First Day of School!

 Today is the first day of school! Bailey will be in the 3rd grade!

 Kaci is in the 5th grade!

 Ack! Where does the time go?

 Everyone was up before I got to their rooms to wake them up this morning!

 Guess that is a good sign....excited much?

I love my family! Hope the first day is a great one for everybody!

Fun with Dr. Seuss....even in the rain!

The Lorax (or as Clint calls him, The Borax)

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Horton Hears a Who!

The real Dr. Seuss

A big book

The Grinch

Max!

Green eggs and ham, Anyone?

Boston Redsox

Boston Trip! - Basketball Hall of Fame and PIZZA!

Better late than never.  A few pictures from our trip to Boston!

Handsome boys!

Beautiful girls!

Starting the self guided tour!

Globetrotters!

Hey...that's Larry Bird!

How it all started!

What...Larry Bird....Again!

Bailey is in a virtual world!

Pop a Shot!

That's a big shoe, Shaq~

Tall and short!

Sports Casters!

Hanging with the Bird!

Look at all those shoes!

Hoops!

Ugh...only 6 days of summer left...

Kaci and Bailey having one of their last balloon fights of the summer. I love this picture!

Thoughts at the Bottom of a Beanstalk

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jack who was about to climb his very first beanstalk. He had a fresh haircut and a brand-new book bag. Even though his friends in the neighborhood had climbed this same beanstalk almost every day last year, this was Jack's first day and he was a little nervous. So was his mother.

Early in the morning she brought him to the foot of the beanstalk. She talked encouragingly to Jack about all the fun he would have that day and how nice his giant would be. She reassured him that she would be back to pick him up at the end of day. For a moment they stood together, silently holding hands, gazing up at the beanstalk. To Jack it seemed much bigger than it had when his mother had pointed it out on the way to the store last week. His mother thought it looked big, too. She swallowed. Maybe she should have held Jack out a year...

Jack's mother straightened his shirt one last time, patted his shoulder and smiled down at him. She promised to stay and wave while he started climbing. Jack didn't say a word. He walked forward, grabbed a low-growing stem, and slowly pulled himself up to the first leaf. He balanced there for a moment and then climbed more eagerly to the second leaf, then to the third and soon he had vanished into a high tangle of leaves and stems with never a backward glance at his mother. She stood alone at the bottom of the beanstalk, gazing up at the spot where Jack had disappeared. There was no rustle, no movement, no sound to indicate that he was anywhere inside. "Sometimes," she thought, "it's harder to be the one who waves good-bye than it is to be the one who climbs the beanstalk."

She wondered how Jack would do. Would he miss her? How would he behave? Did his giant understand that little boys sometimes acted silly when they felt unsure? She fought down an urge to spring up the stalk after Jack and maybe duck behind a bean to take a peek at how he was doing. "I'd better not. What if he saw me?" She knew that Jack was really old enough to handle this on his own. She reminded herself that after all, this was thought to be an excellent beanstalk and that everyone said his giant was not only kind but had outstanding qualifications. "It's not so much that I'm worried about him," she thought, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's just that he's growing up and I'm going to miss him." Jack's mother turned to leave. "Jack's going to have lots of bigger beanstalks to climb in his life" she told herself. "Today's the day he starts practicing for them... And today's the day I start practicing something too: Cheering him on and waving good-bye."

--Author Unknown

Ugh....doesn't that story just bring you to tears?

I can hardly read it without crying like a baby.

It is so true~ 

It is so hard to watch our babies climb up the beanstalk - the first day of school is so hard for me. 

I think it may be harder for the one who waves goodbye than for the one who climbs!- 

and for that I am grateful. 

I would rather have the heavy heart than my children.  Give me a week or two and I will be back into the routine and it won't be so hard to wave goodbye- but man....the first day almost kills me ...every year!

Round #3

It was hot! 

It was sweaty!

It was long ...with only a few sales.....

But he stuck it out with the help of his PaPa, Grandma Yellow Hair and Kaci- Mom too!

Bailey's 3rd Popcorn Selling shift at Walgreens today from 4-6.

Bailey made just under $100 this time....he is only about $80 away from his $600 goal!

Way to go! I am proud of you as always!

A Thank You that brightened our day today....

Dear Bailey,

On behalf of the hundreds of families we help each year, from across Texas to around the world, we are grateful for your donation of pull tabs. Each and every tab helps make our house a home away from home for hospitalized children.

With sincere thanks,

Rachel Dillas 

Ronald McDonald House Volunteer

Happy Birthday, PaPa!!

Happy Birthday to the very best Dad anyone could ever ask for. I love you so much! Thanks for all you do for me and the kids and Amber and Mom.

 I love you! 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

Kaci is having her first sleepover on Tuesday- away from home (without me!) that is not with her Aunt Amber or Uncle Chad! Uncle Chad has diabetes – and Amber is the only one in our whole family (other than Clint, Kaci, me and Uncle Chad) that knows how to give Kaci her shots and figure her ratios!

To say I am nervous is an understatement......

I am FREAKING OUT!

 I already had dreams last night about it and we are still another night away from the actual sleepover. 

If there is anyone I trust to watch over Kaci and make sure that she is okay- it is Jessica. I know that she will keep her eye on Kaci and call me if anything goes wrong or if she has any questions. I know that she will set her alarm to check Kaci at 2 am and then text or call me with the numbers. I know I will be wide awake here at home waiting on that number. 

I am going to rent myself some good movies from Redbox and crack open our new bag of Caramel Crunch popcorn from Bailey’s boy scout sales. It is caramel corn with a hint of cheese! YUMM-O! I will also be treating myself to a large Mountain Dew fountain soda from the gas station. 

I could be pulling an all-nighter!

I know that this is so important to Kaci. I know how proud she will be of herself. I know how much fun she is going to have with Romy and Reese! She is going into the 5th grade and has still not had a sleepover at a friend’s house. (she was diagnosed the summer before 2nd grade)

 I know she can take care of herself. She has been checking her blood sugar
by herself- almost since the beginning.She has been doing her own meal shots for over
2 years and can figure out her meal coverage and correction..

I am so proud of her!

About a year ago, she was promised by a friend’s mom if she would try giving her own night shot and she was successful- she could spend the night at her house. Within a week- she gave herself her own night shot. That sleepover hasn't happened ..but this one is about to!
WORD!

 I don’t think people understand how huge that is....

giving herself her own night shot....

22 units of pure scary! 

She is my HERO!

So back to how proud I am of Kaci- I am super proud of her. Super, SUPER proud of her! 

But as much as I am PROUD...

I am QUADRUPLE SCARED~!!

I don’t want to scare people so much with my worries- that they are afraid to have her at their house. But I don’t want to make it seem so simple that they don’t pay attention and watch for warning signs. UGH!

I know Kaci needs this! I know Kaci wants this and most of all I know Kaci DESERVES this!!!

So I will hold my breath and suck it up and let her have this experience.

I know that it will be okay. 

I know that I will text Jessica so much that she will probably go over her text limits! 

But I also know that Jessica is one of Kaci’s biggest fans. 

I know that she wants her to be successful and happy as much as I do.

That is why I trust her with my baby.

That is why I will rent movies, eat popcorn and drink Mountain Dew.

 I can always sleep on Thursday night!

Round #2!

Round #2

Bailey took on another shift today at Chili's Bar & Grill from 12-2.

It was hot and sweaty for sure. 

He sold $150 + in popcorn- reaching his first goal of $200 in sales!

Way to go, Bailey!

First Popcorn Shift

So proud of my baby tonight! He sold popcorn from 6-8 at GiGi's Cupcakes! It is hard work - you have to be brave and persistent! He was both! He sold over $100. Way to go, Bailey!

Got Popcorn?

Who needs popcorn?

Bailey is selling again!

Caramel Corn $10

Cheddar Cheese $12

Caramel Corn with nuts $18

Butter light microwave (18 bags) $18

Unbelievable butter microwave (18 bags) $18

Kettle Corn microwave (18 bags) $18

Carmel Cheese Corn $30

ACK! $30 for a bag of popcorn...but I hear it is AWESOMELY GOOD!

Is that a word? 

Let us know what you need!

We will be happy to get you some popcorn!

We are also accepting donations for the troops!

Andrea & Bailey

TaKe Me OuT tO tHe BaLlGaMe~

It's that time again! This year Bailey will be on the "Kid Pitch" league in baseball. He has started practicing firing those balls in the backyard with Dad. Way to go, Bailey!

Hope!

Attention dog owners

Loved this sign we saw in Boston-

In case you can't read it- it says

Attention dog owner:

Please clean up after your dogs

Attention dogs:

Grrr, bark, woof.....good dog

Getting crafty!

Been hard at work making some new signs for my classroom. 

I like nice, simple rules that everyone can remember..

And this is my favorite quote!