On Our Journey To Forever

To School We Go!

2013-08-26T22:23:00.000-04:00

Age 7-Mrs. Buchanan

Age-6 Mrs. Bessey

Age 6-Mrs. Bessey

Summer vacation has come and gone. I cannot believe it is time to send my little ducks back to school. I have to admit I prefer the lazy, spontaneous, schedule-free routine of summer. We are excited for this school year though. The boys have made a big change and will be going to a new school which means a new class. We have meet the teacher and aids. Matt and I were thoroughly impressed and have a wonderful feeling about this year. We know our boys are going to be in good hands. We cannot wait to watch them grow and learn. Kaia is really looking forward to 2nd grade and has a wonderful teacher. We can only hope that this year will bring accomplished IEP goals and happy learning. Here we go off to school!

Another Toothless Wonder

2013-07-17T23:30:00.000-04:00

His body thinks just because he is now 6 it is ok for him to grow up all of a sudden. Gabriel lost his first tooth last night and the one next to it fell out today. Really?! We have another toothless wonder wandering around our home. Lucky for me, Gatlin's baby teeth are still holding on. Whew!

Perot Museum

2013-06-22T22:21:00.000-04:00

Living outside of Dallas definitely has its perks. We decided to take advantage of our big city and bought a family pass to the Perot Museum of Science. We spent the whole day exploring their hands- on exhibits. We learned about everything: dinosaurs, weather, the human body, how things work and sports. We also enjoyed roaming around the Children's Museum. The boy's loved the water table and climbing on a mini version of Dallas' skyline. Kaia love the Farmer's Market grocery store and making crafts. We wore ourselves out but had a blast doing it. We will definitely be heading back for more fun.

Matt's drawing

Mine

Gatlin was throwing a fit because we had just left the children's museum. He wasn't ready to leave. Silly boy, he laid there in protest for about 15 minutes.

Gabriel got in on the drawing/coloring action too!

Daddy and Kaia made a Sponge Bob

Yee-Haw for VBS!

2013-06-21T22:45:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine told me about a vacation bible school that is here in our community. She said that her children had been each year that they lived here and that they loved it. The boys have ESY (extended school year) so I thought that this would be something fun for Kaia to do while they are gone. It lasted for a week. She received a t-shirt, made lots of new friends, and learned a bunch of songs. On the last day they had a little program. It was the cutest thing. Kaia had a wonderful time. This will definitely have to become a new summer tradition for us.

Dr. Dad's Day

2013-06-16T22:47:00.000-04:00

I loaded the Rowdy 3 up to go and pick out something special for our extra special and totally awesome Daddy! Matt has really taken up golf and for a medical school graduation present my parents got him a set of clubs. The clubs have been great to him except the driver. I decided to take advantage of the Father's Day Sales at Dick's Sporting Goods and got him a new driver. He was shocked but it didn't take him too long to warm up to it. I took the kiddos to Target and let them each pick out some candy for him. It was a low key day and with Matt's busy schedule that was just what our Doctor ordered.

We love our Daddy!

Super Star Student

2013-06-04T21:50:00.000-04:00

Kaia's school had their awards ceremony today. She received 3 awards! Her first one was the Six Flags 360 Minute Reading Award. The students were asked to read for 360 minutes. If they completed the task they would receive a free ticket to Six Flags, a picnic, and their certificate. Kaia absolutely LOVES to read so this was no challenge for her. She was very willing and excited to take on this challenge. The second one was the Miss May Vernon Citizenship Award. This was for receiving a 90 and above conduct grade for each 6 weeks of school. The final award was the Chick-Fil-A Certificate of Achievement for: Good Character. She was so proud of herself and we were too. She finished out this school year with all As and only one B (in Math). As a first grader by the end of the school year they are required to be reading on a Level 16. Kaia is reading on a Level 38. Yeah, she is pretty amazing and on her way to 2nd grade this fall.

Splashing Their Way out of Pre-K!

2013-06-04T18:43:00.000-04:00

It is the end of another school year for my sweet boys. This ending was a little different because this was the last year that they will be attending the school they have been going to for the past two years. Next year they will divide their time between a life skills class and kindergarten. We are looking forward to the change in pace and hope they adapt and continue to learn. We are going to miss the group of teachers and aids that have worked with them. They are so special to us and have helped the boys progress. We didn't say goodbye. We decided to say til we meet again. Luckily everyone lives really close and we will be able to keep in touch.

During the last week of school they had beach day. The teachers set up 7different stations that the children rotated from every 15 minutes. There was a water table, bubbles, tricycle wash, sidewalk chalk, sand pile, pool, and bounce house. The boys had a little difficulty understanding that they couldn't spend all of their time in the pool but with a little extra help and some verbal reminders they spent 15 minutes at each station and enjoy every minute of it.

Gatlin and his GQ pose. He is too cute for his own good sometimes.

I love this picture of Gabriel and Miss Connie. He looks so surprised by all the bubbles.

Camp Miss May

2013-05-24T22:01:00.001-04:00

The end of the school year is approaching. For the past two weeks, Kaia's class has been working on a camping unit. Today was the last day. All of the 1st graders had a picnic and then we went on a nature walk. This has been a great year for Kaia. She has made some wonderful friends and has grown so much. It's hard to believe she will be in 2nd grade next year.


They made their shirts.


Aubree and Kaia playing tag.

Ready to Run

2013-05-17T21:15:00.000-04:00

Kaia had field day at school. She participated in 3 events: softball throw, 50-meter dash, and 2 x2 relay. She is quite the little athlete. She won 1st place in the 50-meter and 3rd in the softball throw. I loved watching her. I was so proud of her. She is a determined little girl and did her best in everything.

Mildred, Kaia, and Tanner

Softball throw

Caroline, Kameryn, and Kaia getting ready to run.


Tug of War

Zippity-'Zoo'-Dah, Zippity-A

2013-04-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

Gabriel and Gatlin had their first field trip this year. We went to the Dallas Zoo. It was a chilly, wet day for April but we pushed through and enjoyed our time together. The first part of our day we stopped at the Zippity Zoo and learned about bugs. The instructor brought around an African Hissing Cockroach that Gabriel kept trying to hold. He really has no fear. I found it to be quite gross. Gatlin was really restless during the class unfortunately, I had to put him in a time out. He did much better after that. We looked at all of the animals. The boys favorites were the penguins. They also stopped at every waterfall or pond. They LOVE the water. I am so grateful that I was able to go with them. This is their last year at this school and with these teachers. It is going to be hard to say goodbye but we plan to keep in touch. The staff has worked really hard the past two years with our boys. Their service is greatly appreciated.


The Zippity Zoo class


Gatlin sitting in time out (my little wild child).

They could have stood there all day and watched this waterfall.

Gabriel

Gatlin kept running over to the penguin tank so Mrs. Green stepped in to helped with this picture.

I just love these two.

My Little Lady

2013-03-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

Kaia turned 7 today. I am still having a hard time wrapping my brain around that one. She didn't want a party this year. She just wanted to keep things simple. We honored her request and this past weekend we celebrated with our Daddy (since his schedule is so busy during the week). We took her to pick out some toys. She picked Wreck-It Ralph racers. It is her movie of choice at this time. Then, we headed to Shenanigans for some arcade fun. She is definitely her Daddy's girl. The two of them are so much alike. We played every game they had a racked up on some tickets. The boys behaved really well and even got in on some of the action. Gabriel really enjoyed the basketball game and Gatlin became a Whack-a-Mole champ. Today, for her actual birthday, I went up to her school to have lunch with her. Then, I headed home to make her a home made chocolate cake and her favorite dinner, jambalaya. I also picked a couple of more presents for her: a CD player and One Direction's new CD, Take Me Home. She was so excited! We jammed out all night! I'd say she had a pretty good day. I can't believe in just one short year our baby girl will be 8. Man, time slow down a little, please! Happy Birthday, Kaia Belle!

From Bronze to Silver

2013-01-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

Kaia has been in gymnastics since September. Today, she took her skills test to move up from the Bronze Class to the Silver Class. She passed the class with flying colors! We are so proud of our little gymnast. She was pretty proud of herself, too.

18 Months and Counting Down...

2012-12-31T16:53:00.000-05:00

It is the eve of a new year and it also marks the halfway point of Matt's residency. We have only 18 more months! Really?! Yes, we are counting down. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is getting bigger and brighter everyday!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year--Christmas Day

2012-12-25T22:56:00.000-05:00

Christmas Day started out really early for Matt and I. We had the G-Unit sleeping in our room and they decided to wake up at 2 a.m. Oh, its a good thing they are cute. We kept them contained until about 6:30 and then we decided to just wake everyone up and start our day. Despite the lack of sleep, it was a wonderful day. Kaia was so happy with her presents. Santa brought her Wreck It Ralph toys, a puppet theatre, a new doll, a Leapster, and books. Gabriel got a lot of cars with ramps, some books, and candy. Gatlin opened a new train set, some animals, books, and candy. Matt was happy to have a gun cleaning kit, golf shoes, golf shirt, a few new movies, and a case for his shot gun. I loved my new sewing machine, some perfume, and a gift card to Old Navy. My parents had to leave a few hours later. My dad had to go back to work the next day. Tim and Victoria were able to stay one more day. We just took it easy, played with the kids, and watched movies. It even snowed that afternoon! It was so beautiful and a bit surreal. Christmas flew by this year. I couldn't believe it! I look forward to the time we get to remember the birth of our Savior. He is the reason for the season. I cherish the memories we make and the time we spend together. I look forward to it each year. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Hanging out in the hall until everyone was up.

Santa enjoyed those cookies and milk.

Papa helping Gabriel with the Krabbie Patties that he got in his stocking.

Gatlin with a cheek full of candy.

He is saying "cheese" and posing with his new race car track.

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We recruited Uncle Tim to assemble Gabriel's big race track.

It was almost finished but he couldn't wait any longer to play with it.

My machine died on me a few months ago. I never realized how much I depended on that thing. I am so happy to finally have one again!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year--Christmas Eve

2012-12-24T22:55:00.000-05:00

My parents were heading back home Christmas Day so we decided to have our big dinner on Christmas Eve. We had a huge feast that afternoon. It was a pretty nice evening so we decided to take a walk and ventured to the park in our neighborhood. We blew bubbles, played football, had swinging competitions and Matt and I took turns chasing after Gabriel. He kept trying to make a break for the pond. That boy is going to keep me in the best shape! We came home and bathed the kiddos. I let them have a picnic dinner in the living room and we settled down for our evening full of movies and pie. We started out with Charlie Brown's Christmas followed by Mr. Kruger's Christmas. We put the Rowdy 3 to bed and watched our favorite, Christmas Vacation. It was a simple, perfect day.

All cleaned up and ready for Santa to come!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year--Gingerbread Architects

2012-12-24T16:52:00.000-05:00

When it comes to Christmas we prefer to stay home and enjoy the time together as our little family of 5. This year we changed it up a bit. My brother, Tim, really wanted us and my parents to meet his girlfriend, Victoria. We were planning on going to my parents house but there was a chance that Matt was going to have to cover a couple of cases on Christmas Eve. To make it easy everyone decided to come party at our house. I was excited to host a family Christmas at my house. We made some great memories. We started our most wonderful time of the year off with some gingerbread, or graham cracker, house making. We also added decorated a rice krispie train. I didn't get any pictures of the finished products though. My camera battery died. Oh well, I did take some really cute pictures of us all hard at work.

Mama and Tim

Matt and I were decorating the train. Kaia and Papa were decorating snow balls. Tim and Victoria were building the train station. They took their part very seriously. That station was carefully constructed.

Yeah, these two kept eating the supplies.

I am a Room Parent!

2012-12-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

This is the first, and hopefully not the last, year that I was selected to be a room parent! I am so excited! Myself and another mom are in charge of planning the parties for Kaia's 1st grade class. We had our first party right before winter break. It was simple but a lot of fun. I was even able to bring a special guest...Daddy! Kaia was so happy to show him off. They did a book exchange, made reindeer antlers, and ate lots of food.


Getting ready for the book exchange.

She received a set of 6 Curious George books from her friend Elisia! She was so excited! She loves to read and she really loves Curious George.

The "surprise guest" helping out with her antlers.

The cutest little reindeer!

Thankful Bunch of Turkeys

2012-11-22T05:55:00.000-05:00

Miraculously, Matt didn't have to work any holidays this year. Oh the joys of being a 2nd year resident! (Can you see my HUGE smile? There are some pros to this whole residency life after all) At the last minute we decided to join my parents, my brother, and his new wife for Thanksgiving. We kept it pretty low key. We enjoyed the usual Thanksgiving spread and of course we had football on non-stop. The highlight for me was getting to go Black Friday shopping with Mom and Aspen. Mom and I went together last year and had such a blast. This was Aspen's first year going. This year there was actually something that I really wanted. It was the LeapFrog Leapster for Miss Kaia. We made Wal-Mart our first stop. They had the pallets set out and we were instructed to stand by them until 11:00. Well, the time came to rip that sucker open and before I could even move my Mama dove in and grabbed Leapster and the game we wanted. Dang! Go Mama! The rest of the night was just as fun. We went to Toys R Us and ended the night/morning with Old Navy. We came home so that the guys could go golfing. Mom and I slept for a couple of hours because the Rowdy 3 woke up. We looked at each other and decided to head out and do some more shopping! Call us crazy, but we were having a wonderful time and scored some great deals. It was a quick weekend and well worth the trip. I am especially grateful that we got to go because Josh and Aspen are moving to Maryland soon and we probably won't be able to see them again for awhile. It is hard living so far from each other but when we do get together, we do it big, and we make it memorable.

The games got a little intense.

Kaia loved helping us in the kitchen.

Gramma made this for the boys since they are such picky little eaters. Gobble! Gobble!

I made the name cards out of the kiddos hands. I thought they turned out pretty cute.

The triplets! They were all wearing plaid. Gabriel and Gatlin are so big though you can't really see Uncle Josh's shirt.

This is how you go Black Friday shopping in Texas! HAHA Not really, but we felt pretty tough posing for the picture.

It was warm enough to play in Papa's hot pool (the spa). I love this picture. It makes you wonder what they are thinking.

I am so blessed. I love my little family.

30 Years Young

2012-11-12T05:54:00.000-05:00

Matt turned 30 this year. Birthdays are really important to him and I decided that I really needed to put some effort into this year's celebration. His actual birthday fell on a Saturday this year and I thought it would be nice for us to have the whole weekend to ourselves. I have never left the kiddos over night so this would be something new for me. I called my mom and she was more than willing to take the babes for the weekend. We met up halfway Friday morning. I handed the kiddies over and hurried home to surprise Matt. He walked in from work and I had a present waiting for him and an "It Is Your Birthday." sign. (My little ode to our favorite show, The Office) He laughed and said, "But it isn't my birthday yet." Then he walked past me and went on his way looking through the mail. Really? Who doesn't open a present right away? I kept following him around the house and finally I had to tell him my surprise since he was oblivious to the fact the kids were no where to be found. He didn't believe me and it was then that he began looking for them. I told them that their were gone until Monday morning. He couldn't believe it and was super excited for it to be just the two of us. We went to dinner that night at the Harbor. We decided to try a cajun restaurant (It was so yummy! We will definitely be going back) and then we watched the new 007 movie, Skyfall. On Saturday, we decided to be really spontaneous and we bought a shotgun. (Matt is preparing for a zombie apocalypse. HA!) Then, we went to the Galleria to do a little pre-Christmas shopping. Later that night, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and watched the LSU game. The next morning we slept till noon and then watch the Saints game. It was a wonderful weekend and Matt said it was hands down his best birthday. (Yay!) Happy Birthday to my best friend! *sigh* I sure love him!

Nintendoween!

2012-10-31T12:35:00.000-04:00

This year for Halloween we had a couple of firsts. One, we all dressed up and two, I didn't make the boy's costumes. Matt and I haven't dressed up since before we were married. We went with a Nintendo theme (which is probably why Matt agreed to dressed up). My mom bought the boys costumes last year on clearance. I have made their costumes every year. I altered one of Kaia's old dress up dresses for her Princess Toadstool costume. We had jack-o-latern pizza for dinner and then we hit the streets for some candy! Gabriel said "trick or treat" and "thank you"at most of houses. Gatlin signed "thank you" after each piece he was given. I would have to say the highlight of the night though was a quote from Kaia. I am telling you this girl is something else. The kiddos were very eager to start eating candy so between houses Matt and I were letting them pick out one piece. Kaia kept dropping her wrappers on the ground. Matt was walking behind her and kept asking her to please stop and to put the wrappers back in her bag. He went on to explain littering and how it was bad to do so. One about the 3rd or 4th time that she did it he was getting pretty aggrevated. Finally, he said, "Kaia, stop dropping your wrappers or I am going to take your candy." She responded by saying, "But Daddy I am just trying to be like Hansel and Gretel. I don't want to get lost." Oh, and what do you say to that? Thank you Kaia for keeping us laughing. Happy Halloween!

Kaia as: Princess Peach Toadstool

Gabriel as Mario

Gatlin as Luigi

I went as the game.

Matt went as the controller

Texas is Giving Drugs the Boot!

2012-10-26T22:15:00.000-04:00

This past week was Red Ribbon Week at school. They spend the week teaching the students about how bad drugs are and how they should stay away from them. This year's theme was, "Texas is Giving Drugs the Boot". The children get to dress up everyday in an outfit that goes along with the theme. This year, Kaia dressed up everyday! It was exciting to put together her outfits and she was really into this year (which made it all that more fun.) I am thrilled that she attends a school that still allows the students to have fun.

Monday was "Give Drugs the Boot" The students were asked to wear their best cowboy/cowgirl attire.

Tuesday was, "Friends Don't Let Friends Do Drugs" They were asked to dress the same as a friend. Kaia and her best friend, Alexis, dressed the same. Her mother and I had a lot of fun coordinating their outfits.

Wednesday was, "Team Up to Fight Against Drugs and Breast Cancer." The school encourage them to wear their favorite team jersey or wear pink from head to toe and of course Kaia picked the all pink option.

Thursday was, "Drugs Will Never See Me". They were allowed to wear camouflage.

Friday was, "Winners Don't Do Drugs" It was a school spirit day and everyone wore the school colors, black and gold.

A Fall-time First

2012-10-14T22:47:00.000-04:00

This year the Britt clan ventured out and decided to carve some pumpkins. I was shocked to learn that this would be Matt's first time EVER cuttin' a punkin'! We picked out 2 and found the templates we wanted to use. Matt and Kaia worked together. They decided to carve a bat on theirs. Gatlin, Gabriel, and I decided to cut a ghost onto ours. Matt really enjoyed doing and said that this would definitely become a new tradition. Kaia thought it was pretty fun. She was very intrigued by the pumpkin guts. Gabriel and Gatlin participated a little bit but found play-doh to be way more entertaining. It was the perfect project for a sunny, Sunday afternoon.

Gabriel gave me a little hand in making our ghost pumpkin.

The finished product!

Heavenly (Homemade) Hat Parade

2012-10-12T13:55:00.000-04:00

Kaia participated again this year in the Heavenly Hat parade at her school. She decided to wear the hat that her Auntie Rayma made for her. It was a hit! She was so proud to wear it. After the parade, I checked her out of school and we went to the library. It was a nice getting to spend a little one on one time with her. I love my girl!

"Mi cuerpo le gusta la música"

2012-10-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

Tonight was Kaia's 1st grade music program. This year her music teacher, Mrs. Hicks, taught them about Spanish Heritage. They learned a dance and song. We were so excited to go this year because last year Kaia was really sick the night of her kindergarten program and wasn't able to attend. We dressed her up in her best little senorita dress and even put on mascara and red lipstick! She did a wonderful job. They boys behaved beautifully and Daddy was even able to make it. We are so proud of you Kaia 'Belle and love to see how much you are learning.

Miss Smarty McBookworm Pants!

2012-10-05T22:01:00.001-04:00

Kaia has completed her first 6 weeks of 1st grade. I was a little surprised when I recieved a note from the school telling us that report cards would be coming home. The time has definitely flown by for this year. I wasn't too shocked to see the grades she brought home. She is so smart! Her weakest subject is math. Apparently, she takes after me because math and I do NOT get along. Her strongest subject is reading. This was no surprise. The child has be obsessed with books since she was about 8 months old.

I had to blog/brag because by the end of 1st grade all students need to be reading on a Level 16. It is the end of just the first 6 weeks and Kaia is reading on a Level 20! I am so proud of her and love that she loves to read! It really is her thing.