Y’all didn’t for real think I was quitting this thing altogether!?!  Here we go for August (You Only Live Once) cell phone pics series!  Not going to repeat what the littles are saying in this picture… but I’m sure they’ll tell you if you ask!   

 

I love Rose’s little blanket sticking out of her tricycle basket.  She takes it with her everywhere!  After dinner evening strolls are what life is made of, and we enjoy our neighborhood sidewalks so much!

 

Eden and Anna Kate watching their big sisters cheer, and Rose on a hot summer day watching her big sister play soccer!

 

Noelle is still doing her hair about 50 times a day.  It’s her new thing, but she never keeps them up long enough for me to enjoy.  She’s always busy on her next project.  So, Rose went to Camp P&R to hang out one weekend this summer, and she packed her suitcase before we got around to it.  She put a ton of thought into it and really surprised us with her choices: iPad, teddy, dress-up, pjs, 3 flashlights, puppy, one pair of socks, duster, pretend cell phone, pretzels, picture of herself (lol), big blanket, wipes and toys.  Her little 3 year old brain is fascinating!

 

Here was Anna Kate’s first kindergarten worksheet.  It said, “I feel…” and the one she circled was the exact thing she had done in her sister’s arms that morning.  Under the picture of the girl holding her hands over her face it said, “Scared.”  Bless her heart.  I love that her teacher wrote, “Good Job!” because expressing your feelings, no matter what they are, always takes courage.  I made her the little star picture for her locker to cheer her up!  I made the stars out of each family members’ favorite color/s.  It’s funny Mommy and Daddy can’t make up our minds about our favorite color (we each picked two), but all our little girls know exactly what they like!

 

I always love practical inspiration and boy did I need it on this day.  Let’s just say I’ve never been a Mama Bear like I was Day 2 of school when Anna Kate came running down the sidewalk to me, tears rolling down her face, because she was scared of the “yelling” bus driver (Noelle was talking for her as they were walking toward me).  It escalated the last week of school last year when a neighbor called me and told me that she heard the bus driver yelling from her house and that if she had had a kid on that bus, she would have wanted to know… she even called the bus barn to complain and didn’t even have a kid on the bus.  So… after all that had time to die down over the summer, when I saw Anna Kate running to me in tears, all my frustrations came rushing back, and can you guess what happened next!?!  Ummm… yeah, not one of my finest moments.  I was one of the parents you see on the news who charged the bus and gave him an ear full.  It was the only time in my life I was so mad I was seeing stars.  I had no clue what I said, but my friends said I was pointing to Anna Kate so he could see her tears.  So… the next day (Day 3 of school), with Rose in tow, I had to go up to the bus barn to constructively figure out how we were going to get our girls home safely and without stress/anxiety.  They were amazing to me and gave me assurances their bus driver was a very caring man who didn’t realize his grumpy tone was scaring the children.  After our conversation, I truly believed them, and it has been much better ever since.  And why might you ask, do we ride the bus?  Both my fibro and Rose’s nap routine (a rare peek into one of the ways it does affect our family).

 

Okay, so now you know things aren’t always hunky dory in the Pond household, but it is most of the time, especially when Noelle’s in the kitchen.  Here are some banana/peanut butter/low-carb tortilla sushi roll-ups made by Noelle, and she’s mastered the 45 second microwave cinnamon apple treat!  These were both her ideas (from tutorials), and I did not help her make them.  She is just that cool!

 

Another hair creation and our girls dressed up with their dolls (and their real-life baby doll) for dinner and corn hole with friends!

Silly faces!

Okay, so this happened.  We love Cute Girls Hairstyles!  They have over 2 million subscribers on their YouTube channel, and we’ve been watching Mindy, the mom, braid her cute girls’ hair for years and years.  I used to watch her videos before Noelle was born, but Noelle re-introduced her to me when she started bringing me the iPad and asking me to watch a tutorial and do her hair.  So, like a thousand times before, Noelle asked me if I could do her hair from one of CGH’s tutorials for the first day of school.  I did, saw that Mindy commented on Instagram that she loves seeing her fans’ interpretations of her creations, so I slapped a hashtag under the pictures of the hairstyle we recreated and didn’t think anything of it.  Turns out, Mindy noticed… and noticed enough to comment… and commented about Noelle’s character!  It was like a needle in a haystack that she found our little account.  Hundreds of thousands of people hashtag them.  I still can’t believe she found us because we are, what they call themselves, #CGHsuperfans!  I videoed Noelle’s reaction to seeing the comments for the first time, and it was unlike anything I had expected.  I knew she’d be so excited, but she was blown away.  She was shaking and couldn’t even talk.  So, that was an awesome awesome change in events to end our first week of school!  We never in a million years expected that and don’t ever expect it to happen again.  But it did, was super fun and was the total pick-me-up we all needed.

 

Noelle and I back to school shopping and a little something on her hook she’s making for a friend.  Any guesses? 

Jaalisa made this cartoon BEFORE she saw this real-life picture of Rose!  I love everything about this: friends that love each other’s kids so very much, kids that have such distinct personalities that they shine so brightly; Awesome all the way around!

 

I had literally just made this salad when a friend dropped off a bundt cake on the front porch!  It was so absolutely perfect, and the timing couldn’t have been better.  I mean, if I had just had burger and fries, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the cake as much, ya know?  And I did split it four ways… Mike refuses sweets.  I don’t know how he does it, but I admire him a lot.  Another little smiley face fruit creation brought to you by Noelle.  These little raspberry/banana bites were amazing with crazy contrasting flavors!

 

First cheer game with our new football team, the Lions!  Uniforms to come, and they were worth the wait!

 

We finally finished Noelle’s spirit sticks to throw out at her cheer games!  It was a lot of work but a lot of fun!  I always wonder which swim will be our last.  Turns out, it was the day of the long legs!  I remember that relaxing summer day like it was yesterday.  This summer was a good one.  We are going to miss it!

 

Mike tried out a new recipe of a favorite app in our house, Jalapeno poppers, and our Ebert cousins moved home to the states this summer to have fun in the sun! 

Best friends forever!

Anna Kate and some of her kinder buddies at a swim party!

Raspberry fingers!

  

Anna Kate dressed up like this one night and named herself, “Tina!”  When she saw me working on this post, she walked over to the computer, pointed at these pictures and said, “Mom, there’s Tina!”  She’s a crack up!

  

Sometimes Rose and I have slow sunny afternoons and get to watch the train pass through downtown. 

The sun was peeking out from under the clouds as we were leaving our house to attend the 911 Patriot Day service at the girls’ school, and it was simply amazing.  The rays were beaming every which way. 

Here’s Anna Kate’s kindergarten class!  Aren’t they precious!

 

Here was a #tbt post for Anna Kate!

  

A little piece of my weirdness.  Love this quote, this crazy old man owl, and my silly man who always knows how to make me laugh!

For the first time in almost 9 years, this is truly how I feel about the blog right now: Closed.  I’ll get my mojo back, but for now, I’m working on some other projects that have been on the back burner for a long time.  So… I guess this means I won’t post as much as frequently, but we’re not going anywhere.  The girls love “checking the blog,” and I love seeing them relive and enjoy their memories, and at the same time, I hope we bring a smile to your faces and refresh your spirits as well.  xo

  

Jaalisa turned the girls into cartoons as a treat for them one night.  They loved them, and she nailed it!

 

Anna Kate is such a precious little girl!  We are having a great time watching her grow up!

The referee told Anna Kate to “call it in the air.”  She had no clue what she was talking about. 

It’s game time!

 

Oh yes!  These girls get Mio with soccer ball ribbon and red rhinestones on their water bottles, because, why not!?!

 

There is absolutely no where else I’d rather be than on the soccer and football/cheer fields on Saturdays!  xo

So this happened in the middle of the game… and made me smile so big! 

We lost 9-2, but the team we played against has been playing together for two seasons already, and it was all of our very first game ever.  One of the little girls on the other team had a big sister that played on the Skittles with Noelle back when she was in kindergarten.  It was so fun seeing the little sisters getting a turn in the spot light because they hung out on the sidelines of all of their sisters’ games together!

No words.  Success and probably my most favorite action shot to date. 

This is hilarious!  I’ve never seen soccer players chill in the goal after the game before;  A great place to be!  The coach wanted to have a pep talk with them, so he came on the other side of the net to talk, and they loved that!

 

Old friends, new friends and memories in the making!

 

These guys have been hanging out since they were tiny little babies!  Their friendship is inspiring, and I love them so much!

 

 

This is my favorite program at the girls’ school each year when we gather around the flag pole to honor those who serve and remember those lost on that terrible day 13 years ago.  Their music teacher pours her heart and soul into honoring our country through the blessing of our precious children’s hearts and voices.  It is such an honor to witness each year and such an awesome tribute!

Also, happy birthday Aunt Michele and Grandpapa!  Hope your day is super special!  We are so thankful for both of you and your service to our country as well!

 

Noelle is so excited fall cheer is back!  There was a lot of confusion with the football team formations this year, so we didn’t get assigned a team until a couple of weeks before game day.  Their uniforms won’t be ready until their third game, but that didn’t stop them from looking adorable for their first game!  It was so hot, so this little practice uniform turned out even better.  She had a ball and loves being with her friends!  Go girl! 

 

So much has been going on around here, including our kinder kid starting her first season of soccer!  So excited!  (more to come)

 

It’s so awesome Mrs. Paula documents Rose’s pre-school experience for us; It’s just amazing!  I love all the learning in nature that goes on at this school, and Rose is having such a wonderful time.  There are no words how happy we are to be here!

Anna Kate was so excited for Rose when she saw the new sand box!

 

Creatures of the great outdoors!

Lots of water/ice play!  It’s getting hotter and hotter in Texas right now.  Crazy because we have had a pretty mild summer.

I had to ask Rose about this picture but when I did, she just got silly and wouldn’t stop laughing!

Reese and Rose… two peas in a pod! 

 

More pre-school scenery!

 

Off on an adventure!  

 

Rose and Reese decided to turn their sidewalk chalk into make-up!  Doesn’t Rose look so proud!?!

 

Just beautiful, Rose!

Taking off her make-up via the mister!

Happy girls who love using their imaginations with an awesome teacher who lets them!

When Rose comes home each day, I can literally smell how much fun she’s had!  There’s nothing better than a Rosie hug at the end of her school day.  These girls play hard!

 

Another day, tons more fun!  For every picture Mrs. Paula takes, there are hundreds she does not.  They do so much at school!  They sing and memorize songs, they read all day long, they eat lots of yummy food, they cook, they make art, they do lots of math… it just goes on and on.  You can’t believe it unless you experience it.  I wish Mrs. Paula could bottle it up and give this experience to every child in the world!   

This day, they went next door, and picked veggies to serve with their lunch!

I love these little fingers!  She is so proud of her pickings!

 

Check out all the veggies the class picked all together!  Rose goes to school two days a week (most of the students are full-time), but Mrs. Paula is so sweet to always include Rose (and all her children) in the special activities!  Everyone gets a turn when at all possible, and this is so thoughtful. She truly goes above and beyond! 

I love Texas!  It’s so diverse and beautiful!

I love everything that’s going on in this picture!

Just another day in paradise.

 

We all know Noelle loves jewelry.  Well, Anna Kate absolutely does not, so since Noelle puts hers on herself, I often forget to ask Rose if she would like to wear a necklace or bracelet.  Turns out, she may be a little more like Noelle than Anna Kate (I’m like Anna Kate, for the record).  She was admiring her shiny flower necklace in this picture, and her eye lashes are killing me.  Rose has some gorgeous eyes, if I do say so myself!  And who knows what’s going on at the swings, but Rose is pointing, so you can probably fill in the blanks. 

 

Mrs. Paula has done some really clever ice play this summer!  She’ll color and freeze ice with toys inside for the kids to problem solve and figure out the fastest way to melt it to reveal the treasures inside.  Clever, huh? 

 

 

 

This was technically Rose’s first day of “back to school” for the fall semester.  She had so much fun going to MPP’s version of summer camp, and it couldn’t have been better.  She absolutely loves school!  I hustle and bustle the days she’s gone, and then we have the best mommy and me days the rest of the week getting more stuff done.  One-on-one time with Rose has been so different than I would’ve imagined.  She’s not a baby anymore and has really matured over the summer.  She’s less of a curious trouble maker and more of a little buddy.  She is just so thoughtful and sweet and really takes care of me.  I know our 2 years together before kinder will fly by, but I’m soaking up every day we get to spend together and am so thankful she gets to experience such an awesome preschool too!  It’s the best of both worlds!  

  

This week was the letter “A” and they did it up, of course!  Mrs. Paula has taught me kids are a lot more capable of doing things than you think.  Given rules and guidelines, they love responsibility and take ownership of their privileges.  I finally get that it’s okay to let kids chop with dull kitchen knives.  They love it, and it helps the family.  I remember at one point last year when I was struggling, Mrs. Paula said, “Ask Anna Kate to help you.  She loves helping!”  So simple, but I needed to be reminded that if I slow down and teach them how to do something, then they are so proud and fulfilled and I have help… and we’ve spent quality time being productive together!  Go figure.  It’s such a win-win.