Events in Pictures

The beginning of the American Heroes Race on Memorial Day. Kelsie and I walked the 5K, Wayne and Rob ran the 5K and Jeff ran the 10K. This was the opening ceremony.

Kelsie and I at the end of our 5K walk. Our goal was 50 minutes and we did it in 48.
Rob and Wayne after they ran the 5K, they did it in about 30 minutes.
Jeff at the finish line after the 10K - good job Jeff!!
The running crew.
This is Kelsie with "Baby" We found this Sharpae puppy on the street in the rain on Saturday evening. After driving around the neighborhood for over an hour, no owner in sight. We put signs out that night and decided to wait through the weekend to see if his owners called. No calls. We named him "Baby" b/c he cried at night and would finally fall asleep on the floor next to the couch where I had to sleep for 3 nights so he wouldn't walk around and howl. He was a cute little guy but too big for us to keep (just 3 months or so) and Bogey didn't really like him. We took him to the Humane Society Lost and Found on Tuesday afternoon. We were glad to have him as a house guest for a few days but I think Bogey was happy to get his family back.
"Baby" - isn't he soooo cute?
The Friday before Memorial Day we were planning to go to the lake but the weather was too bad so we went to Dinosaur Valley Park instead. This was a deer we saw off the road. We also saw a mom and baby deer - so cute.
Kelsie and Christa swam across the river in a shallow area to the big rocks. They look tiny compared to the massive rocks.

The girls swimming - we started out with ponchos and jackets but as you can see that didn't last long before they were completely in and swimming.
Building a dam on the river's edge.
Panoramic view of the main trail where the dino tracks are - you couldn't see them this day b/c the river was up. Kelsie and Christa when we first started out - nice and dry....didn't last long.
Kelsie feeding Bogey with a bottle. It was hilarious b/c he actually loved it. We cracked up!

Kelsie after she received her awards at school.
Kelsie's awards.
Kelsie and Dad - he gave her flowers - we are so proud of her year!
Kelsie and mom.
Kelsie's class on the last day of school - they all wanted to be in the picture!
Silly Faces!!!!

END OF SCHOOL!!

Well, I've gotten behind on my posts but here's the latest - Kelsie is done with the second grade!! Monday was her awards ceremony at school - she got recognized for the awards that she had received earlier in the year for the art festival and the young author's competition. She got certificates for A/B Honor Roll all year, keeping a 97 or above average all year in Spelling and Conduct, a PE award and a bible award for "teacher by example." Tuesday was her class party and her last day. The kids had a great time giving each other their phone numbers and e-mail on a little autograph book. I do have pictures but will have to post them at a later time. The rest of the week has been busy - I'm not sure Kelsie had the best time but we did get her room and playroom cleaned out, closets and all. We had some fun play time too in between. Today we were planning to go to the lake but the weather is not cooperating so we have to come up with plan B. Hope it doesn't ruin Monday - we are all in a race = Kelsie and I doing the 1 mile fun run with the army and Wayne doing another 5K. Then it's off to the Griffs for cooking out and (hopefully) swimming.....hope you have a good weekend. I will try and post pictures soon.

Happy Mother's Day (plus pics)

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you had a special day celebrating your mom (and being celebrated if you are a mom). We are counting down the days until Kelsie is done with school - May 22nd. We are all ready for summer - the pool, the lake and just hanging out without a constant schedule. We are going to have lots of changes coming up in the next few weeks. My job will be part-time (20 hours a week), I will go in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays and work from home the rest of the time from a church laptop. That will allow me to be at home much more and will prepare us for the change of schedule Kelsie will have next year at school. She is going to be attending Christian Life Preparatory School (she got her acceptance letter a few weeks ago). This school is a University Model School which means she will go to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays for instruction and work at home the other days. We are all very excited about the change. She will take core classes there and electives like Bible, Art and Music at home. Well, that's our future in a nutshell so here are the pics of Saturday's race.

Jeff's time
Wayne's time
Jeff and Wayne after the race, they are still smiling!
Some of the wildflowers along the roads throughout the Preserve.

A blooming cactus.
We walked a trail out by the lake at the Wildlife Preserve. It was such a peaceful place to walk and enjoy nature. We saw cardinals, fish, butterflies and even a little mouse (that part was a little startling) as well as lots of different plants and flowers.
The path we were walking.

The Buffalo that are kept out at the preserve. That's why the race is called "Buffalo Boogie." The funniest part of the buffalo is that while we were watching them, the one laying down would go into convulsions and then let out a big belch. Kelsie got so tickled, he did it twice. Hilarious!

WHEW!

Busy Week! We celebrated Melvin's (Wayne's dad) 60th birthday this week. We met him over in Arlington on Thursday night to have dinner and then Wayne took him to play golf at Tierra Verde on Friday. They had a good time even though they said they didn't play well - the course was evidentally very challenging. Kelsie has a GA lock-in at church (her first) on Friday night and so we went out with 2 other couples that were kid-less for the night. We tried something new - a fondue restaurant in Arlington. The first criteria in choosing where to go was that we could use our press passes (get 20% off at certain restaurants) and the second was that it had to be something out of the ordinary places we go. It was quite an experience - took 3 hours but the company was good so time flew by and we had no idea that it had been that long. It was good food too - the group favorites were the strawberry and spinach salad, the various herb and pepper crusted meat - pork loin and steak, stuffed mushrooms and the chocolate dessert course - especially the dark chocolate with strawberries. Saturday a.m. we picked up Kelsie at 8 and went straight over to the Wildlife Refuge Center by Lake Worth where Wayne was running a 5K. Kelsie and I got there in time to wait for Wayne and Jeff (his running partner) at the finish line. After the race was over, we drove through some of the preserve and walked around on a trail by the water. It was so peaceful out there - definitely a place we will visit again. I took some good pics and will post them later when I have a little more time. Kelsie was too tired to make it long - she said it wasn't too comfortable sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. She still had fun but I think we are in for a nap today! Tonight we celebrate Jim Griffin's b-day - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. JIM!

Race to Win

On Sunday, Wild Worship (Children's Choir at Wedgwood) led worship in the morning services and in the p.m. service they presented "Race to Win" musical. It was so good, very evangelistic. We are praying they will be able to present this in other places. Here are some pictures of the rehearsal on Sunday night (I didn't want to take pictures during the presentation).

Kelsie in her trio. They did great together!

The 3 amigos - Kelsie, Lauren and Christa

"Money and Fame" song - very good point for adults and kids alike!

In case you didn't figure it out by the title, this musical has a Nascar theme. A man in our church built this car out of wood - it's unbelievable. Great job, here it is smoking - broke down.

Kelsie and Morgan after the musical! Off to Perrotti's.
The crew next to the car.
Kelsie on the car!
The end - they got to throw confetti on the Finale song. Then, they played in it - How Fun!

Field Day

Today was Kelsie's Field Day and Splash Day. It was lots of fun, the weather was warm and somewhat humid but the wind kept it pleasant. The kids had a great time. Here are just a few pics of the day.... You will be able to spot Kelsie easily in a crowd b/c she is wearing last year's Field Day shirt - I was behind and waited to late to order her this year's t-shirt....oh, well.

Killing time on the playground. Kelsie is queen of the mountain.

Yellow team in the sack race!
Go YELLOW!!!
Run Kelsie!
Obstacle course.
Tug-of-War
Our principal, Mrs. Stringer, got "creamed" by the red team b/c they won first place. All the kids got to wash her off with their water guns.
Water guns at Splash Day.
Down the water slide with Kelsie and Ari.
Kelsie goes head first! (in the muddy water)

We had a good day but when we got home, our baby bird wasn't doing well. We finally got in touch with someone in Burleson who was willing to take it but it was struggling and almost dead so we didn't take it. It died tonight. We were sad but we tried to do our best to help it.