Castle in the Sand

After nearly 2 hours of uninterrupted busy work in the sand box, this is what the kids came up with!  One said it was a princess castle, the other said it was a flower erupting volcano, and Reid being the only boy said "Now, let's destroy it!"

Valentines

Yes, I know that its nearly March and Valentines is already way back in the rear view mirror.  But things have been busy and I have at least 5 posts in the que that are trying to make their way out.  And even though this isn't the oldest one, I figured I better get this one out before it becomes embarrassingly late!

Brenna was super excited about making her own Valentines Box.  So, I wrapped the shoe box with white paper and then complied colors, glitter, stickers, jewels, and ribbon.  The rest is all Brenna!  It took 2 days to decorate, since we had to wait for the enormous amount of glitter glue to dry.  Then she insisted everything be a colored!  She didn't want any white left!

The Run Down

Recently I joined instagram.  Given my love of pictures, it was only a matter of time before I hopped on that band wagon.  Now I find myself using my iphone camera alot more!  So, heres the run down on some instagram fun.

100th Day of School

I didn't even know they were counting the days until we got to day 92!  I never knew the 100th day of school was such a big deal.  In honor of the 100th day, the kids were asked to design their own T-shirts with a 100 theme.  When I asked Brenna what she wanted on her shirt, I wasn't surprised to hear "Raindows!"  Of course!  So, 100 pompom balls later and this is what we came up with.

McAlister Family Fun Day at the Zoo

It's been awhile since just the three of us have gotten away to do something fun and the weather last week was just too beautiful to pass up the opportunity for a day at the zoo.  We got there right after it opened and leisurely enjoyed all our favorite parts.

Brenna crawling through the aquarium!

Fun with Frankie

We didn't have to wait long to visit with Frankie again.  The very next week he went home with Malea and Brenna got to have more fun with Frankie during their playdate!  Here's a picture Malea's mom shared with me of the girls hula hooping with Frankie!

Star of the Week

Brenna was chosen as Star of the Week a couple of weeks ago.  This is an opportunity for the kids to share alittle about themselves and their life.  They get to bring home Frankie the Falcon (their classroom mascot) who visits with them for a week.  They also put together a poster that tells about their life, family, hobbies, and likes.

Brenna was thrilled to bring Frankie home and she faithfully hauled him everywhere we went each day and he slept with her every night.  We worked hard on her poster, as she carefully chose each picture that she thought shared something special about her life.  On the first pass you selected more than 50 pictures, which we negotiated down to just under 20.  Finally, Frankie comes with a journal which "he" makes an entry in at the end of the week describing his visit with his new friend.  Needless to say this turned out to be more homework for Mom than it was for Brenna.  Here's how our week with Frankie went.

Frankie at the basketball game and watching movies with friends!

Brenna's First Basketball Game

A new year calls for a new sport!  Brenna started winter season basketball at the YMCA in January.    They play full court, four-man basketball on 6 foot goals.  She's also the only girl on her team!  Her first game she walked away with 3 baskets and 4 rebounds.  We're so proud of her!  She's really turning into a spunky little athlete!  Check out some of the pictures and video from the first game!

Warm-ups

Left Overs

Having some fun with the left overs from New Years!

Make-Up Madness

Brenna had a friend over for make-up and manicures.  They really like the blush!

The Last of Winter Break

I'm catching up.  It's been awhile, but I wanted to share the last few pictures of our winter break.  We spent the last few days just hanging out and enjoying the down time.  With nothing to do and no where to go, the kids headed outside for some fun.  They raced any and everything that had wheels.  The also had an acorn war of girls versus boys.

Monster's Inc.

Over the winter break we met up with some friends and saw Monster's Inc in 3D at the theater.  Of course the kids loved it.  Watching the movie reminded me that a few weeks back one of my new school mom friends mentioned that Brenna looks like Boo from Monster's Inc.  I didn't really think much of it at the time, but as I was watching the movie a particular photograph from Brenna's early years came to mind.  Maybe she had a point!  What do you think?

I Can Fly!

Count down, lift-off, flight, and landing                         

Happy New Years!

Birthday Party Sleepover, Oh My!

Brenna and her friend Avery have been together since the start.  Well, at least 4.5 months from the start, because that's how long it took for Avery to come along behind Brenna.  The Jones have always been special friends for us long before the kids came along and Avery has always been a special friend for Brenna.  They were both born in Beaumont and shortly after we moved to Houston, the Jones were not far behind us.

This year Avery decided that she wanted to have a sleepover birthday party.  When Jamie first told me of the plans, I wasn't sure if Brenna would stick it out until the end.  When I told Brenna about the party, I thought she would be hesitant about the sleepover part, since this would be her first time away from home ever!  To my surprise, she was nearly busting at the seems to get the party started.  We even had a party countdown that started 10 days out!

On the day of the party, I drove through the pick-up line to get Brenna from school.  As she was getting into the car, the teacher on duty said "She's super-excited about the sleepover tonight!"  Brenna was sharing her excitement with whoever would listen!  We came home, took a short break, had a snack, and then it was off to Avery's house!

Counting the birthday girl, there was a total of seven 5-year old girls ready for some all night fun!  Jamie is a brave, brave woman to attempt this!  We dropped Brenna off with a quick hug and a kiss and she was off with the rest of them!  To my delight, Jamie is a picture fanatic like me and she told the story of the night in pictures.  There was dress-up and treasure hunts, cookies and cake, movies and popcorn!  All the things that little girls love to do!  Here's a few of Jamie's shots from the night!

I just love this picture, not because Brenna is front and center, but because she's standing there in this fu-fu outfit, which I'm sure she picked because it was pink.  There's one girl standing in the middle of the bed stripping, another shooting a bow-and-arrow in a tutu, and Avery's on the side digging out more stuff to play with.  I can just see the chaos of the moment!