Weekend and beyond

Now that we're half-way through this week, I guess I'll post about our weekend. ;) (Always a day late and a dollar short!)

I'm so excited we are finally in purge mode around here. Whoo to the hoo, baby! I started purging the kids' game/toy cabinet Thursday and Friday. Kelvin and I spent Saturday and Sunday cleaning out the garage. Friday morning I cleared some stuff out of my closet. I found a little braided bag of which I was going to cut off a strap. The scissors and I got a little tangled. Let's just say the scissors won, and I found myself in the urgent care room getting my arm glued closed! GRR! and double GRR! Anway, we've been chipping away at the piles of stuff. Hopefully this morning I'll get in the attic and drag out some stuff. I'm pricing like a mad woman, and Saturday we're opening the driveway for our second-ever Garage(guess I should call it Yard) Sale! I really prefer just taking stuff to Goodwill or Purple Heart and getting the tax receipt, but there's too much to load this time. We might need to make this an annual affair. It's a pain in the hiney to do, but I'm SOooooooo tired of the clutter and stuff. A yearly purge would be so much easier than waiting five or six!

We had big plans of going to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens in Galveston on Sunday after the early service at church, but when we about melted going from the church to the car, we decided to stay home and continue working on the garage. I know, great Father's Day celebration. Oh well. I went to the grocery store and bought some shrimp, corn and potatoes, and we had a little shrimp boil on the back porch. I set up Cora's little wading pool, and I swear, she played in that thing for five hours! The big kids hopped in and out of it too. We had a good day, even though we changed the plan.

For Make It Monday, the kids and I made a coconut cream pie from scratch (except the crust. I know, don't shoot me. I'll tackle homemade crust next time.) It was a first for them and me. I've never been much on baking. I don't know why. I kind of think I'm afraid of messing up whatever it is I'm doing. Well, this summer one of the things on my personal bucket list was making a coconut pie and a chocolate pie. The coconut pie came out beautifully, even if I did have to scrape out the filling because I forgot to bake the pie crust first. Coconut pie is one of my dad's favorites, so that was his Father's Day gift. :)

Luke was the carrier. He's sporting a short "do" for summer. It's finally not a sore subject.
Carleigh and I made the cute little "Happy Father's Day" banner.

The kids and Papa (not sure why I write it like this. It's pronounced "pawpaw."

My dad and me :)

Part of the summer plan for the kids and me is a bit of a schedule. We're doing Make It Monday, Take a Trip Tuesday, Wet and Wild Wednesday, Thinking Thursday and Friend Friday or Fresh and Fun Friday (do something fun we found on Pinterest.) I'm also encouraging reading daily, and doing a small journal entry and some math facts at least a few times a week. We're into our second week. They've done pretty well. Next week is VBS at church, so we'll probably put the schedule aside. I think they've enjoyed knowing there is sort of a schedule, but we're flexible too.

Yesterday we took a trip to the library, and they stocked up on books. :) I remember going to the library as a child and loving it. I've always enjoyed reading. I still remember my third, fourth and fifth grade teachers reading aloud to us. One of my very favorite books was Summer of the Monkeys. Mrs. Hearn and Mrs. Albright, my fourth and fifth grade teachers, read it to us. LOVED it!

Hope summer brings with it many memory-making moments for you.

Awards and summer

We are in our first week of summer vacation at our house. It's been so nice doing a lot of nothing. The kids were pretty worn out with the end-of-school hullabaloo. We are so proud of the big kids for the great work they did this year. They both learned so much and did so well. They both received multiple awards in their classes.

Carleigh's 5th grade awards/graduation ceremony with her principal

I'm so proud of her!

Most of these girls have been together since they were babies in the church nursery!

Luke and his teachers

Luke and his buddies...I am so proud of him!



This week Luke and I got haircuts, Cora started swimming lessons, and I took the kids bowling. Gotta love those "Kids Bowl Free" passes!



Waiting...patiently

Hmm, I don't know about this one!



Do I see a spare in your future?

Shera, princess of power!

Great form!


 



This is what you get after Carleigh accidentally hits Luke in the head with the bowling ball. Keepin' it real!

 

Fearless!







Hope you're having a good week! What are your summer plans? I think we'll hit the library tomorrow.

Birthday Girl

Way too many candles on this homemade cake!

Our sweet girl turned 11 today. This morning she got a little gold ring with a "C" momogram that used to belong to my dad. She's requested chicken pot pie for dinner...Yum-O! When Kelvin gets home we'll let her open another little something we got for her room from one of my favorite bloggers' etsy store, Lemonade Makin' Mama. Carleigh has grown so much the past year (over 6 inches to be exact!) she looks sort of like a clown in a circus on her bike nowadays. She asked for a new bike, and she's getting the prettiest purple cruiser! I know she's gonna love it. I hope we can take a spin around the block before bedtime.

At 11, Carleigh is full of life. She has a huge laugh. She is a smart girl, sings like a bird, has a style all her own, and is sweet as sugar. She is a great help for me, and I appreciate her. She is considerate and thoughtful, always making a card or craft for a friend or family member. She is talented too. Carleigh is a beautiful ballerina. She can hardly wait to grow up, (which she is doing extremely too quickly) and is looking so forward to junior high school next year. I love her!

Where art thou?

I cannot beLIEVE this is the first day of June! (Well, it was when I started this post anyway!) It's been a month since I last posted. That's terrible! May was a good month, full of fun and memory-making moments. It started with Carleigh's recital, which was my last post. The week after that, Kelvin completed his last final exams ever! Yeehaw! I cannot even begin to explain how proud I am of this man of mine! He is AMAZING! The next weekend was Mother's Day. The kids and Kelvin made me feel special...as always. Carleigh got up before the chickens and made me breakfast. She is such a doll. We went to church and then headed down to one of our favorite restaurants on the water.

The very next day, Kelvin and I headed out for four days by.our.selves! It was WONDERFUL. We stayed at a sweet little place in Fredericksburg and took in the sites like we've never done before. We ate at a couple of really great places, hiked Enchanted Rock, and went to the Nimitz Museum. We also swam in the pool and sat in the hot tub one afternoon, took a nap before bedtime, and got in a run one morning. It was heavenly. Then we came home...back to reality. ;)

Shera, Princess of Power!

 



When we returned, it was time for graduation! We were all so excited...especially me! Kelvin may have been a little bit more excited than me, but I don't know. I had to make some signs so he could spot us in the stands. The kids were totally psyched to see themselves on the jumbotron screen at Minute Maid Park. Before the ceremony began, there was a Twitter feed scrolling on the screen. Luke thought it was very cool to see my tweet, "So proud of our UHDad! {heart}, Carleigh, Luke and Cora


One of the cutie pies he saw in the stands.

Processional--Kelvin sees us in the stands and gives us a big smile and wave. :)

 

Photo op with the president of the Univeristy of Houston-Downtown

So happy together



Our University of Houston-Downtown Dad

 

1. Kelvin and his grandma 2. Kelvin and Andrew & Priscilla, his niece and nephew 3. Kelvin and his mom
4. Kelvin and his Uncle Gene 5. University of Houston-Downtown School Emblem 6. Kelvin's Aunt Carol & Uncle Tommy
7. Cora giving some graduation kisses 8. Kelvin and Luke 9. Kelvin and Carleigh 10. Kelvin and his delicious chocolate cake--You are the MAN!

 

After graduation, Kelvin started a new job at Lubrizol. He is now the supply chain manager. He also had a birthday in May. He's kinda like a fine wine...just gets better with age.

Carleigh had her 5th grade play day at the local water park. I got teary-eyed watching her and her friends she's had since preschool having a ball celebrating the end of elementary school. I also got to go to her final choir festival the next day. Hopefully I'll find time soon to post some pics and more details about her 5th grade events.

Tomorrow, Carleigh turns 11. She graduates from elementary school Friday. I'm just stunned. It doesn't seem possible. I remember like it was yesterday being pregnant with her!

I love blogging. Hopefully this summer I can figure out a good system for staying consistent. I like having a place to chronicle our days, meals and projects. I'm looking forward to summer. Hopefully, I don't have my hopes set too high for all I want to accomplish (and what I want the kids to do). ;)

How was your May?

Ballerina Girl

Last weekend, Carleigh danced in her recital. She was so beautiful. The curtain opened, and she was front and center, face beaming. She danced so sweetly. I got tears in my eyes. I can't stand how fast she's growing up. You're not going to believe this, but I didn't get a single dern picture of her in her outfits! We weren't allowed backstage, and we weren't allowed to film or photograph during the performance, so I couldn't get a picture of her in costume. I didn't think about taking any pictures during dress rehearsal. I got video though. I'll try to post it. Here are the pictures I took after the recital. She was in her finale outfit...jeans and a t-shirt. The make-up is heavy, I know, but believe it or not, if it's not that heavy, the girls look totally washed out with the stage lights.

 

I'm so proud of her. She will be 11 in a few short weeks. She's so excited about junior high. I could do without it, thankyouveramuch. Life goes on. The days rush by, and before we know it, we have beautiful ballerinas and soccer stars. I'm trying to soak it all in. I wish there was a way to slow it down just a bit. 

Morning, Sunshine!

Hey there! I shared with you several months ago that I took the Hello Mornings Challenge last fall. I loved it so much, I stepped up to the plate and became an accountability captain. That title doesn't make me any more spiritual or mean that I have it any more together than anyone else, it just means I'm leading a group. I've enjoyed my winter challenge group so much. It's been really cool getting to know women from all across the U.S. and grow with them a little the past 13 weeks. Tomorrow ends our winter challenge and begins registration for the summer challenge. If you have no idea what I'm talking about and would like to know more, click here.

 



I am not a morning person at. all. I enjoy staying up late when the house has finally settled down after the hustle and bustle of the day and do a project, or browse my favorite blogs, or look at all the awesomeness on Pinterest. But, I have found, I really enjoy going to bed a little sooner and then waking early to spend time studying the Word and praying before my kiddos get moving in the morning. My body has actually kind of adjusted to waking early and I look forward to my time now. Don't get me wrong, I can sleep in like nobody's business, but it's been good having a structured time to start my day planning, studying the Word, and working my body. I feel like I'm getting a good start to the day.

Do you need some structure too? Click on the links and find a group that's right for you. Let me know if you do. It's fun knowing you're doing a challenge together.

I hope you have a fantastic Thursday!

What's for dinner?

For a while now, I've been trying to do a menu plan for the week around our house, so I don't have to scratch my head and stare at the fridge wondering what to cook for the hungry mouths of mine. It's been good. I started using Ziplist, and it has revolutionized the way I plan and shop. Ziplist is free! I wish this was a paid endorsement, but it's not. I just can't stand to keep things as awesome as Ziplist to myself. You should try it out. I haven't even had time to explore all the options available on the site, but I currently use the recipe clipper to "pin" recipes I find on blogs and other websites, the menu planner, and the grocery lists. It's so awesome...I can't even tell you.

Anyway, last week, we had a bang up good menu. I would share it with you, but I've already erased it from our menu board, and trying to remember something like that would be stretching it a little too much for me. This week, I'm totally stoked, because I'm using what we already have (freezer, pantry, etc.) and not having to buy much at the grocery store.

I found some brisket in the freezer the other day and tossed it in the fridge to thaw. Last night, I really didn't want to serve just sliced brisket, so I jumped on Kelvin's brilliant idea of throwing it in the food processor and making chopped brisket sandwiches out of it. I added a little bit of this and a little bit of that to the meat, and voila, dinner was served, and seconds were requested! YAY!

Tonight we're having tacos, because it's Tuesday, and that's how we roll on Tuesdays. I'm using the Creamy Black Bean Chili we had for dinner Sunday for the tacos. I'll cook off some of the liquid, chop some lettuce, open a can of salsa, steam some rice, and make this yummilicious condiment to go with it, and voila, dinner will be served tonight!

Wednesday night is camp-out-at-the-dance-studio night. I'm making hot dogs and taking them with us and throwing in some sliced fruit and veggies. I'll probably buy a bag of Fritos too, because, how can you eat a hot dog without Fritos? Cora and Luke and I will have a picnic, either in the car or the park, whichever weather permits, and Carleigh will have to scarf down one before we get to dance practice, or between classes. It's a bummer, but the that's just how it is for the next couple of Wednesdays. Her recital is May 4th! I can't wait to see her dance! Kelvin has his last classroom class Wednesday night...I mean last EVER! Can I get a double Whoo Hoo! Yah baby, I'm over-the-top excited!! After this week, he has a couple of finals to take at school, and one to take online, and he is finished! Graduation is May 18. I'm so proud of him...there are no words.

Thursday night is Broccoli and Sausage Skillet. It looks yummy. I bought some broccoli the other day, and I have the sausage already, so all I need are the noodles.

Friday night is YOYO (your on your own), because I have bunco! :)

Saturday night we have dinner plans with some new friends. Can't wait!

Sunday is fajitas...¡Olé!

So, what's for dinner at your house? Do share. :) Have a T-riffic Tuesday!