Double Digits!

It was a milestone at our house on September 7, 2009. Jayce turned the big 1-0. That's right. Double Digits! We had a fantastic celebration the Saturday before the big day at Nana's house with a Hollywood theme. Unfortunately, mom forgot the camera.

Mom and Jayce on Jayce's 10th birthday

We got some great shots on Nana's camera, but I haven't transferred them to my computer yet. Jayce saved up money and gift cards and bought an iPod touch. His actual birthday was on Labor Day, so we spent some quality family time hanging out and battling on the golf course...the mini-golf course, that is.

Jayce posing with a neon turtle on the golf course.

Clowning around before a trip to the mini-golf course.

Eggers

Jayce is an artist in the making. We all know that. :) He discovered the "Eggers" contest in the Daily Oklahoman and decided that he was going to enter. He drew up his entry, put it in the envelope, addressed it himself, and only asked me for a stamp. Weeks later, he was so excited to find out that his drawing was chosen for publication in the Daily Oklahoman. On August 30, Hannah Montan-egg by Jayce Green was published for the word, um, Oklahoma to enjoy. Here's a peek:

Way to Go, Jayce! Congrats!

Catch up Time!

I can't believe that my last blog was for the first day of school. Pitiful! There are so many exciting happenings in September and October. I guess I was too busy enjoying them to blog about them. So, without further ado, enjoy my catch-up posts!

First Day of School

The kids are so excited for the first day of school. Lakin's teacher had the neatest loft bed in her classroom. Lakin can't wait to get up there and play.

Maggie has the same teachers that Jayce had last year. They are two retired elementary teachers that split the day. One is there in the morning and one in the afternoon. She is very excited about that.

Jayce's teacher is not the one that he wanted, but I think he is going to love her. It looks like she uses the smartboard a ton, and he loves technology so much that I think she will be perfect for him.

Lakin's tooth

I can't believe it! Lakin lost her first tooth tonight. I knew she had a couple of wiggly ones but was not prepared for my sweet not-yet kindergartener to lose her first tooth. She is so brave. She wanted that tooth out so badly that she let Jayce pull it for her. Can you imagine?

Reading

I love that my children love to read. It is such a wonderful feeling as a mom and as an English teacher! I'm trying to continue to foster that this summer with summer reading journals. We just started them yesterday, but so far the kids love them. I ask a few questions in their journals, and they answer them. I respond to their answers and ask more questions. Jayce says it is like we are pen pals. How cool is that?

Congratulations, Stephen!

He did it! Congratulations, Stephen. We are so proud of your stick-to-it-iveness!

Punishment

I would love for all of my friends and family to ask Jayce what precipitated him being required to wash the floor on his hands and knees...I'll give you a hint...it involved catapulting food.

The Lion King

It was the thrill of a lifetime. I literally had tears in my eyes and goosebumps on top of goosebumps. The cause of all this? The Lion King at the Civic Center. I took my kids and joined Mundy and Jaxon to see this incredible production. The costumes were mind-boggling, the singing and dancing were awe-inspiring, and the overall production was a real memory for me to share with my children. It was sometimes hard to watch the play for watching the kids' faces. Jayce sat on the aisle seat and could reach out and touch the animals that paraded by him. At one point in time, Maggie told me to quit poking her shoulder telling her to look at this and look at that. I was probably more excited than they were!

Memorial Marathon

If you happen to catch any of the coverage of the marathon early Sunday morning, keep an eye out for walkers in "safety green" (think ridiculous neon yellow) t-shirts. The company I work for, Advanced Academics, has a number of people participating in the relay marathon. I'll be walking a 3.2 mile leg for one of those teams. I walk the second leg of the race and expect to start walking between 8 and 8:30 a.m. "We Run To Remember"

Baby Shower

We had a baby shower for Kim today. Sarah made some incredible decorations for the shower and, as usual, Mom made an incredible cake! We had a great turnout and Kim received some wonderful gifts for the new baby. We can't wait for Baby Klaire to make her appearance.

Easter Fun

I'm only a week late, but I wanted to share some of the adorable Easter photos of my family. The Greens came to our house on Saturday evening for Mexican food and an Easter Egg hunt. Sunday morning we worked in All-Stars for the early service and then went to the late service at Trinity. After that we headed to C-town for a fantastic Easter dinner that my mom and Gary put together. The kids were able to hunt Easter Eggs outside! And we celebrated Uncle Stephen's birthday. It was a busy weekend but tons of fun!

Bad Blogger

So, blogging is not my strength. I have pictures to upload, news to share, and things to say, but I just don't seem to get it all on here. So, the latest....

My sweet baby turned five. 5 years old! Bobby and I cannot believe that Lakin is already 5. Where has the time gone? She loves to remind us that she is five and that soon she'll be 6, then 7, then 8, then 9. LOL. She thinks the reaction that she gets from us is hilarious. She has so much personality, too. She bobs her head and bats her eyes and we are thinking we are in big trouble when she's a teenager.

Miss Maggie is on a quest to read as many Nate the Great books as possible before the end of the school year. Her teacher tells me that she'll be recommending her for testing for the gifted program at school which she finds terribly thrilling. She also expects to be super-busy at gymnastics this summer preparing for competition. Her coaches believe she'll be ready to compete in August.

Jayce attended a Young Writer's Conference on Saturday and enjoyed learning more about creative writing and illustrating. Later Saturday he tried out for a play at Poteet Theater. We found out today that he was chosen for the part of David in the 7 Brides for 7 Brothers part of the musical review that will be produced in August.

Life is busy, but we know that we are richly blessed.

Oz

"Oz" was a great success this weekend. All of the children that came to see the play were enthralled, and all of the adults were amazed at the talent of these young people. Jayce made a wonderful, animated munchkin, dancing and singing his heart out. The leads were remarkably funny, terrific performers. The songs were so catchy. Lakin can't stop singing them! Thanks to all of you that came to see Jayce's performance.

Lakin and Brilliant Blue

Lakin got to bring home Brilliant Blue this weekend! Brilliant Blue goes home with the Pre-K kiddo that is well behaved during the week. Blue stays with that child for the weekend, during which time they document their time together. Lakin played guitar hero and danced with Blue. Blue got to help her sign Valentines and decorate her Valentine box. He also helped build the new door for the master bathroom. Blue got to meet Meme and Papaw on Saturday since they came up to help with the door project. On Sunday, Blue got to go to church with Lakin and then he got to meet Nana and Papa who stopped by before shopping to bring the kids a Valentine's surprise. What a weekend!

Jayce places second in the Spelling Bee!

Congratulations, Jayce! Jayce placed second in the third and fourth grade spelling bee. I thought the word "accumulate" would get him, but he spelled that like it was "cat." The word "irrigate" is the one that tripped him up. I was so proud of his attitude! He really wanted to win but showed fantastic sportsmanship.

Donuts for Dads

Bobby enjoyed a special treat with the kids the past two days. Yesterday he attended Donuts for Dads with Lakin. She made him a special necktie that she colored. He was very impressed with his new neckwear! She also filled out a special questionnaire about her Daddy. She said he was 40 years old (ouch!) and that her favorite thing to do was go places with Daddy. Today Bobby attended Donuts for Dads with Maggie and Jayce. Jayce made him a booklet with awesome drawings. It told that Bobby's favorite color is orange, his favorite sport is golf, and that he is very funny. Maggie wrote a poem about her Daddy that says she loves him "from the highest point to the lowest point." He said it about made him cry. Sounds like a great couple of days for the kids and their Daddy!

The gym and me

Most of you are probably aware that the gym is no friend of mine. Even so, I bit the bullet in October and started working out with my sister and a trainer, a friend we've known since high school. My original goal was to become comfortable in the gym, to get stronger, and to feel like I had the energy to keep up with my kiddos. On Jan. 19, though, that changed a bit. Maybe it was a crisis after turning 35 (gasp). Either way you look at it, I started following a strict diet that the trainer's wife uses. I am eating healthy protein, fruits, and vegetables primarily 5-6 times a day. The funny thing is, I actually like it. I drink a chocolate protein shake each day, and that seems to take the edge off of my extreme chocolate addiction. And I rarely every feel hungry. All that to say this: In the past 10 days, I've dropped 8 pounds. I don't like sharing weight loss success, because I'm always worried that it is most likely not going to be lasting, but this feels a little different. I'm excited and motivated.

Here's to a new relationship between me and my gym.

Happy Birthday

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. I had a very nice day today. We went to church this morning and then went to the Serights house for small group. We ate lots of food and spent the afternoon visiting while the kiddos played. Loved it! I look forward to getting together with the fam for the January and February birthdays next weekend.

The boys and the IFR

My boys had a day away today. They went to the OG&E Kids Day and then to the afternoon performance of the IFR. Jayce got tons of autographs, many notably from the attractive queen candidates. Ha! Bobby nearly choked on the prices of the food, but I convinced him that it was OK to spend a little to have a special day with his kiddo.

Dirty Santa Surprise

Dirty Santa at mom's house is always full of fun and craziness. This year took the cake, though. After stealing a gift, Stephen tripped and landed.....on one knee in front of Morgan! It was a surprise proposal that knocked her socks off. She was so excited and totally taken off guard. The ring is incredibly gorgeous and we couldn't be happier. She is an amazing young woman and Stephen and Morgan are perfect together. In fact, Maggie reminded Nana that she told Stephen a long time ago that he should marry Morgan! Turns out she was right!