Abby's First Semester of Middle School and 12th Birthday!!

Abby has transitioned to 6th grade and middle school really well. She likes school, has made good friends, and is doing extra curricular activities. Now that Abby's in middle school, I don't have any pictures from the school. They are all from after school activities. This first picture is from the band's fundraiser at Bob-O's that they had towards the beginning of the year. I first met Abby's "mijas" here. She has made three best friends and they all call each other mija. The other moms and I think it's funny, but even after explaining that it means "my daughter," they still like to use it. Abby's mija's are Cindy Renee, Hope, and Ali (who didn't get to go to the fundraiser). A couple other band kids were in their picture.

Abby's school has a dress code of navy blue and gray with khaki and blue slacks, but occasionally, they are allowed a free dress day. One of those free dress days is on picture day. Here's Abby with her hair all curled  and in an outfit of her own choosing for picture day. Beautiful lady! 

For Reflections, Abby wanted to enter a photograph that she took. She spent a lot of time trying to find the best shot for the theme "What's your story." She took some pictures after making this collage of things that describe her, but she ended up using a picture that she had taken on her phone. But this is still a good representation of our Abby and her interests.

Abby's been playing the French horn this year, and has picked it up quite quickly. She's very talented. Their first band concert was right around Halloween, so they were able to dress up for the concert.  

Abby's been first chair out of 10 horn players in the beginning band. She was also asked to play in the symphonic band, which is the next level up band made up of mostly 7th graders. So she performed with both bands during their Halloween concert. 

This isn't really school related, but it's Abby's mijas, so here's another picture. It was taken at our ward Christmas party, which was a Mexican fiesta. Two of her mijas, Cindy Renee and Ali, were able to come with us to the party. They took a picture at the photo booth with Claire Davis, Abby's friend from church who lives down the street from us.

Right before Abby's actual birthday, we had a birthday party with her mijas. We ended up spending the day with them and going to Rockin' Jump, eating out for lunch, and going to a play that Cindy Renee was acting in. It was a full day, but a lot of fun. We took a few pictures before we left the house for Rockin' Jump. We took one with all the girls, and then one with just the mijas - it's Ali, Abby, Cindy Renee, and Hope.

Rockin' Jump is like a trampoline park full of trampolines and foam pits. The girls had a blast. My girls had never been before, so they were all super excited to finally get to go. The older girls' favorite spot was probably the dodge ball area. They beat a group of younger boys who were also there for a birthday party. I grabbed a picture through the netting when they were all sitting together taking a rest too. We spent a lot of time there.

Tessa, Aubrey, and Taryn really liked the joust and the foam pit that you got to fall into. It was fun to watch them compete against each other and against total strangers. They all had a lot of fun. 

We left for lunch and ended up eating at Pei Wei. The girls enjoyed their meals and eating with chopsticks. Once you paid the Rockin' Jump admission, it was good for all day. So after we finished eating lunch, we went back to Rockin' Jump for a couple more hours to make sure we got our money's worth. 

That evening we kept Ali with us and we attended the play that Cindy Renee was in at UTEP. It was a fun family activity. It was kind of like a double play. There was a jazz version of the nutcracker with some really cool music, and then the play that Cindy Renee was in, A Christmas Carol. It was fun watching that one with the girls because they hadn't really seen it before, so afterwards, they were all about watching all the Christmas Carol shows and movies that we already owned now that they were familiar with the story. It was a great day celebrating Abby's birthday. Ali and Abby took a selfie while waiting for the play to start. It was a cute picture, and Abby wanted me to have a copy, so here it is.

I can't believe Abby's 12! I took one quick picture before she left for school on the morning of December 19th, her actual birthday. She's now officially a young woman, at least in regards to church activities. She started doing activities with the Beehives even before her birthday as they invited her to activities and lessons during the month of December. It was so nice of them to include her, and it made the transition into Young Women very smooth and easy for her. She loves it already! 

Abby requested a German chocolate cake for her birthday, so I made one from scratch using my Grandma Jeanne's recipe. It turned out super yummy which I was happy about since it was my first attempt. Abby was very pleased. We had a laid back family party the night of her birthday where we invited Grandma and Grandpa and the Kasallis's for dinner and cake. Abby got mostly clothes and money for her birthday presents, which is what most 12-year-old girls probably ask for. 

After Abby's birthday and right before school was let out for the Christmas break, Abby had another band concert. She played with both the beginning and symphonic bands again. This time, they had to dress in actual band concert attire which is white and black for the beginning band and white and black with a blazer for symphonic. I took a picture in her band blazer before we left for the school. It's such a good picture! She looks so grown up and gorgeous! 

Before the concert started, I was able to get some closeups of Abby in the beginning band with half of the horn section and also of her on the end of the row with the symphonic band. They played really well, and the symphonic band director, Mrs. Allen, told me after the concert that she wants Abby to play with the symphonic band when they go to competition. She's really doing so well and seems to enjoy playing. We're so proud of her!

Besides band and friends, Abby has stayed busy with school classes. She's continuing to make As and she likes all of her teachers. She participated in the Science Fair in December and did a project on coolers and which one retains ice the longest. It was a long process, but she did really well. She even entered it into the school's fair and won a second place ribbon! She's done so well in middle school and we just can't say enough good things about her. We love our Abby!

Tessa's First Half of 4th Grade

Tessa's been just as busy as Aubrey with all of the school activities this first semester. Although, she's had a harder time because her GT teacher, Mr. Belknap, moved to an administrative position after only a couple of months of school, so by Thanksgiving break, she's been without a permanent teacher. Mr. Belknap is a student favorite and it wasn't any different for Tessa. She loved him as her teacher. She ended up having him sign almost every school supply she owned so she'd have his autograph everywhere. The entire class, including Tessa, was so sad to see him go. She cried for like an entire week. He really was a favorite and will be missed. The first activity we took pictures at for Tessa was a school open house that was held a couple weeks after school started. Tessa showed us her art picture that was on display of a giraffe she drew.

I love Tessa and how easy going and bubbly she is. She is definitely different than Aubrey when it comes to dressing up though. For picture day, Tessa specifically picked out this outfit and did not care that it wasn't fancy or dressy. When she got in the car with the Kasallis's to go to school, they even asked if she remembered that it was picture day and she said "yep, this is what I want to wear." I loved it. It's totally Tessa! 

For Tessa's Reflections entry, she took this picture of Buddy, our turtle, and titled it "Buddy, the Monster." I love how it turned out and how close and clear she was able to get the picture. 

At the Reflections award ceremony, Tessa also got a certificate and an Honorable Mention ribbon. She got her picture taken with the principal, Mrs. Lugo and with the vice principal, Mrs. Clay as well. Tessa was very upset that her entry didn't move on to the next level. She was really proud of her work. 

In November, with the Presidential election taking place, the district decided to have a voting opportunity for the students as well. I went to the school to help with it and was able to take a picture with Tessa after she voted. It was fun to teach the students about our right to vote and give them that opportunity during a huge national event.

I was only able to grab one picture with Tessa when Taryn and I went to have lunch with her for the Thanksgiving feast. Here's Tessa with one of her classmates and friends, Juliet. Juliet and Tessa met at school, but found out later that they go to the same church, so that was fun. Juliet is in a different ward than us, but they've had plenty of play dates and really like hanging out together. 

This is not school related, but one night Tessa wanted me to twist her hair, so she could have curly hair the next morning. After getting all of her hair up, we decided she looked like a reindeer, which matched her pajamas perfectly. We had to take a picture. Unfortunately, with her shorter hair, all the twisted hair ended up making her hair a lot curly and crazier than we were expecting the next morning. We had a hard time getting her happy with a hairdo to send her off to school. We probably won't be doing this again; but for now, at least we have a picture of the one time we tried it. 

At Lundy, the 4th graders get to participate in the Kids Excel program. They learn some dance steps while talking about motivation and self-awareness. They put on a performance right before school lets out for the Christmas break. It was fun for me and Taryn to go watch her. 

Before they started their performance for us, I grabbed a couple pictures. Here she is with two of her friends, Adrianna and Bianca. And then I took a picture of their starting positions while we waited for all the parents to get settled. Sometimes it's nice being the shortest because that means you get to be in the front row for things like this. They did a great job and had a lot of fun. 

I was very upset with myself for not taking any pictures on Tessa's last day of the semester when I was in her classroom the entire time running their party. I totally spaced taking a picture, even after I ran downstairs to get pictures of Aubrey's class. They did multiple crafts, ate pizza, and played games like charades and Christmas bingo. It was fun spending time with Tessa and her classmates, since it's usually just Aubrey's class that I get to see. Tessa is still a straight A student and loves her classes, even though she's still waiting for a new GT teacher. Her other two teachers, Mrs. Adkins and Mrs. Hingst, are also her favorites. Tessa is very social and loves playing with her friends. She was just saying the other day that she gets a little frustrated sometimes because she says her friends are always fighting over her and wanting her to play with them. I just told her to be nice to everyone which she says she is. I told her that's good and that's probably why they fight over her. She is the nicest person and is always willing to help someone else and make everyone else happy before herself. We love Tessa and she's doing a great job in the 4th grade!

Aubrey's First Half of 2nd Grade

I usually only do school posts at the end of the school year, but the girls had plenty of activities during this first semester that they warranted their own posts. Aubrey's been enjoying 2nd grade with her teacher, Mrs. Bass. I've been a little more involved this year with her class because I've been going once a week to teach music. That's been fun, but challenging to find enough music and activities to fill an hour to entertain 20 seven and eight-year-olds. They say they like it, especially when I bring my French horn to play, so that's been fun. But to start the school year, I have to go back to the first school activity, which was the Family Picnic that is always held in Sept. We went with the Kasallis family and the kids took their picture with superheros since that's the PTA theme this year. They were also excited to play the games, jump on the bounce houses, and see all of their friends.

The Fall picture day is one of my favorites. I love how dressed up Aubrey likes to get. She wanted her hair curly and to wear one of her fanciest Sunday dresses. I love taking my own pictures before they leave for school. Here's the beautiful Aubrey: 

All the girls participated in Reflections this year at their schools. I even went to the first PTA meeting at Hornedo and somehow left there in charge of Reflections at Hornedo. At least at Lundy, all I had to do was help the girls get their entries ready. Aubrey took this picture and wrote a statement about the two "queens" - one who lives in the snow and one who lives in the warmer weather. 

Abby spent a lot of time trying to take the perfect picture and at one point was going to write a statement about her sisters, so she took some pictures of the girls. She ended up doing something else for her entry, but I ended up with these cute pictures.  

At Thanksgiving time, there is always a day set apart for parents to come have a Thanksgiving feast with their students, so Taryn and I came to eat lunch with Aubrey and Tessa. I grabbed this picture of Aubrey with some of her classmates before they ran outside to play. It's Tommy, Audrey, Aubrey, and Gabby. 

The first week of December, the 2nd graders took a field trip to UTEP to see The Nutcracker play. I was asked to chaperone, which I was super excited about. They said they could dress up if they wanted to, so it was funny to see that most of the girls were all dressed up, while the boys didn't mind wearing their usual school clothes. Of course, Aubrey wasn't going to say no to an opportunity to wear one of her fancy dresses. I took these first two pictures as we were walking on campus towards the auditorium. By this time, I have been going to their class for music for a couple months, so all of her classmates were comfortable around me and didn't have any issues posing for my pictures.

Inside the theater, we had to wait awhile for the performance to start so we took a couple more pictures. I was happy to get Aubrey with her partner for the day, Mia; and to get one of everyone that we could squeeze in who was sitting around us. 

Right before the end of the first semester, they had the awards ceremony for the Reflections entries. Aubrey got a certificate, ribbon, and her picture taken with the principal, Mrs. Lugo, and vice principal, Mrs. Clay. She was a little sad that her entry did not move on to the next level, but she was happy that she got out of class and was able to have lots of cookies. 

On the last day before Christmas Break, I spent most of the morning running Tessa's class party, but I took a couple minutes to run down to Aubrey's classroom to say hi and take some pictures. They were busy doing a lot of crafts and activities, so I had to take individual pictures with each of her friends. Here she is with Mia, and then with Gabby and Katelyn.   

We also took pictures of her with Madelyn and then with Maya. 

As for grades, Aubrey is making straight As and loves being a help to all of her teachers. She is in the GT program and goes to another teacher for a portion of the day to work on extra activities. They recently did an egg drop project and Aubrey was happy to announce that none of their eggs broke. She loves seeing her friends and playing at school and I only hear good things about her from her teachers. She's doing a great job in the 2nd grade!

Thanksgiving 2016

November flew by and most of my pictures were taken during the Thanksgiving Break. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year and celebrated with my parents, Tyler's parents, and my brother and sister-in-law, John and McKaye. We had a great time. Tyler fried a turkey and I made lots of pies. It was yummy and we loved hanging out together. On Thanksgiving morning, we went downtown to watch the parade. We've never been in town to see it before, and we had no idea how crazy busy it was going to be. Luckily, we stopped at a corner where you could pay a dollar to sit on the porch of the business there. It was worth the money to have seats (and a usable bathroom!) We never even found my parents and John and Mckaye when we thought we were going to meet up. I took these pictures as we waited for the parade to start.

After the parade, we joined other members of our ward and stake to clean up a block of the parade as a part of their Helping Hands program. We got t-shirts to wear while we worked, and we took a picture before we walked back to our car. It was a great service opportunity that I was happy to have my girls participate in.

I unfortunately forgot to take any pictures when we sat down to eat our yummy meal on Thanksgiving day, but here are all the delicious pies we made. Banana cream, Blackberry, Cherry, Lemon, Pumpkin, and Chocolate. 

I did take some pictures, finally, at our final dinner out. We went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Delicias Cafe, with the awesome decorated chairs.

I also took some closeups of Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons and of John and McKaye with the girls. 

I wanted to take family pictures while we were all together too, but the weather was cold and windy and the girls were done before Tyler even made it outside. So, it ended up being a photo shoot of the girls. Some of them turned out really cute still. Here are my favorites. First, the individual pictures. Aubrey didn't last long enough for her own picture, but she did at least participate in the group pictures.

I took some selfies so I'd be in a couple of the pictures too.

And here's my all-time favorite one. Love these girls! 

Before our family left, we took one last picture with each of them. Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons left to drive home Saturday morning, so we took a picture of them with the kids before they hit the road. We were so happy they drove down to be with us for the holiday.

Grandma and Grandpa Black wanted to treat John and McKaye to Bahama Bucks, which my girls love, so we joined them there. We took one last picture before John and McKaye were dropped off at the airport. They mentioned that it was a bit louder at our house than they're used to in their home, but they enjoyed playing with the girls and letting the girls entertain them all weekend. We love our family!