1st Grade Field Day

Today was finally the day Preston got to have field day!  It was rained out last week, but today the weather was great.  As it turned out, I was asked to sub AGAIN for a teacher on field day so it was another interesting experience.  However, it freed me from having to man a station and I was able to just chill with the teachers and take a few pictures of Preston too.

The tug of war was hilarious!  They played hard and almost beat the parents helping with the station.

The kids rotated through 8 different stations during the morning before enjoying their Papa Johns lunch.  They all had a fabulous time and were super hot and sweaty when we returned to school.

More Memorial Day Madness

Our long weekend fun continued with a block party Sunday afternoon . . which led into a huge slip n slide party in the Conroy's back yard afterwards.  Although it was sad to know this was the last block party with the Miller family, it was still a blast!

Crazy kids before changing into their swimsuits

The sliding lasted until well after 9pm, at which point Preston brought himself home and said he was exhausted!  HA!  When does that happen?!?  The grown ups were still sitting in the cul-de-sac chatting, but shortly after that we cleaned up and headed inside.  I realized we still hadn't been for a walk so Dave was kind enough to go for a walk with me after 10pm!

Thankfully the kids slept in a bit Monday morning, but they still woke up tired.  After Dave and I both got a good work out in we packed lunches and headed to the Y pool for the morning.

It was slammed, but that didn't stop these kids from having a super fun time.  There were even several neighbors that showed up, so it was like a block party continued!

 The Y was having giveaways and games at every pool break, so Dave and Preston competed in the newlywed game, family style.  They would have won the entire thing if the last question hadn't been double points and the didn't get it right. ;(  I mean how could Dave not know that Preston's dream place to go was Chile??  He put Disney World and they lost the game by 10 pts.

It was still a super fun morning . . and would you believe after several hours at the pool we got home and these two went back to do more slip n sliding?!  My cut off was 5pm for everyone to be in the house and showered.  So once we were all clean we enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner complete with macaroni and cheese and corn on the cob.

Everyone had early bedtimes and we called it a wrap on this wonderfully long weekend.

Memorial Day Fun Continues

After a long run and a few chores were completed, we decided to brave the heat and head to try out a
new mini golf place.  It was HOT, but *most* of us had a great time.  Thankfully they had misters along the course to cool us off, but the heat and tricky course was a bit much for one little guy, who all but had a melt down on the 12th hole.
 

 And Savannah wonders why she didn't do so well??  This was her actual position to putt the ball.  Anyway, after Dave clearly beat us all, we left to do a few errands before delivering Savannah to a birthday party.  She was thrilled to attend a pool party that will end with pizza, splatter painting, and s'mores!  Preston was bummed that he didn't have anything fun to do . . . but thankfully, as we were pulling into the driveway Mr. Conroy came over and invited Preston for some slip n slide fun.  He was literally bouncing up and down begging to go.

 Let's just say he and Dave have been there for over an hour and at least one little guy is having a blast!  What I love most (well other than a completely quiet house) is that when I went for pictures there were at least 5 boys and a girl gathered to slide.  They are covered head to toe in shampoo and body soap, but the laughter coming from their backyard is just priceless.  Our neighborhood rocks!

Memorial Weekend Fun ~ Knights Baseball Uptown

It all started when we got a postcard in the mail for free club tickets to a Knights baseball game of our choice . . . but we opted to turn it into a family event and bought two extra tickets to enjoy a Friday night game.  We met Dave at Chick fil A for dinner before heading uptown for the game and had plenty of time so we weren't rushed to get there and find our seats.  The weather was absolutely perfect and our seats were in the shade, which was even better!  I have to say that attending a baseball game with great seats (close proximity to field AND in the shade) makes all of the difference.

It was a super fun night, but unfortunately the Knights lost big time!  By 9:40ish we were all getting tired and Savannah decided it wasn't worth sticking out 2 more innings to see fireworks, so we headed home early.

Preston needed a potty break so Dave and the kids went to check out our club access . . . and found a photo booth along the way. :)

It was a fun way to spend a Friday night and kick off the Memorial Day weekend.  I was reminded once again how blessed we are to live in a city where we have access to such wonderful events close to home . . . and how awesome is the view too?!

Tuesday . . Terrific and Terrible

I awoke this morning to find this precious terrific sight . . . both kids reading books in Savannah's room!  I love that Preston strives to be like his big sister.  And I'm thankful she is teaching him good habits, for the most part!

Shortly after big sister left for school, Preston and I left for the orthodontist.  I have to say that up until today it's been all fun and games each time we visited Dr. Coleman.  But today it got real!  This poor guy has been a trooper, but the appliance (our alternative to months of phase one braces) is much larger than I imagined.  He's learning to talk and eat with this massive thing glued in his mouth, but we're praying that it doesn't have to stay in for long.  It could just be a matter of weeks before his tooth is corrected and they can take it out.

Y Guides Princess Style Camp Rockmont

This weekend Dave and Savannah ventured off to their Y Guides longhouse in the mountains.  This time they went to Camp Rockmont.   Apparently the daddy daughter duo had such a grand time that only two pictures were taken. :)  They had lots of fun doing activities in the water including stand up paddle boarding.  Thankfully the weather on Saturday was awesome, because when they woke up Sunday morning it was pouring rain so they packed up and came home right away.

I'm reminded again just how thankful I am that Dave takes so much time to invest in both of our kiddos, one-on-one.  Plus it gives me a chance to enjoy the other child at home!  It's a win-win and I don't even have to leave Charlotte. :)

A Day with Preston

Savannah and Dave left early this morning for their Y-Guides longhouse, which left me an entire day and a half with the little guy!  I have to say that one-on-one time with Preston is MUCH different and more relaxed than with Savannah . . . 

After wrapping up his soccer season he simply wanted to go home and play.  He requested that I sit and watch him, so that's exactly what I did!  We did do some bush trimming, and he did play with the neighbors a lot, but for the most part I sat in the shade and watched him enjoy this amazing day!

By the end of the afternoon he came in completely soaked (for a second time today) from playing with water guns and said he was ready for Chick-fil-A.  So after he changed into dry clothes we went out for dinner.

It was such a low-key and fun day spent watching this crazy little kiddo.

Fifth Grade Farewell

I can barely wrap my mind around the thought of Savannah leaving PSE to go to middle school!  As I entered school today to volunteer this is what I saw . . and I have to say that it brought tears to my eyes.  Yes, it's official, she is the PSE class of 2017 off to Laugh Often, Dream Big, and Reach for the Stars.

Later this morning while I was still working in the office, Savannah's teacher brought me a letter addressed to the Bachmann Family.  I had no idea what to expect, but when I opened it I definitely started with the tears.  My two children were chosen by a committee to be torch bearers at the Celebration of Nations coming up the first week of June.  Only a select few 5th graders are chosen (along with their younger sibling) to pass along the torch which represents a specific character trait that PSE is built on.  I have no idea what they trait chose my two for, but I know it will be an emotional day as I watch Savannah hand off the torch to Preston.   It gives me great joy and feels like such an honor that the teachers who have taught both kids over the past several years feel like my two children have good character. I guess I have done a little bit of this parenting thing right? :)

Mother's Day

Today has been a wonderful day!  We started off bright and early before church with opening all of my wonderful gifts and reading the sweet cards from Dave and the kids.  I was super excited to get a Stitch Fix gift card and a new shaker cup  . . and a piece of hand crafted pottery from Savannah.  After church we enjoyed lunch out at LePeep and then went on a long walk once we got home.  The afternoon was spent watching the kids play outside and wrapped up with burgers on the grill.  It's been a fantastic day!!

I have to say part of me always hurts on Mother's Day as I realize once again that we have one less mom to call.  Satan works hard to hit me where it hurts, but today I choose not to focus on missing my mama, but to rejoice that she is healed and enjoying Mother's Day in heaven!  As the years pass I realize more and more how truly amazing my mama was.  She gave and loved and poured into my life more than I ever realized when I was a kid.  I choose to honor my sweet mama by trying to be more like her each day.

Savannah's Fifth Grade Field Day, the Finale

Hula hoop attempt one, all smiles

Today was Savannah's last field day at PSE. :(  To enjoy the day I had planned NOT to attend as a volunteer (for the first time ever) so I wouldn't have to man a station all morning.  Instead I signed up to help with lunch so that I could go later in the morning and walk around with Savannah before having to set up . . . but when my cell phone rang at 5:30am and it was a call from a fifth grade teacher asking me to sub all day on field day I couldn't pass up the opportunity!  So I quickly hit the tread mill and got ready for a fun day with fifth grade!

Hula hoop attempt two, much more serious

Savannah's expertise is in hula hooping, so she hit that station first.  However the excitement got to her and she dropped her hoop after 21 minutes!   If you get to 30 minutes you automatically get a first place ribbon (and she has one from every other year), so this was quite stressful for her.  The rule is that you have to try all stations before repeating one so I sent her off to try the others, but I could see the panic/stress in her face and quickly retrieved her to come back and try again.  She was so unsure because technically that was breaking the rules by repeating a station before trying them all, but I assured her since I was an official teacher for the day that it would be fine! :)  The second time she was much more focused and easily hit 30 minutes.  Then she was off to enjoy the rest of her last field day.

Her team competition was in tug of war.  I was quite impressed with her strength as they won the first round and barely lost the second bracket.  Still, her class ended up bringing home the third place ribbon for tug of war.

Next up was Papa Johns pizza lunch! By this time it was blazing HOT and humid.  We were pretty fortunate all day with overcast weather so that kept the temperature down, but by lunch it was super hot.  So everyone ate fast and headed for the awards ceremony.

After awards, we all boarded the buses and headed back to school. It was a super fun day and I was thankful to be able to spend it with my girl on her last field day!

Boys "Longhouse" . . . Atlanta Braves Game

While the girls were off shopping, the boys were headed to Atlanta, GA instead of their normal Y Guides led longhouse.  They had a grand time and enjoyed seeing the new stadium.  Preston came home with a practice baseball from a player, a bobble head baseball/star wars figurine, a Braves patch for his vest, and lots of stories to tell!

Although the Braves didn't win, they had a fabulous time.  Not that he did much sleeping, but this is the bridge he made in the hotel room. . . sure beat staying in cabins for the weekend!

A Glorious Girls Weekend

After soccer today the boys gathered with the Preston's Y Guides tribe and headed to Atlanta for a "longhouse weekend" . . . really a Braves baseball game.  They were all so excited despite the lack of planning, which in the eyes of guys was perfect.  Ahhh!  Anyway, as soon as they were on the road Savannah and I began our glorious weekend.  First stop, much needed pedicures!!!

After getting our toes all pretty, we hit the mall for some shopping.  Savannah was in need of a LOT of clothing as I realized she didn't own one pair of nice shorts that fit, she only had athletic shorts!  We took advantage of great deals and then headed home for lunch.

After lunch we went to school for the annual spring carnival.  She missed out last year as her tribe was away on a longhouse, but thankfully she was able to attend this year!  It was quite windy and cold, so we didn't stay long.  After the carnival we hit the other side of town for more shopping! 

She really racked up today, getting 5 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 2 dresses and even some shoes.  After dinner we ended our fabulous day with TCBY!  It was so much fun spending one on one time together.  I have to say it was much quieter around too. :)

1st Grade Mother's Day Tea

Today was the long-awaited 1st grade Mother's Day Tea.  Preston has been talking about this event for weeks and couldn't wait to share the special things he made with me.  They not only had made some super cute things, but sang two songs for us, read us a book and poem, and had some special snacks too!

They took turns reading the book to the mommies.

After the program we played a game trying to guess which mommy picture was each of us.  There was a bulletin board full of beautiful mommies . . I found my portrait on the second try!

My portrait and description, courtsey of Preston.

And here are a few of my favorite pages from the book he made for me . . . 

 I left feeling special and loved!  What a super fun morning in first grade!!