Kinsey's First Dance Class

08.20.12

Our sweet little baby girl is about to take her very first dance class from Carla Harrison at Footlights.  Can you tell she's nervous?  It's written all over her face...

Carla told the girls to stand on a square and she walked them through a few moves such as tap your toe.  At first, Kinsey just stood there...

Luckily, Kinsey got into it and started doing some of the moves.  I was very proud of her because she listened to the teacher, followed instructions and never ran over to me to hold her.  Unfortunately, this will probably be the only time I get to sit in class with her.  Carla said I could sit in class until she gets acclimated.

Kinsey's age group is 2-3 years old on Monday's at 6:15-7:15pm.  They start with tap shoes then switch to ballet shoes.  At this point, Carla's helper showed up and she's one of the officers on the Stars drill team.

At the end of class, all of the girls receive a sucker and it was so sweet to watch Kinsey wait patiently for hers.  She loved it and she is looking forward to going back.  Yes! 

Third Weekend of August

08.18-19.12

A cool front actually blew through so we decided to spend our Saturday morning in our backyard.  Daddy mowed and trimmed some bushes while the kids rode the Jeep and played.  Beck's driving skills has significantly improved!  He drove all over the back yard and only crashed once.  Kinsey loved the ride!  After Daddy finished yard work, he lowered the bottom of the slide so the kids can go down it faster.  Beck really liked helping!

Kinsey, on the other hand, did not like the loud noise!

We went to Lake Gilmer to try and fish off the pier but there was too much grass growing in the water so we walked to the beach area.  Beck and Kinsey collected some berries along the way and then we built sand castles.  The weather is unbelievably strange this time of year!  We've had more rain than we did last year and it is cooler.  I like it! 

We ate dinner at Pops and Kiki's house and Kiki helped Beck draw a picture.  In honor of the prophet's birthday this month, the primary class is having a drawing contest.  Each child has been asked to draw, color or paint a picture of President Thomas S. Monson.  The drawings will be displayed next Sunday and I can't wait to see it on the wall.  Then, she showed Beck and Kinsey how to paint using water colors.  They both really enjoyed their art class and painting!  I might enter Beck's abstract drawing in the Yamboree's Junior Art competition!

Since the weather was so nice on this Sunday morning, I ran around the neighborhood then got ready for church.  Unfortunately, time spent in the yard yesterday was a mistake...I have poison ivy, again!  Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!  Looks like I'll be getting a shot this week because I don't want to have this mess while at the beach.  When we arrived at church, Kinsey informed me that she needed her glasses because it was bright outside.  Oh my goodness, this girl is a hoot!!! Beck was sent home with a note from his primary class saying he needed to give a 2-3 minute talk on keeping the sabbath day holy.  That means he'll give his first talk next Sunday! 

Friday Night Family Fun Night

08.17.12

Lately, we've been meeting Daddy in Longview for dinner which seems to be a great way to spend our evening since we never go anywhere during the week.  To kill time before meeting Daddy, we went to the pet store and I almost hesitated going there because I'm itching to get a kitty for the backyard to help keep the critters away.  I even contacted the "cat lady" (that's her name around here) and she would not give me one because the coyotes would eat it.  She also warned me that the coyotes would eat my kids too!  That conversation ended really quickly.  So, then I decided that I would wait until we get back our trip to get a cat.  Yep, we are going to the beach!!!  Hot diggity dog!!!  We are going to the Perdido Key area and checking into our condo on 09/03 and spending an entire week there!  We are all so pumped about this trip.  When we told Kiki and Pops about our trip, Beck told them that we are going to the white beach.  Too funny!  Anyway, I would hate to get a cat and then leave it for so long but now I'm almost second guessing the whole idea because our neighbors dog would always chase Buttercup when they let him off the leash.  Urgh!  I don't know...maybe I should be a pet sitter so I can get my pet fix.  Back to the pet store...we had a really good time in here.  Beck and Kinsey always love looking at the puppies and then we spent a lot of time with the kittens, for obvious reasons. 

Beck learned a while back that the fish will follow your finger if you put it on the glass.  The fish know that when a human hand comes close to the tank that they are getting food.  It's really neat to see them do this...

I cannot imagine having that many turtles!!!  And, look...it's Rango!

Sometimes, I think Beck and Kinsey fight just to fight!  They were fighting over the step stool but Kinsey could have very easily seen the puppies by just standing at the glass.

After dinner, we went to Open Jump in the mall which is an old movie theater filled with four large bounce houses, a climbing wall and an eating area for birthday parties.  We learned that the price is good for all day which is awesome.  We could jump in the morning, take a nap then jump again before dinner than again after dinner!  But, I'm not sure when we would ever do that...

Beck really worked up a sweat and ended up drinking two large drinks!  Kinsey and this cute little boy ran around and had a blast together.  It's a little smelly and a little humid in this place but it is totally worth it especially on those rainy days, hot days or cold days when winter arrives.  This was a really fun night! 

A Little of This and a Little of That

08.14-16.12

I love the cute little chairs that Kiki got for the grandkids!  Beck really wanted to swim in Kiki's pool today but the pool guy added chemicals this morning.  Kiki rigged up a water slide for the kids to play on but Beck got stung by an ant before going up the steps so that was the end of his outside play.  Kinsey, on the other hand, had a blast going down the slippery slide!

This week is Curious George week at school which brings up a curious question...why does the man with the yellow hat not have a name?

Kinsey and I usually go grocery shopping while Beck is at school and it was a rainy day which means we get to wear our rain boots!  And, Kinsey insisted on loading up her baby stroller in the car and I didn't see a problem with that until we got to the store and she wanted to bring it in!  That's when Mommy put her foot down and the stroller stayed in the car.

This is how I found Kinsey after I washed my face...she's wearing the sunglasses that Wendy left at my house on her last visit and my flip flops!  The girl has style!

We went shopping with Neena and Beck and Kinsey fought over this one chair but then Beck embraced his sister and let her sit in his lap.  He's such a sweet little boy!

Beck's class went to story time Thursday morning and I caught the bus leaving as I was driving to the library.  I thought it would make him sad to see me and Kinsey there so we went after he left to get new books.

Beck's drawing skills have really blossomed here lately.  He's going to be an artist like Kiki.

The new iPhone app that everybody is raving about these days is called Instagram and there are many other apps that work with it to do such things as collage pictures together or make them edgy.  I've always had a love of photography which is why I spent so many years modeling and I had fun with my new app today!  I know, I'm goofy but that's why Brent loves me and that's what makes the world go around.  My mom did not share the love of pictures like me and I have very little pictures of me growing up and hardly any of her.  She would always turn her head when the camera was pointed towards her.  I wish I had more pictures of her. 

Happy Birthday Neena!

08.13.12

For Neena's birthday, Beck, Kinsey and I picked up Aunt Wendy and gave her a couple of presents and then we ate dinner at The Cotton Patch.  I also baked a Neiman Marcus cake and it was delicious!!!  I was so excited because a lot of thought went into what to make her since she is a fabulous cook.  She's always making things for other people and I wanted to make something special for her.  I thought about the yummy banana pudding recipe that I found this summer or the scrumptious apple dumplings so I asked her which she liked better, bananas or apples and she said neither.  At this point, I hit the recipe books hard and heavy!  That's when I found the Neiman Marcus cake recipe and decided to try it for the first time.  Yes, I was so nervous!  The next day she called to tell me that Stephen ate both slices that she kept and he's very picky when it comes to desserts.  It looks like this recipe is a keeper!

There's a really funny story about her gift.  I actually bought it last year before we moved to Gilmer but it got lost while we moved and I just recently found it!

When we ate dinner, Kinsey sat by me but towards the end of the meal she decided to sit next to Neena.  You have no idea how much I enjoyed having the entire bench seat to myself!  I spread my arms, relaxed and enjoyed watching the kids give Neena so much attention.  Another exciting moment for me was when Beck ate my bowl of okra!  His menu selection is expanding which makes me very happy!

This is Kinsey's first time to wear pig tails!  She looks so cute!

I'm pretty sure Neena enjoyed her birthday and we sure enjoyed being able to celebrate it with her!