Spelling Bee Drama

With Brianna attending the same school as Allie, you would think that things would get easier.  I feel as though there are days when things are much crazier!  Last week, our school held the individual class spelling bees. This is a program that begins in our kindergarten classes and runs through eighth grade.  Allie has always tried her hardest, but has never placed in this event.  She doesn't seem to get upset, but wants to do better the next year.  Well, this year she placed third in her class!  Way to go Allie!  She will be competing in the third grade spelling bee next week.  But Brianna was a different story!  Remember that she is only in kindergarten, she is just now learning sight words, and she is trying to sound out everything that she can.  She got so upset when she didn't win any part of the spelling bee, she caused herself to hyperventilate.  it got even funnier as I spoke to her about it that evening.  I told her that if she was trying her hardest and doing her best that I would always be proud of her.  Brianna replied "what if I tried my hardest, but I was not doing my best?".  It took a lot for me not to laugh at this comment.  She is so precious!
Happy Spelling!

Mr. Mom

As I was preparing for my teaching conference, I was asking the girls what information I needed to leave for Heath.  The girls and I decided to write Heath a book. Each day was another "chapter." On each day, there were places for the girls to check off the things that they have to complete, as well as, a place for Heath to check off.

After speaking to my family the first night I was gone, I had a renewed feeling of being needed. I think that Heath understands a little more of what I do on a daily basis.

I know that they will be excited to see me upon my return!

Lost tooth!

It is official, our baby girl is growing up fast!  Brianna has had a few wiggly teeth for awhile.  This weekend, we were sure that one of them would fall out.  She proved us wrong!  Brianna was scared to pull her tooth out. 
On the way to school today, I told her that Mr. R (my associate) was a trained professional for pulling teeth.  Once we arrived, she went up to him and asked if he would pull out her tooth.  In a matter of seconds it was out and she was all smiles! 
Many thanks to Mr. R - for doing the impossible that no one in our house was allowed to do!!

What summer?

You are probably wondering what happened to the Walters' over the summer?! We had quite an adventure this summer . . . we got to take a month long vacation!  The girls and I went from Hilton Head to Cary to Florida!!  We have spent time with our cousins, visited museums, and danced in the town square.  Our favorite spot was the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science.  First of all, it was free!  There was a whole section of hands-on items.  In fact, the directions from the leader in the room was to play with and touch everything! The girls got to see bees making honey, dress up like different insects, and use binoculars to see construction across the parking lot.  We want to go back and visit so that we can see veterinary sciences at work.  I was told that we can see live surgeries in the "new" wing of the museum.
We are back to school in three days!  We are all very excited for this because Allie and Bri will both be at my school. Allie is in my grade and Bri is in kindergarten.  I am not sure who is more excited: Heath, Allie, Bri, or ME?!

Fantastic Zootastic! / Library Sushi

On Thursday, the girls and I ventured to Zootastic for Teacher Appreciation Day.  This is always a summertime favorite.  We get free entry and lunch at Zootastic park.  This year, we took another teacher friend with us.  The girls had a great time feeding the goats and llamas.  We saw so many baby animals.  There was a baby:
1. zebra
2. llama (times 2)
3. lemur
4. kangaroo
5. tiger
6. lion
7. chicken
This was so exciting to see that many baby animals just feet away!

I just love our public library!  Ms. Amrita is wonderful!!  This week she taught the kids about Japan.  They made fish shaped kites.  But the most fun was making PB&J sushi!  This is the girls' favorite way to eat their lunch now.  They will even eat the crust.  If you haven't tried it, cookie butter from trader joes is wonderful!  This is peanut butter with crushed gingerbread cookies.  It makes a great snack or is great on "sushi."

Passport to Mexico, Australia, and Poland

Well, Michael's Arts and Crafts has begun their summer crafting adventure.  We were able to go on Saturday, but we had already missed the first two craft adventures.  We were the only people at the kid's craft area, so Ms. Angela let us make up the previous activities.  So, for the record breaking cost of $1.48, the girls made 6 different art projects!  They had a blast!  The girls got to work on crafts from Mexico, Australia, and Poland.  Brianna's favorite craft was the monarch butterfly and Allie's was the stingray. I had to clear space on the dining room shelves (china cabinet) to display all of their work.

Summer has begun!

Well, it is official!  Technology repels me and summer is here and already our schedule is crazy.  Most of you know that I am the queen of free summer activities for the kids.  Here is a little list that I put together for other cheap and fun things to do in the Charlotte area: http://www.socratesacademy.us/up-to-grade-level-websites/third-grade/announcements.aspx. Just click on the "summer fun" link on the page and you should be able to find something to do with your kids.

Since Allie and Heath were off at Camp Kids Jam with church, Brianna and I got to do a few things together.  We went uptown (and walked a ton!) and had lunch with Auntie M.  Then we were off to Imaginon for the Castles and Dragons exhibit.  It was great fun! We were going to audition for American Idol, but Brianna was hungry and wanted to visit with Auntie M.  Instead, we just sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" all the way up Trade Street.  I think that we entertained a few people along the way.

We took a picnic lunch to the park and walked along all of the trails until we found a table in the shade.  Once again, we sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" while we ate.  We found the ball fields (behind the park) and we were able to fly our kite!  This was exciting because the first kite we bought was a bust.  We were so happy with our purchase and the kite's flying ability, we went back to Target and got a second kite for Allie.

Bri and I visited the Mint Hill Library for the Reedy Creek Nature Center presentation.  Brianna had a blast learning about nocturnal animals.  She really enjoyed Popcorn.  No they did not serve snacks, he was the corn snake that Ms. Heather brought from the nature center. 

Today we learned that Michael's Arts and Crafts and Barnes and Noble also have there summer programs up and running.  We can hardly wait to get started! Now all we need is for Allie and Heath to return from camp and join in the fun!

Summer is here!

Well, sumer is in full swing at the Walters' household.  Heath and Allie just returned from camp and while they were away, Brianna and I got into the summer groove.  Here is just a little bit of what we were up to:
1. We walked all of uptown, playing in every fountain, and ending our journey at Imaginon.  The castles and dragons exhibit was wonderful!  We came home so that we could have a sword fight.  I never thought that I would be having a sword fight with my daughter, but it was great!
2. We began our morning with a visit from the Sheile Museum mobile planetarium.  Seeing the stars was a neat treat. We then visited the local park and hiked all of the trails until we found the best, most shady spot for lunch.  We played in the shade for a while, and then hiked over to the ball fields.  That is where Brianna had her first kite flying lesson.  Good news: the kite actually flew this time! thank you target dollar bins!
3. We visited the Mint Hill library to meet Ms. Heather and all of her creatures from the Reedy Creek Nature Museum.  Yes, Brianna sat up front and petted all of the creatures from the beetles to the snake.  She was also the last kid out so that she could keep petting Popcorn the snake. 
4. We visited the local Waffle House for our dinner treat!  Thanks Ms. Dee - it was great!  Brianna wanted breakfast for dinner, so we went out.  After dinner, I introduced Brianna to the world of Mary Poppins.  This is now her favorite movie!

With all of this excitement, you would think that we are into our summer fun, but no!  We had not even registered for the events at Michael's Arts and Crafts and Barnes and Noble.  The excitement is just beginning . . .

 . . . tomorrow the girls are joining me at zumba!

Adventures in Hiking!

We went on an overnight adventure to Elkin, NC (or a smaller suburb of Elkin).  We got to hang out with our college friend, Lee, his fiance, mother, and freinds from Chicago.  It was wonderful to spend time with one of our dearest friends!  We had some of the most amazing comfort foods thanks to Lee's mom!  (I am already missing the fried pies!!) The girls (and the dog) got to experience many firsts:
1. They got to feed cows on a farm.
2. They went on mulitple hikes (for several miles) and smiled the whole time!
3. Picked and ate strawberries straight from the garden.
4. Said they were having too much fun to watch TV - yippee!
5. Did I mention that they hiked for about 4 miles?!
I am so proud of the girls.  What super trooopers!

Thanks for letting us visit Lee and Ms. Carolyn!

Remarried?!

Today has been a wonderful day!  Today Heath and I renewed our wedding vows to each other and we dedicated our children to God.  It was beautiful!  We recommitted ourselves to one another and to God. We are so honored and amazed at the path in which God has lead us.  We are continually blessed by his wonderfulness each and every day. We are allowed to raise two beautiful, smart, and healthy girls due to God's goodness.  What better way to thank him than to dedicate them?
So, today marks the first day of the rest of our lives in this incredible journey together! Today was one more "only God" moment because only God could have planned such a wonderful day!

Happy Easter!

What a great Easter weekend this has been!  It was the end of our Spring Break. Mom and Dad came up for the weekend.  We go to celebrate Dad's birthday (a little late) and celebrate Jesus. We began with a little trip up to Zootastic for an Easter egg hunt and to visit with the animals.  We can now mark this off of our list of things to do(Red-Neck Easter Egg Hunt - check!). The girls had fun. They got to ride their first horse; even if it was just around in a few circles! They found almost 80 eggs in total, and no one won a bunny! Heath and I were pleased with the outcome.  We continued with a great dinner with Mom and Dad, thanks to the grill-master, Heath! We finished with an amazing dessert prepared by the girls.  After dessert, we had a flashlight Easter egg hunt.  This was my personal favorite! Looking for eggs in the dark was a blast!
We celebrated today by attending church and then heading home to enjoy the feast from the family.  It was not until our arrival back at the house that the girls found their Easter baskets! They had walked past them all morning, but never really "saw" them! We continued the festivities with another egg hunt in the backyard. This time, there was money in the eggs.
After all of the food, fellowship, and egg hunting fun, we are finally worn out! We hope that you too had a very Happy Easter!

What an Amazing God!

So February just continues to get better!  On Sunday, February 12, 2012, Heath was baptized at our church.  We have so much to celebrate within our family!  My parents made the journey up to Charlotte for the second weekend in a row.  It was such an amazing feeling, seeing how God has been working in my family over the past year.

Following the service, we helped kick-off Love Week.  Our entire family helped package 30,000 meals for people in Haiti.  This was so much fun! We all learned how much fun helping others can be.  What really got me was when we got in the car to leave.  Brianna announced to everyone that helping make meals was AWESOME!

February - How Awesome!

Once again, God has shown us just how wonderful he is.  Allie was asked to read two bible verses on Sunday, February 5, 2012 at both church services.  She was so excited.  Heath and I were such proud parents! Out of all of the kids at church, they asked Allie to read.  When we spoke to our Children's Minister, she said that Allie had such excitement for the Bible.  She loves to look up scriptures at Sunday School each week.  So, when it came to selecting a child to read to the church before the children were all given Bibles, Allie was the choice. 

Check this out: http://newcharlotte.org/the_warehouse_blog/the-greatest-story-ever-told/

What happened to January?

It seems as though January came and went in a flash.  It certainly had its up and downs.  The ups included Heath moving his office from our house into a building!  This was so much fun.  We spent the weekend, with the help of Nana, moving and setting up the new office.  Everything had to be ready to roll on Monday because Heath and his business partner were being interviewed for the news!

After the ups, there must be downs.  This January, we sent our Great Mommie to live in heaven with Jesus.  This was difficult, but we know that she is not in pain anymore.  It was great to see our family during this time.

Christmas Fun

We had such an amazing Christ centered Christmas.  Our family was able to be at our house and celebrate the birth of Christ together.  I think that the best part of this season was watching my girls open and enjoy their gifts.  When Allie opened her bible, she was so excited.  She has carried it with her every Sunday to and from church since Christmas.  She will tell you that her bible was her favorite gift (even above the American Girl Doll)! What a gift we have been given this season!