There's Only One Fair...

...and it comes to town in October. That's what my Dad used to tell my sister and I, and now tells my kids, when we said something wasn't fair. So every time the Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo comes to town, I think of that saying. Thanks, Dad!

The kids & I were out of school for Columbus Day, so we met Corey & headed out to the HOT Fair Grounds to have some good ole' carnival-style fun. Madison brought her friend Hailey along so there would be an even number for riding purposes.

Jackson is definitely the dare-devil in the bunch. He wanted to ride every ride that the carnies brought! Thankfully, he wasn't tall enough to ride the ones that scared me the most. He was tall enough to get on the alien ship-looking ride that spins you around so fast that you stick to the walls, while not being strapped in at all! He was the only one that wanted to ride this particular ride, and I was not going to let him ride by himself. Lucky for Jackson, we found some 7th grade Lorena boys to ride with him. Even though he wasn't alone, I still had to walk away while the ride was going. I've got a feeling this won't be the last time I have to walk away from something Jackson is doing!

While Jackson was riding the alien ship ride, Cason decided that the motorcycles were more his speed. I'm sure this won't be his last ride on a motorcycle either.

Hailey was definitely the biggest chicken of the bunch. Madison convinced her to ride a few of the rides that she probably would not have ridden on her own. The faces that Hailey made were priceless; I wish I could have captured them on camera! Somehow all 4 of them decided that the Tower of Terror was a good choice. They waited in line, found the perfect seat, and up they went. Once they got to the top, they came flying down at a rate of speed that may have made my heart stop. Once again, priceless faces were made, but not able to be caught on camera.

I think the kids had a great time, but I'm glad that the fair only comes to town once a year!

Cowboys Training Camp

Jackson & Cason had their first football practice of the '09 football season in early August. Corey is coaching the 5-6 year old Cowboys again this year. Jackson loved every minute of practice, even though it was 900 degrees outside; however, Cason did not. After 10 minutes of running plays in the heat, he wasn't sure he wanted to play football anymore. Here are a few pictures from the first day of Cowboys training camp.

Our Little Piggies

Our house turned into a pig sty at the end of September. Madison woke up with a sore throat on a Thursday, by Thursday night she was running a low-grade fever, and by Friday morning her fever was up to 102.8. Corey stayed home with her and took her to the doctor Friday afternoon. Dr. Martindale told Madison "Congratulations, you have the swine flu!"

He suggested we try to keep the boys away from her as much as possible. So, we packed up the boys stuff and off to Gram's house they went. They spent the night with Gram & Pop on Friday night and then spent the day with Mamaw and Papaw. On Saturday night, my mom called to tell me that Jackson was now running fever. Luckily, Cason was still feeling fine and had no fever. I went and picked up Jackson from Mamaw and Papaw's, and decided to go ahead and take Cason too. He had been with Jackson all day; if he was going to get it there wasn't anything I could do about it.

Madison and Jackson both ran fever for the next 4 days! They felt okay in the morning, but by the afternoon they were wiped out. They finally went back to school on Thursday. Thankfully, Cason never got it! I told him he was too mean to get sick.

The playroom was converted into an infirmary.

Back to School Bash

Lorena ISD had their 1st annual Back to School Bash on August 27th. The kids were super excited about going, and there was lots for them to do.
Cason got to participate in the Kindergarten/Senior Walk which was pretty a cool experience. The Kindergarten class of 2009 lined up on one end of the football field and the Senior class of 2009 lined up on the other end of the football field. The 2 classes met on the 50-yard line, where the seniors passed on the pride of the Leopards(aka a toilet paper roll of candy) to the kindergartners. Mikey, Corey's cousin, is a senior, so Cason met him on the 50-yard line. I'm not sure how much it meant to the kindergartners or the seniors, but both class' parents found it quite emotional.

We snapped some pics while waiting for the Kindergarten/Senior Walk to begin.

The class of 2022 meets the class of 2009(Cason is in the red shorts)

Cason and Mikey(above) and

Cason and Evan, Cason's buddy(below)

Lorena has a program called Lorena Little Leopards that gives young boys the opportunity to support a varsity football player throughout the season. They also get to have a practice session with the football players. The practice session was held at the Back to School Bash, so after Cason's Kindergarten/Senior Walk, he and Jackson participated in the Little Leopards practice session. They had a blast practicing with the big boys!

School Days

Teaching is definitely a bittersweet profession; yes I get 2 months 1/2 months out of the year off plus many breaks during the year, but I don't get to walk my babies to their classrooms on the first day of school. Especially, when it's their first day of Kindergarten! I know Corey does a wonderful job walking them in, giving them hugs and encouraging words, and taking the ever-so important pictures, but I absolute H-A-T-E that I cannot be there! And this year was not any easier. I just had to give all my love to the boys before I left. Maddie is on my campus, so I got to walk her to her classroom (which happens to be right next door to mine). I didn't get any pictures of her actually at school on her 1st day of 4th grade, so the ones from home will have to suffice.

This is "the spot" where all 1st day of school pictures are taken.

The boys with Miss Lina, their principal.

Jackson about to go into his classroom on his 1st day of 1st grade.

Cason looks guilty already & he hadn't even started his 1st day of Kindergarten.

The boys ride the bus from the Primary school over to the Elementary every day. That is one of my favorite parts of the day because as they get off the bus they find me, amongst all the other teachers trying to get kiddos on the bus, and give me a big hug. And then, I usually get to hear a little about their day. The first day of school both of the boys told me they didn't want to leave their teachers. That is a great feeling for them and for me! Like I said, teaching is bittersweet. I don't get to walk them to their classrooms on the first days of school, but I get to see them walk off the bus and straight to my arms every afternoon!

Meet the Teacher

We all had Meet the Teacher on Monday, August 24th. Madison told me one thing she didn't like about me being a teacher is that she doesn't feel like a "normal kid." Meaning that Corey & I don't go into her classroom, look around, and ask her teacher questions. So, Corey took all 3 of the kids to the Primary to meet the boys' teachers. I, of course, did not get to go because I had 19 little darlings waiting to meet me. After they got finished at the Primary, Corey and the kids came over to the Elementary so Maddie could meet her teacher. I think she felt like a "normal kid," and everyone was happy about their teacher and ready for the 2009-2010 school year to begin!

Maddie and her 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Douglas
Jackson and his 1st grade teacher, Ms. Thigpen

Cason and his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Channon

One Last Hurrah...Times Two

The Cameron Park Zoo opened a new exhibit this summer. I got my dates mixed-up for when the exhibit, featuring Orangutans and Komodo Dragons, opened to the public. I thought it opened on Friday, Aug. 14, which happened to be the last Friday of my summer, but it didn't open until Saturday, the 15th. We missed the opening by less than 24 hours. It's a good thing we have a zoo membership! The kids and I went ahead and went through the zoo since we had already made the drive. It was really hot, but we had fun anyway.

Since we missed the opening of the Asian Rain Forest, Corey and I took the kids back a couple of weekends later to see the orangutans and komodo dragons. The exhibit is beautiful! We only looked at the new exhibit because it was at least 180 degrees outside. None of the Pitts like extreme heat too much, so everyone was okay with it!

Here is one of the three orangutans that live at the Cameron Park Zoo.

The Komodo Dragon is chillin on the branch at the very top right of the picture. Its tail is hanging down off the branch. I was kinda disappointed with the Komodo Dragon. It didn't really do anything!