College Station Trip

This past weekend we traveled to College Station to see our nephew, Alexander, graduate high school. All of Shawn's 4 siblings were able to attend, which made it extra special. It has been a long time since all 5 of them with their own families were under the same roof.

Here is a little video I put together from several clips I recorded over the course of our trip.

 Shawn and his older brother, John.

After the ceremony, we headed over to John's house for dinner and cake! And Friday also happened to be Chip's 70th birthday! So, we celebrated a bit!

Pictured below: 2 grandparents + 15 grandchildren + 2 great grandchildren + 1 son

And then we all joined in for a group pic!

Chip & Peggy and their 5 children.

This is John's boys with their mom, Cindy, and her two grandchildren.

Happy Birthday to you!

 Park time!

Jase and Coby and Grandpa! Ha!

Jase and Coby!

The younger siblings wanted to jump in on the fun too!

On the way home we stopped in for a little dinner at Chili's.

AWANA Wrap-up

This evening we wrapped up a year long commitment in the AWANA program at church. AWANA stands for "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed" from 2 Timothy 2:15. The kids have faithfully attended church on Sunday evenings to work through the Bible curriculum to help draw them closer to the word and in result closer to Him. I pray the verses they memorized are hidden in their hearts for years to come, as you never know when you might need them.

On Sunday evening Finn and Allyson had their award ceremony.

Finn has really came out of his shell this school year. When we used to work in his 3 year old class he would not say a word nearly the entire class, it almost broke my heart. He is a sharp boy and talks a ton at home, but he isn't big on crowds. And then something snapped about half way through this school year and he became comfortable in his skin. I had a couple of his AWANA teachers tell me that he was quite the talker and has really opened up in class. I received the same feedback at our CC community from his tutor. Such a blessing to see him feel comfortable around others.

He even got a picture with Cubbie Bear. {Shawn and I were a little worried that the bear would scare off the preschoolers, but Finn didn't hesitate and ran right up to get his picture taken with him.}

Allyson walking across the stage to get her ribbon. If I'm being honest this was a tough year for Ally in AWANA. For some reason she struggled going to class about midway through the year. I still cannot tell you if it was another kid or fears or what. It was hard, there were tears and all. We prayed. Shawn and I both took turns going into class with her and we encouraged her to stick it out and finish the course that she had started. She was not quitting. So, as I look at this picture of her walking across the stage, I am very thankful for her endurance and a good attitude to finish strong. Real life over here.

Tonight Jase's group had their awards ceremony.

Along with completing his book, he also competed in Bible Quiz, which tested his knowledge on the Bible {via an individual written test and as a team during the multiple choice and speed rounds}. It took place on April 22nd and other local churches were represented as well. 4 weeks prior to Bible Quiz he practiced at church and at home memorizing additional scriptures and key ideas of verses. Next 3 pics are from Bible Quiz.

On stage with his team.

They won 4th place in their age division! Way to go!!

A short clip of his team on stage. He is in the group in the front right.

Meanwhile back at the awards program...

Proud of him and his hard work he put in!

A silly picture I took of him in the chapel when we were goofing around {nah, not me!} and it turned out to be my favorite one!

Celebrating 10 years

It is hard to believe that I started blogging when I was pregnant with Jase. He just celebrated his 10th birthday at the end of April, so I have been documenting our little family for over 10 years now. Crazy! As you can tell from the lack of posts that April was beyond busy. Just the house remodel alone is enough to keep my mind preoccupied. But before too much time passes, here is how we celebrated Jase's birthday!

Grandparents came into town, which was a treat, so we got all cozy in the car and headed to lunch. Jase's pick and he chose McAlister's Deli. {We have been eating there about 3-4 times a week since we do not have a kitchen and they are within our budget, so I was a little surprised he picked this, but I guess he likes it!}

That evening we had our End of Year Celebration to wrap up our Classical Conversations school year. It was really a fun time and I'm glad that Grandpa, Grandma and Nanny were able to come with us and see what we have been up to all year long.

Awesome tree a high school art student painted to represent the three stages of learning.

I think I printed close to 200 pictures to put on display. It was so hard to narrow them down, plus we really did so much with this year: community outreach, science experiments, family presentations, fine art projects, holiday celebrations, and field trips. It was neat to see everyone look at the photos and recall what a great year we had.

Nacho and cookie bar...YES please!

Jase and some of his buddies!

The little ladies!

Finn, Allyson and Nina! Oh Finn, you are full of life...I love it!

The older ladies.

The students got in front of the audience and sang our 13 minute timeline song, which captures world events and leaders from creation to present day. It is an awesome tool and you continue in life. Our pastor includes so much history in his teachings and I've even been able to understand more of what he is talking about since I can recall the song. Here is a short clip.

Fun times in the photo booth.

The whole group!

Even grandparents jumped in on the Photo Booth action!

Even though the CC celebration fell on his birthday, a great time was had by all and he was with family and friends, so no loss in his book!

After a long day and late night, we opened up presents before heading off to bed!

Our 10 year old with some of his grandparents {missing some}.

The next morning he and Finn suited up for their football game. The weather forecast was touch and go, but we were lucky enough to fit in both games. I was with Finn and Shawn was with Jase since the games were at two different fields.

That afternoon we had a small party to celebrate his birthday at Escape Rooms HQ in Lewisville. The boys went in one room and the girls in another.

Your team had 60 minutes to look for clues, solve them and escape the room. It was really fun. Your mind was working the entire time, trying to figure out what steps to take next. If you have never participated in one of these, I highly recommend it!

The girls were able to escape the room with 7:52 left on the clock! We stopped the nuclear bomb from exploding.

The boys gave it all they had and they were in a tough room, but they fell short and couldn't escape. They still had a fun time in the room!

Short clip of Jase talking about their room. Sounds intense!

Pizza time!

And cake time! Or cookie cake time! Jase was a little nervous of the sparkler candles I bought him! We normally do the traditional number candle, but I changed it up a little this year!

He designed the cake himself. He thought a magnifying glass would be a great fit to go along with the theme, and I agree!

He loved opening up his presents! I don't think he'll ever get too old for that! :)

And for those who were not in a hurry to leave, we brought some fun games to play afterwards.

Happy Birthday, Jase! Daddy and I love you very much. You are our first born sports fanatic and we can't believe what you are able to remember about games that happened before you were born! You love to laugh and love to hold the door open for others. Happy 10 years! And many more!