Jax & Cason Get Wet-n-Wild

On Wednesday, May 27, Jackson and Cason got wet and wild at Lorena Primary's Wet-N-Wild Day!

The festivities started at 10:00am. On any normal late May morning the temperature would be 80 degrees by 10:00am, but not on Wet-N-Wild Day. Rain and a cool front came in and it was 68 degrees when I got out of the car at ten til. I was cold just standing outside waiting for the kids to come out, so I knew those babies were going to freeze once they got in the water. Each class rotated through different stations, like water slides, wading pools with water toys, the Lorena VFD firetruck spraying water, etc. I started out the day watching Cason play in the water, and he loved it and was not the least bit cold!

Jackson, on the other hand, did not like being cold at all! He participated in the first few stations and then he was done. He stayed wrapped up in his towel until the sun came out awhile later.

As Cason's class neared the end of the rotations, they were all pretty worn out. Most of them spread their towels out on the pavement and laid in the sun. Cason is the one curled up in a ball with his towel on his on the bottom left.

The boys had a wet-n-wild time, but I think the best part of their day was when they got to leave school at 12:00. On most of their party days, field trip days, or any other special day, they have to stay at school because I have to go back to school. I took the whole day off, so we all got to go home! I had a great day with my boys!!!

Field Day Fun

Madison and I had our annual Field Day last Thursday. It was a beautiful day to be outside on the football field running relays. Because I had to fulfill my teacherly duties and cheer my own class on, I didn't get to see most of Madison's class' races. Corey got to sneak away from his concrete salesman duties for awhile to watch, but then he had to put his nose back to the grindstone!
The Three Amigos-Kendall, Madison, & McKenzie


Each grade level competed against each other in various relay races, and then each grade level had a tug-of-war competition. Madison's class came in 5th place and my class, also known as Pitts Purple People Eaters, came in 3rd place.

Pitts Purple People Eaters

In Honor of Jen Howe Peel

This post is in honor of our good ole' pal Jen Howe Peel! I'm pretty sure she is the reason to this day that my kids love the Slip-n-Slide. My kids' passion for the Slip-n-Slide began several years ago at a get together at the Breyer-Coats residence. A Slip-n-Slide was part of the entertainment for the kids, but Jen decided to join in on the water fun too. I'm not sure who was more entertained, Jen or the kids? Every summer since, we have had to get a Slip-n-Slide; and this summer was no different. So here's to you, Jen Howe Peel:

The Class of 2021

There they are! The Lorena High School graduating class of 2021; however, graduating from Kindergarten is the cause for excitement here! Last Thursday, May 21, Jackson officially became the "big man" as a 1st grader on the campus of Lorena Primary. He is so proud!

The graduation started at 7:00 and the doors to the PAC, where graduation was held, opened at 6:30. Since we needed to save 14 seats for our wonderful family, we arrived at the PAC around 6:00. By the time the doors opened at 6:30, I'm pretty sure every kindergarten parent was waiting in line, along with all their relatives! It was like waiting in line for the stores to open on Black Friday. And when the doors opened the rush to get inside was much like that of all the after-Thanksigiving shoppers trying to get into the store with the best sales. We safely made it inside, found the row that we thought we could the best pictures from, and started putting down anything we could find that would save our entire row seats! I guess we did a good job of showing that the seats were taken because not a single person asked if they could sit in "our" row. Since we had our seats, all we had to do was sit and wait. Madison found one of her friends to sit with, so that only left Cason for us to deal with (which is enough). As we all know, Cason and quiet events indoors don't really go together. Usually my purse has so many matchbox cars inside, it should be called a toy box, but I actually cleaned out my purse and put all the cars in their appropriate spot at home. So when Cason went to his on-the-go toy box, it was empty! Except for my sunglasses, which kept him entertained for awhile.

Once Cole, my nephew, was in his seat, Cason moved down the row to sit with him. I guess he's more fun than my Mom and I! Finally, it was 7:00 and graduation began. Each Kindergarten class had their turn getting their diplomas. Ms. Lina, the principal, announced each student's name and what they want to be when they grow up, while the superintendent, Mrs. Talbert, handed out the diplomas and shook hands. Jackson's class was the 4th class to walk across the stage.

We had no idea that Jackson wanted to be a Concrete Salesman. His teacher, Mrs. Niemeyer, emailed me earlier in the week and wanted to know Corey's job title. Jackson told her he wanted to be what his Dad is. How sweet is that???

Mrs. Niemeyer's Kindergarten Class(Jackson is 4th from the left)

After all the classes finished walking across the stage, the entire Kindergarten class got on stage to serenade the audience. As soon as the curtain opened, every kid on the stage immediately started waving at their families that they couldn't even really see because of the blinding stage lights. But they waved like they saw us! Then, the singing began. I have pure admiration for Mrs. Bradford, the music teacher! She taught those babies the words and motions to 5 songs!!! Jackson was on the very back row, and to all of our surprise, sang all the songs and did the motions. They all were too cute!!!!
Mrs. Niemeyer and Jackson

McCray and Jackson

Daylan, Jackson, & Brayden

TAKS Time

For most people, when they hear the word TAKS they think of t-a-x; however, teachers automatically think of "the test" that we all dread so much. This past week many students across the state of Texas took this dreaded test, my students and my Madison included.

To get our students excited and ready for their days of testing, we had a TAKS Pep Rally. We had groups of girls do TAKS cheers, several kids performed gymnastics stunts, and a boy and girl from each grade level gave a "You Can Do It" speech. Madison was the girl representative for the 3rd grade. Lorena ISD's theme for this year is "Step Up to Greatness," so Madison wrote her speech around our theme. She was very anxious about speaking in front of the whole school, but she did great!