Enumerated Update

Happy Friday, friends!

Now that we are counting down to summer, Fridays are taking on greater significance. And friends, the countdown is officially... on. We are ready.

In the meantime, here's what's on our minds:

1) Facts: Not to get specific, but we have been holding our tongues this week about a local situation that has kind of gotten way off issue. Skip and I often are baffled when facts are no longer relevant and when greater value is placed on emotion. We are "facts" people.

2) Lame Duck School Days: William George's class is busily preparing for their graduation (?!), but the girls' classes will begin tapering off. Here are some interesting options for "lame duck" school days.  

3) iPhone Conversations: The trio are big Siri users so this naturally made me laugh. Also, George calls Siri "Cindy" so we have a lengthy conversation each time he talks to her about her correct name. "What kind of name is 'Siri'?" he always asks.

4) 90's Brows: What celebs would look like with 90's eyebrows. Take it from someone who had big hair in the 80's: extremes are never good. Why does each generation have to learn that for herself?

5) On the other hand: If this iconic shoe from the 90's returns, put me down for one (or two) in every color.  

 Have a fantastic weekend!

The above photo is apropos of nothing... I just ran across this photo of Pixie, who had climbed on top of my suitcase when we were packing for our last trip.  

George's Collars

My standard warm weather uniform for George is a basic polo and shorts. 

When he was a baby, we loved the polo shirt jon-jons, but alas, he quickly outgrew those. He has literally worn some type of polo style shirt since birth. 

Inexplicably, when he turned three, he began insisting on buttoning all of the buttons. All of the time. All through K3, all through K4 and all through K5. 

(He said he was cold. And he doesn't like being cold.)

We all tried to explain about the top button and tried to talk him out of it to no avail. If you have noticed his buttons in photos, I assure you they are all buttoned per his insistence.  

First Day of Kindergarten

George adores his beloved kindergarten teacher. She has a big family full of fun and exciting children, and throughout the course of the year she has shared about her family with her class. Well... her children are total rock stars in the eyes of her class (and us, too; they're great kids!). George is playing baseball with her youngest son and has now met one of her oldest sons who just turned 16. He sometimes helps with their practices and games, and they all just love him.  

So this past weekend when George got dressed I, once again, tried persuading him not to button the top button. Finally, I said, "You know, the big guys don't wear them like that. Hayes and his friends wouldn't have that top button buttoned...  

Boom.  

We should have introduced George to Hayes much sooner.   

Rockin' to the Rhymes

A few weeks ago William George's class presented a musical, "Rockin' to the Rhymes" and displayed some of their art. George was cast as a horseman, along with a few of his friends. To say that they were excited would be an enormous understatement.

I should also mention that the class was struggling with a flu and strep outbreak during the rehearsal and performance of this program. Nonetheless, they were awesome.  

Rockin to the rhymes from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

Rockin to the Rhymes II from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

This was such a fun evening, and George loved this experience so much.  

Fine Arts Night 2017

Lauren prefers uniform crayon strokes

A few weeks ago, Lauren and Grace's school held its annual Fine Arts Night where students display their artwork, and there were also choral and drama presentations as well. Both girls completed a really cool street scene, but their teacher put a spin on things by not labeling artwork. This is a great idea because it encourages parents to really slow down and figure out which piece if his/her child's (versus going straight to their name). Picking out your child's favorite colors and drawing styles is an interesting and more personal approach.  

Gracie likes bold colors which means she picks vibrant colors 

The fourth grade classes had a special unit wherein they read Hatchet and put together their own plane crash scenario. They identified a flight pattern and a site for the crash, and they spent a good bit of time figuring out survival strategies and using science to solve many of their "deserted island" challenges.  

The girls loved showing their artwork and had a wonderful night.  

Weekend Update

We had a pretty busy but fun weekend. For starters, Gracie and George put together an impromptu game afternoon/evening, and we had a good time playing a couple of hours of Uno.  

Then when everyone got hungry we had a later dinner at their favorite... Newk's. 

The trio turned in for bed early because they had to be ready to run a 5K at 7:00am. When the trio signed up for this run, we didn't know Lauren was going to be on the track team and that their meet would be three days before the run. 

Oopsies!

Also, this was George's first 5K and only his second run of any kind. However, George was determined, and Grace was going to be his personal coach and helper. For all of these reasons, Skip and I were encouraging everyone to take the run very, very easy.  

As expected, Lauren was still really tired, but she ran the majority of the 5K, only stopping a couple of times. She is tough as nails. Her time was 31:57, and she finished 11th out of the women's group and 28th overall. She was also the first child runner to finish. 

Grace ran with George the entire time and let him stop as often as he needed for water and walk breaks. Her time was 37:00, and she finished 20th out of the women's group and 45th overall. She was the 8th kid to finish. She also earned the designation of Best Sister Ever.   

William George was a total rock star, finishing his first 5K ever at 37:39. He was the youngest runner, and he finished 19th (/25) of out of the men's group and 48th overall (/65). He was the 9th kid to finish. He had such a great 5K.  

After the race, these two shared their secret. When George became really tired, Gracie let hi ride piggyback during a portion of the race.  

After the run, the trio wanted to refuel with some doughnuts so we made that happen. We then loaded up to go celebrate their sweet little cousins first birthday. 

After celebrating and having a wonderful time, George changed into his uniform and got ready to play some baseball. We had expected for George to be really tired, but he caught a second wind and had a great game. He hit coach pitches all three times at bat... and hit his first home run! We were so excited for him and incredibly proud of his heard work.  

George's Single 4-22-17 from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.
George's Double 04-22-17 from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.
George's 1st Home Run from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

George was awarded the game ball, and he requested a celebratory dinner. So we loaded up (Grammie, too!) during a thunderstorm and got some yummy Mexican.  

The girls served as acolytes Sunday morning, and Gran and Poppa got to pop in to see them.

The trio spent the afternoon visiting with grandparents, and we had some much needed down time and are ready to tackle the remaining weeks of school.  

Enumerated Update

Happy Friday, friends!

We made it!!! Congratulations to you for getting through a busy week.

Quickly, here's what's going on.

1) Regrets: Former President Bush says he regrets the poncho incident on inauguration day, but I find him more likable for being called out by his daughters for trending versus declaring something like he's a "decider".

2) Listmaker: I love lists. Did you see F. Scott Fitzgerald's list for his daughter, Scottie? It's a list of things to worry about, things to not worry about, and some things to think about it.

3) Thick or thin: Do you prefer thick or thin pizza crust? We are thin crust people. While we love homemade pizza, we haven't mastered a good, thin crust. Therefore, I am very interested in this video series on Skillshare.

4) Advertising: We spend a lot of time educating the trio about advertising and commercialism, and admitting that adults are often as susceptible as kids. This article made me laugh. (Language caution.)

5) Vacationing: Since school will be out in a few weeks (4-5 more weeks for us!), we will all be vacationing before you know it. We already do many of the tips/tricks in this article, but I am always on the lookout for new ideas (like #1). We recently added headlamps to the trio's nightstands and have found tons of uses for them already, and we will definitely be taking them on trips.

6) Reese: This made me laugh. For me, it's lipstick... I will not leave the house without lipstick on. And, if I am out for the day and do not have any in my purse, I will stop by a drug store and pick up a shade by Maybelline.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Track Team 2017

Lauren and Grace both love to run. This is somewhat inexplicable to us, but we encourage their passion and cheer them on at every opportunity. Their school has a track team for the fourth and fifth grade classes, and they have wanted to run track since kindergarten. 

Because Grace is more of a distance runner, she's not really used to sprinting, and missed the team by one position. Their coach thinks she would excel running the mile, but she will also work on her sprints for next year. This was a disappointment (for her; we couldn't be prouder of her running ability), but the beauty of running (and I never thought I would use that phrase;) is that you can run anywhere, anytime. For example, she is running a 5K this Saturday. Also, being the "team manager" took a lot of the sting out of her disappointment.  

Lauren was slated to run the relay (anchor), the 800 (two laps) and the 100 meter dash.  We cautioned Lauren that she would be going up against several other schools and that many of the runners would be taller than she is. Lauren has a LOT of power and an endless supply of grit, but at the end of the day there's not much she (or anyone) can do if a competitor's legs are significantly longer than hers. It is what it is.  

In the end, Lauren was a total boss. The relay team was the first event, and our little team placed fifth. Next Lauren ran the 800 and finished third out of 15 girls, a few of whom presented some tough competition. She didn't have much of a break between the 800 and 100 and was pretty wiped out, but she regained her composure and ran a strong 100, finishing fourth. 

We couldn't have been prouder of her commitment and determination and, as always, Gracie was her biggest supporter.  

Lauren's 100 04-19-17 from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

March Birthdays

Although Grace is still our most enthusiastic party goer, George has emerged as a close second for appreciating celebrations of any kind.  March is a big birthday month for us, meaning lots of singing and dessert!  

Grammie kicks off the March season, and we had a nice dinner party for her, consisting of the usual favorites... steak, potatoes, veggies, Scoozi bread and PIE. Grammie is a big hit with the trio, and they LOVE celebrating her special day.  (Mom, you're a hit with me, too.)

We have a couple of cousin birthdays as well. We have to send Reagan birthday wishes from afar, and Lexie has aged out of having parties. The duo have finally stopped asking, "What kind of party is Lexie having?" But, we did send some video greetings!  

Birthday Greetings from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

  

Next is Poppa's birthday. Gran always prepares a feast fit for a king, and we are the lucky ducks who get to partake. They love getting to celebrate with King Arthur, who is also known as their favorite playmate. We enjoyed celebrating Poppa and helping him ring in another fantastic year.  

We [heart] family.  

Easter Sunday 2017

Lauren, Grace and George were in full preparation for Easter. They had their clothing planned, carrots and lettuce left for the bunny of the hour, and Lauren was making sure everyone was in bed early so that the EB would come.  

All of that work paid off because he totally came!  

He brought everyone's favorite goodies and treats!

We got dressed and ready for church, and the service was spectacular. The music, sermon and all of the extra work and care made Easter Sunday a wonderful time of worship.  

We had a little extra time in between our service ending and lunch being prepared so I wrangled everyone into some photos. :)  

Gran and Poppa arrived, and we had a traditional Easter lunch followed by a decadent chocolate pie and mine and Lauren's favorite, coconut cake.  

After lunch, the trio were ready for an egg hunt. Fortunately, the Easter Bunny had hidden eggs while we were at church, and we were ready to hunt them all.  

The girls are at their peak competitive level with regards to egg hunting, and George is at his most excitable (read: distracted) phase. Therefore, he excitedly runs by all of the eggs, while Lauren and Grace are aggressively scooping them up.  

After a little regrouping, George was more focused, and the duo eased up a little. I blame the excessive sugar.  

We had a wonderful Easter... a great service;  a good visit with Grammie, Gran and Poppa; and a good time hiding eggs.  

PS: 

Easter 2016

Easter 2015

Easter 2014

Easter 2013

Easter 2012

Easter 2011

Easter 2010

Easter 2009

Easter 2008