Thanksgiving, Kindergarten Style

With Christian repeating Kindergarten this year, I fully expected the same program we saw last year. I was completely wrong and never the less excited to watch his class. They are absolutely the cutest at this age!

I am thankful for my Mom and Dad!

Friends

There were two things going on this very special day. One being the Thanksgiving Program that every student in Kindergarten participated. Second, the Thanksgiving feast they have in their classroom afterwards. This feast is my favorite because it is where we watch a video of each child saying, what they are most Thankful for. I loved watching this because you can just see their minds turning...They want to make sure that nothing of importance is forgotten. It is so precious to hear what matters most to them in their lives!

Had a Vital role of holding the "N" in Thanks


It is such a special time of year and I love hearing what our little guy is Thankful for...It should of been that daddy arrived safely. I believe Brian received a speeding ticket on the way home from TN! Oh Well, he made it to watch the program and that is all that matters. My folks and Heather came to watch the program as well...the more the merrier.

Lots to be Thankful for...

It is hard to believe two years ago we would ever get to where we are now. We are so unbelievably blessed and God has been so great to our family. There is so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.   When someone asks me to think of one thing to be thankful for, I can not name just one. I can only name what I am most thankful for and that is my family. Everyday, I am grateful that Brian and I  were chosen to be the parents of these three beautiful children. I am thankful that we are all healthy, happy and surrounded by such loving family.

Thanksgiving was a beautiful morning. I thought what better than a nice 10K for me and a 1 mile fun run for the kiddos to get the day started! I signed us all up to do the "Turkey Trot" with our family. Brian had just gotten back and town, so he did not run the race. He brought the children to the race because my run was at 8:30am and the the fun run was not until 10:00am. The kids were so excited to race that morning. This was the first run that I have ever signed them up for and I was not sure how they would do...especially Hen. Susan had signed Elijah and Preston up as well, so I knew they would have fun. What I did not know was how great Christian would be at running distance! He finished 1 mile in 9 minutes and 57 seconds! Not to shabby for his first race ever! Hen on the other hand, had a disastrous fall in the first few seconds of the race...face first on the pavement.:( She was trying to catch her brother, who took off at warp speed and she tripped. After finally calming her down we convinced her to run the end of the race when Christian came to the last leg of it. They both got finisher ribbons and were super excited. We all got t-shirts for participating and they have already asked when we could do it again. We have signed up for the Jingle Bell Run in a few weeks!

After the race, we went over to Julie and Steve's for some Mimosa's and Breakfast casserole that they made. The cousins got to play for a few hours, which they always enjoy and the adults got to visit too. The Bennett and Pres love to visit with their newest cousin Lucy, but I think Bennett and Hen think she is a live doll to play with. So Cute.

Later we ran home and took showers and headed over to my parents house for dinner and more family time. My Aunt Punkin has been in town and we always love visiting with her. Somehow I never manage to get her in any pictures??? My cousin and her son also came over for dinner. There has been a tradition started a few years ago with Tre' and Brian... wrestling competitions. However, as Tre' continues to grow, now 6'2 he gives Brian a run for his money. Tre is fabulous with children. He and Christian had a ball wrestling and playing and I can not believe my child did not pass out on the way home! I have no idea where that never ending energy comes from???

My mom cooked a fabulous meal as always and we all just sat and enjoyed the company. There is so very much to be Thankful for this year. I love watching everyone just stop and enjoy the day and the wonderful blessings God has bestowed on us all. At least for one day the world slows down just a little bit to remember what is most important to them.

Wrestling

It seems as though there is a reoccuring theme in our household. If at first you don't succeed, try again. The second try for anything around here almost always ends in success. Lets see, dancing, hunting and now the biggest of all wrestling! Those that know my husband, know of his love or his obsession for the sport of wrestling. I must say, it has really grown on me very quickly. There is a lot of skill in this sport and I must say, I am impressed. The outfits are not the cutest by any means, but on a 6 year old they are kind of cute?

We tried this sport last year and it was kind of a joke. Brian has dreamed of Christian wrestling since he discovered he was a boy. I think I heard about it daily for years. Brian even started teaching him moves as soon as he could walk. Honestly, I was worried that Brian would eventually be disappointed when his son did not possess the same love for wrestling. When last year was kind of a bust, I was not sure if this year would be in the cards. The sport was very disorganized last year and there were not many little kids. Christian was not really taught any basics and mostly just goofed around with his one friend that was wrestling too.

This year on the other hand is a completely different story. There are about 10 kids his age and they are breaking the practice up into beginner and advanced. This is allowing the kids to learn the basics of wrestling and the sport itself. The practices are long and twice a week...the only downfall. Brian goes one night a week to help out and truly loves getting back on the mat. I am surprised he has not broken out the old singlet yet! :) haha He has gotten some new wrestling shoes and just gets so excited that Christian is absolutely loving and wanting to learn the sport this year. They have had about three weeks of practice since starting this season. They had a tournament this past weekend, which neither of us thought Christian was that ready to participate. Brian thought it would be a good learning lesson and you have to start somewhere. I have to tell you that I was nervous for Christian and Brian was a complete wreck...could not even eat breakfast. I was not sure what we had signed him up for, but he was super excited.

The tournament starts early at 8:00am. This does not sound early, but when you have to drive 40 minutes, it is early. I packed up both the girls and followed them out to the location of the tournament. I really did not know what to expect. My dad came to help cheer him on and help me with the girls.

Getting ready for his first match!

Getting his Medal!

The one to beat...

 Christian surprised me by winning 4 rounds and was off to the finals to compete for a medal! Awesome job! I am so proud of him and of course Brian is so happy too. I have to say, I can not stand to see my baby getting pinned on the floor. I found myself screaming, pin him, flip him, drive, drive as loud as I could...Brian was even louder. I can really get into this sport, who knew? He went on to win again and then loose to a kid that was most definitely was not in the right weight class. He got fourth out of 16 kids in his division! Not too shabby for his first tournament ever! Brian watched the video back today and they gave two extra points to the last kid he wrestled on accident. There had been a little controversy about it...Brian told him he should of gotten third place, which is true. Oh Well. He had a blast wrestling and had a smile on his face the whole time and that is all that matters to us...We can't wait to see what happens next!

Medal

Proud Daddy

Never say, Never!

I have many friends who have three children. In fact, the thing you always hear about having more than two kids is, you are now out numbered. When they all go in different directions, you do almost need an extra pair of eyes. 

The one question I have been asked frequently in the past few months as a momma of three is, " Have you forgot or lost one of them yet?" What in the world kind of question is that? Forget one of my children? No way, no how! How on earth could you do that? I would never forget one of my children! Not in a million years!!!

Well, If I was a betting women, I would of lost this bet. I indeed last week forgot one of my children!!!

It has been crazy the past few weeks. All the holiday festivities leading up to Halloween and now Thanksgiving. I have school functions out the ying yang and can barely keep my calendar straight, much less anything else...and one of them does not even do anything! Anyway, for weeks I have been trying to get the kids haircuts. The only time it could be done was on a Thursday afternoon at 1:30. Yes, I would be checking my children out of school for a stinking haircut! Desperate times my friends....

The kindergarten class was having their Thanksgiving program the next day. When I went to check Christian out of class, his teacher wanted to know what for? I was embarrassed to admit it was for a haircut, but I told her. Mrs. Rary told me that Christian had an important role in the program tomorrow and to please leave him at school for practice. I said, ok and off I went. 

Now, here is the crazy part. Lucy has to be picked up by 1:00pm period! I was going to pick her up after I checked out the other two. Well, when I did not check out the other two...somewhere in my head, I thought I have until 2:30 to run more errands??? I took off to the other side of town! Folks, it was 12:45 pm!!! I stopped at a gas station to get gas and I was talking on the phone. I don't know what made me look at the clock, but I will never forget it! It read 1:07pm. Oh Sh#%@&! I forgot to pick up Lucy! I immediately called the school and made up some off the wall story about an accident. I did not want them to know I completely forgot about my sweet baby girl! I guess I am so use to her being with me, that I just momentarily thought she was with me. 

The moral of this story is anything can happen and yes, it happened to me. I am so lucky Lucy was safe and sound in her class with her fabulous teacher. If you are going to forget a child, at least forget about them at their school!!! Hahahaha

The Hunting Camp

Brian has always been a big hunter since childhood. I think it is almost a right of passage when you have a son to try and pass of that same passion to your child. Once Christian turned four, Brian started exposing him to hunting. The past few years Brian has been part of a hunting camp with friends in the neighborhood. He took Christian out to the camp last year and he even took him into the deer stands. However, I don't think Christian really cared one way or another last year. To be completely honest, it makes me a nervous wreck for him to be out there in the woods with guns and trigger happy men. I know Brian would never let anything happen, but still I worry.

Christian and Whit

Ready to ride!

We have some good friends, the Edmonds, who have three boys. They all enjoy going out to the hunting camp and just have a good time. This year they bought into a new camp with a great house and lots of land. It truly is like being out in the country. The boys love it out there...They run around and play, build fires, roast marshmallows, chase cows and just do boy things. Brian sends me pictures of them all and it looks like so much fun. I think that the boys play so hard that it is a little difficult to get them going at 4am to hunt for deer. This past time, only one child made it out to hunt and he is 10. The others were exhausted and Brian said, Christian cried because he was so tired! hahaha The only difference between last year and this year is that Christian LOVES it out there! The kids want to stay all weekend long. Once the hunting season starts to slow down, Susie and I are going with are families to the camp for a weekend. I look forward to it and can not wait to see the reaction from the girls? Who knows, Hen might just love it too.

Dancing Queen

When Henley was almost three years old, we tried dance for the first time. I started at three, so I thought  she might like it as well. The thought of dance was great because she liked to dance around the house, but actually doing it without mommy around was another story. We ended up pulling her out and waiting a little longer until she was ready.

It seems this was the year she was finally ready. I have a friend who's daughter is about 10 months older than Henley. They sometimes play together. When she heard about Emily dancing, she wanted to try it too. I was skeptical because it is expensive and a commitment. We have to pay for their recital costumes from the beginning and they are not cheap. Well, the reward paid off because she absolutely loves dancing! If she had her choice, she would go twice a week. Henley even quit gymnastics and requested that very thing. Her class is full of friends from school, church and the neighborhood. She is the youngest because of her birthday, but she picks up quickly.

NS Dance, where she takes is a great studio and very close to our house. The parents are not allowed to watch and they do not even have two way mirrors. It drives me crazy not to be able to watch her in the class. However, they had an observation day last week. The parents and anybody else could come and watch the girls dance. It is one of the first glimpses I have gotten to the moves Henley does around the house. She is very shy by nature and she has surprised me. Here are some pictures of her in class. They do ballet, tap and jazz.

Soccer Love

When christian was two years old we tried mini kickers. This is a very beginner introduction to soccer. Needless to say, it did not stick. Fast forward a few years and he developed an interest. I think mainly because of good friends who have played for years. He wanted to for go Fall ball this year in lieu of soccer.
I was unsure which league to put him in because of his lack of experience. Given his birthday he could of gone two ways. The younger league 4-6 or older league 6-8. We decided on the younger. Since he had never really played and has little experience, we figured it worked out better. We had no idea that he would get into it and actually have some skills. More than likely because he is older and has more of an attention span for sports than some of his teammates, who are 4 and 5.
There was one game in which he actually scored 8 goals!!! His friend Alex and him were doing chest bumps on the field. I did not even know he knew what a chest bump was...hilarious!

Maisy and Christian

Maisy, Alex and Christian
all 3 in class together too

The season just ended and all the kids received trophies. It was a good learning experience and we will move him up to the next league in the spring. The age gap makes a huge difference in the game and how it is played. The older kids are definitely more aggressive with each other. Here are some pictures...

chest bump after a goal

not shy about scoring a goal

two goals...always holds up the fingers of how many?

The End!