REALLY tired. I am still tired. Seriously, I went to bed at 7 am the next morning. Tired. But it was fun watching Daniel and Delana and their friends have fun, and being in a safe environment. I'm so thankful that Stacey and Danny let me share this time with them and Daniel. It was the bomb! So - congrats Daniel - the sky really is the limit now!

my equally cool nephew Aaron

Here's some cool pics of Stacey's younger son Aaron - he's in the band (who doesn't love the drum section?!) and plays on the football team (he just broke his nose at practice last week...it didn't even bother him...bullet proof!). He's finishing up his 7th grade year. Aaron is a character...he makes me laugh. He's also a handsome dude, and a really good kid. Stacey did something right with these boys - they are such good kids And these kids are really making me feel old.

David Dream Run

This is my favorite week of school - David Week. Our school is named for David Vetter, who was the boy in the bubble. He lived in Shenandoah, which is right outside of The Woodlands. He was born with SCID and spent his life in a bubble to keep him safe from germs. He died when he was 12. Every year, his family comes to our school, and his mom talks to our kids about David and tells them stories about him and his older sister, and answers any questions they have about him. She made a video about him so that we will know his story and that all the children that go to the school that bears his name will take away with them a little knowledge of this little boy that touched the world a long time ago (David would be close to my age now if he would have lived). Every year, our school holds a fundraiser to honor David's dream - he wanted to one day run barefoot in the grass. Well, we don't run barefoot in the grass, but we do run for David. We run and raise money for the David Center at Texas Children's Hospital. Kids helping kids. We love teaching our kids that they can do something like fun like this - running or walking with their friends, and they are helping a sick child in the hospital. So - in the pictures are - the girls and our school mascot Splash the Dolphin, David's family - Mrs. Demeret, her daughter Katherine, and her sons; me, Coleen and Tricia; Megan and her friends; Cassidy and her friends; Jon and Megan crossing the finish line; Cassidy crossing the finish line; (do you notice someone missing from the finish line...hmmm). An awesome, awesome day. If you ever want to come visit, this is a great weekend to come. You don't have to walk/run (obviously, I didn't!), but you will feel SO good!

Jon's deer

Jon FINALLY got his mounted deer head in today. Oh the joy that filled the house. I wish you all could have experienced it. It rivaled perhaps the anticipation of the birth of a third child. Or maybe a new puppy. You get the picture. Just the excitement of Jon opening that ginormous box, I could only imagine how big of an animal was in there as the box was just about as big as me (was the deer standing up? peering over a log? maybe with some binoculars, hunting the hunter?). But, it's a beautiful deer, and it will look lovely in my office...not in my living room. Nice job, Jon! He's super proud, and I'm super proud of my hunter!

jazz doll

Megan had her recital pics this week. She got out of her ballet costume before I could get pics but here she is in her jazz outfit. She LOVES it (and I think it's pretty cute!). She's dancing to Happy Workers from Toys. They are dancing dolls. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Her number is going to be in the finale and she is way excited about that. She LOVES her jazz teacher, Mr. Tim. He's moving, and we are both sad about that - he's the best. He really inspired her to try harder and was able to get her to really do her best. That's not always an easy job...