JCPenney Portraits

I took Alea to JCPenney portrait studios yesterday to have her picture taken before she looses her first tooth. We have had the same great photographer at Penney's since we moved to Arkansas. Toni (girl) takes good care of us. She loves Alea because Alea is so well behaved (a rare commodity these days). This summer Alea had her picture taken with a white tutu with white tool wrapped around her for a top (they created the outfit out of props at the studio). They asked me after the session if I would sign a permission slip for them to use the tutu photos of Alea in advertising. Signing the form didn't mean they would use her but they might. This time I asked if they used those photos of Alea. Toni got excited and said that she used the pictures of Alea in their studio portfolio (she showed me to pictures of Alea in the portfolio). She said they went to a region meeting and their portfolio won first prize. Yea! She asked us this time if they could call us to use Alea as a model for their new promotions if they need a model. I told them of course. I told her we don't go looking for those type of things but she could do it for them because it sounds like fun. I think they want her as much for her behavior as much as for her cuteness.

I love my cute, WELL-BEHAVED little girl.

First Friend Sleep Over

Alea and her BFF had their first sleep over last night. Macy and Alea played at our house for a couple of hours (with Macy's little sister Brenna). I fed the girls dinner here and then they went next door to Macy's house for the actual sleep over. Macy's mom and dad said the girls stayed up dancing and singing to Hannah Montana until about 11 o'clock last night. Sounds like a great time.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Eve at Davin's parent's house in Kansas with his sister and her family. For Christmas day Davin's parents joined us for our first ever Christmas day at our own home. They enjoyed watching Alea open her presents from Santa. Papa Tim made Alea a doll house book shelf and Grandma Jo and I cleaned out Alea's room and rearranged it for maximum space for play and fun. Alea has enjoyed playing in her 'new' room. She likes the organization and being able to play with items she hasn't seen in a long time.

You are always on my mind

I am feeling overwhelmed by the number of people I know or know of who have lost a child in the last few years. Please pray for those enduring this greatest loss during this holiday season.

Happy Birthday Davin!

Happy 34th birthday to my husband!

Pancakes

I cooked pancakes after school for three hours today to help the school get ready for the pancake breakfast tomorrow morning. My feet are tired.

no more school, no more books

I am finished for the semester and I am taking a break for a while. I have masters plus 15 (actually 18) now so I can move up on the pay scale. I am worn out and so is my family. The university does not have the ESOL classes I need/want either so that is another reason to wait awhile until they get the staff and classes to help me improve and learn.

Investiture

Tonight was Girl Scout Investiture....a one time pinning that signifies the girls are officially in Girl Scouts.

On Saturday we attended Holiday Extravaganza where the girls made holiday crafts and Christmas cards for people in nursing homes.

New Car

A week and a half ago I got a new car. I got a 2009 Chevy Traverse. It is REALLY nice. I am really loving the heated seats. Not only do they warm me after school, but they help my back as well.

Fruit Bowl

At our Christgiving on Thursday Alea recievd a real artist pad of paper, real watercolors, and real paintbrushes from her Uncle Toby. Today she decided to paint with them. She sat down at the table with her supplies and silently thought about what she wanted to paint. After a few seconds she announced she was going to paint a fruit bowl. Check out her awesome art below! I am so proud of my young artist. (I'm sure you can tell but the fruit bowl contains an apple, pear, banana, and grapes.)

Thanksmas or Christgiving

Today we had Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family (either Christgiving or Thanksmas). Alea got some cute jammies and some great art supplies. My nephew Reed is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. He is a very curious little boy. He is very cute. Check out the pics posted below.

ponytail

When Alea got home from school today she told me she probably shouldn't wear her hair in a ponytail any more. I asked why. She said that her ponytail makes Wyatt like her. She said that he pulls on her ponytail and gives her "lovey-eyes" when she wears a ponytail.

Clean House

Today was my first no-school day for Thanksgiving break. Alea still has school Monday and Tuesday. I managed to clean house (ALL DAY) and even wrap ALL of our Christmas presents. I am really feeling on the ball. Now back to the homework that is haunting me.

Daisies

We had another great Daisy (Girl Scout) meeting tonight. Alea seems to really love it.

Crazy Frog

Davin called in to "Kid's Place Live" a kids radio station on Sirus Satellete Radio and Alea got to talk to the host of the show and place a song request. He asked her her name, what she was doing (going to see Grandma and Papa), and where she lives (Arkansas), and the song she wanted to hear (Crazy Frog). She was so cute. The DJ played her song and said afterwards that it was requested by Alea in Arkansas. Alea was famous for a second. She thought it was pretty neat.

So far so good

Alea seems to be doing well so far this morning. Yea! We have a Girl Scout outing tonight that I have to go even if Alea doesn't go because I am a leader. I hope she feels well enough to go. I am SO against people exposing their sick children to others so she will REALLY have to be better for her to go. Either way I have to miss my first STATS class to go. I actually do hate to miss it because I don't understand even when I am there so I can't imagine that missing a class will help me too much. All for the love of my girl!

fever, fever

I took Alea to the doctor today. We were there two hours and at the end of it they told me she had a fever and was sick. Duh! I knew that. Her flu test came back negative, but they said they have had a lot of false negatives. They ran a step test and it came back negative, but they said it could still be strep. They gave her a Z-Pack. We'll see if that helps. She is still running a fever but the Tylonel seems to help her disposition at least.

Fever

Alea came home with a fever after spending a weekend with her Daddy attending a family gathering. I'll be staying home with her tomorrow. I don't think it's the flu. She is complaining of a headache and has mentioned a sore throat. We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow.

11-05

Happy Birthday to me! The big ## today. (Use your keyboard to figure it out.)

I went with the kindergarten classes at my school to the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun. I am VERY worn out though.

Davin and Alea got me gift cards to Old Navy and Gap, a paper cutter, and a Snuggie for me and one for Sparkles. :) Sweet, sweet family.

Halloween

Alea was a vet for Halloween. Sparky was a doctor (of some sort).

Carnival

Alea had a great time today at the carnival in the parking lot of the mall. Good times. Pics are below.

Time Change

I'm NOT a fan of this time change coming up!

Great Weekend

I had a great weekend with my family. On Thursday night my sister and her family came into town to stay the night before heading up to Pitt State on Saturday for homecoming (we went to college there too but never seem interested in going to homecoming...we are anti-crowd type people.) On Friday night Davin and I took Alea to see Astro Boy at the movie theater. On Saturday I did a little shopping and then Alea and I went to A Magical Fairy Garden, a Girl Scout event hosted for Daisy Scouts. It was so cute, sweet, and fun. (Pictures coming soon.) On Saturday night the three of us went out for some amazing pasta at Joe's in Sdale. AMAZING! Then on Sunday we went to church and heard a great guest speaker and Alea got to move up to a new class with her friend Macy. After church my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew came into town after their homecoming weekend in Pittsburg. We did a little shopping, made dinner, and played with the kids. We also took pictures of Alea and Reed in their Halloween costumes (Alea is a vet and Reed was a crocodator (crocodile/aligator...it is his favorite toy so he has a costume like it too.)) (Pics coming soon.) Thank you God for a wonderful weekend with my family.

First Field Trip

Alea had her first field trip today. They went to the pumpkin patch. Davin went along as well. I think they all had a great time. Alea even got to bring home a pumpkin. See the pictures below.

First Daisy Meeting

Tonight was our first Daisy scout meeting. Alea came up to me towards the end and whispered in my ear that she was having a lot of fun. That's what it's all about!

In denial

Notice I haven't mentioned that my two week intersession break is coming to an end. I can't talk about it...too sad...in denial. Only five weeks until my next break. Start the countdown.

stunks and luke-a-lay-lees

Alea has called skunks "stunks" her whole life. It is so cute and sweet. She will say, "Oooh, that stunk stinks!"

Tonight she started singing about "Luke-a-lay-lees" i.e., ukuleles.

She says or does something great everyday!
Love her!

Sinus infection or allergies

I either have a sinus infection or am suffering from allergies. It may just be that I am allergic to the idea of going to my statistics class.

Cone of Shame

Sparky is home from the vet. He has to have "Hydro-therapy" up to six times a day, ten minutes a time, for ten days. Hydro-therapy means we have to spray warm water (soft pressure) on his foot. He has a very large cone of shame on now. The vet got to see that we aren't really bad parents to Sparky but that he is just a high maintenance dog. I love this crazy dog. I think he loves me too. He has been following me around all afternoon. If I go in a room and close the door where he can't see me he just cries and cries. I told the vet that I only wanted one child but apparently I ended up with two anyway (three if you count Davin.)

Daisy Scouts

It looks like I am going to be a co-leader of Alea's Daisy Scout Troop (the kindergarten and first grade version of Girl Scouts). This should be another fun adventure. The other co-leader is great and we are excited to learn together.

Branson

This weekend we went to Branson, Missouri for a short family get-away. We stayed over night at a hotel so Alea could jump on the bed and go swimming. She went swimming with her daddy while I went shopping at the outlet mall (it wasn't a good outlet mall so that was disappointing). On Saturday we went to Silver Dollar City. Davin's parents met us there and spent the day with us. We looked at the craft booths and Alea rode A LOT of rides. She has a tougher stomach than I do. I rode a couple rides and then I was DONE with that fun for a while. She rode most of the rides with Davin. Alea had a great time. I can't find the charging cord for my camera so I don't have any pictures to post.

Stitches

Sparkles ripped out his stitches on Friday afternoon. We had to take him back to the vet and they decided to keep him over the weekend. I sure miss him. I can pick him up tomorrow morning. I hope he leaves his bandage alone and heals quickly.

rockin' the Christmas shoppin'

I am rockin' the Christmas shopping this week! I've gotten a lot of it done. Whoo-hoo!

party for Alea's teacher

Today some of the mom's threw a birthday party for Alea's kindergarten teacher. Each child had a balloon tied to the back of his/her chair, we ate cupcakes and drank Capri Suns. I was glad to be a part of it since I am on my intersession I get to do some of the mom things I don't otherwise get to do. Poor teacher though, we left her with an hour left in the day with children who had just eaten a cupcake and drank a sugary drink along with 20 balloons. I think she gets a "party" every year from the excited kindergarten mommies so I'm sure she's use to it.

While I was at Alea's school (which I use to teach at for three years) I got to visit a lot of old friends. I had several of the specialty teachers stop me to tell me how great Alea is, how well behaved, and how serious she is. Alea is very serious about just about everything which is pretty funny for adults. That's my girl!

pretty sore

Sparky had his paw surgery today. He is pretty sore. He keeps crying/whinning. I feel bad for him. He does have a cute foot cast on though. I'll post pics below.

Surgery tomorrow

Sparky's surgery is tomorrow. I hope all goes well and he heals quickly.

I can't make this stuff up!

The conversation between Alea and I this morning...

Alea: "Who's picking me up today."
Me: "Probably Daddy."
Alea: "When am I going to be a car rider."
Me: "You have been a car rider every day this school year."
Alea: "No I haven't! Daddy drives a truck!"
Me: laughing and explaining the concept of "car rider"

Aleaism of the day

"Mom, hurry up and get me to school! I have to get there and get teacht!"

Gotta love that girl! She cracks me up!

Dog Party U.S.A.

Sparkles gets to go to doggie daycare on the days I have meetings at school. He runs around, plays, barks, licks, sniffs, and in general does doggie things all day. He is much less wild after a day at Dog Party U.S.A. (doggie daycare). I never thought I would have a dog much less take it to doggie daycare. I think he is my substitute second child. We call Sparkles and Alea brother and sister and Davin and I are mom and dad to them both. Sad I know!

Surgery for Sparky

Sparky has to have surgery on his back left foot/paw. Somehow his foot was damaged sometime after he was born and before we got him from the shelter. They are going to try to fix the damage and save the pads if possible. It will take about two weeks or so to heal. Keeping track of Sparky while he heals is on my fall break to do list.

The third toe on the right

I think I broke my toe. Man, it hurts! How did I do it you ask?! Like most people with broken toes...I walked into a wall. Oh yeah!

One more week

I have one more week of work and then I have my first two week break/intersession. Since I am on a continuous learning calendar I get extra breaks throughout the year. I have plans to clean house, eat lunch with Alea at school, maybe volunteer at school if her teacher wants me too, do some Christmas shopping, do homework, go to the university to get a project done for my statistics class, test drive a couple of cars (just for fun and ideas), take Sparkles to doggie daycare a few times, cook dinner (at least a few times), walk Alea to school (she has been dying to do this), take Alea to school everyday for two weeks, and a lot of other productive things I haven't even thought of yet. Busy but AWESOME to have a break from work. I am loving the CLC schedule.

Yellowstone

I was talking to Alea and telling her that we are thinking about going to Yellowstone National Park for our vacation this year. She asked what we would do there. I told her we would see animals like elk, bear, squirrels (she loves squirrels), etc. She asked if we would see a rhinoceros. I told her no they live in Africa. She asked if we would see a cheetah. I told her no they also live in Africa. She couldn't figure out why we would go to this "Yellowstone place" when all the good animals are in Africa.

Sparky

I have taken Sparkles to doggie daycare one a week for the past two weeks. He loves it. This week I took him on Wednesday and then on Thursday and Friday morning he followed me around all morning and followed me to the front door. I think he wanted to go back to doggie daycare. He loves it there. The ladies say he doesn't back down from any dog no matter the size. That may have something to do with the fact that he think he is the alpha dog at home too. We're working on that. Sparky has a friend at doggie daycare that is a Maltese like him. The other Maltese's name is Sir Maxamillion. They said his people thought he needed a big boy name since he looks kind of girly. I said we just went with the girly look and let Alea name our Maltese Sparkles Rosebud. Good thing Sparkles can be shortened to Sparky. The best part of doggie daycare is that he is tuckered out big time when he gets home.

Punctuality

Alea asked me on the way home tonight how to spell "punctuality". What a funny girl! What a big vocabulary! I knew I would love her going to kindergarten.

Dating in Kindergarten

When I got home from school this is the conversation that awaited me....

"Mom, I've got something to tell you about school and you aren't going to like it."
Me: "What is it?"
Alea: "Well, two girls in my class are DATING!"
Me: "They are dating each other?"
Alea: "No, they are dating boys in another kindergarten class."
Me: "Hhhmm, what does "dating" mean?"
Alea: "Mooooooom, it means they do dating stuff."
Me in a voice of horror and jest: "Are they....HOLDING HANDS?"
Alea: "Kind of."
Me: "Do you know what to say if a boy asks to date you?"
Alea: "I tell him NO because dating is for when you're older...like fourth grade!"

Oh boy!! Trouble here we come!!

sicky

Alea was home sick today with a possible bladder infection and a sinus infection. I am remembering our five Friday's in a row last year with bladder infections...I hope we don't have a repeat of that.

Grad School Family Picnic

Yesterday was the grad school family picnic at the University. They had free BBQ and games for kids. Alea had a lot of fun. It was VERY low key. We walked around the university and I gave Davin and Alea a tour (of as much that I know...we even found somethings I didn't know about...like the Billingsley Music Building). See pics below

Crazy Busy

Full time job, full time grad school, mommy, wife = crazy busy!

Connor

Remembering Connor today (and everyday) and praying for his Mommy and Daddy.

1st Day of Kindergarten

What a big day for Alea. Today was her first day of kindergarten. She had a good time from what I can tell. No tears in our household over this. We were all so excited for the big day. I think Alea and I have both been ready for her to start kindergarten for at least the last two years. Pictures below.

Different Strokes

Today Alea and I painted pottery at Different Strokes. I forgot my camera so I don't have pictures to post. I'll post pics when we get our pieces back. Alea painted a rainbow piggy bank and I painted a water bowl for Sparkles. We had fun!

Devil's Den

Davin and I went to Devil's Den State Park this week. We stayed in a cabin and went hiking. I even went exploring in a cave.

Sparky

Today Sparkles had surgery for a hernia. We got to pick him up this evening. He has been very quiet this evening. This whole dog thing is new to us. We've been reading about training dogs and trying to learn all we can. He is going to the groomers on Sunday. He just had surgery and REALLY needs a bath but enjoy the pics anyway. Sparkles Rosebud Billingsley (unless Alea changes her mind when she sees him.)

Drive-In

Last night Davin, Alea, and I went to the drive-in and watched UP and Hannah Montana. UP was the saddest movie I have ever seen! I cried for pretty much the entire movie. Alea cried at one point too. I think I might have even heard some sniffles from Davin. Somebody at Pixar/Disney was in a sad place when they made that movie. Hannah Montana was better than I thought it would be.

11 years

Today is my and Davin's 11 year wedding anniversary. We started dating when I was 16 and now I am 32 so we have been together exactally half of my life. WOW!

Dilema continutes

I was able to put off the decision about the jobs until Monday. There is a lot going on right now behind the scenes (on the part of others) to get me working in Rogers over Bentonville. We shall see how it turns out.

Dilema

Well, I was just offered a job teaching 5th grade literacy in Bentonville. A few years ago this would have been an amazing offer. Now I want more. I am holding out for one of two district positions in Rogers. I have to let the Bentonville principal know by tomorrow. i.e. dilema

OH HAPPY DAY!!

Oh happy day! Picture Whoopi Goldberg singing "Oh Happy Day" from Sister Act and that is me today. OH HAPPY DAY I am done with THAT place!!!!! I know God has a reason for everything that happens in our lives. I can't wait to see what the purpose of THAT was!

I am ready for a great summer with my girl! Yea summer!!!

Last day of daycare/preschool

Tomorrow is Alea's last day of daycare/preschool. We planted plants for Alea's teachers that say "Thanks for helping me grow" with card holders that have pictures of Alea. I have posted the pictures below.

Goin' through the BIG D and I don't mean Dallas (or divorce).

I start my Ph.D. classes tomorrow. Good grief...what was I thinking.

I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me.

Only two more days at the worst job ever. Only two more days until the worst year of my life (professionally at least) is over. Hallelujah! If you have prayed for me this year then I want to thank you so much.

Pretty Please

The school board of a nearby district is meeting in an emergency session on Friday to decide if they want to use their stimulus money for an additional ESOL position at the district level. I really want this position! I think if they vote to use the money for an ESOL position that my chances of getting the job are pretty good. Please pray for me. Thank you.

Dance Recital

Alea's dance program was last night. She did a great job. The girls all looked so cute and had a great time. Check out pictures below.

ditto

Ditto yesterday's comment.

drama

If I never have any more work drama for the rest of my life that would be GREAT with me!!!!

This Weekend

After Alea's graduation on Thursday she went home with her Grandma and Papa for three days. She is coming home on Sunday. I am so thankful for the time with Davin. We went to dinner Friday night and saw two movies at the theater. That was a blast. Today we bought a movie and rented four more. We are on the last one. They have all been pretty good. All boy movies of course. Alea is having a blast at her grandparents house. She was excited today to go play in the creek with her Papa. We bought her rain boots just for that purpose. She is enjoying her time too. I love my family.

Like a Lady

Notice how my girl knows how to sit and stand like a lady. I am so proud.

Alea's preschool graduation

Alea "graduated" from preschool tonight. It was really cute. The program started late because over half of the graduates were crying because they didn't want to have to leave their teachers and their school. Alea was so cute singing her songs with little tears in her eyes. It was so sweet. Alea, Andrew, and Fowler have been friends for almost their entire lives. They will all three be going to different elementary schools in Springdale so it is sad that they will be separated. After the program was over Fowler asked me if Alea was coming back to school ever and if he was going to see her again. He was so sad when he asked. I told him she will be back for two more weeks and then she will drop in over the summer. He wasn't very secure in my answer. I felt so bad for him. He is in "preschool love" with Alea. The sad part is that Alea is in "preschool love" with Andrew, and has been for years. What a cute little love triangle.

Is Rudolf real?

Alea asked me on the way home from school today if Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer really worked for Santa and if his nose is really red. I told her yes he really worked for Santa and that his nose was really red. She said, "Really? Really?" I asked what she meant. She asked if Rudolph was really real. She said she saw Rudolph on a cartoon. (She knows that cartoons aren't real.) I asked her if Santa was really real. She said, "Yes". I said, "Well, there you go." She seemed happy with that answer. Does that make me a bad mom? This is why I was skeptical of "doing Santa" in the first place. I don't like lying or misleading her. I know I am not the only mom to do this, but it still doesn't feel right. Any ideas?

I just told Davin this story, and he said she did something similar to him last week. She asked him if princesses were real. He told her that there are real princesses. She asked him if Cinderella was real. He told her that Cinderella was a character. (She knows that characters are people pretending to be someone like Elmo or Mickey Mouse. She figured that out on her own.) I guess this made her start whimpering. Then she started asking about all of the Disney princesses and got upset. Davin said, "So, don't fall for that trick."

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Alea is in tap and jazz this year. She took tap, jazz, and ballet last year. This year she is dancing to the song "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". When I saw what their costumes were going to be I told Alea she had to be the one to tell her Daddy about the outfit. Davin has always said his daughter would not wear a two piece swimsuit. She does look pretty cute. She still will not be wearing two piece swimsuit anytime soon. See pics below.

Much needed

I had a much needed and much overdue day off from work today. Alea stayed home with me and was kind enough to let me sleep in. When I woke up she had "decorated" her face with magic marker (I thought we were past that stage.) I wish I had taken a picture to post on here, but I didn't think about it. She had drawn a princess crown on her forehead, a rainbow on one cheek, and a flower on the other cheek. It looked like face paint. Oh yea, she was also wearing a princess dress-up dress. We enjoyed some time at the mall today. She played in the play area, and I got a new purse and two new shirts.

and when you do...

And when you do stand up for yourself, if you do a good job of it, people will leave you alone for A LONG TIME! :)

Thoughts

When nobody else will, you have to stand up for yourself.

Queen of Hula

Check out pics of Alea below. She named herself the Queen of Hula and proceeded to show me the Queen of Hula's dance moves. This was right after her shower. She has so much personality. I love her so much.

Prayer Request

Please pray for me to find a new job in ESL (English as a second language) in a new building. I don't even care what district at this point. Thanks.

Check out the article about my stomp club.

www.sdale.org

Check out the Springdale website for an article about my stomp club at school.

Stomp Performance

My stomp boys performed today for the school and tonight for their families. They did a great job. They get pretty wound up before a performance, but they have so much fun.

STOMPIN' GEORGE GIANTS

Today my stomp club performed at the junior high next door to my elementary school. They performed for the Islander Club, a club of Marshallese students. We walked next door to the junior high and enjoyed the 87 degree weather on our walk. We were able to arrive a little early and practice the stomps before the junior high students arrived. When our host, the choir director from the JH, saw our stomps she thought to invite their STEP club, which is just like stomp only for girls. While the junior high students came into the choir room to get seated we stayed in the other room in order for the kids in both groups to get settled before we performed. I heard some of the junior high students say things like, "Oh, it's just some little elementary kids who are going to do something." While we got situated the JH kids all had a bored look on their faces. (Typical for the age I guess.) After the first stomp my boys did the whole room was smiling ear to ear, clapping, and cheering. The boys performed five stomps and the JH students seemed to really enjoy all of them. I was very proud of my boys. After the boys performed the STEP group (about 7 girls) performed one long stomp for us. It was awesome. The boys do a lot of "HUHS" in their stomps and the girls had a softer "huff" sound that sounded more femine and was really neat. My boys loved seeing the JH girls perform. I found out afterwards that the girls had never performed for anyone before. They performed for my 25 boys, the Islander Club of about 60 students, and about 20 teachers. I think it was a pretty awesome experience for my boys, the Islander Club, the STEP club, and the teachers. We had fun. I was very nervous before we headed over to the JH. Once we started the hike across the lawn to the JH I felt much better.

Prepare yourself for some major cuteness!

I took a picture of Alea's graduation picture. They are posted below.

Stomp Club

My stomp club group is performing tomorrow at one of the junior high schools. They are performing for the Islander Club made up of students who are from the Marshall Islands. The boys are excited to perform for them. Our stomps are all Marshallese stomp dances so our audience will know the stomps better than my performers, but it will still be a good experience for the boys. The district might be doing a story on this and if they do I'll post the link on here.

"Graduation"

I purchased Alea's preschool "graduation" photos today. They are so cute. She has on a cap and gown with a "diploma" in her hand. Her tassel says preschool graduation. I don't think I can get the picture posted on here but believe me they are cute. I even bought her class picture ($5) will her preschool class of five children all dressed in their cap and gowns with their tassels. I have a picture from my kindergarten graduation and it is so cute. I think she might like to have it someday.

Step Up for SIDS

Saturday was the second Step Up for SIDS event that I walked in to support Julie and Shannon in memory of their sweet baby boy, Connor John, that passed away in August of 2007. I appreciate this event because I think it allows me to show my support for Julie. (At least I hope it does.) I enjoyed walking and visiting with a new friend, Maria. Maria and Nate lost their precious baby boy, Chaz, in May of 2007 in a terrible car accident. I am so glad that Maria has been able to be there for Julie and vice versa, even though two terrible events brought them together. Love you Julie.

Birthday Party Pics

Look below for Alea's 5th birthday party pictures.

Alea's 5th Birthday

Happy Birthday to my girl!! Alea had two birthday parties! She had her friend party the weekend before her birthday and her family birthday on April 11th, the day before her birthday. She received way more gifts that she could ever need! She even got a real 22 shotgun from her Daddy. Her theme at both parties was Tinkerbell. On her birthday it was really nice because we were able to spend the day together as a family. In the morning, Bec, Pat, and Reed joined us at one of our favorite dives for breakfast and then they started their long drive back to Texas. Davin, Alea, and I then went and saw Monsters vs. Aliens at the theater. It was really funny. We came home after that, and Alea played with her new toys and then for dinner we went to Red Robin for dinner. Red Robin is not one of my favorites (prices mostly), but Alea really likes it because of the balloons. The servers brought her a hot fudge sunday and sang to her. She thought she had a great 5th birthday. She told us that she could eat all of her dinner because she was 5 now. She fell down during the day and told us that she didn't need to cry because she was 5 now. WHAT A GREAT TREAT for Mom and Dad. Of course, that lasted about a day.

Disney Cruise

We had a great time on our Disney Cruise. See pics below.

Stomp Club

This year I started a Stomp club for boys in grades 2-5. Stomp is a form of dance that is part of the Marshallese culture. My group is made up of boys from all cultures, but they are all learning how to do the stomps. I have about 39 boys in the group. They were excited to perform for the whole school last Friday. A smaller group of boys performed for the school board a few weeks ago. In April, they are going to perform for the school again as well as for the PTA and their families one evening. We are also going to hike across the field to the junior high and perform for their Islander Club, which is a group of students from the Marshall Islands.

MAGIC TREE HOUSE

We were given free tickets to see the Magic Tree House play last weekend. We had a great time. The play is based on the very popular children's chapter book series.

Spring Break

Only one more week until spring break. Alea and I will head to Texas next Friday to visit and spend a few days lovin' on Becky, Pat, and Reed. Then we come back to Arkansas to finalize packing and head to KC to catch our flight to Florida for our much anticipated DISNEY CRUISE!!! I am so excited to see Bec, Pat, and Reed and to go on our cruise.

This is shaping up to be a great spring break!

Reed Mathew

My beautiful nephew was born this morning at 1:54 AM. He weighed 8lbs. 3oz. and was 21 inches long. He is so gorgeous!

4 days

School has been cancelled for tomorrow so that will make four snow/ice days in a row. Two of those without power. (That is assuming we do not loose power today or tomorrow.)

Ice Storm

Ice pics below.

Ice Day

No school tomorrow thanks to an ice storm coming in. I hope everyone travels safe.

Puppy

Alea has a new favorite toy. She has adopted my favorite toy from childhood as her own. My "Puppy" was my best friend from the time I got him when I was 2 years old until...okay, he is still my BFF! :) Alea has taken him (now a her) on as her own. My only problem is that it doesn't bother her to throw him across the room, drop him from heights, and throw him in the washing machine. I try not to let her see that those actions hurt my heart. If you ever had a stuffed animal as a best friend you know how it is...he is "REAL" and those things hurt him. Well, at least they hurt me to watch. Puppy has a new lifestyle now as he often is found wearing barretts and necklaces. I know that Puppy is just happy to be loved by a sweet little girl again.

One Handsome Daddy

Alea wanted to help cut her Daddy's hair. She was very meticulous and did a good job for a four year old. She kept telling him that he was going to be "one handsome daddy". I told her that is a good way to get a tip.

Swan Lake

I am taking a day off today to be with my girl and to be away from my job... he he. I told Alea we were going to have a girl day and she wanted to know if she could invite her BFF Macy (next door neighbor) over to play. Macy came over about 10:15 and it is 1:40 now and they are still playing strong. They watched a princess movie that ended with the screen saver playing Swan Lake. They then decided to dress up like princesses and dance. Then they decided to build a stage. So far the stage is made out of pillows, laundry baskets, and couch cushions. I'll try to get a picture of this "ballet" in action. I love these girls. :)

Wrestle Mania

Davin and Alea had been wrestling all day. I decided to leave them to their wrestling and go run some errands. When I came home this is what I found...a sleeping, worn-out girl!

na na na na Batman!

This is how we found Alea last night (see pic below). She fell asleep watching a Batman cartoon. Davin said, "that's my girl!"