Lexie gets Baptized

Sunday, May 1st 2016, was a BIG day in the Ford House.  Why?  Because Lexie followed through her proclamation of faith in obedience with her baptism.  

She first accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior in June 2015 at Crossfire Basketball camp and a couple months later she went before the church and shared the news publicly.  Following thru in baptism is another big step she was finally ready to take.

Making the day even more special was the fact her very best friend Emory chose to be baptized at the same time.  These girls are as thick as thieves, but without the other knowing they each made the decision to have it done at the same time.  How very special!

A couple of days before Mimi took Lexie by the church to record a short video where she told the congregation a little bit about herself and when she accepted Jesus.  On Sunday, I was with Lexie on the side of the baptistry, and of course I was so nervous/excited/happy for her that I wasn't able to see the video and to be honest I don't remember much of what she said, I was so focused on watching her to make sure she was ok!  Fortunately, Trey had the forethought to record the video on his phone.

Lexie was instructed by the church to wear a dark swimsuit under her gown or a pair of dark shorts and a t-shirt.  My rule-following child came downstairs Sunday morning dressed in black shorts and a dark grey t-shirt.  God bless her!

She didn't worry or freak out or anything.  She was as calm as a cucumber and did great!  I am so proud of my big girl.  

Look at the pure joy on the faces of both girls.  What a special day, one I will remember and cherish forever!

Cubcats with a Cause

It seems as though hosting a lemonade stand is a rite of passage for any kid.  Lexie, my oldest daughter, has been begging her dad for months and months to build her a lemonade stand.  She and her bestie Emory - without any encouragement or prompting from the parents - were adamant they wanted to sell lemonade and jewelry and all the money they raised they were going to give to HIPP.

Some of you may be wondering what exactly HIPP stands for and even more importantly why a group of 7 year old girls wants to raise money for a cause other than themselves.

The Hendersonville Inclusive Playground Project (HIPP) is a group of motivated parents and community members who aim to create a state-of-the-art inclusive playground.Inclusive playgrounds provide accessible, universal play spaces that allow children, regardless of physical, mental, or developmental needs, to play side-by-side with their able-bodied peers. Play areas are not just places where kids have fun, they are places where kids learn to interact with the world, and with each other. Inclusive play spaces serve as joyful incubators of a more inclusive society, in which children with disabilities can enjoy equal opportunities to flourish.

To be honest I believe the plans for this grand fundraiser started last year as kindergartners after attending a program at their school where they had the opportunity to play basketball in wheelchairs.  From their initial request we were eager to help them make this idea a reality, however, as life often does things got in the way and we never made plans or set a date for this event.  About 3 weeks ago the girls started amping up their requests to sell lemonade and jewelry, this time even going as far as to suggesting a location.  So we made a deal, the lemonade and jewelry sale would happen, but they were going to have to do as much of the planning and work as possible.  After all, this would be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate to the girls how much time, planning and work goes into the execution of a successful fundraiser.

First things first, after securing the date and location, they asked two other besties to join in on the fun, Maddie and Campbell.  Together these 4 girls planned, decorated and handed out flyers for the event...

painted signs as well as a portion of the actual lemonade stand...

 squeezed well over 120 lemons...

Lemonade Syrup as well as Raspberry and Strawberry Flavor Shots

made loom bracelets and bear cat earrings and even come up with a price list for all the goodies they sold.  Never once have they complained or even fought, but instead they worked together to as a team to get everything in order.  To say I'm one proud mamma is putting it lightly!

We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better crowd of people who came out and supported the girls in their endeavor.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Together they raised $840.93 - plus there were 4 local businesses who banded together and pledged to match up to $1,600 in donations for a grand fundraising total of $2,440.93!!!!  When everything was cleaned up and the girls finally got to count the cash box they, along with us parents, were completely blown away by such generosity from everyone who stopped and visited the stand.  Not only did they have fun but it was such a great learning experience, and I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear they are already talking and planning another date for the next lemonade stand.

Fall Fun at Eliada's Corn Maze - 2013

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it's been almost a whole year since I've updated this blog.  It's seems as though I have been a little bit slack.  I went through some major changes at work this past year and it's taken me a while to find a way to balance everything again, but I'm glad to be back at it.  And while this was an activity from 2013, it was super fun to look back at these pictures and it definitely puts me in the mood for some fall fun!

We were invited to join some friends on an adventure to Eliada's Corn Maze.  I hadn't ever heard of it before but after a quick internet search we quickly decided it sounded like a place the kids would love.

Here we are with an inflatable Spookly the Square Pumpkin.  Do you know who Spookly is???  It's ok if you don't because honestly I hadn't ever heard of him before either.  But by the end of the day we went home with his book and had our DVR set to record the movie the next time it came on.  I'm telling you if you're kids haven't heard of him before they will love him, its all about being different and how that's ok.  We read the book (and Addie pretended to read) so many times that by Christmas the pages were coming loose.

Our fist activity was shooting down pumpkin men with potato guns!  And let me tell you both the kids and the adults LOVED this activity.

They also had giant pipe slides....

A spider web climbing next...

A corn sandbox...

And of course everyone's favorite a cow train!

One of the things I loved most about this particular corn maze was they have a children's maze version that follows a story book.  It was perfect for our kids and their short attention span!

We rounded out the day's fun with a good old fashion hay ride.  You'll notice in the picture below Lexie doesn't look super thrilled, it turns out she was not a fan of the itchy hay.

Celebrating 10 years in Grenada

Last year, as we were celebrating 9 years together, we decided anniversary 10 was a big one and we should mark it with a trip.  We thought seriously about going back to Kauai (our honeymoon location), almost booked the plane ticket, but after hearing lots of good things from Zach and Cristin about Sandal's resorts we decided there was a certain charm to going tropical where everything was all included, no time change to recover from and we wouldn't have to think about anything else other than relaxing and enjoying ourselves.  We went to the Sandal's website and noticed they had a new resort opening in December in Grenada and without much thought we booked a room!  I mean seriously...doesn't Grenada just sounded awesomely tropical?  It also didn't hurt that because we booked long before the resort actually opened that we got a killer deal!

For those of you who have never gotten the opportunity to visit a Sandal's, trust me when I say if you ever do don't hesitate to just go.  Our time in Grenada was perfect.  Not only was the location beautiful and warm, but the people in Grenada were also incredibly nice and friendly.  With 9 restaurants and a hot dog stand there were plenty of food options and we never got bored with the variety.

Sadly, we don't have too many pictures because basically we stayed in the lounging position the entire week.  Which if you know Trey and I, not doing anything but laying in the sun under an umbrella, reading books (I read one entire book each day we were gone and Trey actually read one whole book and is over 50% into his second one...WHAT!), drinking drinks and occasionally swimming when we got hot is not normally how we do vacation.  We are usually much more adventurous but the truth is we were exhausted, I guess just from the day to day routines of life and we found ourselves truly enjoying doing absolutely nothing and answering to no one!  I am leaving this vacation feeling more relaxed than I have felt in forever.

One night we opted to take a 2 hour sunset cruise, which also happened to be the ONLY time we left the resort, but does that even count if the boat was chartered by the resort and the only other passenger's were also Sandal's guests???  I don't know, but the cruise was fabulous.  The guides were very informative.  We saw one of Oprah Winfrey's vacation homes, as well as Grand Anse Beach, the longest beach in Grenada (2 miles of beautiful white sand and a perfect spot for swimming).  We were also informed that walking on Grand Anse Beach felt like walking on Cheddar Cheese, whatever that feels like!  We didn't set foot on the actual beach just admired it as we passed by.  The cruise also took us into St. Georges, their largest city and where cruise ships dock.  St. George's is also the home to KFC, which was such a hit when it first opened on the island an additional one had to be built right across the street because so many people flocked there on a daily basis and the lines were always so long KFC needed another location to meet the demand for fried chicken.  Apparently the chicken at those KFC's is incredibly good because they aways use fresh chickens right from the island.  Again, just viewing it from the boat I didn't get to actually eat any of this chicken, but I can vouch that any time I was served chicken while at the resort it was incredible, very juicy and flavorful.  

Let's be honest, laying around for 6 days straight, never leaving the resort, gave us plenty of time to not only people watch but also get to know some of the other guests.  Everyone we met was very friendly and it was kind of nice running into people on a regular basis.  Recognizing faces sort of installed a sense of belonging, I guess.  It's really hard to put the feeling to words.  Some people we ran into and talked to so much we were on a first name basis.  Other couples like drunk guy and fake boobs couple or even the odd couple (who we first noticed in Charlotte) and lady who think's she's 20 even though she's clearly closer to mid 50's we would simply just wave or smile at!  I know it sounds like we're horrible but all of you who are reading this probably come up with your own nicknames to remember faces by!

Speaking of nicknames I cannot do this post and not mention George W. Bush.  Tuesday night we had the pleasure of eating dinner with former president George W. Bush's clone!  I'm not lying.  We were sitting at Kimono's eagerly anticipating our Habachi Japanese dinner when I look up and glance at the couple seated across the table from us.  Immediately I turned to Trey and tell him to check the guy out.  Then we hear him speak and I'll be damned if he doesn't have a southern drawl.  Then the couple next to us asks him where he's from.  Can you guess?  TEXAS!  No way right!  I was floored!  Throughout the entire week I begged Trey to take a picture of him, but he refused.  Then as we were sitting in the Miami airport eating TGI Friday's in walks George W, and no lie he is seated at the table right beside me.  I told Trey it was fate and he had to take a picture...fortunately he obliged.  It's not a great picture but I still think it looks just like George W!

Anyways, people watching also opened my eyes to things I never really realized before.  Tattoo's are completely in for men.  In fact I would say if you didn't have one you were in the minority.  Here's another fact, why is it that as men age tattoos look perfectly normal, but when you see a much much older woman (I'm talking grey hair) do they look out of place and scream tramp stamp!  Yes, I know thats a double standard thing to say, but this is my blog and well that's my justification!  Or did you know that apparently you're never to old to wear a string bikini?  Another thing which surprised us both were the wide age ranges of the guests staying at Sandals, but to be honest that's one of the things we liked most about it.  This Sandals' resort was not just some place for young hot couple to go party, it was filled with lots of people of lots of ages just relaxing and having a good time.

So now you pretty much know what we did during the day but what about the evenings.  Well after dinner we sat around some more.  They had these awesome fire pits you could hang out at and listen to music or hammocks you could lay in while star gazing, we got lucky one night and even saw a shooting star!

About halfway into the week I said to Trey we need a picture of us dressed up at night so we set out on a selfie mission.  Clearly we failed miserable.  The picture of our feet is the best we got!  I hate the picture below because I look completely wasted and I promise you I was not, but out of my love for Trey and his love of horrible Kelly pictures I'm including it in this post!

So, you're probably wondering whether or not the girls missed us while we were gone.  The truth is yes, I'm sure they did (on one of our phone calls with them Addie specifically asked me what was taking me so long to walk home!  Haha!), but we are fortunate enough to have great friends and family who all helped us out with the kids and made this 10 year anniversary trip even possible!  And from the looks of the pictures we received they had just as much fun as we did.  

Mimi and Papaw took them to the fair...

 John and Lindsay helped them get a jump start on studying to become OBGYN's...

Lexie saw a dream come true when she finally got to ride a "real" school bus on her first official field trip as a Kindergartner...

Aunt Allison taught them how to belly dance...

And both Nana and Aunt Allison took them to princess day at the Georgia Aquarium...

So as you can see we ALL had a great time on our "vacation."  We missed the kids like crazy but it was nice to just be Trey and Kelly for a week!

Cubcat CRAWL 5K

Friday night marked another first for our family when we participated in the Cubcat CRAWL 5K.  For the last two weeks Lexie's elementary school has been pushing a healthy bodies, healthy minds initiative and "training" for the school's big 5K fundraiser.  Students were asked to get sponsors and each night for the past two weeks we've been recording our activities in a log.  Setting goals and earning rewards have really pushed the students to get in their "miles" at night.  Lexie's been earning some of hers through tennis, swimming, playing frisbee and yes walking/running!

When we first started our nightly routine Addie was perfectly content to stay behind with Daddy and read an extra book instead, but before long she was begging to come along also.  At first I was hesitant, worried her little legs would give out before Lexie and I had completed our trail.  But she asked so sweetly I just couldn't say no.  I mean when your kid is begging to exercise how do you say no?  In the end, Addie got out there and completely surprised me with how fast she could run and how long she could go.  She consistently stayed ahead of Lexie.  Nevertheless when it came time for the 5K we decided it would be too much to ask her to walk/run the entire 3 miles, so we opted for the stroller.

She started out in the stroller but less than a mile into the race she insisted she be let out so she could run with the "big girls."  So, we let her out and off she went.  Notice Trey, Lexie and myself (in the purple behind Trey) in the picture below, Addie is yards ahead of us leaving Trey pushing a very empty stroller.  Once we let her out we were only able to convince her to sit back in the stroller twice, those times lasting no more than a minute each.  My 3-year-old managed to run/walk (more running than walking) a 5K.  I think she may actually have gotten in a full 3 miles because she would run ahead of everyone and then turn around and run back to us.

It's hard to really see the expression on Lexie's face in the picture above, but it's a look of sheer determination.  At the top of the hill Trey told her we were running the whole rest of the way with no walking, and you know what...she made it!  We were so proud!  Her reward...a Pepsi with dinner, a drink she is NEVER allowed!  3 miles is the longest she has ever run/walked and believe me that sugar drink was well deserved.

After the race we headed to Pizza Hut, it was after all Friday night Pizza Night!  When we got to the restaurant Addie was so exhausted and hungry she cried when she realized there was no buffet and we would have to order off a menu.  God bless our waiter, he put in an order of cheese breadsticks and got them out to us minutes later so Addie could get some food in her system.  Later when we walked to the bathroom her tired little legs gave out, leaving her to fall face first onto the floor.  Needless to say we carried her the rest of the night.  She fell into such a deep sleep on the car ride home she never once woke up as we carried her in, undressed and re-dressed her into pajamas!  We had two very tired little girls on our hands, but we had the best time and are already planning our next family run, the Apple Festival/Chick-Fil-A Mini Moo Mile fun run!

Lexie, my Kindergartner

Monday, July 14th marked Lexie's first official day as a Kindergartner...how did this happen?  And better yet where did the time go?  I remember how I foolishly thought when she was a baby and I was trying to juggle child care and work how much easier it would be when she went to elementary school and also at the time how long almost 6 years seemed.  Was I ever wrong!

One of the things I love most about Lexie is her fearlessness of new social situations.  I don't think I have ever seen her intimidated to go to a new place or to make new friends.  Whether we are at the park or the pool she always manages to make a "friend."  I wish this came as easily to me as it does her.  I truly admire her confidence.  

While Lexie was sad to leave Mud Creek Preschool (the wonderful place she's been 5 mornings a week since she was 4 months old) she was beyond excited to start Kindergarten.  For weeks she has been counting down the days, asking when it would be time to go.  And don't even get me started on this sense of being a "big girl" which has graced our presence since Preschool Graduation!  No tears for my big girl, but mommy certainly had a few.

Really since April, when we went to the Kindergarten Readiness Rally, her excitement has grown by the day. At the rally she got to meet potential teachers from each of the elementary schools, practice going through the lunch line, making crafts, playing games and generally just showing the kids kindergarten was going to be fun.  Here she is with two of her friends,  Emory and Maddie, just look how excited the 3 of them are!

Then in May, her new elementary school hosted an ice cream social where all the kids learned what a day in the life of a kindergartner at Hendersonville Elementary School would be like.  This is where Lexie also got to meet the 3 potential teachers.  It's at this event she made her decision to hope for Mrs. Shaffer.  Why her?  You're going to love this...because she was wearing pink pants and because she liked the sound of her voice! 

Tuesday, the week before school started, we learned her teacher would be Mrs. Shandeval.  Her heart broke a little, but as we were leaving meet the teacher Friday morning she said "Mommy, I think I'm really going to like my new teacher."  Then when I picked her up from school Monday afternoon, the first response when asked about her day was, "I really love my teachers!"

But wait...I forgot about Thursday night, when we arrived home after a parent meeting at the school we were greeted with this awesome sign and bear paw sticker for our car courtesy of the HES PTO.  Talk about instilling a sense of school pride and getting the kids excited to be going, this school seems to have it nailed!    

Fun Memories From the First Weeks

• On the first day my brave little girl didn't want her parent's to walk her in, but we insisted we accompany her on this rite of passage.
• When I asked her what she learned on the first day her response, "Well, I didn't learn to read."  I think she has this notion that learning to read will happen after just one day!  I'm just glad she is eager to learn new things.  
• Wednesday morning (day #2) she insisted on being dropped off in the car rider line, but with Mommy still nervous and against Lexie's request I parked and walked her in once again.  Let's just say she was none too happy!  But come Thursday morning she was bubbling over with excitement to walk in all by herself.
• Friday morning I needed to stay for a meeting first thing, which meant I needed to park.  So I told her I would walk in with her.  Lexie suggested I wait at the end of the hallway and then could walk down and past her classroom to the library once she got settled in her class.  Already embarrassed of Mom?!?!?!  I told her no way, we'll walk in together!  
• When we got the lunch menu and saw they were serving chicken nuggets on the first day, Lexie decided she would buy lunch.  But then after talking to "Uncle" Zach the night before, who might have mentioned that in school chicken nuggets were actually ring shaped (although he insisted they were quite good) she woke up Monday morning begging for me to pack instead.  Monday's lunch was in fact regular chicken nuggets, but what's even better is when chicken rings were served the next week of school, Lexie came home saying she wished she had bought lunch instead because they looked so good!
• 2 weeks into school I get a note from the cafeteria informing me my child had run up a charge of $3.50 and could I please pay her balance ASAP.  I was mortified, why did she have a balance?  She had only bought lunch once, for which I sent in exact change.  Trey asked her was she buying lunch and not telling us, she insisted no.  A few minutes later it hit him...chocolate milk!  Apparently she had decided to treat herself to chocolate milk with her lunch every day.  She didn't realize she needed to ask us to give her money for the milk, nor had she thought to confess to the chocolate milk indulgence!
• Mrs. Schandevel is using Letterland phonics and has Lexie convinced this is a real place, one she has been to before, and one which Lexie desperately wants to visit!  It's really precious!
• She is also getting much better at drawing people figures, and has learned to write her name using a capital letter along with lowercase letters.  Before school started she could write lots of words, but always only used uppercase.
• On a sad note, Addie has had a really hard time adjusting to Lexie being gone.  She misses her and the first few weeks have been very difficult.  She has been acting out but then completely ignores Lexie when she gets home.  I think she feels abandoned, but we have been explaining it isn't Lexie's fault she isn't around and it isn't nice to punish her by not speaking or playing with her.  It's now week 3 and things are getting a little bit better with Addie.  Thank goodness!  These two girls love each other so much and it was breaking our hearts to see so much tension between the two!

I'm so proud of how well Lexie has adjusted to Kindergarten, I can only hope the rest of the year holds as much fun and excitement for her as the first 3 weeks of the year already have!