School Pic!!! 5th Grade

I always say this year's school pic is my fav....each year has captured Ari so perfectly.

This year Ari busted out her mullet dress and combat boots. You know when your kids are younger and they want to wear princess dresses and hero costumes day after day... well 5th grade has kind of, sort of, become like that. I'm trying really hard to let the daily pair of lulu pants and sweatshirts fly... or the mullet dress with combat boots. BUT, my lady pulled of her school pic like a champ and I'm trying my hardest to let her come into her own.

Love her smile the very most.

My girl

Oh there are days when this girl drives me absolutely crazy. With her little words and quiet demeanor. I ask 10,000 questions and always get the same response. Good. Fine. Ok.

I've noticed lately when I don't ask, she talks. A lot. Most of the time over who is going to win cupcake wars. This week she start Basketball! Next week Volleyball. So that means we are rolling with three sports for the next couple of weeks.

I love this lady so much. Feeling like she is growing up way too fast.

xo

Surrounded

Soccer season is in full force.
The Cheetahs are 4 - 0.
They are pretty awesome, Lu scored from mid-field on Saturday.

On a side note, I'm looking into baby leashes, so I can enjoy her games.

I'm proud of you Lu, even when you look over to see if I'm watching and I'm totally distracted by your bro. Sorry if I'm chasing him down the sideline or grabbing the handful of dirt he just put in his mouth, or running after him in the of another game. Or better yet, trying to withhold him from drinking all your teammates water. I am watching and am so proud!
XO

5th Grade!

Today marks the very first day of 5th grade. 

Ari has Mrs. Coebergh (again) this year and is at the top of the totem pole at school. 

5th grade seems so old to me. 

Maybe it's her leather jacket?!?!

She wasn't really nervous at all this morning...totally different this year. More excited than anything. 

This year she is on patrol!!

Love this little lady so much. 

Look at Briggs through the window! LOVE.

HOMERUN

This little lady had a huge week last week.

3 goals in soccer
Her 1st home run in softball
She sang the National Anthem at the Mariner's game with her choir
Then lost 2 molars
And she ended the week off just right with shaving her hairy legs for the very first time!

Proud of you Lu.

Lots

On my mind the last couple of days. I wish I could put into words what it is exactly that I'm feeling. But it's hard. I can't quite pinpoint it.

Not sure if it's because Briggs is 1 or Ari is 10 and her schedule is nuts and I'm feeling like I'm loosing a little bit of her. She's so busy. Zeb and I were talking last night how we would so much rather her so busy she can't think about anything else other than school and sports.
I keep finding myself taking deep breathes. All. Day. Long. Time is going too fast. Things are changing too fast. And I'm reminded again and again, I need to put my stupid phone down. I need to write more. Blog more. Capture more memories (guess I am doing this with my phone). I so wish I had this blog when Ari was Briggsy age. Everything is so thrilling. So new. First steps (not yet), first birthdays, sites, and experiences. I love the newness of having Briggs and love even more that I'm reminded everyday (by watching Lu) how fast it all goes.

Love that they are making the same face.

Champs

Volleyball Champs 2012 - Kirkland Girls Ages 9/10/11!

WOOT WOOT!

This was the 1st year these girls played Volleyball. And they won their league.

Really super exciting to watch and so very proud. 

Can you say booty shorts? 

Lulu!

I love watching you play volleyball. I love watching you play every sport, really.You have such great sportsmanship and you love your team mates so much. 

You have mastered your serve and are eagerly waiting to learn how to spike the ball over the net. 

I love your passion. 

Your #1 Fan. 

Meme

For Lu

Putting this up in Lu's lou.
Because when your surrounded by words of affirmation.
You shall be affirmed!

Both found on pinterest.

Tween?

Lu and her friends are really into wearing my clothes and shoes...and pretending to be 25+

I LOVE hearing them walk around the house with their purses and little fancy stories. Last night, Ari was an actress and never had to clean the house because she had a maid. Hmmmm, can her maid please come on over to my casa?

158

Laps around the track = one full marathon!

Lu! You did it! You completed a marathon. You are awesome. You've tried to finish this each year...and this year you did it!

I'm proud of you.

Free Time

At school, Lu gets 30 minutes of free time on...FRIDAYS.

This past week she told me that her and her buddies checked out my blog on the school computer. YELP!

SO GIRLS, this one is for you!!

a pinterest find

Meet Lilly...

And Slimy and Slow.

Tonight we walked to the Farmers Market while we waited for our crock pot meal to finish (I know, so domestic).

There was a Natural Aquatic Habitats booth. Of course we had to take a looky.

Ari wanted one...bad. She said she had enough money in her piggy bank to get one.

They were $25.

She begged us to walk back home to get her money so she could come back and buy one, TONIGHT.

Lucky her, she is spoiled.

She purchased her own little pet(s) for $25!!!

She named the two frogs Lilly and Slimy and the snail...Slow. So original.

We are back in business, people. The girl has a pet(s).

I love watching you - from Brie's blog

Saw this over on Brie's blog and I just love it. And it's so true. I love watching Lu play sports. I just never tell her that. I tell her how awesome she is...but not that I love watching her.

"i read an article a few days ago that said after interviewing high level athletes the most common thing they claimed as the best thing their parents said about their sport was 'i love watching you play'. that really got me- not 'great job' or 'you are so good' but 'i love to watch you'.


i love everything about that statement. good or bad, win or lose, i LOVE to watch you is what it boils down to. and along that sentiment, here is the best commercial i've seen in a while..."

Meet Furry

This here, little, furry, fluffy, hairy guy (who creeps me out) was Lulu's pet for the last week.

She found him when we were walking home from the bus stop.

He was standing smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk.

Ari said to me, how lucky am I?

She proceeded to build him a mobile home out of her legos.

She would come in our room in the morning for snuggle time with him in her hand (and was sent right back out until he was no longer visible).

Yesterday while rearranging her room I found Furry under her American girl doll bed. I screamed.

And that was the end of Furry.

I told Lu it was time for Furry to go back to where he came from.

She cried instantly. TEARS. Huge. Red Eyeballs. Sobs.

What if bird eats him????.......................tears...rolling...down her face.

We need to get this girl a pet. Stat.

1st

Lulu playin 1st...
I love her at 1st. Probably my favorite position. If I ever played softball, I would want to play 1st.
All the action is at 1st.

This morning

I found this little set up in Ari's room.

A mini classroom. Each creature had a table group # and a name tag. This melted my heart a little bit.

This girl was such a trooper this weekend...waiting around a lot for me while feeding brother.  I did learn that she knows what MASH is and there is even an app for it!! I love that she still plays with her littlest pet shops.

Love you mucho Lu.

Friendship

I got a text from one of Ari's friend's mom last night at 10pm asking if we could talk, regarding the girls. My heart immediately sank as I thought of what the heck it could be. I thought it had to do with Ari and this little girl both being "brown" and being excluded, or made fun of...or maybe Ari was telling her friend everything she was learning in her new Body Book we were reading (a great book about puberty, etc for girls) and her mom wasn't ok with all the details Ari was giving? Then I thought maybe Ari stole something...my mind went a little crazy for those short 2 minutes until I called the mom.

A very long story short. Ari's little posse was leaving a member of their posse out and it was really affecting her. Which it would anyone...and my heart broke a little bit. I totally knew how she felt and I think we all have been in that situation...at school, work, whatever. And it urked me a little bit that Ari was part of this excluding deal. Which, I'm sure I was apart of many of times back in the day. But I wasn't having it and I hated to think of Ari's dear friend sitting alone at lunch because "the girls" didn't want to sit next to her. Ugh.  

So this morning, during our daily morning snuggle time with Briggs, I brought up how important it is in life to honor our friendships, to be kind to one another, even when we don't agree or when maybe standing up for someone might not be the cool thing to do. I told Lu that if she was in her friend's shoes she would be so sad, and she got a little teary. I know Ari knew what she was doing wasn't right...

This conversation brought me to so many amazing post that Momastery does. And THIS one (click on this to read) is so, so, so good about friendships and girls. What it comes down too is, we need to take care of each other.

And just like I told Lu this morning. We have to be kind to our friends, because when we are sad or left out, when the world is not our favorite place to be, our friends are the ones that are there to make us feel better.

I really hope it clicked for Lu.

The Backpack

I love searching through Ari's backpack.

There are all kinds of good finds in there. Letters from her friends, pieces of bark, little treasures she finds on the playground (that I always throw away)

This morning, while going through her school work from the week I found this little gem.

A is for animal Lover!!! Love m
R is for runner ---Fast---
I is for inopendenet. Smart!
A is for avancherous. I've gone threw a forest!
N is for never gives up on tests.
N is for no pets :(
A is for awsome cool :)

J is for joiful. Hip hip hurray!
O is for only one brother.(she drew a picture of a baby saying waaa waaa)
I is for in love with sports! Softball, basketball, soccer, football

I is for I love mustard
S is for smart. I'll tell you anything
S is for sintific. I love sience
A is for attitude is good (in my opion)

B is for Briggs, my little brother
L is for lots of stuffed animals. My room is full of them.
A is for actress when older
L is for lisner. I lisen to all your questions
O is for ola. I can speak spanish
C is for colorful cloths
K is for Kirkland. I live in Kirkland in 3rd grade.


I love it. Every bit of it is so true. I hate that she put no animals for N and LOVE that she put "ola" for hola. She definitely get her spelling from her momma.


xoxo

Swing Batter, Batter, Batter

Tonight is our first softball game of the season...

So looking forward to it.

Lu is ready!

Thanks to Coaster Boy.

Sicky

We can't ALL seem to get healthy over here....

And this is what Briggs thinks of it.

This spring break blows!
For being so sicky, she sure looks happy.