Homework Time!

Raegan loves school. She is working on her spelling words for her "Spell Check" on Friday. They don't call them tests anymore. She is doing rainbow words. You write the words in all different colors. Monday night we played Hangman with her list. Taylor played with her, too.

This week some of her grandparents came in to have lunch with her for Grandparents week. She has had a surprise just about everyday this week. We are so blessed to have so many grandparents. She has hopped into the car everyday beaming telling me who came to visit.

Michaela loves her school, too. Miss Kim and Miss Dot are on the top of her list. She has been learning about her family this week. We have all enjoyed hearing about her day. One day she was the line leader and she "walked and didn't run" in the halls. She has been the flag holder and been the weather girl,too. She has made a new friend Mikey! Tommy and I were very interested to hear about him. They swing and ride the see-saw together. He is 5 times her size. She did inform us at the dinner table last night that she pushed him in the block center. Apparently he wasn't sharing the blocks. I feel a "time to think" coming." Miss Kim said she is doing great. She new nothing about the "push." I hope Michaela is just using her imagination. I somehow doubt it, though. She also got to check out a book from our library. She is a big shot now. I love having her with me at work. I am so proud of our preschool program. We are going into our 10th year!!
She has also been learning how God made us all different and unique. I love this project. Her little hand prints are on the ends of the arms.

Happy Birthday,Nana!

My sister-in-law Debra, threw a wonderful party for my Mother-in-law. Virginia turned 50 this year. It was beautiful. We really enjoyed being with the family. The girls hit the dance floor with their cousins. Taylor danced with her Nana and Granddaddy several times,too. Taylor even requested a song Tommy and I played at our wedding. It was so sweet.

Michaela was the dancing queen! She had so much fun!

First Day Of School!

Off to school!

ABCDEFG
12345678

We are so proud of Michaela's masterpieces. She painted a beautiful picture of "fireflies and stars."
































Michaela is so excited about being in "her school." She had no separation anxieties. She couldn't wait to do"puzzles...and painting.... and play-doh."

Raegan loves 1st grade. She has a lot of her friends in her class from last year. Her teacher seems to be a perfect fit for her. I am so thankful that she feels comfortable there. She is even buying her lunch more and more at school. I am thrilled she is trying new things.

Taylor begged us to walk to school on the first day. My friend lives right near the school. We agreed since it was 2 blocks away and since she would not have to cross any major streets. This is a picture of Taylor and her friends. They all met and walked together. She loves middle school. We are off to a great start. She loves all of her classes. Thank God!

Raegan's Intro...

I am 6 years old. I am the middle sister. I love all of the colors of the rainbow. When I grow up I want to be a chef and an artist. I love playing with both of my sisters. I love all of my pets, too. I love to help Mommy decorate cakes and help her in the kitchen. My favorite show to watch on TV is Jon and Kate plus 8. I love to watch Tom and Jerry with Michaela.

Taylor Alexandra Into

I am Taylor Alexandra Owens. I am the oldest out of 3 sisters. My favorite sports are horseback riding, softball, and basketball. I love all of my pets. When I grow up I want to be a horseback instructor and draw pictures of my students riding. I will make books on horses to teach children everything about horses to encourage children to ride. My goal is to master the canter on a horse.

Erica's Cakes

Here is some of the cakes that I have been making over the last year.

I made this one for a birthday party at Easter time!

Easter/Religious

My Horse Cake!

Sport Cakes

Kings Dominion

Tommy and I were able to take turns riding rides with the older girls. We couldn't convince Taylor to ride this one. Tommy was up for the challenge. The ride drops 272 ft at 72mph.

Tommy and Michaela rode in one car. Taylor drove Raegan and I, in another car.

I cannot tell you how many times Michaela rode the orange car. She rode every color car in the park, but the orange was her favorite. She even waited in line and chose to miss out on her turn just for that car!

Michaela loved this ride. She rode it over and over and over....

I have to say I was a little hesitant at first at the thought of taking the girls to Kings Dominion. We had an amazing time. The weather was great. The lines were even better. We walked on to all of the rides. We stayed at a hotel right across the street. We were so close we could walk to the park. We got there when the park opened and left at closing time. We had a blast.

Having Fun At The Fair!

Every year we look forward to going to the Fair. One of the highlights for us is watching our cousin show his animals. I also love seeing some of my former preschoolers show their animals, too. Of course, the girls love riding the rides. Taylor loved being able to meet up with some of her friends. This was the first year Tommy and I found ourselves scattered all over the fairground trying to keep up with 3 girls. Taylor hung out with her friends at one end, and the younger girls needed to be entertained at the other side. This year I really realized how fast Taylor was growing up. She wanted freedom. It was exhausting trying to make sure all 3 girls were safe and happy. Taylor entered 2 pictures this year. She won 1st place on one of them. She had some tough competition, but her talent showed. We always new she is an artist. Next year's goal for Taylor is to be in the Horse Show. I have no doubts that she will accomplish that, too!

Michaela loved the swings. It was so cute watching her ride. She was inches off the ground and it moved so slow. She thought she was flying. She was really proud of herself.



Michaela felt very comfortable with her big sister by her side. She wasn't too sure about all of the rides. She found most of them "too noisy." Raegan was a great helper. She rode a lot of rides with Michaela too make her happy.

Our Trip To The Zoo!

My girlfriend and I took our kids to the Washington Zoo earlier this summer. Michaela loved the monkeys. She cried every time we left the Gorilla House. Raegan loved "all of the animals." Taylor's favorite was the pandas.

We all enjoyed coming inside to cool off. The turtles were a big hit,too. Check out the size of that fish behind the girls....

Michaela stretching her legs and running the stroller into every pair of feet she could find!

How Cute!

This is something you don't see very often. The three girls sitting together and smiling!