Spring Break!

So, we are all done with Spring Break 2011! After the snow days and trip to Colorado, we needed a break!



We didn't get too crazy over spring break. A friend took us to see the Amazing Pet Show! Which was, of course, amazing! The kids enjoy it, and the bonus of living in Branson is that there are a lot of shows and activities because it's a vacation town. (Downside, tourists!) Matt was busy all week, so we didn't really get much family time, but Silver Dollar City also opened during Spring Break. On Saturday we loaded up and drove the 1-2 miles to SDC and spent the afternoon! The kids had a great time, and were exhausted. It's such a blessing to have season passes, we can go for a couple hours or all day. If it's too busy, we will just try another day!


Bailee seems to have caught up at school. We are awaiting 3rd quarter grades, so I guess I will know soon! Her teacher emailed me last week and I thought I would share it because it blessed me, so here:



I just had to tell you the sweetest story about Bailee. She truly has such a great heart, and I am so glad I gave her the team leader award! She really possesses all of the character traits 100%! She came up to me to confess that she had brought her Littlest Pet Shop toys to school and showed another student in the class. I never knew that she had the toys; she never once disrupted class because of them. All I did was tell her not to bring them in to school since toys are not allowed. She is not in one bit of trouble here at school; I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate her honest heart! She is very special!



The team leader award is an award she got a couple of months ago. It means that she displayed all of their character traits consistently. Only a couple of students in each class receive the award, so it is kind of a big thing. We are very proud of her. She is such a good kid and we are blessed by her!



Gabriel is of course, as funny as ever. He is growing and learning and changing so much. I wish I could document every word and every face and every moment. How fleeting the moments are...



The weather is in full spring swing now. The kids are loving being outside every moment they can. One of the best things about this house is that the kids can just run free and I don't have to worry about cars or anything. They can just play play play!



Matt is staying busy, like always. We are glad to have him home from Texas. He was gone for his birthday, so we didn't really do too much celebrating. The kids decided daddy likes gum, so they bought him a bunch. He is in a fishing tournament in Arkansas next weekend with my mom, so we are all looking forward to that! Hopefully they catch the big one! The kids always have a good time fishing in the river and playing outside so they already have their bags packed and waiting!

I have 3 Tastefully Simple parties on my calendar for the spring so far. I'm expecting them to turn into more, so we are off to a good start. I have a lady under me here now, so I do have a little competition. There isn't really anyone else though, so it works out.



All in all, we are just plugging along. Spring makes me feel like making plans and getting organized, so we will just see about that! It was wonderful to be in Colorado and see everyone. I'm not sure why, but this trip home was the hardest one yet for me. Maybe because it had been so long, maybe because it didn't really feel like home anymore, maybe just because I love and miss you all! The kids had a blast and looking forward to summer plans of seeing everyone (here or there, however it may be!)

2011

Well, it's here. Too quickly 2010 slipped through my fingers. My babies will be 4 and 8 this year...how does that happen?
We have started the new year off. Matt has been kind of slow so far, but Branson pretty much shuts down for January and February. He should be getting busy again soon.
Bailee wasn't ready for Christmas vacation to be over, but none of us were! She is doing well in school. She was having a little trouble in math for awhile, but we spend some extra time on math and she is doing great. They do NWEA testing here 3 times throughout the year. Her scores from fall to December in math went up17 points, which is alot. She met her reading goals too, and is above average. She loves having her ears pierced. It makes her seem bigger somehow. She is doing more practicing on the new piano than she was before, so she is improving in that too. She weighs 45 lbs and is 42 inches tall. Gabriel is just growing, growing, growing! That kid is going to be as big as his sister soon! He weighs about 34 lbs I think. He is saying his ABC's and really trying to begin writing his letters. He is still into all things transportation, and he is enjoying building things now. Houses, boats, parking lots with legos and blocks.
I have 2 Tastefully Simple parties this month, which I am excited about. I am looking forward to growing my business this year. I have been working on getting things around here organized. I have made progress, but I have a long way to go. I have unpacked boxes that haven't seen the light of day in many moons, but there a still too many in the garage. The fact that Matt keeps mentioning that he needs to be able to use his garage seems to help motivate me! Plus I have some things I would like to focus on this year, and us all being organized will help. I have been trying to get rid of stuff too. We just have too much... we can let go of stuff. I am making responsibility charts this weekend for the kids. I have spent quite a bit of time coming up with ideas of ways to do this, and I am excited about the end result. We will see how that goes!
We actually have a little snow on the ground. Bailee missed 2 days this week for our 1/8-1/2 inch of snow. Its been very cold and now I'm ready for those 40's and 50's again. Someone blessed us with season passes to Silver Dollar City for the whole family for Christmas! We are thrilled! It opens back up during spring break, so we are all looking forward to spending a bunch of family time there this year. If anyone ever comes to visit it will be sooo much fun! We miss you all and look forward to seeing you in 2011!