Family Fun Day at Long Meadow Farms

Last week our neighborhood hosted a family fun day with lots of fun for the kids.  There was food, a train, a bouncy house, rock climbing wall, and lots of games and give-aways.  So, Brenna and all our neighborhood friends met up for a good time!

Froberg's Farm and Strawberry Picking

Last week we enjoyed a treat; sweet, juicy, ripe strawberries picked by our little farmer and friends! My friend Jamie and I loaded up the car and headed out for Alvin, Texas and Froberg's Farms where they haves acres of strawberry patches just waiting to be picked. What better way to spend a beautiful friday morning than stomping through damp, muddy garden rows, lugging around buckets while picking produce. Who would have thought something I despised so much as a child (of course I wasn't doing it for fun) would bring so much enjoyment for Brenna. Brenna, Avery, and Brady (sort of) got busy and 2 hours later we had 12 pounds of strawberries! Oh my!

Brenna's First Soccer Game

Oh my!  What a day!  Brenna did fantastic for her first soccer game!  She was very concerned about scoring a goal in the game, even though Jacob and I repeatedly assured her that it was all about trying your best and having fun.  I was praying for just one goal, so she could enjoy things that much more.  Oh, she enjoyed herself alright!  By the end of the game, she had 3 goals and 4 saves on goalie!  We were so Proud!  Her coach began referring to her as "The Beast"!

We have 8 four minute rotations, with a half time thrown in.  We have 7 members of our team.  There are 4 kids in play each rotation, with 3 on the field and 1 at goalie.  One of our little guys decided the crowd was too big and refused to play at all.  Then early in the game, another guy fell down and decided he was done.  So, Brenna ended up playing 6 out of 8 rotations, serving as goalie for one.  By the time fouls and halftime were taken into account, the game ran over an hour.  Brenna was whipped with all that running!  But she did fantastic!  We have her first goal on video.  She did do a celebration dance after her first goal, but unfortunately you won't see that because as soon as the ball went in, the video went to the sky because Jacob was jumping up and down!  Needless to say we were so excited!  By the time she scored the 3rd goal, I thought I might pop!

Here's some shots from the game.  Jacob even came home and put together a video!  We're so proud of our little All-Star!

Waiting for the game to start!

Brenna's First Soccer Practice

We gave Brenna the option to be part of a team sport this spring.  She had to choose between t-ball and soccer.  When I asked her which one she wanted to play, she immediately responded "Soccer" to my dismay.  I told her to think about it, since I personally was leaning toward t-ball, but she was not swayed.  So soccer it was and we decided to join the YMCA youth league with some of her friends.

Another thing we missed because of sickness, was Brenna's soccer team's first practice.  I was alittle concerned, since I don't know anything soccer (hence the reason I really preferred t-ball) and thought we might miss out on some important soccer play and strategy.  Turns out there's not much strategy involved with 4 year old soccer!  Keep it in bounds is really the only rule!

We headed out early for our first soccer practice, to kick the ball around alittle before our other members showed up.  Brenna's always been very athletic and enjoys gymnastics, t-ball, basketball, and soccer, but this was our first attempt at team sports.  Turns out soccer seems pretty natural for her.  She had no trouble jumping right in and following along with dribbles, goal kicks, and ball throws.  She runs hard and fast and generally keeps good control of the ball.

Back in Business

Unfortunately, we've been out of commission for about 2 weeks due to sickness.  Brenna caught a virus that eventually turned into pneumonia.  Thankfully, we caught it early and avoided a hospital stay, but it knocked her down for quite a while.  Because of that, we missed out on the entire week before and most of the Spring Break.  But we're back in business now and making up for lost time.  It's been a busy week and I've got lots of pictures to catch you up on, so come back soon!

One thing we missed while we were sick was our very good friend, John's birthday party.  Shellie was crazy enough to trust me with his 3 year old pictures.  Shellie and I have struck a bargin when it comes to pictures.  I take pictures and she takes care Pickles and Moose while we're away on trips.  Since I really like to take pictures, I think she gets the dirt end of this deal; literally since her part involves a litter box.

Here are a few of my favorites from John's 3 year old shots.  I love his belly laughs!

Houston Rodeo and Live Stock Show

Another year, another rodeo!  I've said this every year since we've moved to Texas.  If you've never been to the Houston Rodeo then you don't know how big Texas really is.  We kicked off the opening of the Rodeo with alittle lasso practice.  The Helmcamp kids drug out the saw horse calf and got down to business.  The big girls went first and did a great job.  Next Reid went to show Brenna how its done.  On Brenna's first attempt, she roped herself.  You can see the look on Reid's face as he stood by saying "What are you doin'?"  She eventually got the hang of it and roped her first calf.

One Cold Saturday Morning

As some of you may remember, we had a pig problem back in late summer.  After several weeks of terrorism, hog traps, and new fencing, the pigs final detoured from our homesite in preference of greener pastures.  Literally!  They thought the homes closer to the creek had juicier lawns.  Our poor yard has since lay barren in places patiently waiting for spring.  In an attempt to not have to re-sod, we (along with our neighbor who suffered the same problem) visited the the local nursery for a load of good healthy dirt.  Brenna thought the huge pile of dirt in Daddy's truck was fantastic.  So, on one cold Saturday morning, we got to work.  Including Brenna!  She was the helpful little worker!  Now let's hope that in the coming month, this pays off. 

Happy Birthday Brenna.......Kinda

Stop, you don't have to check your calendars.  Time does fly by, but not quite that fast.  Brenna is the youngest in her class, which will likely always be the case since the Texas cut-off for school registration is August 1st and Brenna's birthday is July 31st.

For each child's birthday, they have a mini-class party.  The parents bring snakes and the kids sing Happy Birthday.  Since Brenna is the only kid in her class with a summer birthday, they didn't want her to feel left out.  So, Happy 1/2 Birthday Brenna!  At Brenna's request, I brought rainbow cupcakes and popcorn for all the kids and some fun rainbow party masks!

Jump'n Jacks!

Brenna's class had a field trip to Jump'n Jacks Bounce House. There were 11 kids all hyped up on apple juice and bouncing off the walls, literally! They had a great time. They climbed the rock wall, jumped, played, and screamed a lot. After a couple hours of jumping, we hit the party room for pizza and were back at school just in time to take a much needed afternoon "rest" before the end of the school day. 

Riding with Reed

"Hey Good Looking!  Need a ride?"

Chipwrecked!

We took Brenna out for a fun Saturday.  We went to see Chipwrecked!  Brenna loved it with all the singing and dancing!  Since then, we've gone back and watch the first two Alvin and the Chipmunks movies and now she's a big fan.

Preschool Teddy Bear Breakfast

Brenna's school held their Teddy Bear Breakfast, where all the kids got to come to school in the their pjs with their favorite stuff animal and have a pancake breakfast.  This event was perfect timing, since Brenna got a gift card to Build-a-Bear from Aunt Keli for Christmas and had just given creation to Rainbow Pink (we're real original when it comes to naming things around here!)  She was very excited to get to share her new friend with her school buddies.  Thanks Aunt Keli for the great gift!  The kids had a great time introducing their fluff-filled friends while eating cocktail sausages and  pancakes in the shape of teddy bears!

Big Bad Brenna!

We've had lots of time to try out all our new Christmas toys, but the most important was Brenna's new big girl Kitty Cat Bike.  Here she is on her first ride!

What Are You Looking At?

Back to blogging........again.  This year has started off on the run, so I'm already behind on blogging.  But, stay with me, because I'll be catching up over the next couple of days.  Until then, here's a shot that makes me laugh!

Christmas 2011

Back to blogging!  It was a very long and very busy December!  Finally, all the candy has been eaten, the decorations have been put away, and I have time to share a few pictures from the month.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with friends, family, and a few unexpected surprises!  We started off the month with parties, parties, parties! We had three birthday parties, two Christmas parties, and a Disney Character breakfast that kicked off our celebration season all in the same week!  Whew!  Here's a few shots from Avery and Brady's birthday parties!  I don't know how my friend Jamie does it with both her children's birthdays and Christmas all in the same month! Brady's birthday was a cowboy theme, hence the hat!  Avery's birthday was at our gymnastic gym and the kids had a blast!