Friendship, Paint & Pizza

Okay, so think back to when you were little. Can you remember that one special friend from your childhood? For me it was Melanie Cox. She was my best friend! We always had so much fun together. I had to move away when I was 12, and it was one of the saddest times of my life. Not only was I leaving behind my childhood home, my school, my grandparents, but especially my best friend. It is so easy to lose touch at that age, and of course we did. Somehow over the years we have managed to reconnect and stay a part of each others lives, but of course we are grown. We all know how little time there is when you grow up and have a family to care for. Melanie is a wonderful mother of three beautiful children now, and I still love her to death! I think I will call her today! :-))

For Harmony, her best friend is Lexie Powell. They were in Kindergarten together last year, and made very fast friends. They are so sweet together, and it is amazing how alike they really are. They are both shy, sensitive, and silly! Lexie got to come Friday after school for a play-date. They played video games, finger-painted, and made homemade pizza. I let them go crazy in my kitchen, and make a mess. They were the cutest two little chefs I've ever seen. Plus, the pizza was YUMMY!

Cherish your time with friends, and hold your memories dear! They are a precious possession!


Love, MeL

 

Here is their painting! So cute!!!

Master Pizza Makers

Thats two cute girls!!!

Yum Yum...It was so good!

 Here's to Friendship

No More Training Wheels

We got Harmony her first bike Christmas of 2006. It was a beautiful, shiny, blue and pink Cinderella bike. It came complete with tassels, basket, bell, and of course training wheels!!! We had tried to pursued her to learn to ride without them Summer of 2008, but she was not ready. Harmony always does everything in her own time, you just cannot rush her. When she is ready she will blow your mind with how quickly she picks things up, but patience is a must with this sweet little girl. 

This Summer she came to me and said she was ready to try riding without her training wheels. I was so excited. We got her all geared up, Tony removed the training wheels and took her to the cul-de-sac. Attempt one, no good. Attempt two, no way. By attempt three she was near tears, and too scared to even go on. There sat the bike in the garage for 4 months with no one to ride it. We left the wheels off as encouragement, but she would not try. 

On November 3, 2009 after church she says  to me, "Mommy, I think I can do it now!" She had the most serious look on her face. I said, "Okay!" We geared up again, and back to the cul-de-sac we went. This time I decided to stay with her rather than dad. Attempt one, "Don't let go yet!" Attempt two, "Are you letting go, Mommy?" 

Attempt maybe twenty, 

Harmony: Let go Mommy!

Mommy: Are you sure?

Harmony: Yes.

Mommy: Are you really sure?

Harmony: Yes!

I let go, and there she went. I think my heart stopped for a minute, and I'm sure my smile reached from ear to ear like the Grinch when his heart grew 3 sizes! Daddy was catching all of it on home video. She has mastered riding her bike including taking off on her own, which, actually took several more days. Tony bought her a shiny new kickstand as her reward for learning to ride her bike. I am so proud of her. Somehow I know I will miss seeing her on that bike with her training wheels, but for now it is so exciting to watch this huge accomplishment. She has so much PRIDE when she rides. I just wish I could freeze time. 

MeL 

I don't know why, but I get teary-eyed at this picture! It represents so much more than riding a bike!

Here is the proud Thumbs Up!!!

One day this will be a car. Again, here comes the tears!

 Showing off her shiny new kickstand. Her daddy got her this for doing a fantastic job!!!

Top-Secret Beeswax

Man, was I glad when November arrived. October was one of the craziest months of my life! I have never been so excited to erase my calendar on the fridge. It was so jam packed with to-dos and events that I'm still not even sure how I managed to get it all done. 

Onto November, first thing up, Harmony's first grade field trip to see the Junie B. Jones play. For those of you who don't know, Harmony loves the Junie B. book series. Yes, my 6 year old can read chapter books and yes I am bragging. She is one of the smartest little girls I have ever seen. ~~Thank you momma for passing along those Valedictorian genes~~ 

Anyways, we were so excited to find out that this would be her first field trip this year. The play was called "Top Secret Beeswax", and let me just say, it is one of the funniest plays I have ever seen. Harmony laughed all the way through it, and her favorite part was were Junie B. said, "GRRRR" to some kids on the bus!

We followed it up with a picnic lunch at New Harvest Park. I have never seen kids play so hard, but how often to you get to go to the park with yourself and 136 of your closest friends??

Love, MeL 

"Top Secret Beeswax"

(Hey there Britt)

Picnic at the Park...

(Taking a water break.) 

Harmony & Lexie playing on the playground!!!

Time to go...What a fun day!!!

Halloween 2009

Rain Rain Go Away......

This seemed to be the story this Halloween, as the rain came down just minutes before time for trick-or-treaters to start making their rounds. We had spent our day carving our pumpkins just in time for the big night. I did a "Stack o' Jacks", Harmony did "Fatty Batty", and Tony did a "Candy Munching Goblin". They all turned out fantastic! Now, would they survive being lit out in the rain?

We have lived here for almost 5 years now, and every year over 100 kids make their way around our neighborhood. I was for sure that the rain would put a "damper" on things, but they still came. They came with umbrellas, ponchos, hoodies, and even rain boots. Nothing was going to stop these kids from getting their treats! We had about 113 trick-or-treaters this year. Harmony loves to pass out candy with me, but soon became tired of the cold and rain and went in seeking warmth.

I was surprised at the turn out, but when it comes to kids and candy, I guess I shouldn't have been! :-)

MeL

P.S. The pumpkins did just fine!  

Harmony with her pumpkin.

Cutting out her Fatty Batty pattern.

Showing off her pumpkin!

Harmony the Zebra with her pumpkin! She did a nice job this year, and almost completely on her own!

Tony's Candy Munching Goblin

My Stack O' Jacks

Harmony's Halloween Party

Harmony's Halloween Party at school turned out really well. I planned a much simpler party this year than I did for her Kindergarten class. There is just not much play time in 1st grade, as there is so much to learn these days and so little time to do it in. 

The party was about an hour and a half, were as the Kindergarten party lasted pretty much the whole day. This year we had a Halloween story, a couple of games of Bingo (one with sight words of course), and a snack. We had Goblin Punch (vanilla yogurt ice cream w/diet orange soda poured over it) and teddy grahams in three flavors. We were of course adhering to the Knox Co. Schools "no sweets" policy. I made them treat bags with pencils, erasers, vampire teeth, etc... It was so much fun. The kids love having any time away from work! I can't say that I blame them!

Love, MeL

Harmony & Joshua ... One of her best buds this year!