Weekend Happenings

We had a relatively low key weekend. The last weekend before volleyball games and flag football games start running our Saturday schedule.  Peter and I watched a scary movie to start Saturday morning. It kind of haunted me throughout the day.
Conleigh had spent the night at a friends on Friday and went to vball practice on Saturday morning.
I headed to the gym for the first time really. Peter and I went one time when the kids were at camp this summer but I hadn't walked in since. The doctor gave me a reality check this past week, so I'll be seeing more of the gym.
We had a babysitter last night and went out with a bunch of friends. We ate at a new to us BBQ joint, Switch and Stiles. It was delicious and then we went to Dallas nite Club and danced. It was a blast. Dancers danced, and football fans could watch the Longhorns go down in a blaze of glory.

 This morning at church Conleigh was made an official acolyte, and Alex received his 3rd grade Bible.  They said we have 45 third graders receiving Bibles.
Our Sunday school program has been revamped and it is going to be fun! I'm shepherding the 5th graders this year and today we went to the Daily Bread Bakery.  The kids learned the lesson and then we made unleavened bread to show what the bread was like for the Israelites who had to leave in haste without their yeast!  The kids loved it!

My friend Fiona and me during the Christian Educators portion of the service.

This afternoon we had a failed family outing. The kids were whining and only wanted to roller skate.  We sent everyone to their rooms for quiet time and then Peter took everyone skating. He is such a Godsend. I stayed home.

For dinner, I made a concoction of chicken with artichoke hearts and spices served over rice. The artichokes were so delicious and the kids liked the chicken which has become a harder reaction to receive. We hear, "all we eat is chicken and fish." Waaaa.

Get Your Do It Yourself On

I'm participating in this fun link party. It starts today with Something Blue, and will go weekly through the fall months.

I linked to my small blue dresser/table project that I completed in the spring.

Newest GW find

I've been on the lookout for a new dining table. The one we have used since before Conleigh was born was one of the first purchases Peter and I made together. We were so proud to have bought that table from the Roomstore. I liked the way the leaf was self storing inside the table. The chairs were comfy and we have beat it to he** the last 12ish years. It looks awful. There are heat stains and paint from art projects all over it. The chair fabric is embarrassingly dirty.

Enter...Mommy has a few minutes to myself at Goodwill (GW).  I find a table!  I debate the table because it is at GW. I borrow a tape measure. The measurements look good. Table a little wobbly. I take a picture and start to walk away thinking, "it's 7:20 on a Sunday night. They close at 8:00. I'm sure I can think about it and come back tomorrow."

I go look at it again.

I imagine the chairs that I bought in May (that have been sitting in our garage) around it.  I do have the minivan this evening and tomorrow Peter will have it at work making it harder to pick up the purchase tomorrow.

I decide to Go For It!

Tell GW employee who compliments my taste as he walks me to the front of the store. You have to pay at the GW. No, "I'm gonna buy this but keep shopping."  I pay and get the SOLD sign. As I'm carrying back the sign, I hear a girl walking out the front of the store saying to her guy, "someone just bought it. They are carrying it to the back." Score! That confirmed that I had made a good decision on purchasing that night.

Two wonderful GW workers helped shimmy it into my car and here is the beauty. I'm very happy with it. Conleigh doesn't like the pine knots, but she'll have her day to decorate her own place, right?

And the chairs. They found their way inside. I love the caning and the round backs.

 

 The plaid, yellow fabric is definitely not my choice seat cover but that is a project for another day.

I think I will also darken the chairs with paint and wax... sometime

I need to work on my staging I guess, but I do love the new upcycled furniture in our dining area.

School Start ~ Fall 2013

We had a fab summer.  After swim team and our beach trip to Destin, we hung pretty steady in Austin.  Some random camps here and there, lots of pool and playtime.  The children all did a week long overnight camp at T Bar M Sports camp.  Two out of  three want to go back next year.  Sweet Campbell was just too young. She got homesick and doesn't want to go back. She told me that maybe after 4th grade she would consider it again.

The green postcards arrived last Wednesday with the teaching assignments for this school year. The children had been hanging out the front window of the house all day in anticipation of the mailman.  Excitement in the air. I was on a work phone call when the mailman arrived. I had told the kids that I couldn't talk with them while on the phone.  Of course, about 10 minutes into the call, all three kids coming walking in waving their postcards. I told the person on the phone that I had to take care of something and I would return the call in 5 minutes.

Jackpot! Teacher jackpot! No need for Vegas. Everyone was very happy about their teachers.

Today the kids went back to school. Here is the obligatory first day of school picture.

All three were excited to get to school today.  I had been invited to a couple of breakfast get togethers, but instead I stayed in my pj's and work, work, worked.  I've been somewhat neglectful of work and our business is so technology driven these days that I have a lot of questions from professors on how to get the students registered to use said technology.

I was excited to pick up the children from school, but before I did, I went and bought some blank crowns at Michael's.  I spray painted the crowns and bejeweled them with glitter and a few sequins. I put each child's name on their crown and the grade they started today in front and center. 

Everyone came out happy and babbling about all sorts of things about their day. 

Tonight we celebrated the first day of school with spaghetti for dinner and cherry pie for dessert.  We also drank our milk from wine glasses. We are fancy that way. 

Here's to another great year at Spicewood Elementary.

Hooray for the Red, White & Blue

 Pool time!

 Watermelon contest.

 Winner, Winner ~ Chicken Dinner!

 A blessed mess!

 Parade with friends time!

 Neighborhood parade.

Thankful to all the people who stood up and signed the Declaration of Independence 

in 1776.

Swim Season in Review

So excited that Conleigh & Alex earned swimming times to get to swim at the UT Swim Center.

Here we are headed into the building on Sunday morning.

Warm-ups began at 9:45 and the meet then began at 11:00.

If you know the order of a swim meet, you'll know that butterfly is the LAST individual event

of the meet, SO we waited a long time for the kids to swim.

 They both did great. The building can be pretty intimidating. It is huge and lots of activity happening.

Both kids said they had trouble hearing. I believe it. Girls and boys events were going on simultaneously. It was difficult to know when they were starting your race.

Alex false started but thankfully he had a 2nd chance.

Conleigh did fabulously. She has such a beautiful butterfly stroke.

 

This evening we had our end of season banquet.

Look who got the Most Improved 6 & under girl trophy.

Peter and I laugh because she has been in 6 & unders for three years. She

started on the team when she was four, and this girl could care less about the competition.

 

Here is Conleigh modeling all of her metal.  She earned 3 medals at the divisional meet. 

The two blue ribbon medals were for 1st place 25 butterfly, and 1st place free relay.

The 2nd place red ribboned medal was for the medley relay.

 

 Alex earned a 3rd place medal in the free relay. The ribbon he is holding is for earning an 

invitational time and participating in the invitational meet.

I'm so glad my kids love to swim. I loved it and I love watching them.

Cheers to a great season!

Invitational Swimming

Today was our divisional swim meet.

Before the meet, Conleigh was close to making Invitationals in butterfly.

.4 of a second away.

She wanted it badly.

Yesterday she was kind of in a zone all day. Didn't want to play with anyone...really mellow.

Today was absolutely terrific.

It was just beautiful.

She was seeded third in the event at the meet today.

That was a complete bother to her last night. She was so upset. 

I think her brain had already decided she was seeded 1st. She had won 1st last week and is definitely #1 on our team.

The girl brought it big.  She totally won the event AND qualified for 

the big meet at UT tomorrow.

She is so excited! So am I.

I was so caught up with Conleigh's performance that I missed that Alex also 

qualified for invitationals tomorrow in 25 butterfly. He takes it more in stride like, 

"yes, of course I made it."

Conleigh isn't as competitive and this is one of the first times 

Peter & I have seen her really want to win. 

Tomorrow we head to the UT Natatorium to see their name on the big screen.

Go Sharks!

Go Hardins!