Bramell, Party of Five: March 2015

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Weekend Visit Bliss

A couple of weekends ago, we were so excited to get a visit from TP and Piper! We hadn't seen them since Christmas because of so much snow and Big Sis's ice skating lessons; it was way too long between visits.
 
We had hoped to take Piper to our favorite park, but it rained on Friday and Saturday. We ended up at the park Sunday after they left, when it was beautiful, warm and sunny (of course).
 
The kids had so much fun playing. Piper loved on Fergie. And we got to have lunch at The Catfish Hole! Oh, and Saturday night, we took the kids to play at Fun City. It was a busy visit, but we loved it!
 
I cannot believe that Piper is growing so fast. She's a sweetie and a lot of fun. Her mama must be doing something right.
 




Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Big Sis Brag: Smart, Pretty and Almost Grown!

Big Sister's school hosted its annual Daddy-Daughter Dance at the end of February. Although she's had the chance to go for the previous two years, she had not been the least bit interested until this year. Much to our surprise, Big Sis came home one day and said she wanted to go to the dance!
 
The theme this year was Hollywood Red Carpet, so she and I set out to find the perfect dress for the night. After a brief glimpse of what her teenage years will be like --GOD HELP US-- we finally settled (and agreed on) the most beautiful dress for my little Hollywood lady.
 
I rushed home from work on that Friday night to get her prettied up for the big date with daddy. (He cleans up nicely, too.) They left home in the middle of a beautiful snowfall, both smiling and giggling. After dancing the night away with her second grade buddies, daddy even took her out for a post-dance taco dinner.
 
I'm so proud of my sweet baby girl and how much she's changed in the last few years. She's happy, friendly and has such a kind heart for others. And she's quite a pretty girl, too!






While I'm bragging, I'll just add something that her teacher told us at school conferences last month. They have been taking reading and math tests periodically to check their progress and make sure they are on track with the proper grade levels.
 
On the last test period, Big Sis increased her reading score by 27 points (from the end of first grade). The teacher said this is the largest point gain that she'd ever seen on a test!!  She's now reading on level with the middle of third grade. As you can imagine, this makes me so happy. We love reading together.  But now we need to spend as much energy on improving math, where she is riding the line at barely average. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Monday, March 2, 2015

March 1st Snow Fun!


We had a snowy weekend (again) here in Northwest Arkansas. It started on Friday afternoon and snowed pretty much non-stop until late Saturday night. We got about 2.5 inches with a nice layer of ice on top.

We would have had more fun playing outside on Saturday when the snow was softer, but it was also only about 20 degrees. Mama hates to be cold, which the kids know. So Saturday, we opted to stay inside snuggling and cooking all day. 

When the temps were around 33 on Sunday morning, I happily suggested that we head outside to play before the snow melted. After half an hour of bundling up, off we went! I couldn't believe that even Fergie loved playing out in the snow! The ice on top made it too hard for building a snowman, but we made a few snowballs and took a walk around the block for fun. Too bad we don't have a hill in our neighborhood for sledding!

After playing outside for a bit, we came back in to have some hot chocolate and call Nanny to wish her a happy birthday.







 
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