May

It seems like I blinked and all of the sudden May was upon us and we were winding up another school year and getting ready to jump into summer. But wasn't it just Christmas?! The past five months went by so quickly!

We kicked off the month with Kyndall having a piece of her artwork chosen to be on display in the Forney Independent School District's art show. This was her second time being chosen to have her work displayed and she represented Crosby Elementary very well. We are so proud of her and we can't wait to see where her talent takes her in the future.

We're especially grateful for her amazing art teacher who fosters and encourages her creativity.

Her bestie Malani also had her work chosen for the show

Her art teacher sent me this photo of the girls working on their pieces several months before the art show.

As soon as we left the art show Kyndall and I headed to our neighborhood's annual Mother's Day brunch. We look forward to this event every year and we appreciate all of the attention to detail that goes into making it a memorable time for the two of us.The theme this year was Lavender, Lace and Ladybugs so after the meal we released live ladybugs onto the lawn of the clubhouse. It was so much fun!

My critter obsessed girl loved releasing the ladybugs....

2018 vs. 2019

As we got closer and closer to the end of school, we could practically taste summer! We had more and more play dates as the days got longer and bedtimes stretched later.

Sweet Huckabee doesn't even know when his tongue is hanging out. Guess that's what happens when you're a little old man with no teeth. 

Kyndall suddenly took up a love for reading, something she definitely did not inherit from me! We went to the school book fair and she chose several chapter books and every time I turned around she had her nose in one of them. Who is this child and what did you do with Kyndall??

Warmer temps meant we needed cool after school treats

On May 5th the First Baptist childrens' choir put on their production of "The Prodigal Clown" for which they had been practicing many, many months. Kyndall was cast as the lion which was her dream role and if you know her love for animals then you'll know why she was so excited to get this part. 

Matthew and I gave her this little lion stuffed animal to commemorate her role

The night was made extra special because Kyndall's very best friends came to support her, even showing up in their fanciest dresses with flowers in hand. The smile on her face when she came out on stage and saw her besties sitting on the front row was priceless!

We celebrated with dinner out

I had a back seat full of cute little girls each morning on the way to school

Kyndall loves supporting her friends by attending their sporting events so she was excited to watch one of Malani's softball games.

I have no idea....

Teacher Appreciation Week is always one of Kyndall's favorite weeks because when your Mom is the PTO Vice President you get to indulge in the daily goodies in the teachers lounge after school!

Randomly one evening we thought we heard the faint sound of an ice cream truck coming through the neighborhood. Kyndall went bolting out the door and sure enough, there he was!

Matthew had to travel for a whole week but he and Kyndall had the sweetest reunion  when he swung by the school on his way home from the airport and surprised us during our weekly Friday lunch. He had been awake for 24 hours but that didn't stop him from thinking of his girls. I was so glad to have our little family back together after a crazy week of single parenting!

We saw the new Pikachu movie. Kyndall loved every minute. I fell asleep. Such is life.

I had a most perfect Mother's Day....Church, sweet gifts/goodies and our traditional Mother's Day picnic that I look forward to each year. The only thing that could've possibly made this day any better would've been having my own Mom here to share it with me. 

Kyndall's self portrait 

Most of these are completely wrong but it sure did make me smile!

Pretty flowers from my pretty girl

Every year I ask to have a picnic at the park rather than fighting the restaurant crowds

Frozen yogurt for dessert

Matthew picked up my favorite treat as a special surprise

2018 vs. 2019

Our friends the Cobles invited us to attend baby Lucy's dedication at their church since their Tennessee family couldn't be there. We were so honored to be their special guests and to support sweet Lucy. It was a great way to celebrate Mother's Day weekend with special friends!

A little child labor never hurt anyone...

After school pool time made us so eager for summer!

I was so excited for summer that I went a little crazy buying Kyndall's summer wardrobe. In my defense, the dresses were only $4.99 a piece!

Last Friday lunch date of the 2018/2019 school year!

Kyndall and Ashlyn were excited to score these Cane's plush pups from the manager of our local Cane's! 

I can't even go to the bathroom without someone following me and waiting outside the door. Sometimes it's the human child and sometimes it's the furry children.

And then there were two...

Kyndall and Ashlyn went to an event in our neighborhood and came back with painted hands rather than painted faces.

The last week of school finally arrived and it was a busy one! They had a combined awards day/field day and Kyndall received awards for "All A Honor Roll" as well as the "Super Dependable" character award. We could not be more proud of her and how hard she works to be a good student and a good friend to her peers. 

Kyndall and Mrs. Colquette, the best teacher EVER. 

It's been a fun year having these three besties in class together

Following awards was field day which had to be modified to indoors due to weather

The last week of school was also a non-uniform week so the girls wore these matching shirts and had their classmates sign the back of them.

At last, the final day of school arrived...

All smiles before we left the house that morning....

Flashback to the first day of school...

First day vs. last day of 2nd grade

The sweetest group of kiddos!

Pizza for lunch!

Second grade has been our best year yet so it was a bittersweet day and Kyndall's emotions got the best of her when it was time to say goodbye. From ending up with her best friends in her class to having the most amazing teacher to excelling academically it all added up to a perfect second grade year. Lots of tears and hugs but I guess that's expected when something so wonderful has to come to an end. 

Sweet friends doing their best to cheer her up

The tears didn't last too long because as soon as school was out we were off to the pool!

We kicked off summer that evening with a movie in the park with friends

Kyndall's final report card for the year

Hard work pays off--We agreed to help her buy this Nintendo Switch as an end of year reward for her excellent grades. 

She's been begging one for a long time so she was pretty excited!

Finally....SUMMER! Evening walks around the neighborhood without the stress of homework or bedtime....

Taking care of her beloved succulents

Summer adventures---Trying out a new restaurant in our town

We love where we live!

Dessert at DQ.... just because!

A sunset game of frisbee

Happy Memorial Day!

What a difference a year makes!

Friends at the splash pad

Patio dinners

Unlimited best friend time

Evening swims

Back porch bonfires with s'mores

Nintendo all night

Seeing Aladdin

More dessert....just because!

Just a few days after school got out Kyndall and I packed up and made the long 14 hour drive back home to Tallahassee where we would spend the next week and a half!

More on our Tallahassee adventures in my next post! Our summer was off to a great start!