Disney On Ice, 2014

Our school took its second-annual, school-wide, Disney on Ice field trip last Friday.  It is such a fun trip and I love that we load all 600 students and faculty up to go.  (How about that big belly crammed into that little tshirt in the above photo? Ha!)

The girls would enjoy just riding the bus.  I think that is one of their favorite parts of any field trip they get to go on.

This year's show had a few repeats from last year, but for the most part they brought in different characters.  I was super excited to see Alice, the White Rabbit, and the Mad Hatter.  They are one of my favorites!

For some reason, my girls always choose to hang out with these boys.  You'd think they were best friends or something :)

Such a great show and great memories for my girls and all our students!

A First Grade Program

Last week, Libby participated in her first grade program at school.  She memorized her part so well and even got to dress as an Indian. (Native American for you politically correct folks.)

All of first grade lined up on the makeshift stage and told the story of the first Thanksgiving.  There were students dressed as food:  cranberry sauce,  a turkey, dressing, potatoes.  There were students dressed as Pilgrims.  Some were dressed as family members:  grandparents, children, pets.  And then these precious Indians.

Libby did so well!  She said her part loudly and clearly.

And just for the cuteness factor, here she is with one of her best friends, Koby.

If you're feeling nostalgic, you can check out a few pictures from when Kyndall participated in this same program two years ago.  Looking back, I can see how my blogging style has changed since then--few words, more pictures.  Hopefully, I'm doing better with that now :)

Third Grade Field Trip (AKA Pumpkin Patch Visit #3)

Earlier in the week, Justin and I went to Gullion Farms with Kyndall's third grade class.  She insisted we both go because Libby got us both on her field trip, and this was only fair :)

There were big slide races--Kyndall won every time. She used her hands to push herself down faster, which was HILARIOUS.

 She shared a swing with her teacher--they even both jumped out at the same time at the end.

She got corn in places no one wants corn.

We all took turns milking Ellie the cow.  Poor thing--she is seven months pregnant too, so we could be twins :) PS: Kyndall was too busy milking to look at the camera.

Kyndall really enjoyed all the animals--donkeys, horses, goats, chickens, rabbits, and this little guy (ha!).

They were even able to help gather eggs from the henhouse!

Gullion Farms is a "true" farm experience.  Kyndall loved it, even though she's been around farming her whole life.  It was really funny watching the kids that had never been to a farm though--they just thought everything was gross.  You mean, bacon comes from that cute little pig? My Big Bacon from Jacks Restaurant is from Ellie the cow?  What is that SMELL??

We had a great day, just the three of us.  I'm really loving these one-on-one "dates" with my girls :)

Field Trip!!! (And pumpkin patch visit #2)

Just so you know, if there is a pumpkin patch anywhere near us, you can trust that the West family has been there.  Between personal visits and field trips, we are experts on pumpkin patches in the south.

Last week, Libby's class ventured out to 4-D Family Farms in Hanceville, Alabama.  (It's kind of a tradition around these parts to go to a farm/pumpkin patch in the fall.  Kyndall's class will be going in a few weeks.)

In case you didn't know, I'm growing a baby. (That explains the awkward hand placement in the above photo, right?) Add to that the fact that my sugar has been wonky, causing me to pass out a few times, and Justin felt the need to go with us to the pumpkin patch.    Whatever his reasons, Libby was ecstatic that both of us were going with her.  

She enjoyed that cow train, really.  Even though her facial expression says otherwise.

And this slide was A-W-E-S-O-M-E.  It made me a little sad that I couldn't go down it with her.  Check out that static-filled hair... I mean, does that just scream FUN or what?

Best photo of the day goes to this one.  I'm pretty sure she was bouncing on her butt on the pillow jump.  Fun stuff.

It's a rare occasion that the girls get individual attention from Mommy and Daddy at the same time.  Libby really soaked us up on this trip.  (We'll both be going on Kyndall's trip in a few weeks, so it's fair.)  

I love that we were able to do this before Jase gets here and I hope to make individual dates more of a priority in the future.  These sweet girls are growing so fast and I want the chance to revel in the age that they are, right now.

Madam Vice President

As I mentioned in this post, Kyndall ran for Vice President of our school's Student Council last week.  There were 12 students running for this position, and Kyndall had to give a speech in front of around three hundred people.  (Deep down inside, I wanted to talk her out of it.  I didn't even try, but I sooo wanted to.  How scary!  She's only 8!)  She did AWESOME.  They all did, really.  I was super impressed with every student who had the guts to get up and speak in front of that crowd.

Just in case you missed it, she had some super creative posters.....

And her speech was riveting.

From the original vote, Kyndall and one other girl tied, so there had to be a run-off.  After the run-off votes were counted, it was official.  My daughter is now the Vice President of our school. :)

Of course, there were inductions, complete with certificate.

How about that smile? Ha!

Don't think I don't use this to my advantage.  Does a VP be mean to her sister?  I think a VP would unload that dishwasher.  That is not the attitude of a VP.  (I'm a horrible mom.  She's never running for office again, is she?)

SO very proud of my little VP!

SCHOOL is BACK!

In between soccer and cheerleading, school has started back.  As usual, our school had Open House night, where kids and parents both come to meet the teacher.  The girls love it, mostly because they get to see the friends they haven't seen all summer.  (They love their teachers too, but they already know them, being TK's and all.  That's teacher's kids, for those of you who don't know.)

Libby has Mrs. Flack.  As of Open House night, she was super excited about first grade. As of the time I'm writing this post, she is almost-ok with first grade.  The two weeks in the middle have been very questionable.  She said she loved her teacher.  She said she loved her friends.  She said the work wasn't hard.  But every single night she cried.  And asked to be home-schooled.  And every single morning she cried.  And asked to be home-schooled. It's been a long road from Open House night until today, and I'm hoping (and praying!) that she at least stays "almost-ok" with first grade.  I'm wishing it even gets better.

On the bright side, Kyndall has Mrs. Downs and is loving every single second of third grade.  Her teacher is a fun and even stands on her head if the whole class gets an "A" on a test.  Last week, she did the Ice Bucket Challenge with her class, at school.  Kyndall also has most of her best friends in her class, which makes it even better.

(Excuse my crummy photos....I think my almost-10-year-old camera is ready to hit the grave!)

As for me, school is coasting right along.  It's more exhausting than usual (wonder why? ha!), but definitely just as gratifying.  God has truly put me right where I need to be--I see close to 600 students multiple times each week.  I know 500 of them by name--I'm still working on those Kindergarteners!  I get hugs, and belly rubs, and interesting conversation all day long.  What's not to love?

Field Day Fun

Last week, our school had Field Day.  It's a school wide, outdoor celebration where the kids do different games.  It's not super competitive-- no awards are given or anything (boo-boo!), but the kids have a TON of fun.

This year, we had "Opening Ceremonies" and Kyndall got to take part.  There was a torch run and everything!

Each grades had a color they were supposed to wear--Kyndall was blue and Libby was red.  Each class had a schedule.  The kids rotated between karate kicking,

the long jump,

the relay race,

the basketball relay (over, under, over, under),

tug-of-war,

an obstacle course

and the hockey relay.

Everyone had so much fun!! This was one of my favorite school days as a kid, and it's still one of my favorites as a teacher.  The girls LOVED every minute of it.  I'm so thankful we have awesome PE teachers that go to all the hard work to organize this day and make it special for everyone.

Bowling, Field Trips, and Chaos

Remember this post, when I said I really liked clean sinks?  And how I felt like I really had it all together when my sinks were clean and shiny?  Well today, my sinks look like this:

Obviously, my life is in chaos.  I need prayers, ya'll.  If I can't keep my sinks clean, what chance do I have of keeping control over ANYTHING in my life?

In other news, Kyndall's class went on ANOTHER field trip today.  I am loving all these field trips second grade takes.  (My paycheck isn't loving them, but that's another story for another day.)  I'm hoping I can talk third and first grade teachers into some extra field trips next year.

Today, we went to the bowling alley for 2nd grade's End of the Year celebration.

 

 I was very impressed with K's bowling skills.  She most certainly did not get those from her mama.

A few of us had gone in and gotten Mrs. Stephens a gift together, so the kids gave that to her when we got back to school.  

I know I've said this before, but I am so very sad to see this year come to an end.  Both girls have had amazing teachers, but also great groups of kids in their classes.  We have all loved every second of Kindergarten and Second Grade and, even though I know First and Third grades will be just as good, it means my girls will be another year older.  And K will be another year closer to moving over to the middle school.  Slow down, my life!

Throwback Thursday, Baby Girl Style

It seems like only yesterday that I was writing this post about my baby girl starting Kindergarten.  Tuesday night, she had her end-of-Kindergarten program.  Please excuse me while I go sob in the corner.....

First day:

And now:

Instead of a graduation program, the students all sang songs to go along with each month of the year. They sang one "month" song and then performed a song or poem about something they learned that month.   (Sorry for the video quality---gym lighting isn't conducive to good photos or videos!)

After the songs, each student was called up to receive their Certificate of Completion for Kindergarten.  (Can I just take a second and say how grateful I am for Mrs. Johnson?  Not only is she MY best friend, but she is the absolute BEST Kindergarten teacher in the entire world, hands down.)

And the ending chant, which I think is my favorite.

After the program, we all went back to Libby's class.  Mrs Johnson made each student a scrapbook of their Kindergarten year--complete with pictures, artwork, and handwriting samples each month.  I knew this gift was coming, but it still made cry looking over the 'snapshot' of the last year.

If one of you could discover some ground-breaking, Time Slowing mechanism, I'd pay top dollar for that!  :)