Young Author's Competition

Kelsie and her book.

Ari, Kelsie and Madison. The 3 girls from Kelsie's 2nd grade class that were chosen to receive awards for their books.

Ari and Kelsie looking at the books on display.

Kelsie outside the school that hosted the event.

Totally unrelated - the frog in our house. See below post.....funny.

Today was Kelsie's day to go to the Young Author's Competition in Frisco with her school. It's a gathering of private schools to recognize students who have written books. Kelsie was one of three students in her grade chosen to go and she got third place for her book "My Mom, My Dad and Me." We got to meet the author of the children's book "If I Were A Monkey" and hear the story of how she got the idea and wrote the book. There was a second class that was taught by Bob Singleton, a songwriter and publisher, who talked to the kids about writing down ideas, keeping the good and throwing out the bad. It was engaging and I learned a few things myself. The best part was looking through all the kids books that were on display. They were all so creative in story and illustration. I was impressed!!! Friday night is GA's Father/Daughter Western Dinner at church so I hope to post more pictures of that later this weekend. Hope your week is going well - have a good weekend.

Easily Entertained

Well, we are easily entertained - tonight the whole house gathered around a frog. As you may know, it's been raining alot today and so our yard and flower beds are full of water. Well, we normally have frogs in our yard but tonight we had some people from church over and as they were leaving we had the front door open for quite a while saying good bye and enjoying the cool night air. Later as we sat down to watch the news (Kelsie was in bed but not asleep yet) - Bogey kept running to the hallway and then back to us. So, we got up to see what he was so hyper about and there was a big frog in the hallway. I guess coming in from the rain. Funny - we went and got Kelsie out of the bed to show her. The poor frog had an audience and I grabbed my camera and took a few pics...... Wayne caught the frog in some plastic cups and put it in the backyard toward freedom. Like I said, we are easily entertained. Well, Kelsie has been invited to a Young Author's competition on Thursday. I hope to post some pics and details about the day. Hope you have a good week.

"Bell" the Hermit Crab

Kelsie with the house all set up.
Kelsie and Wayne in the backyard setting up the habitat. It required sand and a special kind of dirt. Then a careful placing of the water dish and sponge, and an extra shell. It was pretty interesting to learn about.
Bell crawling on the counter from Kelsie's hand.

Well, we have a new pet. Her name is "Bell" and she is a hermit crab. Kelsie has been asking us for one for quite a while now. We put her off as long as possible but when we saw her wanting to look stuff up on the internet about them and talking to her friend at school about hers, we knew it was more than a passing fancy. We finally told her that if she paid for it and kept it in her room AND agreed to take care of it that we would take her to get one. We made her think about it and she decided last weekend that she wanted to buy it. Today after school was the day and she picked out the one with bells painted on the shell. We did have fun playing with it tonight and watching it crawl around. Kelsie loves it and Bogey gets nervous when Kelsie talks to it in a high pitch voice. This week back to work and school have been busy...looking forward to the weekend. More later.

Spring Break is over

I am sad to report that our Spring Break is officially over. Kelsie went back to school on Monday and Wayne back to work. I went back on Tuesday and we were suddenly thrust back into regular life - homework, meetings, deadlines, phone calls and e-mails. Well, we are blessed - busy life or leisurely. Okay, so here is the last detail of our final Spring Break days. On Saturday we went to breakfast together (which we never get to do) and did a little shopping in preparation for our yard work and refinishing of Kelsie's play structure which was in desperate need of a makeover. On Sunday we were planning to go to Six Flags but since we didn't finish the refinishing project Saturday, we decided that we could visit Six Flags anytime so we stayed home and finished all the work then cooked out and enjoyed being at home. Here are some pictures of our yard work and refinishing project. Hope you enjoyed our little Spring Break journal. We will try and keep you posted on our other happenings. Happy Spring - today is officially the first day and we had the appropriate springtime storms today.

Kelsie LOVED painting - she had such a good time actively participating in our project.

What a mess?

Kelsie wrote on her chalkboard "We are done!"

A flower we saw at the Botanical Gardens - I saw them in Dallas and had to plant them in my own garden. I loved these colors.

Flower bed plants.

Interesting daisies we found - I loved these and so did Kelsie so we had to plant them.

This a picture of a blackberry bush I planted. Wayne made fun of if because it's basically a stick in the ground. I'm optimistic that next year we will have lots of berries to enjoy and share.

Spring Break - Days 4 and 5

Well, unfortunately our Spring Break is going by sooo fast. Day 4 was yard work day. Wayne power washed Kelsie's wooden play structure. It has needed refinishing for quite a while so we decided to do it this week. It needs to dry for a few days before restaining so Wayne decided to do it on Thursday while Kelsie spent the afternoon with her friend Morgan and I planted flowers in the front flower beds. The back flower beds will have to wait until it dries out a little - they were muddy after the water from the power washer drained into them. Friday (day 5) we went to Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose. It was a blast - Morgan was with us so that made it more fun for Kelsie and we also took Bogey. He did pretty well - he is totally exhausted now! We did 2 trails and saw the tracks. Ate lunch at the picnic area and the girls played on the playground. The weather was perfect - a little cool in the morning but warmer in the sunshine in the afternoon. We had a GREAT DAY!! We will definitely go back again. Here are some pics:

Morgan and Kelsie acting scared of the T-Rex.

Look! A dinosaur track - it was really cool.

Kelsie is ready for the hike!

Wayne on top of the big rock.

Kelsie, Morgan and Bogey at the big rock. We stopped to climb for a while.

Our first attempt at crossing the Puluxy River. Wayne checked it out and discovered that there was a wide step between rocks and we needed a log. We found a few and he was trying to place them but they still didn't work. We had to hike upstream to find a new crossover place.

Here we are on top of the big rock - the queens of the mountain!

Our picnic spot with a good view of the playground. Relaxing and fun!

Kelsie and Morgan on top of the rock on the playground.

Our second hike - we finally found a crossover spot. As you can see, Bogey had to be carried toward the end of the crossover b/c he kept getting in the water. We all stayed dry both times we went across.

The climb up the hill after the river crossing.

A pretty butterfly we watched for a long time.

Another dinosaur track. We saw a few different ones down in the river bed at the main trail.

Just a photo looking down the river. There wasn't a lot of pretty vegetation yet but the river was peaceful and it was pretty and quiet. We saw little frogs, minnows and the girls collected shells. They wanted to take some rocks but it's not allowed but we did see some neat ones.

Spring Break - Days 2 and 3

Well, we have been busy but it's a good busy. We have changed up our plans a lot but it's so nice not to live by a schedule - we do that all the time and we all crave the change of being flexible and not having appointments to keep.

So, day 2 (Tuesday) we started with the plan of going to the zoo but it was rainy and icky outside so we decided to go to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. We went first to some of the exhibits and then to the Planetarium - very interesting. We attempted to do the "Dino Dig" outside but it started to thunder so we made Kelsie come indoors even though she only got to dig for a few minutes. We took in some other exhibits and saw the Dolphin show at the IMAX. After the IMAX, we decided at the last minute to go to Joe T. Garcia's for dinner. It's a very old restaurant in Ft. Worth - opened in 1935. Kelsie and I had never been there before. It's very interesting if you have never been there b/c there are only 3 menu items - a family platter (2 enchiladas, 2 tacos and fixins), chicken fajitas and beef fajitas. The food is good though, the tortillas especially. That pretty much wrapped up day 2 for us.

Day 3 we went over to Dallas around noon. We were planning to go to the JFK museum but ended up changing our minds after getting over there. We first went to Sam Moon. This was significant b/c it was Kelsie's first time to go there. We loved it - a girls dream of sparkling things - but cheap!! After a while there we went to the Dallas Farmers Market. We bought a few food items but spent most of our time in the flowers and plants. We bought a few things to plant and it was timely since we are working in the yard tomorrow. After all that, we went to Grapevine Mills Mall to do a little more shopping and to eat at the Rainforest Cafe - one of Kelsie's favorites. We made it back home in time to watch the Mavs barely get beat by the Suns in double OT. Here are a few pictures of the last 2 days. Hope you enjoy - will share more later......

Kelsie working on a creation at the Museum - she was building the ultimate shower head -

she is funny!

Kelsie working on her building - the one in front of her is Wayne's creation - we had to snap the picture before it fell. It stayed up for quite a while.

Kelsie completing her "Field Guide" in the dinosaur exhibit at the museum. Here she is doing a rock rubbing. It was a very cool display and we got to see Mr. Jonathon (a friend from church)on TV giving instructions at one of the stations.

Outside Joe T's.

This picture was taken on the merry go round at Grapevine Mills - Day 3

Smile Kelsie - taken at the Rainforest Cafe at dinner.

Spring Break - Day 1

Day one of Spring Break! Wayne finished work at midnight Sunday night and we are all officially on vacation. Today we changed our plans several times b/c we weren't sure of rain. Once we finally had a lazy morning at home, we headed to the Ft. Worth Zoo but it was so crowded that we changed our minds again and decided to see the Botanical Gardens and Japanese Garden instead. First there was a mini train that went through parts of Trinity Park so we did that first and it was perfect weather for it - cloudy and cool. We saw turtles and different birds and squirrels, Kelsie used her binoculars alot on the ride. We went to the Botanical Gardens and while everything wasn't blooming it was still beautiful. The Japanese Gardens was the favorite place for everyone - so peaceful and beautiful. We fed the fish and looked at all the plants and flowers - took lots of pics. We decided to go get some movies for tonight and cook out at home. We love the time change - Kelsie and Bogey played ball outside while Daddy grilled. We watched "Facing the Giants" - great movie!! Not sure if we will do the zoo or the museum tomorrow - stay in touch and we will keep you posted. See below for pictures of our day.

Kelsie and Bogey in the hammock swing - playing while Daddy cooks out

Panoramic View of Japanese Gardens - beautiful!!

Kelsie with wings!!

Various poses in the Japanese Garden - a great place to take pictures.

Pond is full of koi - we got to feed them, Kelsie loved that part!

Kelsie using her binoculars to see birds and squirrels from the train.

Kelsie and Wayne on the train.

These are two of our favorites in the Botanical Garden's Conservatory.

Inside the Conservatory, behind the waterfall.

Love these colors!!
Kelsie with the pink tulips - her favorite color

Kelsie begins Spring Break

Well, Kelsie begins her Spring Break today. She left early this morning with Wayne to meet his mom in Hillsboro so she could spend a few days with her while we finish up our work weeks. We will meet them on Saturday to pick her up. I'm torn - I know she will have a good time and that they have lots of stuff planned like going to the circus and the planetarium. BUT I HATE the fact that I am having to work while she is off!!! I am very thankful for the job I have - it's flexible and it pays the tuition bills for her to go to school, but ever since she has been in school I have tried to take advantage of the times that she is off to spend with her. She is growing up FAST!! Well, at least we will have next week off together and can do some family things.

I am so looking forward to the summer and really the next school year too. We are in the process of applying to CLPS (Christian Life Preparatory School). This is a University Model School. She will go to school for a full day on Tuesdays and Thursdays and take English, Math, Science, History and Computers and do the work at home MWF. We will homeschool art, music and PE (should be easy enough) and maybe add Spanish the second semester. Anyway, my job has agreed to for me to work on Tuesday and Thursdays and from home on Wednesdays. I am really looking forward to that and Kelsie is excited about the school. We took her to the orientation and she knows some kids from church that go there. My new work schedule will start as soon as she is out of school in May. YIPEE!!! Well, for now I'd better go and get ready for work - a long day ahead getting ready to be gone. I will post pics of our Spring Break next week! Have a good weekend. PS - Page down to see recent pictures if you haven't seen the previous posts.

Congrats to the Mackeys on their new baby boy! We love you guys.

Wild Worship

Here are a few pictures of Sunday night. The kids led in worship - they sang a song from their upcoming musical and then stayed up and led out in all the songs. Don't worry, I took these during rehearsal - but it was great to see all these kids leading out in praise and worship. It's a blessing to see how these kids are being trained up as future worship leaders. Mrs. Barb we miss you though!!

This is just a snapshot of Kelsie with her best friend Morgan out in the backyard just hanging out. They are funny together - 2 peas in a pod. I especially hope this makes Deana extra happy!!!!
1 WEEK TO SPRING BREAK - YEAH. Kelsie's actually starts on Thursday - she is getting to go to Waco for the weekend while we finish up our work schedules. We will all be off work and school together for a whole week - we can't wait to be on vacation. We do have one at-home project and that is to refinish Kelsie's play structure. We got all the supplies this weekend and are ready to get busy next week. Kelsie is excited because we told her she could have a sandbox again and a hammock swing - although Kelsie and Dad think I will use it most often. We will see!! I will try and keep you posted next week with pics of all our adventures.