Sunday, May 26, 2013

Memorial Day Memories

Sun, water, fun with friends.  So thankful for all these things and so thankful for those who have served our country so I can have the freedom to enjoy this.


I am not sure who had more fun, Uncle Joey or the kids.  
I think his military training is what got him through this day in one piece!








Thanks Uncle Joe for being our free entertainment and Thanks Sykes for hosting another fun get together!


Real Superheros

I have decided being 5 is tough...there is a fine line in the eyes of a 5 year old between reality and fiction.  My son has repeatedly been questioning if things are real.  You see, in the world of Star Wars Legos on the Wii (his favorite game), no matter how many times you get shot at or blown up, you never really die.  So he asks, "is death real?".   We just visited Disney and saw all the cartoon characters come to life.  So he asked questions such as, "is Captain Hook real? Is Neverland real?". He went though Jedi training camp and believes he is a real Jedi now, I mean, he even has the diploma to prove it.  He loves superheros of every kind.

As a christian mom, I don't want to lie to him, yet I don't want to squelch the magic of childhood either.  Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, these all pose quite a dilemma....today, the day before Memorial Day,  he asked if superheros were real.  Without a shadow of a doubt I could confidently answer that Yes, superheros are real.  They walk among us in everyday clothing.  I talked about friends we have like Officer Hall, friends that he knows that have served in the military, friends that work at the fire station, and teachers that have saved the lives of their students in recent tragic events.  Thank you to all the real superheros for all that you do on a daily basis and thanks for giving this mom a good answer!

He then decided to write thank you cards to two of our favorite real superheros (a cop and a veteran) that we will be having a cookout with later today.


I told him that he melts my heart.  Then he became very concerned about my heart. 
I am not sure that it is even possible to love this kid any more than I do right now!



Thursday, May 23, 2013

Pre-K Graduation 2013

Tell someone without kids that you are going to a Pre-K graduation and you will see a lot of eye rolling, hear comments about how that takes away from the "real" graduation, or ask what they have actually accomplished?  And until tonight, I probably at least partially agreed.  I have never been big into the ceremonial type things.  I did not attend graduation for my bachelors degree and reluctantly agreed to walk for my masters (which was the most boring ceremony in the world) only to please my father.  Heck, I did not even have a traditional wedding ceremony....but just wait until you see these cuties in their little caps and gowns.  I could just eat them up!!!

Seriously, just to see those smiles makes it worth it!

The daycare did a cute little ceremony asked each kid to tell the audience of sniffing parents what their favorite color was and what they wanted to be when they grew up,
then had a picture presentation of our kiddos from babies to "big kids". In a flash, they have gone from these helpless infants to these sassy, opinionated little human beings.

And I know before I blink again this will be high school graduation.  So let me treasure THIS moment.




Gosh, how I love him! 
These moments should be celebrated with friends and family.

It is hard to believe next year he will be a real "school-ager" and it is depressing to think that his circle of friends will change.  Not only has he been with this group since he was 4 months old, but some of the other parents are my closest friends.  We have all grown up together over the past 5 years. We have shared parenting struggles and rejoiced at seemingly small accomplishments that only parents with kids of similar age can understand.  

So roll your eyes all you want friends, this IS a big deal and should be celebrated.  Our babies have made it to this point in life despite my parenting blunders, poor choices, and unhealthy meals I have made for them, here they are alive and well.  I celebrate this day with my village members.  The ones who have helped me raise my son, they've helped instill values; taught numbers, colors, letters, shapes; taught how to share, take turns, and work through conflict.  They have given me advice when my son has gone through not so pleasant stages and guided me when I have gone through not so pleasant stages!  

So thanks CVCS for all the hard work you have done over the past 5 years with my kid (and myself)  and for putting together a sweet little Pre-K ceremony! 




As the evening went on, both kid's classes performed for the annual fundraiser


Love these kids!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mother's Day 2013

We had an awesome Mother's Day.  We took Ted's mom out to eat at a Thai restaurant after church,
then headed to a major celebration at his dad's house.  We celebrated 4 birthdays, Mother's Day, and my sister-in-law's graduation from college.  I did not take many pictures for some reason but it was a lot of fun and we ate way too much delicious food!



My greatest gifts are certainly these two precious beings!  
Thankful to be called "Mommy" each and every day!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Disney Cruise: Day 9

Without a doubt the saddest day of the trip...disembarking back in Galveston....back to the real world.

But we take with us "faith, trust, and pixie dust"....and some pretty amazing memories!  I am so thankful for this entire experience, the amazement on my kids' faces, and the time spent with family.   

And they all lived happily ever after!

The End

Friday, May 3, 2013

Disney Cruise: Day 8

Smiles like this make it well worth it!

We had some fun in the arcade


Character Breakfast

We took a few quick pics with the characters and then the servers made us into characters!














The Yancy Party characters, starring:

Peter Pan

Goofy

A pirate
Dumbo!
Minnie, of course


Captain Jack Sparrow


We once again returned to the fabulous kids club where we played in the Neverland Playground, read books, and colored.  Then Marissa went to Mouseketeer Training while Nathaniel watched cartoons.

Mouseketeer Training!



 Captain Mickey came and approved their knowledge and skills so they could indeed become actual mouseketeers...complete with a baton, a stamp and a patch!

Then back to the computers for some game time.

 Next stop, the character dance party....you can tell by his face that we did not last long there!


 Marissa participated in the Friendship Rocks performance to celebrate the new friends they made on the trip (especially Mickey and Minnie)




Love this smile!





 The evening was topped off with the servers doing a "It's a small world" presentation, representing the countries they are from...and serving Baked Alaska.
Another great day of memories in the books!