Miriam's Eighth Grade Dance

Miriam had her Eighth Grade Dance tonight, which is a big deal here in Texas. The theme was City Lights and it was amazing what they did to decorate the school.  The dance went from 7 - 10 pm and it looks like Miriam enjoyed every minute of it. The friends she has made this year are really going to miss her. 

 

Field Day

These two happened to wear the same shirt today. It isn't that uncommon since this is the 5th grade t-shirt for the year, but it is still picture-worthy. Their grade have field day yesterday and then they helped with field day for the 3rd and 4th graders. Today, they are running field day for the kindergarteners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders. These end of the year tasks are all about loving school because it is secretly fun.

I just got the photo below from Lexi's teacher showing her class studying owl bones. I guess they are actually working too.

Biz Town Field Trip

Lexi's teacher posted this photo of her at Biz Town. The 5th graders are on a field trip to a place where the kids run the town. A few weeks ago, Lexi had to be interviewed for a job (by professionals in the real community). She was selected to be the CEO of a real estate company. Some of the kids ran for public office like Mayor and had to be voted in. She spent the day working her tail off and didn't get to take breaks like some of the other kids. They had to pay bills on their businesses and work out problems. I guess it is like the real world.

Mother's Day with Grandma

We drove up to Montgomery yesterday to spend time with Grandma & Papa for the Mother's Day weekend. We went the their community pool in the afternoon. In the evening, they took us out to Red Lobster for dinner. We all ate too much, but it tasted great. This morning, we snapped a quick picture before heading to church with Grandma.

She had to give a talk in church. She started the talk off by saying she wasn't a perfect mother and she doesn't even know if she was a really great mother. Of course that got everyone's attention, but especially Lexi's. She also talked about her "Angel Mother" and "Rascal Father." She told everyone how much she misses her mother even after 26 years. Mostly, she talked about how her mother went on a proselyting mission to Wisconsin at the age of 71. She believes she is still doing missionary work in heaven. 

Treat Before Miriam's Game

Every Friday night, we go to the YMCA for Miriam's volleyball game. This evening, we stopped at Bahama Bucks for flavored shaved ice. Yum!

Whole Volleyball Team

The entire team showed up for practice, so it was a great time for a photo.

Girl's names (in order from left to right):
Krysta
Natalie
Valery
Annabeth
Megan
Maria
Lexi
Iyanna
Sonja

I am actually beginning to see that they might like practice more than the games. That usually isn't the case with sports, but we do have a lot of fun and sometimes I get the parents to play against them for the last 15 minutes or so.

Matching with Miriam

The girls happened to put on matching dresses today for church. I talked them out of changing so we could take photos. They wore the dresses to church and didn't mind at all. These two have gotten really close over the last few months. I thought they would fight a bit, but they really don't. They mostly laugh and act silly.

Love the Mystics 💙

Our team came up a little short today, but I really love these girls!

Moon Phases Costume

The 5th Grade had a science vocabulary parade today. They had to dress up as phrases. Lexi got Lunar Phases, so we painted this shirt. We enjoyed coming up with something that was sciency & cute. Lexi got the idea from Pinterest and my mom bought the materials. This morning, she realized it needed some pizazz and asked me to add the shoulder bows.

Masks

There are lots of big events coming up and these girls want to look their best. 

Crawfish Boil

We have a good friend from church (Kathy Russell) that loves to have huge block parties. Tonight, it was a crawfish boil. They even had live music with lots of legendary country songs. Jordan was at my mom's house, so Miriam, Lexi and I went. Miriam could only stay a few hours before her babysitting gig. Lexi and I had a blast though. She spent most of her time with the cutie above and I talked to that cutie's mom, Jacqui, most of the time. We also ate, but not much of the crawfish boil stuff. I had one crawfish, some corn, and potatoes that were extremely spicy. I think Lexi ate mostly corn (one of her favorite things).

Winning Day

This was our best volleyball day yet. First, we had enough players. Second, our serves were strong. Third, we stayed focus on the ball. All of that helped us win the first two sets, so the last one was just for fun/practice.

School Fishing Trip

Lexi had a school fishing trip today with the 5th graders. They went to Mary Jo Peckam Park and she was able to catch a 15" fish. I wasn't there, so I don't have pictures of the day, but they made these shirts in art class. I think it turned out pretty cute even if it is wrinkled.

Only 5 Mystics

Our little Mystics volleyball team only had 5 players show up today. There were quite a few field trips and school things going on. In addition to that, Lexi had to borrow knee pads because she forgot hers. Luckily there was someone at the game willing to lend theirs or we would have been down to 4 players. The good news is that each Mystic player all got a lot of time to play and practice serving. They were only able to win the second set though, so it wasn't a winning day. 

School Garden

The elementary school has a garden in the back that the students and some parents are responsible for. Lexi's science class was outside today so that they could identify producers and consumers.

Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma & Papa's

We had our own little Easter egg hunt this afternoon. These kids were definitely spoiled this weekend.

Easter Sunday Poses

This morning, Malcolm headed off to his church to sing in the choir and we went to Grandma's church. I snapped a few pictures before we left and then one later with Papa. 

Easter Baskets on Sunday Morning

Miriam, Lexi and Jordan got up this morning and were very excited to look for their Easter baskets. It took them a surprisingly long time to find them (not hours, but we thought it would be easier). They got candy, swimsuits, books, big bubbles, and a few other things. 

Dewberry Picking

There are rows and rows of dewberries on the edge of grandma & Papa's neighborhood. Katy (Malcolm's daughter), who lives in the same neighborhood, told them about these gems. We went there to pick dewberries several times and even the thorns didn't stop the kids from loading up and wanting to go back.

Saturday Easter Egg Hunt

This morning, we headed out to 7D Ranch in Navasota for a huge Easter celebration with Katy, Jason, and Jackson. The kids got to collect buckets full of candy filled Easter eggs, eat hot dogs and cupcakes for lunch and then ride horses all for free. What could be better on a beautiful Spring day?

Cousin Water Time

The kids only had a half day of school yesterday and they had all of today off (Good Friday), so we headed up to Montgomery to spend the long Easter weekend with Grandma & Papa. I still had to work, but the kids had fun today. They went over to Katy & Jason's house for a water fight. Jackson always seems to enjoy cousin time. These guys are definitely entertaining.

Tough Game

It was a tough day for the Mystics, but mostly because half of them were late. At game time, we only had 4 players. They are supposed to be 15 - 20 minutes early to warm up and be ready. The ref let us stall for a little bit and two minutes later, we had enough. Sadly though, the girls definitely needed warm up time to get their heads into it. 

5th Grade Choir Concert

Lexi has been in the 5th Grade Choir this year, which means early morning practices twice a week. They have had quite a few field trips and have learned a lot. The choir directors at her school seem to be much more serious and professional than most elementary school music teachers. It has been a fabulous experience.

Mystics

I signed Lexi and Miriam up to play volleyball at the YMCA. I signed them up so early that I got a discount, but somehow Lexi ended up on a team without a coach. At the first practice, they asked parents to step up and help the team. I told them that I would be happy to help someone else coach, but that I didn't want to be the coach. Next thing I know, I am Coach Stephanie without an assistant coach. Whatever - it is going to be fun. 

We had our first game today and won the first and third sets and since it is 2 out of 3, we won!!! Pretty good since our team still isn't set and we have the smallest team in the league. 

Folk Festival Day

The school district hosts a folk festival every year on the first weekend in April. They charge $1 per person and have lots of activities and demonstrations going on. We invited Grandma & Papa to join us. Lexi and Miriam seemed to enjoy the line dancing (Cotton Eyed Joe and others) the most.