Fairy Tale Day in Kindergarten...

Haylee recently had Fairy Tale Day and she got to dress up as her favorite Fairy Tale character. Can you guess who she was???

That's right! Goldilocks and the 3 bears! So cute!

Look at those "locks"!

Here are a few friends from her class... Little Mermaid, Snow White, a Knight, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks, a pirate, Cinderella, Jack Sparrow and a Wolf!

Here is her awesome teacher, Miss Strange! One of the aids in kindergarten dressed up as Snow White and all of the teachers dressed up as her dwarfs... Miss Strange was "Sleepy"

They also had a Fairy Tale Feast where they dined on Snow White's Applesauce, Pigs in a Blanket ala The 3 Little Pigs, Gingerbread cookies (run, run as fast as you can... you can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread man!), etc.

So much fun in kindergarten!

February Snow

We received a TON of snow (for Texas) this week!

There was talk of snow on Thursday... possible 1-3 inches for our area and it wasn't supposed to come until the afternoon. When we woke up Thursday morning the ground was covered and it was continuing to snow! Our district canceled school for the day; however, the district where the preschool that I work for is located did not cancel school so I had to take the girls in with me. That district did decide to cancel school at 11:30am and we were free to go... see, that district wanted to get in the hours it need to count as a full day. Smart for them but if I was a working parent and had taken my children to school then gone to work, I would not have been very happy!

Anyway, after we got home from preschool, the girls played outside until their toes and fingers were numb...

our backyard... you can see the big flakes still coming down

Hannah making a snow angel

1-3 inches...? I don't think so... it says 7 inches!

We received a call Thursday evening that school would also be canceled for Friday, too! The girls were happy but a little sad... they were supposed to have their Valentine's class parties on Friday. However, they quickly got over that! Friday morning we all got our snow clothes on and went out front to make a snowman. Our neighbor, AJ, came over to help us:

the view from our front porch

the girls and AJ making the base for the snowman

the kids handi-work, complete with mini chocolate donuts for the eyes...
they did a great job, didn't they?

Haylee and I in the snow

Poor Rick had to be out in the freezing weather for work and didn't enjoy it much. So today he decided to go play in it with Hannah and Haylee:

he just tagged Hannah with a snow ball

another one bites the dust! good times, dad, good times...

building the backyard snowman

"Hey guys, whatcha doin'?"
our little feather friend wanted to check out the excitement

the backyard version... the snow is starting to melt now ={

What fun we've had these past few days! But I'm telling you what, I really think I need to look into being a meteorologist... they said 1-3 inches of snow and we got... drum roll please... over 12 inches! You don't have to be right to get paid the big bucks. I've definitely missed my calling in life!

Daddy Daughter Dance!

Hannah and Haylee's school put on a Daddy/Daughter Dance!

Hannah, at first, was not interested in attending. And if Hannah doesn't want to go, Haylee won't go. After Hannah realized that it was only going to be girls and their dads, she warmed up to the idea!

After that, there was much excitement in the Churchwell household! Discussions of what dress to wear, how they wanted to wear their hair, etc. were held.

Rick came home the day of the dance to 2 little girls who could hardly contain themselves! Their tresses were curled and their dance frocks were on (can you tell I got a new dictionary for Christmas?) and they were ready to go! Rick got dressed up and they were off to the ball.

the girls, ready to go!

the girls and their date...

When they got there they checked in and each had a corsage/boutonniere pinned on. The line for the photos was a bit long so they went into the dance and had a great time. Rick said the decorations were really well done and they had a fun DJ spinning the tunes. Evidently they all did their share of dancing... a friends husband called Rick a "dancing machine" or something along those lines.

Everyone came home quite tired but with smiles on their faces! I'm so glad they had this opportunity to make some great memories together!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

We got snow on Christmas Eve!

For those of you that live in an area where it snows in December, this post will be boring to you... but here in Texas, we don't usually see snow until February! It was very exciting! The girls couldn't wait to get out there and play in it, as you can see by the dusting of snow they were trying to make snow angels in!

Here are a few shots of the girls playing in the backyard:


Also, let it be known that poor Rick did not find this snow as exciting as his girls! He had to be out there working in it and was frozen when he got home from work on Christmas eve!

And we actually had snow a few times in December! I wonder what February will bring....?

One of my New Year's resolutions...

One of my New Year's resolutions is to be a better blogger. So, without further adieu, here is an activity that I did with the girls in December:

For the past 3 years, Hannah, Haylee and I have gone to see the Nutcracker Ballet at TWU (Texas Women's University). We really enjoy and make an afternoon of it by including friends in a tea party at our home.

This year each girl invited one friend. Hannah invited her friend, Veronica:
And Haylee invited her friend, Jordan.

All of the girls looked so sweet in their Christmas "pretties".

The tea party consisted of peanut butter sandwiches without the crusts and "dipped" in sprinkles (on the edges), super yummy fruit kabobs (courtesy of Jordan's mom, Tina), chips, perfectly pink mini-cakes in tea cups (courtesy of Veronica's mom, Rhonda) and a grape-raspberry punch served in a teapot. The girls enjoyed their lunch and then did a little picture frame craft while the moms cleaned up.

part of the "spread"

the girls and their moms... Tina on the left, Rhonda on the right

just before digging in

After that, it was off to the show! We love the performance! It's nice to have this chance to see the ballet each year with the girls. They really look forward to it and the planning and picking out of the perfect dress!
We can't wait until next year!!

Jungle Safari pack meeting

We recently had our Cub Scout pack meeting. And again, the leaders outdid themselves!

The gym was transformed... Brother Mayfield set up one area as a "camp site" where everyone gathered.campsite, complete with realistic fire pit

look at how even the smallest details are thought out...

here's a better shot where you can see the campfire "glowing"

The rest of the gym was used to house the relay course. The boys had to:

1. crawl under a canopy of bamboo... if any part of them touched the bamboo, they had to start over.

2. shoot dangerous "animals" in the jungle... they used a Nerf gun and shot at empty soda cans that had been wrapped in paper with animals drawn on them.

3. grab a huge "vine" and swing across a "pit" without touching any part of the pit.

Ben watching as Hannah takes her turn after the boys are done

4. climb into a tent, zip up the flap, get all the boys COMPLETELY quiet before they could zip out the other side.

5. walk across a very thin "bridge" that was over a "river" while looking up at the ceiling. (bridge=balance beam, river= blue sheet)

6. get each member of the Den safely through the portal at the end, without the member touching any part of it.

Brother Mayfield showing the boys how to get through

The boys had a BLAST! They competed den against den. They cheered each other on and helped each other out.

After the competition, the awards that the boys had earned in the previous months den meetings were given out. The awards were put in an old ammo box and brought in by two enthusiastic helpers:

Hannah and Mia bringing the awards into the meeting

It just wouldn't be complete without a snake cake, would it?

Not only do our Scout leaders work hard with the boys at the Den meetings but they finish out each month by putting together a first-class pack meeting. I don't have any sons in scouting but I certainly appreciate the time and effort they put in on the Scouts behalf. It's so great to see the excitement and smiles on those boys faces!

Thanks D2 Scout leaders!

Halloween 2009

Halloween, one of my favorite holidays!

This year we had the Seal's and the West's over for a lovely dinner of mummy dogs, chips, dips and we even tried to get some veggies in them before we took the goblins out trick-or-treating. It's so fun to see the kids so excited... no one wanted to eat dinner, they just wanted to get out there and start collecting candy.

Here are a few photos from that night:

Hannah, Elizabeth, Haylee and Rachel "eating"

Kaiya and Haylee once they got their costumes on

our group of goblins... Hannah, Haylee, Kaiya, Rachel and Elizabeth

Hannah helping Kaiya across the street... safety first!

the girls in front of the inflatable pumpkin in our front yard

Hannah going through her candy for the Good Witch... Rick is trying to grab a few pieces.

Haylee also going through her candy for the Good Witch

"What is the Good Witch?" you may ask. Well, I heard of it somewhere, I can't remember where. Basically, Hannah and Haylee both get a ziploc baggie (quart size) to fill up with candy they want to keep. The rest of it goes back into the bucket to be placed by the front door to await the Good Witch. She then comes, takes the candy and leaves them some other goodies in place of the candy. Here is what they got this year:

gifts left by the Good Witch

Haylee's loot from the Good Witch

Hannah's loot from the Good Witch

We had a lot of fun this year! Now it's time to put away the Halloween decorations and spend the month remembering all that we have to be Thankful for!

Hope you had a spooky but safe Halloween!