So Thankful for William

What a great PK4 Pow Wow at WPS!!  This is one of the best events for the little ones and I am trying to soak up every one of these with William.  They chose him to hold the flag during the Pledge and he held it up high with pride!!  Each child picked an Indian name and Will was Chief Brave Warrior!!  Love it!  They sang a bunch of songs - this is the most outgoing, performance oriented class I have ever seen.  They sing and dance and aren't a bit shy!!   

Look who joined William for his performance.  I pulled this picture from 3 years ago when Julia was in PK4 - She was Little Running Horse.  Comparing these pictures really reminds me how incredibility fast these years are going!

Big Hugs for Mrs. Fagan - our incredible Lower School Director and good friend.  She is so in love with all the little kids and makes sure to be their biggest cheerleader.

3 Little Indians in a TeePee!!  

Love the placemat - William is thankful for God, his class, his grandpa and his family!  

So many smiles all day - warms a mommies hear!

William ate more than any other little Indian at the Thanksgiving Feast!!  He just keep going back for more.  Watch out Oma - he might gobble up all your Thanksgiving dinner. 

We are so lucky to be surrounded by amazing PK4 chidden and their families.  We have been blessed so many times over at WPS and all the incredible people we have met along the way.

A Bomb ....

William is always hitting balls in the driveway and keeps asking when does he get to play on a team.  Ok .. I think he is ready.  Not only his swing, but look at his celebration at the end!!  Poor #5!!  Let the boy finally play!

Corn Maze Fun

We had a fun time on Saturday at the Long & Scott Corn Maze in Mt Dora.  We met the Gambles and spent over 3 hours hanging out and enjoying the farm.  The kids kept saying this place is so country!!  Made me laugh ... i guess I grew up so country - surrounded by corn!  We started with the corn maze.  Julia, Harley and William were really into it - Brody and Matthew a little indifferent and Katie was BORED!!  Kind of felt like a FFFD (forced family fun day) at first but then everyone got into it.  After we had enough of the maze, the kids were able to zip line, jump on a huge jump pillow, go down a bumpy 60 foot slide and of course snack on some amazing Zellwood sweet corn lathered in butter!! 

We were dirty and tired when we left but it was the most spectacular weather and we were all so happy to make the drive to Mt. Dora!!  Definitely will be bringing the kids next year (well at least the littles!).  

Happy Birthday Emily!

Julia went to Emily's 8th birthday SLEEPOVER!!!  It was her first sleepover with a bunch of girls and she was very, very excited!!  Mia, Janey, Julia and Danielle helped Emily kick off 8 with a bang.  They started with dinner at home, cosmic bowling, art projects, matching jambes and lights out by 11:30pm!! Good job Laine!!  So lucky that Julia has found such a sweet group of friends.  Love all their parents and I know this group will look out for each other.  Just noticed looking at the pics that all of them have blonde or strawberry blonde hair!!  These girls aren't your typical blondes - smart, athletic with a little bit of sass!!

Homecoming WPS 2012

At the last minute, Andrew decided he was going to the homecoming dance.  So thankful that the kids he hangs out with decided to just go as a big group.  With only one week to pull together an outfit (and remember he is 6'5"!)   Loved the suspenders, bow tie and cool shoes!!  Sean surprised me with a weekend away so Aunt Melinda and Grandma had to get him ready.  Melinda actually had to stand on a chair to help him get the bow tie on correctly!  Wish I had a picture of that!  What a handsome sophomore.  Can't believe high school is flying by!!  

Andrew and Ashley 

The boys ... Styling!

SOPHOMORES!!!

Andrew's style consultant and biggest fan!!

Super cool shoes!

Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher

What an amazing benefit of having my mom here for an extended stay ... getting to do all the normal parts of our lives.  Before she retired, she was only in FL in the summer (HOT and no school) or for a couple days for special occasions.  This time, she got to blend right into family life!  Mom was the mystery reader/chef for William's PK4 class and the mystery reader for Julia's class (along with some special halloween treat bags and cupcakes!).  

Boy did the kids get a treat.  She did 2 versions of the Little Red Hen complete with props.  Then we had the kids make fruit pizzas (one of the books was Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza).  The kids loved frosting the cookies and adding the fruit!!  William was so happy to have Grandma Wilkie in his classroom!!  And Mrs. K was totally impressed with her presentation!!  Way to go Grandma!

Grandma shared a story the Big Pumpkin with the second graders!!  She again had props and used funny voices to portray all the characters.  The next time I am mystery reader I will have to step up my game!

Angry Birds are the Bomb

For the Fall door decorating this year, Mrs. K's PK4 class did Angry Birds.  Jagger's mom, Candy, came up with the idea and after a lot of elbow grease and labor, we got the Angry Bird door together.  The pumpkins turned out amazing thanks to Ana, Pedro's mom and the pics of each kid were adorable. This was definitely a big effort from a great group of moms!!  Jagger had a birthday at school the same week with an Angry Bird theme!!  Love this group of kids and parents!!  William is having an amazing start to PK4!  Can't wait for all the fun to come.  

Starry Night in Nashville

This past Saturday was Katie's first homecoming dance!!  Wow - did she look amazing and had such a great time.  The theme was A Starry Night in Nashville and it was a perfect theme for Katie.  We found this cute blue lace dress (stylish and appropriate which made mom and dad very happy!).  She added some country accessories and bam - her homecoming outfit was complete.  In fact, she won best dressed Freshman and received her entry fee back ($65!!).  I loved how Katie looked so beautiful and natural and her age.  

We met a bunch of her friends for pictures and pre dance light meal.  I haven't had a chance to meet her friends and was so delighted to meet such polite, smart, classy young ladies.  The host of the pictures is a chef and the parents were treated to an amazing meal!!  The girls left in a limo after pictures.  The dance was at the Swan and Dolphin Fantasia Garden pavilion.  Over 1000 kids were there!!  There was a sit down dinner and dancing.  Katie had an amazing time and was worn out (and sweaty!) when I picked her up.  I am so thankful that her transition to BMCHS has been so smooth and that she is making great friend choices!!  

Love me some Katie Kane!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy 42nd birthday Daddy!!  We didn't forget your letters!!  We hope you had a fun day doing what we are always doing - running to games, putting away laundry, doing the dishes!!  We love you!!