Lea Graduates Highschool!!

Well, now that school has been in session for about 4 weeks, I realized that I never stopped to acknowledge the fact that my baby sis graduated from high school. I'm not quite sure how that happened since these pictures were taken just last week (or so it seems)......

Flash forward FIFTEEN years later (wait, WHAT?!?!) and here my baby sister is walking down the aisle as a highschooler for the very last time.

Of course, since Lea is a bonified genius like her sister, she actually got to walk the stage numerous times, once for graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA :)

On the BIG SCREEN!!!

Getting an award before diploma time :)

Of course, Claira was just the best little participant ever.....not. Praise the Lord there were a bajillion people in that UWG stadium so no one could pinpoint exactly what child it was losing her ever-living-mind. :)

Up on the big-screen again!! In the words of Mary-Katherine Gallagher, she's a "SUPERSTAHHHHHHH!"

Officially a graduate!!

And isn't she lovely???

It's a wrap!!!

It was such a blessing to see my sister graduate along with so many of her friends that she has been close to all of her life. I was especially excited to see her walk with her best buddy, Chris. He's kinda my favorite. :)

Of course, the class of 2014 is special to me for many other reasons. I taught many of these kids during my first year of teaching over 10 years ago. Here I am with one of my all-time favorites, Cameron. He was my "little" third-grader during my very first year of teaching....he's not so little anymore, but his heart and his brain are just a big as his physique!! 

I'm so very proud of my sis. She's now in college studying to be a radiologist. She is so ambitious and stunning....on the inside and out. I'm glad she got all my good genes!!! (I kid, I kid.....sorta.) :)

Love you, seester!! The sky is the limit for you. And if you ever need help with ANYTHING (including your anatomy class), know I'm always right by you in every journey or opportunity that comes your way.

Cheers to little sisters, and to all the COUGARS c/o 2014!!

1st Day of School ~ 2014!!!

Well, time just keeps on tickin' away. When I stop and really focus on the stages and seasons in our lives, I truly cannot fathom that we now have a SECOND-GRADER and a KINDERGARTNER!! It has passed by in the blink of an eye. Still, I am so blessed to have my Ella join our Beulah Bee family this year. While Pre-K was such a difficult change for her last year, she is LOVING kindergarten, and can't get there fast enough every morning. 

Here we are 2 weeks ago at Open House: THREE BEULAH BEES!!

Can you see Ella's excitement?!?!

As always, Daddy got to bring them to their first day of school. :)

I let them choose their own bookbags and "first-day-outfits." Though they separately got to pick out whatever they wanted, those great minds think alike :)

While I had to stay in my classroom to greet my new 3rd grade babies....

Daddy escorted them to their classrooms. :)

Ella got a little nervous before going into her classroom and shed a few tears. BUT, those are the LAST tears she shed!!

My schedule permits me to have lunch with Ella this year, so I was so excited to see her enter the cafeteria for the very first time :)

Mrs. Moore helped them "find their way" to their lunch table.

When I asked her how her first day was going in this picture, she said, "It's the best day of my life!!" My heart was very full (and relieved)!!!

Guess who else I get to have lunch with?? :)

These goons. Love them so much. It's definitely another round of the "teacher kids" this year.

THEY.ARE.EVERYWHERE!!! :)

Nora's homeroom/English teacher is Mrs. Munoz, the most precious person on the face of the planet, and Nora loves her SOOOOOO much!! She also adores Sra. Lewis, but I couldn't hunt her down to steal a picture.

And of course, I don't need to say anything about this lady. Sra. Edwards (our Teacher of the Year this year) is beyond amazing. Amazing teacher, amazing friend, amazing person. Ella loves her and Sra. Allen to pieces!!

So grateful to Sra. Edwards, and ALL of our Spanish teachers, for teaching our bilingual babies. I am forever amazed.....as a matter of fact, Ella and Nora had a Spanish conversation at the dinner table last night. I imagine as they get older, it might be a problem that Josh and I won't understand what they're saying :)

Needless to say, Ella was BEAT. Her first day of school ended with an instant NAP on the ride home :)

We were greeted with many kisses by Henry who had to adjust to us being gone all day (doesn't he sit so weird??)

 I am so excited about this school year for my babies. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I could NEVER work with better people. People who sincerely work so diligently to teach and LOVE our kids, including my own. It's a unique blessing.

Cheers to the HIVE!!

Summer Shenanigans!!

Well, school is back in session (stay tuned!!), so I want to recap some of our favorite summer shenanigans. We spent a lot of time outside this summer (and spent about a bajillion dollars in sunscreen). There's some things that summer MUST include every year:

BUBBLES:

If blowing bubbles were a sport, Ella would definitely win a scholarship!!

Ella prefers "lots of bubbles," while Nora prefers gigantic bubbles:

 Trying to "catch" a bubble: 

 SPRINKLERS:

There were many days we wished we had a pool in our back yard.....it was HAWTTTTT!!! So, we broke out the sprinklers and many occasions.....in our panties. :)

 Just FYI, the girls have developed an obsession for the movie "Grease." So in this picture, Ella is reciting her favorite line from the movie: "Tell me about it, stud!!!" She says this at least once a day with the goofiest face ever. Always a highlight of my day :)

 Clairy is not a big fan of the sprinkler. She just prefers to stay on the porch and throw sand in the dogfood.

 PARKS and WATERFALLS:

We visited many parks this summer, but our favorite was Cochran Mill....the girls were infatuated with the waterfall!! This was also Henry's first trip to a park:

 While the big girls played....

 Little girls decided to pass out on my shoulder. If I lugged that around everyday, I would be very skinny!!

 Finally, the sleepyhead got up and played with her sisters:

 They enjoyed wading and playing in the water!! 

 They found the waterfall!! 

 Climbing to get a better view:

 Right when I snapped this picture, a HUGE clap of lightning and thunder came out of nowhere!! We had to run up a giant hill all the way back to the car.....again, I don't know why I didn't lose 20 lbs that day!! A memory I'll never forget!! 

This is always a bittersweet time of year for us. Now that we are back at school and work, I miss getting to have these fun "summer adventures" with my girls. Still, I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to have them!!!

Cheers to summer shenanigans!!