High School Friends

About a month ago a group of high school friends contacted me about taking some pictures for them.

I was pumped!  Even though they were a little shy and reserved it was obvious that they are close and have a TON of fun together when an "old" 29 year old woman isn't with them!

I hope these relationships last.  These are the types of friendships I wish I would've had in high school and that I hope CJ can have.

Thanks for a wonderful, though HOT & humid evening girls!  I hope you like the way your session turned out.

Cambree's First Day of School

Miss Cambree Jane started afternoon pre-school this year and she was most definitely EXCITED!!

This momma CAN not believe that she is this old already. But I am super thrilled that she is so pumped about going to school.



She is going to learn tons of new things, but one thing she already has mastered is the cutting and pasting! She ROCKS at those things.



Cambree rides the bus over from Coldwater at noon. She get's on at Becky's (her daycare) and then she sticks around after school and gets to ride home with me & Preston.



That's Mrs. Hoffman, her teacher. We are lucky to have Mrs. Hoffman. She was Preston's preschool teacher as well. There are also two helpers in her class, Mrs. Rumsey and Mrs. Lawless.

Cambree's school day is from 12:30 to 4:00 Monday thru Thursday. And by Thursday at 4 o'clock, she is TIRED!

I love that she is always so excited to show me what she did in school that day and tells me about her day. This is something her older brother has never done much of and I like knowing what they are doing.

Have a TERRIFIC year of Pre-K Cambree Jane!

Preston's First Day of School

Okay, so what if his first day of school was almost two weeks ago now?

You still want to see what the little munchkin looked like as he was all dressed up and excited for school, right?



So, excited might be a strong term for how Preston was feeling about going back! HA!



Mr. Preston Dean started first grade this year. His super wonderful teacher is Mrs. Snyder. Here she is with Preston on Back 2 school night.



There are 17 kids in his class. 9 girls and 8 boys. I think his best bud is still Kirstin, but he plays with and talks about lots of the kids in his class.



He is definitely starting to outgrow his britches...literally and figuratively!

Hope you have a terrific 1st grade year P!!

Happy Birthday Westynn!!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

This is  my favorite picture from our day.  Westynn looking at me and wondering what in the world we are singing for and why there is fire in his breakfast, LOL!

So hard for me to believe that one year ago I was snuggling such a tiny baby in the hospital and today he is on the verge of walking!

Tears...a first for me on a birthday.

There is just something about your very last child getting older.  It makes me cry.

This is the VERY last first birthday we will celebrate in our house.

The days of rocking someone to sleep and kissing their head and smelling their freshly bathed goodness are slowly fading away.  And once they are gone, they are gone forever this time.

The baby giggles and babbling and night time teething episodes...dwindling away right before my eyes.

Wiggly diaper changes will soon turn to potty training and accidents.

The highchair will become a booster seat all too soon.

My baby is growing up and I am so excited for him!  I can't wait to watch him learn new things and to watch him become a little boy.  But at the same time I am grieving for what I am losing as a mother.  It's silly I know, but I just can't help it.

I am planning a wet-n-wild first birthday party for this little munchkin next weekend and I can't wait to share it all with you.

Dear Westynn,
Although I am a little sad that you are growing up I am also so very happy to watch you grow.  You are getting such a fun personality.  I absolutely LOVE it when we play on the floor when I get home from work.  Your bulldozing techniques are phenomenal for your age and your giggles when you push me down do wonders for my heart.  I can't imagine my life without you.  God most definitely knew what he was doing when he blessed us with you.  This past year has gone by way too fast and I am not looking forward to the next few passing by either.  If it were up to me I would keep you my baby forever, but I know that you need spread your wings.  Just promise me that you will always be MY boy!  Happy First Birthday my sweet Westynn!
Love Always, 
Momma

My Preschooler!

This little lady is starting preschool today!



I CAN NOT believe it has already been 4 and a half years since she blessed us with her presence. I still remember walking the halls in labor with her.

Okay, can't say anymore, going to cry!

Hope to write more about everyone's first days of school later!

Balloons and Nerves

I no longer have nerves in the ends of my fingertips, but I do have this...

And I used all of this to get it!

It is the ONE and only I will be making.  Mom pressured me into making it.

And I am glad she did, because it turned out ADORABLE!!

Back 2 School Dinner

So, this is our 4th year to have a Back 2 School dinner the weekend before they go back.

You can see last years here.



This year I admit that I didn't have a lot of ideas going into it!

I knew we were going to do it Friday evening at 6:00...that's about it!




Thursday evening after we had dinner and the dishes were done I decided it was probably about time to start thinking about what I was going to do for the table.

I really like using the table runner you see.  It's not really school related, but I just like the primary colors.

I used that fabric on my bulletin board in my dorm room at OSU...remember it Melissa?  Then when I started planning my first Back 2 School party I pulled it out.  The first year I just ironed it and called it good.  The second year I cut it to this runner size and ironed the raw edges under.  The third year I did a childish stitch in white around the edges. I just LOVE IT!



I started off my decorating first with the tablecloth and runner and then went to the closet to see what i had in there.  We have a TON of crayons and they were just calling to me to be on the table.
Only problem was...what to do with them on the table...Open cabinet doors and Ta-Da...sundae dishes!



Back to the closet...stand and look...look some more...look up...look down...look right...look left...NOTHING!

Then I see the scrapbook paper and think, "Oh it would be cute to use paper as a place mat and then the guests could color a picture before or after the meal."

Now the problem is that my scrapbook paper is all patterned {at least what was in the closet :)} but I quickly remember I have some small sheets of poster board that came from Dollar General!  SCORE!



Now, my next great idea for the table came the next day, but I am going to share it with you now.

About a year ago I bought some Crayola brand sticky ribbon...to use on a scrapbook page I am sure! Anyways, I remembered having it and just knew it would make the place mats just a tad more special.

So Cambree helped me cut the ribbon and attach a different color to each piece of the poster board...in ROYGBV {red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet...the order of the color wheel} order.  Then my color coordinating brain went into over-drive and I knew that matching ribbons on the ball jars would be PERFECT!!





See? Aren't they just too cute?!!!



And all those glue sticks? They are ALL on the combined school supply list! This was one of the things I had in mind prior to Thursday evening. I thought of this when I was labeling them all!

Okay, back to the mantle.  Again NO IDEAS here.  So I just start pulling the kids new school supplies out of their backpacks and arranging them on the mantle.



I needed a few fillers so I grabbed our paint brushes from the drawer and the million and one extra pencils we just happen to have around here!



I also grabbed some Twistables and a cute composition book that are in the gift closet.



Later I went back and grabbed a picture of Preston from each of his past 3 "First Day of School" photo shoots! What fun this is going to be throughout the years! Just think of ALL the photos we will have by the time Westynn graduates from High School....there won't be room for all those school supplies!



Clothespins make CUTE picture holders AND they are cheap!



After I had all the supplies and pictures up there it seemed like something was missing, so I randomly tossed their backpacks up there and OMG...The PERFECT mantle for our Back 2 School PAAARRR-TTTAAAYYY!



Oh and don't forget that Back 2 School banner...saved from last year!



I always let the kids choose the menu and this year they chose TACOS! What can I say? We love us some Mexican food around here!



And you just can't have a Back 2 School dinner without an authentic Lunch Room Tray! How fun!



Happy Back 2 School P & C! Momma loves you and I know you are going to have a wonderful year as a First Grader and Pre-schooler! Aim for the stars!

Happy Monday!

Bob Knoll Camp

Well basketball camp has been over for more than a week now, but that isn't going to stop me from blogging about it!

This was Preston's 2nd year at Bob Knoll Basketball Camp.  You can take a look back at his first year here.

It was VERY hot the first day and Preston wasn't too sure about going back for the second day, but when I went a little early to pick him up, it sure seemed like we was having FUN!

Bob has been teaching this camp for a really LONG time! 

And he NEVER seems to change...but I guess that says something about staying fit and doing something you love to do.

Here they are on the last day doing one of the drills I remember from my childhood.  I always thought it was a fun one and it seems that these kids think just the same!

The shocker of the week was when Preston received the award for "Best Attitude". 

SERIOUSLY?

I think aliens must have come and taken the Preston that I know and replaced him with a mutant form.  Let's just say that Preston would NOT be getting this award at home for the summer!

He had a blast once again and next year Cambree Jane gets to attend also!