Amy's Last Basketball Game

Well, Amy's last basketball game was last night. They ended the season undefeated so they were really excited about that. Of course, there was that tournament that didn't go so well for them, but the girls say that doesn't count....

I am so proud of her. She really did what she could this season. I was a bit worried about her in team sports because I was afraid she would have my coordination skills...but she did great! Last week's game was awesome for her, but I was so into the game that I didn't take any pictures.

Here is a picture from her last game....the movement is so fast and the gym was a little bit dark so the pictures aren't great. Her jersey number is 2.

She is the cutie all the way on the right.

Brad's Spelling Bee

Brad studied so hard...he was the classroom spelling bee champion last week. So yesterday was the grade level spelling bee. He was so excited! It's hard for me to get off work sometimes, but I refuse to miss these moments simply because I work. There were twenty two students in the grade level spelling bee. It was funny because most of the kids had to sit out because of silly mistakes. They would spell the word right except for getting excited and either starting off with a totally unrelated letter or adding some totally unrelated letter at the end. They were just all too excited and nervous. Here are a couple of short videos of Brad spelling.


And my Brad is still little. I just hate that all the kids are growing up. I was almost happy that my little boy's feet didn't even reach the ground when he was on stage waiting his turn to spell....

Connie is building a Pinewood Derby Car!

Ok, for those that don't know this already....our lives our completely submersed in Cub Scouts. This coming weekend is our Pinewood Derby Car race with the Cub Scouts. The siblings are allowed to race in their own race if they want to participate. Last year, Connie wasn't all that into things but this year, she is making her own car. You can see her here in the background working on it. (There aren't any pictures of Brad working on his because Dad forgot to take pictures and I was at a meeting about our Cub Scout day camp this summer.)

Connie takes a ride

OK. Several weeks ago, I saw a video of Lilly being dragged down the hall by her dog. And as Laura told the story, she went to check on them because of all the laughing the kids were doing. Well, a few nights ago Jeff and I were doing something and heard Connie just laughing hysterically. The first thing I did was chuckle remembering Laura's blog post. Then we go into the kitchen to find Connie riding the dog!

Connie singing at Aunt Mert's in Pecos

Connie is an absolute fanatic about Taylor Swift. I couldn't find her at one point and when I went outside she was dancing and singing all by herself. Of course I think she was deliriously tired by then and none of us were feeling good.

In this video she is singing "Teardrops on My Guitar".

I watched her for a bit and then gave her my phone to sing by. I just love it when the kids are in that quiet kind of mood. It happens so rarely in my house.

Is that Connie cleaning the kitchen floor?

Ok. First let me just say that I already know I am a monster of a mother. I have been working on getting the kids more into chores and housework. I mean it surely can't be bad for them to learn what it takes to keep a house running...and exactly how that laundry gets from the middle of their floor back to hanging in the closet.

Unfortunately, Jeff and I leave for work so early and we do so much during the week that our current housekeeper/nannie has been showing Amy how to clean. Well, over the New Year's break I was doing something (very important, I am sure) and really noticed just how filthy our kitchen floor was! I mean I knew it wasn't getting as clean as I would like it, but I hadn't realized that the baseboards hadn't seen water in who knows how long.

So Amy and I spent New Year's Day and the day after cleaning so I could show her how I wanted things done. She really did it all in good humor, considering. (That should probably be a clue that I don't spend near enough time with her if she's happy even cleaning house with me.) Anyway, as we were almost finished cleaning the dining room floor, Connie wanted Amy to come play with her. I explained to Connie that Amy couldn't go play until the floor was done. She she asked if she could help her. Of course, I said yes!

And yes, that is a toothbrush in Connie's hand. But in fairness, we weren't cleaning the floor with a toothbrush. We were using scrub brushes to get up the dirt that had found itself in the linoleum. We were only using a toothbrush for those crevices in the corners the get the baseboards clean. Really, I am mean but I don't even think Cinderella had to use a tooth brush....

Connie is a ham!

Well we took the kids for some family pictures last week. As usual, Amy was interested in participating, Brad was in a goofy mood and Connie was a hamming it up! The photographers are friends of ours and they spent a great deal of time trying to get Amy to at least pretend that she liked her siblings. But, it wasn't happening.

The picture below is a picture AFTER we spend almost an hour in the shooting room trying to get at least a few good shots. Amy and Brad have school pictures of course, but it's so hard to get them all together and clean so I thought while I had Connie up there getting hers, I would throw Amy and Brad in too. I also kinda thought that if Amy was a little surprised then she would be better, not. Maybe next time.