Spring Break 2012

We decided to go to Shreveport to shop for a few days during spring break.  We chose Shreveport because Branson had tornado damage and it was raining cats and dogs every other direction we could think to go.  Here are the kids when we left that morning....

I've mentioned Kam's love of history.  She wanted to ask us history questions and vice-versa the whole ride down.  Not necessarily our idea of a good road game.  It did lead to an interesting discussion on president's though when Kam asked Mom if Jimmy Carter was a good or bad president!

It's so hard to get two kids to cooperate with me for a picture....

I always have that look on my face like I'm right in the middle of scolding them to cooperate and smile (which I probably am!). 

The Boardwalk had a glow in the dark mini golf course that we kept telling the kids we would take them to, but we only made it there 20 minutes before it closed and Kamdyn decided that Campbell would be scared since it was so dark!  I think Kam was secretly the one who was leery of it!  So we found an arcade instead and let them play for a while.

My kids absolutely love arcades and they want to go to one in ever city we visit....

Jamie made a hotel reservation for us before we left but she's never been to Shreveport before.  As we left the Boardwalk about 9:30 the first night and started driving, she noticed we were driving in a questionable area.  I had vaguely thought that I should have mentioned that to her when she booked rooms but I didn't give it a second thought after that....until the song "In the Ghetto" kept coming to my mind as we drove further on! 

We pulled up to our hotel with a liquor store right beside it (clue #1) and Jamie just got out to go tell them we weren't staying there.  Mom decided to follow her in and had to be buzzed in to even get in the office.   That was clue #2! 

We called Brian and Mark (who were at home playing X-box) to help us locate a hotel and then drove to another one.  Although it was much better, Jamie still refused to stay there.  This is where we began explaining to Kamdyn the difference between a motel and a hotel and she thought that was hilarious!  Mark told us just to go back to the boardwalk and stay in one of the casinos (your safest bet, according to him).  Mom decided that she would just cover the kids eyes as we walked through the casino lobby, but we finally found a safe one and it didn't come to that (but I have laughed at that image in my head several times after thinking about it later).

Shopping day 2 with new sunglasses Mimi bought them..... shopping for two days straight with four kids is really asking a lot!!  The kids were pretty good but I think the adults were completely fried by the time we got home on Friday night.

 Waiting to have dinner...

Mimi and her grands...

On the Boardwalk...

 Mom watching the kids while JJ and I shopped....she's a good Mimi! 

I love that Cooper loves his food! He's a little picky about some things, but it's an event for him when he eats something that he really loves.  He even hums!

We decided on day two to stay in Texarkana so we could go to Brian's game on Friday.  After listening to the kids whine for two days straight about playing putt-putt, we finally found a putt-putt course for them to play on Friday and they had a blast!  Mimi sat in the car with Campbell while she napped....remember I told you that she's a good Mimi!

Watching some Panther softball!  I spent most of the time trying to explain to Kam what the girls were doing now that she's playing softball.  She'd say, "oh, yeah...." like it all made sense to her all of a sudden!

The boys playing with their cars....I'm pretty sure Cooper's eventually ended up in the trash can.  Some really  nice MC dads tried to dig it out for him but couldn't find it!

After the game, we met Dad for dinner.  I'm not sure who was more tired and crabby-the kids or adults.   Next year, I vote for spring break at the beach or on the slopes! 

What's So Good About Good Friday?

"How is celebrating the death of someone good news"? The brutality of crucifixion is horrific so how can that be good news?

Even though it was a horrific death, Jesus being crucified made it possible for you and me to stand right before God. And that’s the good news. No, that's GREAT news! Jesus said, "there is no greater love than to lay your life down for a friend… and you are my friends…" John 15:13

St. Patrick's Day

Kam's class on St. Patrick's Day...... I had to post this one, even though several have eyes closed, because of Kam's pose.  

Ms. Teague and her class.....and at least everyone's eyes are open.

Base Burners Softball

Kamdyn is playing machine pitch softball this year and they had their first game on Tuesday night.  Oh my goodness, I loved it! 

She has played t-ball and 6U softball (which is just like t-ball) but this is so different.  It's actually competitive and exciting!!!  About half of the team is older and played last year, so we have a little experience.  As Mark would say, they are a "salty little team!"  

We missed two practices during spring break so this was actually only the third time that Kam batted with the pitching machine.  She fouled it off a lot, but I was excited that she is making contact! 

She played left-center field and actually had some balls hit to her out there.  

Let the trash talking begin!!!  We played a double-header and some of the girls on the Malvern team are from Bismarck.  I noticed them over at our dugout during the game and got tickled because it so looked like there was some trash talk happening!

We won our first game and lost the second game, but we came from behind to tie it up.  It was very exciting and I had flashbacks to my softball days.  Of course, things are so different now and we never played with a machine or stole bases.  We pitched ourselves, but Mark is quick to remind me that I played slow-pitch back in the OLD days!  My softball days are still some of my best childhood memories!

Brian worked with Kam some over the weekend and I'll post those pictures later.  Kam was sure to tell her team that her Uncle coached "real softball girls" and they were quick to point out that they were real softball girls.  I think she meant to say "teenage girls."  

Kam loves the social aspect of any sport she plays.  She told me on Tuesday morning that they were going to practice their cheers during recess.  She can always be seen clowning with her teammates, jumping, doing the splits, shouting chants, etc. and this night was no different.  My brother got so tickled watching her!   Did anyone else notice that she's the smallest player on the team?

Cooper enjoyed the time at the ball field playing but I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on him.  He and Braxton wandered off and found a downed tree to play on...

I'm not sure if softball will be Kam's sport or not, but we are sure enjoying it right now!  I'm secretly hoping that she will love it as much as I do!  Go Base Burners!!!

Lunch With My Girl

I had lunch with Kamdyn and her friend, Kaylie, today at school.  She has begged me for two weeks to come eat with her and I've had work conflicts up until today.   She tells me at least once a week that I embarrass her, so I asked her why she wanted me to come eat with her if I was going to embarrass her.  Of course, she went on and on about how me eating with her wouldn't embarrass her....I tell her all the time that she really doesn't understand how bad I could really embarrass her if I wanted to! 

As I was walking across the parking lot to join her, I saw her jumping up and down when she realized it was me.  She even threw her hands up in the air.  I'm not sure if she thought I would forget or what but, regardless, it made my day to see her so excited.

I brought her Sonic and sat and listened to her and Kaylie jabber the whole time.  I always enjoy going to eat with her and watching all the kiddos.  I had several from church run to our table to give me hugs, which is always sweet!

After lunch, Kam insisted that her teacher needed to talk to me and that I had to go to the classroom before I left.  Of course, she wasn't there but I was able to check out all her St. Patrick's goodies from their parade earlier that morning.  I think everyone is already in spring break mode--we are excited and looking forward to some fun and time off next week!

Let the Games Begin

We are in week two of spring soccer.  No more sleeping in as Cooper's game begins at 9:00 a.m. So far, he has refused to go in and play!  They are down to two boys on his team and they try to not have them on the field at the same time (because they distract each other).  This puts one boy on the field with the girls and last week Cooper refused to play.  I was so frustrated and thought we had talked  through that enough that he would play this week.  Not a chance!  This week he was hungry (even though we just had breakfast) and thirsty.... Mark and I have told him that he has committed to his team and we will continue to go even if he doesn't play.  I must admit that I was ready to eat those words on Saturday and just call it quits for the season.  And, of course, he was running all over the field as soon as the game was over.  Honestly, I think he's just ready to start baseball but I'm hoping that he will come around and play these last few weeks of soccer.  

Kam has started softball practice this week and it now overlaps with her soccer game. Once her game was over, we had to rush to get her to her first practice.   I think she has a great team of girls and I'm so excited about it.  I grew up playing softball and I'm hoping that she will love it and have as much fun with it as I did as a child.  While she practiced, Mark took Cooper to join Brian and Braxton at the baseball field to work with the boys on their hitting.

After softball, I took Kam to a birthday party in Hot Springs and the boys went to Dick's to buy all their baseball equipment, etc.  We all met up for dinner with my parents and brother at Chili's later that night.

I commented a few weeks ago that my family never got together anymore.  We have always had dinner on a fairly regular basis but the last six months to a year have just been busy, I guess.  We made up for it this weekend by eating together three days in a row.  On Sunday, my mom said, "Ok, this is three days in a row.  Am I going to die?"  Not too funny, I know, but we were just all grateful to spend some time together again.  It was a wonderful weekend with fabulous weather....even the rain on Sunday was glorious as I laid on my couch and vegged for an hour or so!

I do realize these pictures have nothing to do with soccer and sports but they are the only pics I took all weekend long.  I'm going to get my camera out more this week and focus on taking everyday shots, specifically things about my kids that I want to remember.  First pic is definitely going to be of Cooper eating breakfast, which is an event at our house every morning!

Kam's PT Conference - Class Update

As I mentioned earlier, Kam's parent teacher conference was a few weeks ago.  Kam has had a fantastic year with her teacher and class and I cannot say enough good things about her teacher, Ms. Teague.  

Ms. Teague loves America and the flag and her classroom is completely decorated in Americana. 

She's also a big history buff and it has rubbed off on Kamdyn.  She told me that she always has one student that happens to and the whole class now refers to Kam as the "history buff."  She loves it!  She and Mark talk about presidents and the Civil War and all kinds of facts that I vaguely remember!  She loves for Mark to ask her questions to see if she knows the answers.  When she asks me, I normally just say "whatever you say" because I think she knows more than I do, especially about the presidents.  She is now begging us to take her to Washington, DC so she can see the Washington Monument and where Abraham Lincoln died.  Cooper and I sort of think we should just send her and Mark while we go to the beach!

For Veteran's Day, the kids made flag t-shirts to wear to the Veteran's Day Ceremony.  By the way, Kam now loves Veteran's Day and says it's one of her favorite holidays now.....makes her Pop proud!

Ms. Teague recently sent me all these pictures of Kam and her class and it thrills me.  She told me the first night at open house that she loves pictures and she knows I do too and that she knows "they mean as much to me as they do her." 

Posing with Dara in their super cool American hats, courtesy of Ms. Teague...

I'm pretty sure that Kam begged to be able to get up into this helicopter...

Ms. Teague bragged about Kam's reading skills and we were proud that she is reading on a third grade reading level.   I know I've mentioned how competitive she and Mark are with this.... we get an email every day telling us when she's read a book and Mark keeps up with her points.  He asks her almost every day if she has gotten announced (it's not official until the counselor calls it over the intercom!). 

It's really become a competition between Mark and Dane's mom, Dedee....to the point of us texting each other when one kid gets in another club.   Kam and Mark say they "can't let the Stephenson's beat us!" and the Stephenson's say, "you can't let a girl beat you!"  We've had fun with it and I truly believe it has motivated both kids to read more.  As a matter of fact, Cooper told us when we were leaving the conference/K-registration that he wanted to "verse Malachi" when he got in school.  Malachi is Dane's little brother. 

One of her rewards for the AR club was having a pizza lunch with her teacher...

Getting into the 100 point AR club was a super big deal at our house!  I think Mark has forgotten his promise to match Kam dollar for point and she's forgotten to milk him for all that it's worth! 

Her class has been a lot of fun.  At Christmas, one of the Dad's set up a Christmas tree in the classroom with the lights set to music.  Ms. Teague said that they "made memories" with that tree during those cold recesses when they couldn't go outside.

Kam and me at the Christmas party...

So thankful for Kam's teacher and classmates this year!  They have truly been a blessing.  I'm looking forward to what the rest of the semester brings.