Blue

Blue

Blue tastes like juicey blue berries

Blue smells like beautiful cotton candy

Blue looks like big puffy clouds in the sky

Blue sounds like someone that is very unhappy

And

Blue feels like the ocean rubbing against your skin

Maddie Gamblin

8/25/11

3rd grade

Halloween 2011

Halloween is here again

Fun for girls and boys.
Little pumpkins, ghosts and goblins
Dressed up all in fun.
Waiting for the time to come
To go out door to door.
Doing all their little tricks
And getting all their treats.
Then rushing home to see their loot
Eating until they're full.
Then they yawn with their sleepy heads
And off to bed they go........
For Halloween is gone once more.


~ Darlene Arsenault ~

Our sweet friends may have moved but we still ventured 30 minutes up to Woodstock to spend Halloween with them and other friends. It is bittersweet every year to see how much all of the kids have grown but yet oh so sweet to see the girls grow in their friendships with each other. So blessed to have wonderful friends.

Abby and Bria

Emma, Ari, Maddie and Lizzie Grace

Abby and Lizzie Grace

The little goth cheerleader and our tall gypsy queen

Goth cheerleader, Monster High, Gypsy

Sisters

My sweet girls

All my girls. The oldest one tried to tell me she was a lawyer

Getting tired of walking

Absolutely exhausted

And a quick walk down memory lane from last year's Halloween festivities.

My soldier girl 2010

The 5th grade line up. Mary Katherine, Abby, Bria and little Lizze Grace 2010

Emma, Maddie and Ari 2010

Homecoming 2011

Homecoming Weekend this year was made a bit more exciting by the fact that for the first time Abby was cheering for the school program that she and her sisters will attend in high school.

While we missed the Friday night high school game so that Bud and I could go to dinner and celebrate his birthday, nothing would have had us miss the middle school game on Saturday morning. The weather was absolutely beautiful and there is no where I would have rather been.

Start of the game

Taking the field

Abby and her Bucs poster that we worked so hard on.

Abby flying high with a little help from her friends

We didn't win this one but the boys did absolutely phenomenal. Following the game all of the six grader cheerleaders and football players adjourned to the end of the field for Homecoming festivities.

The boys got to watch the cheerleaders who have watched them all season

Abby cheesing it up down front

2011 six grade football players and cheerleaders

Abby got two different roses from two different players, Hunter and "some other boy."

It was funny to watch them. They are not little anymore but not quite big. There was a bit of awkwardness as the girls handed out candy bags and the boys handed out roses. I stood there thinking, "let this last forever." I love this girl!

Labor Day Weekend

Originally we planned to go with friends this weekend to a cabin. But somewhere along the way, packing up kids, buying food and driving to some cabin seemed to me to be a whole bunch of work for a little fun.

We decided to make our own fun instead. We let all of our close friends know that we were headed to White Water for the day and then on to Stone Mtn. for some evening fireworks and fun. Some friends joined us for the entire day while others joined us for part of the day.

We swam, slid down slides. jumped waves in the wave pool and then rode the lazy river around and around. As the afternoon sun blazed, we left and grabbed sandwiches at Subway and headed to Stone Mtn for afternoon and evening fun.

Several of the kids (and adults) did the Sky Hike and climb that is so much fun. Others of us sat in the shade to keep cool and talked. We did the indoor movie and the indoor play place. As the day started to come to a close, we made our way to the big lawn and sat down to eat our picnic dinner and to spend time together waiting for Stone Mtn's laser show to begin.

I remember looking around. This was our chosen family. The people we are doing life with and it felt so good and so right to be with them. Parents held kids that were not their own. Kids sampled food out of every cooler but their own. And as the laser show started everyone found their place. Watching the ooh's and ah's on the kids faces and hearing my girls sing the words to "Sweet Home Alabama" (which every good Southern child can sing) and leaning up against my husband made this a perfect evening.

Whitewater Fun

Abby

Maddie

Maddie and the little boys pumping water

Maddie, Brandon and Justin

Our Gang

Largest Bas Relief in the World. The Confederate Generals

Sam and Justin

The big girls. Sydney and Destiny

Our crazy family

My two loves

The Fireworks

Spectacular

I am so glad we planned our sunny outdoor day for Saturday because Monday (Labor Day) it was dark and stormy all day. We convened to Sparkles to go skating and let the kids play in the play structure. We had a great time minus the tornado rumored to be coming our way and for which, the management thought it good to separate all of the kids from their parents and put them in the play structure in the bottom. Scary stuff. All's well that ended well though and we finished off the night with pizza at Johnny's. Happy Labor Day.

Soccer 2011

Maddie has been waiting for this weekend for a long, long time. This weekend was the start of soccer and in her opinion, it couldn't come fast enough. She moved up this year to an Academy team. More intense frequent practices and more money :)

She is enjoying playing with this new team. A group of girls who play just as hard as she does, who understand the importance of a good pass. Watching them all together on the field at practice is sheer pleasure.

This weekend was a taste of what is to come for our family. Tournaments and games that are farther away and necessitate a 6:00 wake-up call to make it out the door on time to make the game.

The first game in this weekend's tournament was a little bit rough. The girls are still learning to play together, still learning how to really play soccer as a game and not just get the ball and hope that you make it to the goal. By the second game, the girls started to find their groove and even though they didn't win, they played hard.

Bud and Maddie returned this morning for the last game in the tournament and they shone today. Final score 9-0. Maddie had a goal and two assists and played fabulous defense according to her dad, her second biggest fan next to her mom. Their team placed third in the tournament. We are excited to see what they do as this season progresses.

Here's to another season of watching my baby do what she loves and doing it well

Warming up with her teammates

Our girl

End of Day One

The team before Sunday's game

Get the ball Maddie

After her third and final game and after dumping water on her coach.

Girl Scouts

Abby became a Girl Scout in second grade. She had a wonderful troop leader, Miss Kathy for her first few years and enjoyed the outings and the projects. Her interest really waned in 3rd and 4th grade as her old troop leader left and she went to a troop where she wasn't quite as comfortable. This year she was quite clear that she didn't have the interest to participate and so she moved onto other things.

I had always assumed that Maddie wanted to be a Girl Scout and I had talked about it before she was even eligible. Being my reserved child though, she told me that she didn't want to be a Girl Scout because she didn't know anyone. However, joining Girl Scouts got new priority when one of her closest little friends from Kindergarten had a mother that was going to be an assistant troop leader. Maddie agreed to give it a try and in first grade, she became a Daisy, the first step in Girl Scouts.

She has had such a wonderful two years. They do a great mix of activities, trips and fun things without it being too much for the girls. She has sold nuts and chocolates and Girl Scout Cookies. This year she was the top seller in her troop which made her quite proud and left Bud and I wondering what we had been thinking when we agreed to let her sell and had to deliver all of the cookies :)

I feel fortunate that she has two wonderful troop leaders that care about the girls and I am thankful that they are such positive role models for her. They do all of this without pay and really without much thanks. Being a troop leader is hard, hard work and they do it well.

This year was the first year that she was old enough to go to Camporee the two night Spring campout. I was nervous because she's the baby and also because they predicted strong storms all weekend. I think I even wanted to ask her if she wanted to stay home but Bud wouldn't let me. She was leaving after school and Friday and while I normally don't get the girls that early from the after school program I made sure I was there for her send off. I got a hug and a kiss and a "bye" mom after taking a few pictures. She obviously was not worried at all.

Getting ready to push off with her best bud's

Maddie and Emma, best soccer friends in the whole world

Getting their rowing instructions

Out on the water

In their decorated cabin on the bunks

In the barn before their horse experience

The theme for Camporee was "Around the World" and they were Italy. Here they are singing "On Top of Spaghetti"

My Athletic Girl

I have meant to write for awhile about my athletic girl. I know that her dad truly believes that her athletic prowess comes from him. I know that it definitely didn't come from me.

At 1 year, Maddie could dribble a ball across the room with both her feet. From the time she was 2 years old, she constantly said, "I pway soccer Mama?" We put her into soccer at age 4 and I didn't have any high hopes other than that she enjoy the game. To our surprise (or maybe just my suprise) she took to soccer like a duck to water.

Each season she seems to improve a little bit more and more people comment on her ability. I am still amazed by it. How can the child who can't walk the recycling down with her sisters without complaining, run around the field for an hour barely stopping to grab a drink of water?

I love to watch her play. Pure poetry in motion.

She decided that she wanted to play basketball in between fall and spring soccer and since basketball is truly her daddy's sport, we signed her up. She played last winter and did well and then returned this year for a second season.

And once again, poetry in motion.

Fast breaks, dribbling, shooting, our girl does it all and does it well and I have loved watching her every minute of every game.