Memorial Day Fun

Memorial Day weekend held a lot of excitement for me. It meant that I was done with school!! Well, for the most part I was. I still had one day of inservice on Tuesday, but other than that I was D.O.N.E. The girls still had a week to go, and secretly...I was a little excited about that. ha! But for the weekend I was excited about having fun and getting our summer under way!
On Sunday Dad and Kathy invited us out to the camp ground they were at in Perrin to hang out for the day. They kept telling me how fun it was there and all the stuff there was to do, but all I could think was "Really? In PERRIN Texas??" Perrin is a tiny little town, and I couldn't imagine a camp ground there with so much to do.
So on Sunday morning, the girls and I loaded up and headed over since Josh had to work. They were super excited to go and hang out with Graddy and Mrs. Kathy! The trip there was a little interesting. I tried to be a "big girl" and not ask my Daddy for directions. I looked up the camp ground address and plugged it in my phone. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Yeah- that's what I thought too! So the girls and I set off and followed the GPS. I should have known something wasn't right when we left the PAVED ROAD. But at that point I was embarrassed that I didn't call and ask for directions before hand- so we kept driving. Down the dirt road. Except it wasn't dirt anymore. It was mud. Yep- it had rained "cats and dogs" as my Mamaw would have said the night before and the dirt road that I was on was now a mud road. Oh yes- I forgot to mention a ONE LANE mud road. There was no where to turn around. And I was scared to stop because I was scared that my car would get stuck! So- I kept on driving.
My GPS was telling me that my destination was on the left in .5 miles, so I kept on trucking all the while thinking "How did they get the truck and camper down this road??" And when I got to that point where the GPS says "Arriving at your destination on the left", I was in the middle of no where and on my left was a fence and an empty field. No camp ground in site. It was at this point in my trip that I decided it was time to admit defeat and put on my big girl "36 year old" panties and call my Daddy for help.
While I was on the phone with him and he was trying to figure out where I was, and I was trying to figure out where I was while still driving on the mud road, I came upon a main road. How did I know it was a Main Road?? It was paved of course! So we finally decided which direction I should turn while he kept on looking for how to get me to the camp ground. And low and behold about 2 miles down the road, I looked up and saw the sign for the camp ground! I don't think I was ever so excited to find my destination in my life!!! My car was covered in mud, but we were glad to finally be there to enjoy a fun day with Dad and Kathy!
The kids were so excited to ride the train that Kathy had told them about. It was this really neat wooden train that the lady who owns the camp ground pulls around. You can just hop on it at any point.
Macie insisted that I ride with her.

And when it dropped us back off at the camper, Brenna decided to ride a second round by herself.

We hung out at the camper for a bit, Katie and Brenna played a little sand volleyball, then we all decided to go play putt putt! I'm telling you- this camp ground had EVERYTHING! I loved this picture of Graddy helping his Shortcake with her putt.

I'm pretty sure that Kathy whipped us all, and I'm also pretty sure that Brenna and Katie cheated to get finished a little faster! It was beyond hot out there, so I can't say that I blamed them. But it was so much fun! Swimming soon followed!

This camp ground had 4 pools! A splash pool, swimming pool, volleyball pool, and an adult only pool. It was a blast! But I could tell that Macie was getting ready to go home. I knew it was time for me to either start dealing with a cranky kid, or just give in and go on home. So I chose option 2. And we packed up and headed home to hang at the Middleton's for a bit.
On Monday, Josh ended up landing an overtime shift. So the girls and I were flying solo again. And since Aunt Kim and Uncle James were having a Memorial Day get together, we got dressed up in our red, white and blue and headed over there to enjoy some more fun!

It didn't take these two long to change into their swim suits and jump in the pool.

We had a great time enjoying family and friends! There was enough food for a small (or large) army!

Macie and Nina were deep in conversation while enjoying a hot dog.

I loved these shots that Uncle James captured of the girls!

It was a great weekend full of fun. Just a little glimpse of summer time. Enough to make me so ready for the kids to get out of school so we can start having fun every day!!

Macie's Kindergarten Graduation

While I was still trying to recover from the shock of Macie Claire turning 6, she had her Kindergarten graduation. Man- time is flying by!! She was SO excited about her graduation, and talked about it non stop for weeks!
As soon as I got home from work, I got her hair done..

I love this precious girl.

 She asked every 30 seconds if it was time to go yet. To say she was excited was an understatement!! But we finally got there, and got a few pictures before the ceremony.

Mommy and Macie

Please stop growing up baby girl. My heart can't take it!!

Daddy's girl

How'd I get so lucky to call all of this MINE??!!

 Just a little flashback of how we have all changed....

The bond between these two is just crazy. Oh how she loves her Graddy!

Nina got there early and had us some great seats saved! Thanks Nina!! I got some great pictures of the graduate.

Marching in with her class

I LOVE this!! Peeking back to make sure I was watching her as she waited to get her diploma.

Before I know it, this picture will be repeating itself in this same gym....except it will be her walking to get her high school diploma. Note to self...DON'T. BLINK.

Getting her diploma from her principal, Mrs. Madison

Such concentration.

Receiving her medal for perfect attendance! She was so excited about this medal, as was I! I can't believe both of my kids went a whole year without missing a single day of school.

After the awards and diplomas, the kids sang a few songs that were absolutely adorable. Great work by teachers and staff at Peaster Elementary. You all did a great job.

This lady right here- I can't say enough wonderful things about her. When Macie started kindergarten, I was a nervous wreck. She had anxiety, and didn't handle new situations well at all. I knew that starting kinder could go one of two ways- great, or horrible. There wouldn't be an in between. Not for Macie Claire; she doesn't operate that way. I was a little more comfortable when I found out that she had Mrs. Boecker, but still wasn't sure how it would all go. The first day of school, all of those fears melted away. Macie walked in with no tears or anxiety and never looked back. And throughout the year, Mrs. Boecker helped her conquer many of her anxieties. She knew how to watch for the "Macie meltdowns" and knew how to stop most of them. She was wonderful. I could never thank her enough for making Macie's first year of school not only successful, but enjoyable.

Macie and her BFF Kaleigh. I love the relationship that these two formed this year.

Sweet cousins

These girls love their Nina!

Oh how she adores her Aunt Kim! Not sure how these girls are going to make it without her for 2 years....

Pops and Memaw with their girls.

3 out of 4 Pool grandkids. Not sure why we didn't get Walker in this picture!

And while we were all celebrating Macie's kindergarten graduation, our Johnson family was in Mobile celebrating Grayson's high school graduation! I wish we could have gotten a picture of these two together in their graduation robes.... but this was the best I could do!

Thank you to all of our family who was able to come out and celebrate our Claire Bear with us! She felt so loved, which melted my heart. I love that we have a family that supports our girls and is there for them no matter what. We are blessed beyond belief!

11th Annual Crawfish Boil and a Volleyball WIN

May 21st was a busy day for us! It was the 11th Annual Pool's Crawfish Boil AND Brenna's volleyball tournament. I was one torn Mama! Brenna's tournament didn't start until late afternoon, and the boil started at 4. So- I set up our awesome babysitter, Rachael, to come to the tournament at 3:30. I did get to watch the first game, and it was great. They came away with the win, as I assumed they would.
This tournament was kind of bitter sweet since it was her last one with the Peaster Pups, and her awesome coach, Jeff Butler. This team has meant so much to us over the last two years. We have formed friendships that will last a lifetime. And Brenna has gained a love for a sport that I now love as well. We started out as the under dogs. We won very few games in the beginning. BUT these girls did it with a smile on their faces and determination in their hearts. And they worked hard each season and got better and better! And finally at the end of their run as a team- they won two straight tournaments. I was so proud of each and every one of these girls!
Not being there for this last tournament was hard. Very hard! But I know that there will be many more opportunities to watch her play volleyball in the future- so I went ahead with my prior obligations and left my kiddos in great hands with Rachael. And I loved getting my text and picture updates. At one point I told her they could run to Chick Fil A between games, and she replied with this picture..

Great minds think alike! I'm so glad that I have someone like Rachael that I trust to leave my kids with!
And eventually, after about a zillion texts telling me the scores of the games....I got these pictures...

1st place CHAMPS!!!!!!

I love these girls so much. They played hard and never gave up. They played as a team and won as a team.

#1!!

And seeing this sight made it a little easier to be at the boil and not at the game...

I love me some mud bugs!!!!! Crawfish day ranks right up there with Christmas for me. I look forward to it for months. And while crawfish are one of my favorite foods..... it's mostly about the people. I get to see so many people that I rarely get to see. Friends come from near and far to fellowship and pig out with us!
This cousin right here came all the way from Oklahoma to hang out with us! I do love me some Taron.

Epic photo bomb, Dylan!

I'm so glad that all of the Abners got to come! There were so many people there that I love, but my picture taking was seriously lacking that night. Bad blogger! I was too busy visiting with Schaef and Sarah, Brandi, Steve and Jamie, Peter and Ashley, Danny and Ashli, and SO many more to stop for a photo op! We missed the ones that couldn't be there this year.
No party is complete without a Daddy/Daughter selfie!

A serious one....

And one that describes us a little better! We are seldom serious.

Dad did his usual duty of teaching the newbies how to properly eat crawfish...

Look at all of those mudbugs!

Taron even got a lesson in how to suck the head! hahaha!!!

As the night went on, the crowd dwindled down to the usual few who were left sitting around and visiting. Nothing brings back great memories quite like late night visits with my BFF.

Photo bombed by the sweet sleeping baby! Walker man made his debut appearance at the crawfish boil, just as did his cousin Macie 6 years ago as a newborn. But sorry kids, you only get to come once! You can rejoin the party when you turn 21!
Thank you to everyone that came out and made the 11th annual boil just as awesome as the 10 before! There have been several changes as the boil as evolved, but it is still just as awesome as it used to be! Last year's boil had a small gray cloud over it for me without Mom being there, but this year I was able to think about how much fun she used to have at the boils and smile knowing that we were doing just as she would want us to do- having fun! And we will continue to do just that, Mama!

Kim's Retirement Reception

Kim's retirement reception at her school was May 19th. Her fellow Mary Martin teachers went above and beyond! It was a beautiful reception and so well thought out to reflect Kim's teaching career and her next journey.

I loved the safari and travel theme! The suitcase cake couldn't have been more perfect!
These mint containers said it all..

 I was so glad that the girls and I got to be there to celebrate her.

34 years! Wow. I can't even fathom the dedication it takes to make it 34 years in education. You must truly love what you do to make it that long. And to know Kim Jones Coddington is to know how much she loved teaching. She is the most dedicated educator I have ever known. She had a heart for every student that ever came into her classroom. She touched so many lives during her 34 years in the classroom. And even though I wasn't ever one of her many students, I was one of those lives that was touched. She was my first inspiration to become a teacher. I loved going to Aunt Kim's school on the weekends to help her. I am a master "cutter outer" of laminated posters, excellent bulletin board changer, and I was once pretty talented at using the mimeograph copier!
They just don't make teachers like Kim anymore. She put in countless hours working in her classroom to make sure that her students had the best possible experience they could have.
We are all so proud of you Aunt Kim! And we were honored to be there to celebrate you!

They showed a video of pictures at the end before we left. It brought me to tears. You could see the love for what she did in every photo. She always had a smile on her face. And the pride she had for teaching showed all over each picture. I hope each student that crossed into her room knew how lucky they were to have had her for a teacher. She loved what she did, and did what she loved. Not many people can say that about their career. It was also evident how much her fellow teachers thought of her by being at the reception. There were smiles, laughs, and of course tears. She is leaving some big shoes to fill. I don't even work at the same campus as her, and I know that I will feel the void next year at inservice when I can't scope her out, or complain to her about the new "thing" they have dreamed up for us to do, or get a hug at convocation. It just won't be the same. I loved getting to work at the same district as her. But as the sign on her cake table said "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." And I plan to do just that!

Oh, Macie Claire!

I've said it before, I'll say it again. There is never a dull moment with this child! She keeps us in stitches pretty much constantly. Just a few recent examples...

She was in the bathtub one night and I was doing dishes. I went in to check on her and saw this sight:

I said "What are you doing?" She said "I'm just relaxing in the tub."
Hhhmmm- I guess she has heard that somewhere before..... but I can assure you that she has never seen me sitting in the tub like THAT! haha!

Macie wrote the following note one night:

Just to translate, it says:
"I love Mrs. Boecker. May 17. We are BFF's. And I love Mommy. Yesterday I didn't have school so I went to Main Event and I tried to go to the movies but my Dad's phone said 2:00 and when we went to the movies they said it's at 3:30 to see Zootopia. At Main Event me and my sister got a lock up journal and I a fart machine."
Yes- she got a fart machine. And was SO proud of it! I guess it's obvious that Daddy is way cooler to hang out with than Mommy. I would never have let her get a fart machine! hahaha!
I also love that she thinks she is BFF's with her teacher. Melts my heart!