Canyoning

Every once in a great while Damon and I have the chance to sneak off for a little time together without the kids, and on a recent trip we got to visit the Grand Canyon by helicopter...

The Skywalk was a neat perspective on the canyon, and the required booties were quite fetching...

The photographer apparently had a list of shots that she needed to take to complete her package, so here we are at the Grand Canyon prom...

I loathe goofy pictures...

I may be a dork, but I'm his dork and he loves me...

We enjoyed our adventure and I can now cross Grand Canyon off my bucket list, although I would love to go back and do a rafting trip with the kids to get a different perspective on it.  So maybe it is still on my bucket list...

Watts' TOT Shine Time Super Show

Watts participated in the TOT program again this year at school and he was so excited for his showoff, mostly because of the trophies...

His fan club was there to support him...

He even learned how to balance the ball on his head! Just kidding...it's the power of trick photography...

Great job, Watts!

First Trip to Blue Bayou

The big girls were spending their Saturday afternoon at birthday parties with Dad, so the littles and I hit the snowball stand after Watt's game...

Then we kept the party rolling with our first trip of the season to Dixie Landing.  Watts was our capable chauffeur in Gasoline Alley...

And when he got tired of walking Corinne even shared her stroller with him...

Awards Chapel

The girls' school has an awards chapel near the end of every school year, and a couple of days beforehand the administration sends out an email to each family to let them know if their child will be recognized in the assembly.  We were really excited to get an email, and the morning of the chapel service I talked with the girls about statistics and tried to prepare them for the extreme possibility that only one of them would receive an award.  We talked about being happy for our siblings and friends and not being jealous or sad if we weren't recognized.  Soon after the service began, Cille received a Top 10 Accelerated Reader award, so we took a quick video and thought our family's portion of the ceremony was over.  You could have knocked us over with a feather when Cille's name was called again as Eagle of the Year for her class, and our jaws were on the floor when Stella was recognized with the Servant's Heart Award for the second year in a row.  Even our adopted sister from across the street brought home honors with her second consecutive Eagle of the Year award.  We are SOOOOO proud of these special young ladies...

They worked hard all year long and we're so blessed that they are growing spiritually as well as intellectually.  Thank you, Jesus, for a kingdom-focused learning environment!

Stella's Field Trip to Honey Island Swamp

Stella's 3rd grade class enjoyed their final field trip in Slidell's Honey Island Swamp.  These two have been besties since Pre-K...

This group is full of energy...

I carpooled over to the field trip with Ms. Tiffany and another mom, so we all enjoyed our friend time at the field trip...

Selfie as we embark down the Dead River of Doom...

This child can do a SPOT ON Donald Trump impersonation, and her Melania isn't too shabby, either...

This is how we field trip in South Louisiana: floating by the gators...

Sneaking up on the snakes...

Coaxing out the coons...

And hand feeding the hogs...

Don't worry...those are not our hands!

Check out that little porker posing for his picture in the background...

This was probably not an approved wildlife interaction, but hey, what happens in the swamp should stay in the swamp, or at least go no farther than your family blog...

We had a great time in the Honey Island Swamp!  I can't wait to go back when Cille is in 3rd grade!

Watts' First Day of Swim Team

Since Watts was a baby, he has been hanging out poolside and watching the big girls have all the fun on swim team.  Well, no more!  Watts is finally old enough to be a Dolphin this year, and he was super excited for his first day of practice...

The water was so cold and he is so secure in his masculinity as a guy with 3 sisters that he chose to wear one of their hand-me-down wetsuits.  The color scheme was not thrilling to his father...

And guess which cute baby sister insisted on wearing her swimsuit, attending practice, and even putting on goggles to be just like the big kids?  Your turn will come soon, Corinne!

Global Wildlife Field Trip

Greetings from Global Wildlife!  

Cille's first grade class had a wild time on their last field trip of the year...

This sweet girl was all smiles even though the morning was a little chilly...

Those of you who know me well know that I am decidedly NOT an animal person.  I voluntarily gave my two feed cups to Cille, but as it turns out, she kind of takes after me and was a little shy about feeding the animals.  Her sweet teacher noticed and came to help her out...

She ended up with a hand full of slobber.  Talk about no good deed goes unpunished!

Check out the reach on that tongue!

Cille finally found an animal that she enjoyed feeding, and promptly poured her two remaining cups of feed into his mouth...

He was very patient...

And that's no bull! (sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I was not sure about taking my eyes off this guy, but we needed a selfie together... #socialmediagoals

Back at the pavilion, Cille enjoyed a picnic lunch with her friends, and then chose a surprise from the gift shop for all of her siblings.  We had a great day at Global Wildlife!