Surprises are so fun!

I'm typing this post on a break from packing. We are surprising the girls with a trip to Disney World this afternoon. They have no clue. We are leaving as soon as Curly gets out of school. We are going to tell them we are visiting some friends in another state. Our plan is to drive all the way tonight and stay in a hotel right outside Orlando, get up in the morning, go to the resort and then head straight for a park . Pat has a conference at the Grand Floridian Resort. I'm really excited about it. The girls and I will just stay a few days and then drive back. Pat will fly back after his conference. Curly and The Bear love staying in hotels (or as The Bear calls them Woo-Tels). We are hoping that they will be so excited about staying at a hotel they won't ask too many questions about who the "friends" are that we are going to visit on Saturday. I love surprising them, it's so much fun. Our plan is to just go to the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom. Someday we'll do the big Disney trip and hit up all the parks but that will have to wait until sometime after Pat gets out of school and we save up enough money.

Curly is still enjoying kindergarten. She is still jumping out of bed each morning and excited to go. I'll remind her of that excitement in 10 years when she is dragging out of bed ;0). Yesterday at school they announced the names of kids who won some prizes for being top sellers in the fundraiser (THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ORDERED SOMETHING). Curly's name was announced for being one of the top kindergarten sellers. She got to go with another little boy from her class and get their picture taken. As she was telling me this story, I asked her if she understood why she won a prize and had her picture taken. Her answer was this " Well I think everyone just thinks I'm really nice and special and everyone likes me so I won". She said a similar thing the other day when some books I had ordered for the girls came in and were put in Curly's cubby. She came home and said " Mommy, I won some books. When I was packing up they were in my cubby. I think I won them because I'm so nice to everyone". Oh my that girl! No confidence issues for sure. It's all about her ;0).

Last week was Garrison Mill night at Bruster's. Mrs Hutcherson was serving ice cream so we of course had to go. It was fun. Most of Curly's class was there. The kids had a great time and I had fun talking with the other moms there. Soccer is still going well too. The Bear is chomping at the bit to get out on the field and play too. Sometimes during soccer practices she does go out on the field and kicks the ball around.

Back to packing for me. Next week I'll post about our trip!

Ordering ice cream from Mrs Hutcherson

Eating with classmates

Soccer fields are so bright you gotta wear shades

Soccer Star

The Clash. The "professional" photographers kept the parents behind the fence. This was as close as I could get ;0(

BFF's from birth (Claire, Curly and Avery)

Fun Run

Last Friday Curly got to participate in her school's annual Fun Run. The kindergarteners ran two laps around the track which is about a half a mile. Poor Curly had been dealing with bad allergies all week and wasn't feeling very well that night. But she still wanted to run and play with all her friends. The kindergarteners ran last so that gave Pat enough time to get there from work and watch Curly run. She finished in the middle of the pack which was great considering she didn't feel good. After watching the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers climb the podium and receive their medals, Curly is very motivated to be up there next year ;0).

With some of her buddies before the run

Hugs from Mrs Hutcherson before the run

The Kindergarten Girls at the start of the the run. Curly is in the middle with the black pants on. I promise it was cool that evening.

Run Curly! Run!

The Kindergarten Girls medal ceremony. Curly is the second girl on the left of the picture.

Oops!

Sorry it's been a long while since I've updated the blog. Our family's schedule this new school year is kickin' my tail. We are going all the time. I'm not complaining. I'm enjoying watching the girls participate in their activities, volunteering in Curly's classroom and my new bible study. I could do without Pat being in school though ;0). One more year and that will be OVER! All that to say when I do find myself with a moment, I haven't been motivated to upload pictures and write a post. I'll try to do a better job. Let me do my best to catch you up on what's been going on with the girls...

The Bear is enjoying preschool. She goes three days a week. However, unlike her big sister, Bear is a girl of few words when it comes to telling me about her day. Curly would tell me every detail of her school day from what they learned about to who got in trouble to what they had for a snack. When I ask The Bear how her day was, I get " It was good". When I ask for more details she basically gives me one word answers or says she doesn't remember. The Bear is very matter of fact. Details and long stories are not necessary in her mind. She is still enjoying ballet. Her teacher wants the girls to practice jumping on one leg at home. The Bear isn't fond of that but we are working on it.

1st day of preschool

Curly is still insane about kindergarten. She loves each and every detail about it. I honestly cannot think of one thing she has ever said she doesn't like about school. She thinks her teacher, Mrs Hutcherson, hung the moon and all the stars. Curly even told me one day that " Mrs Hutcherson knows everything about all things, she's the smartest person in the world". I don't know about her teacher being the smartest person in the world, but she has so far been a fantastic kindergarten teacher. She is exceeding every expectation I ever had. Curly has already brought home a few simple books that she can read. She couldn't read prior to starting kindergarten. I love volunteering in Curly's classroom. The kids are so sweet and I love getting to she how Mrs Hutcherson teaches. There are three weekly volunteer opportunities for parents in the classroom. One is working "centers" which is a rotation based activity. Usually the parent works with an art project with a group of students, while Mrs Hutcherson works on phonics/reading with another group and Mrs Jann (the assistant teacher) works with writing/typing. The second way to volunteer is being a reading parent. This is only once a week where a parent comes in to read a story to the kids. The final volunteer opportunity is the computer lab. Curly is still taking the bus to and from school each day. She's making many new friends in her class.

Curly's Kindergarten Class

Soccer season has also started for Curly. Her team is called " The Clash" this year. She has the same coaches and many of the same little girls on her team this year as she did last year. Her games are every Saturday. Last year we the games were miserably hot. This year the temperatures are so mild it's awesome and makes going to games so much more enjoyable. Curly understands the game a bit more this year.

1st soccer practice of the season

Quick funny story about Curly, the other night Pat was reading her the story of the prodigal son. In case you don't remember it's the story of a son who asked his father for his inheritance early so that he could leave home. He then proceeds to squander the money on selfish things and becomes poor. He was so hungary at one point he even ate pig slop out of a trough. He ends up going back home and his father forgives him just as God forgives his children who come home to Him. When Pat finished the story, Curly looked at him and said very seriously " Daddy when you die and I get all your money, I will not waste it because I DO NOT want to eat pig slop".