Celebrating Makena's Birthday with Friends

Makena's birthday is during Spring Break so she celebrated her birthday early at school. She chose a Shopkins Kooky Cookie to share with her friends.

 

The next day, we had a Shopkins birthday party for her at the house. 

  

Makena wanted to decorate her own cupcake. 

Daddy tried to eat all her toppings off her cupcake, but she successfully fought him off. 

A lot of her friends could not come because of Spring Break, but she still had fun with this small bunch of sweet friends. 

A Trip to Tyler to See Aunt Stephanie

Aunt Stephanie was in Tyler visiting her family, so we headed down there to see her.  We stayed in a hotel and of course, the kids loved it!

We picked the kids up a little early from school. Karis wanted to make sure she got her homework done before the day ended. 

We had dinner with Aunt Stephanie on Friday night and then she took us to the zoo on Saturday.

Marking off each animal we visited. 

Watching the penguins eat lunch. 

Daddy and Aunt Stephanie checking out the lion. 

Looking at the large crocodile. 

Aunt Stephanie did a lot of heavy lifting that day!

Mommy's favorite animal!

Feeding the ducks, fish and turtles. 

Such a fun treat to spend time with Aunt Stephanie!

It was a warm day so when we were done, we stopped for ice cream before heading back home. 

Open House at MKB

It's always fun to see what the girls have been working on at school. They are so excited and proud to show us everything. The highlight of the evening for Daddy was reading this:

I loved seeing this entry in her journal!

Maverick of the Week

Karis was the 2nd Grade Maverick of the Week for the week of March 7th. She couldn't remember all of what her teacher said to her when she was recognized, so I emailed her teacher. 

This is what her teacher said:

"The second grade teachers selected Karis for her patience, collaboration with peers, and her work ethic. She certainly deserves the recognition! I'm very lucky to have her in my room."

We are very proud of her!

We went out to dinner and got ice cream afterwards to celebrate!

Spring Soccer

Karis has started her second season of soccer. She is excited to play! Her team chose a new name and color. This season they are the Shooting Stars. 

This is Karis before her first game. It was an early game and it was cold! 

Guess who is the new Assistant Coach for the Shooting Stars?  Daddy-o!  He is excited to support the team and work with a great head coach. Karis is getting used to having her Daddy on the field with her. They are learning to respect one another and work together in a team setting!

Psalm 1

Our church challenged everyone to memorize Psalm 1 as a family. Karis and Makena were up for the challenge.  They worked hard and each week they memorized a verse until they had all six memorized. 

1 Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law] of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, 

but the way of the wicked will perish.

The kids were highly motivated by a donut party for those who memorized the chapter. They were excited to get their special ticket to the party! 

Karis even got to throw a pie in her teacher's face. All part of the party fun! We love our church that teaches us and challenges all of us to live as followers of Jesus. 

Class Valentine's Day Parties

Here are a few pics of the kids' Valentine's Day parties. With three kids in school, Derek and I have to do some tag teaming on days of class parties.

Kyle and his best bud Elliot. 

Kyle and sweet Sophia. 

 

I was so busy running Karis' party as Homeroom Mom that I only got this one photo. Mommy fail...