Derek is at camp!

Well, mom certainly has had a LONG week, as Derek went to Trek 2008 (church camp) with over 700 kids from Lake Pointe (6-8th grade). Camp is not like it used to be. I stood in awe watching all of these kids get checked in and loaded on 13 buses to head towards Austin. I know Derek is having a GREAT time! If you are interested, go to www.fournineteen.com. Trek has a journal, videos, and pictures posted each day to give us a taste of what is going on there. Paul and I can't believe all the things they have to do at one camp, yet they better have PLENTY to do with over 700 middle schoolers! On Tuesday's video, Derek is the one getting the pleasure of throwing a chocolate "something" into his friend's face. We are anxious to pick him up tomorrow evening at church and hear all about his adventures!

Could I be the mother of a teenager????????????

We have entered a whole new phase of life at our household. We now have a teenager living here! No, we did not adopt another child. Our first baby is now 13! Wow! We celebrated by going out and feasting Mexican style last night as a family. Tonight, Derek and two friends are going to celebrate by going to the Celebration Station and playing their little teen aged hearts out! You can still play at 13! I can not emphasize to those who have not reached this point in their life yet how fast it goes to get here. Enjoy every moment!

WATER FUN!

As you've heard, it gets quite HOT in Texas, but we find ways to keep cool! This particular evening, the kids played at the Harbor in the fountains! We are thankful our neighborhood/subdivision has a pool. We also enjoy the lake, especially when we go spend weekends at Uncle Phil's lake house. There we can go for boat rides, ride the jet skis, go four-wheeling', and swim in the lake or the clubhouse pool.

Last Day of School Pics!

We are full swing into summer now, so I thought I better get these pics on here before we are getting ready for the new school year. :) Most of the pics are for Derek's last day. It was a very big deal to graduate out of the 6th grade. The teachers had the stage decorated like the Oscars! Funny! The ice sculpture you see was donated by a parent from the school. It was very cool! The kids all had GREAT teachers. Derek's teachers look more like divas in the pictures, as they went all out with the Oscar idea and dressed for the occasion. We are so proud of each of our children. They performed well this year and were rewarded with several honors.

Field Day!

No school year can end without having Field Day. The 3 oldest were involved in this year's. It was a hot day for it. Luckily they came prepared with a snow cone machine and plenty of water and water balloons. Mom tried to run around and get pictures of each child. Sorry, Derek. Didn't really get a shot of you in action.

Rockin' Around the Clock....................

Both girls had sock hops at their schools at the end of the year. They enjoyed dressing 50's dancing 50's, ice cream floats, hula hooping, and more.

End of Spring Sports Seasons!

Ava scored a goal in her last game. Daniel mastered the triple in baseball, with the bases loaded (what is that called?). Aslynn is a natural gymnast. Derek played spring basketball AGAIN! Enjoy!

Rachel's Challenge

Most of you remember the shootings several years ago at Columbine H.S. The first girl to be killed was named Rachel Scott. She was fondly remembered as the girl who came up with the idea of "Random Acts of Kindness" and wanted to make an impact on the world by this chain reaction. Her parents have a program across the country with this message. Rockwall ISD adopted this program this year throughout all their schools, coordinated by the guidance counselors, etc. Each elementary school (like 12) recorded random acts of kindness on slips of paper that were put into a paper chain displayed around the school. Hay's chain wrapped around the whole school! Because Rockwall ISD was chosen as district of the year to receive the "Kindness" award presented by The Scott family and their organization, Rockwall had a rally out on the football field to honor the students. The place was packed! Everyone from Rockwall was there, I believe. They linked all the schools' paper chains together, had the 2 high school bands/choirs perform some fun songs, and had the 5th and 6th graders walk the paper chain around the track to show their accomplishment. The thing went around and around, and each kid holding the chain was holding at least 3 chains deep. It was crazy! Anyway, it was very cool to see the district come together, honor the kids, and see how thrilled the Scott family was to see that their daughter had started something so neat. Here are a couple pics that don't do the event justice!