Gracie's Class Christmas Party

It has been a little hard for me this year to not be able to help out at school as much as I would like to. I would love to go to the parties and just be in the classroom with Gracie at every opportunity, but with school schedule and the other girls it just hasn't been as feasible. That is why I was SO EXCITED to be able to go to Gracie's Christmas party. I LOVED just being able to take it all in ;) Rob and I often say to each other how we would LOVE LOVE LOVE to go to school with her (or Karys too) and just see how they act and interact with the other kids. Gracie LOVES school so much and it is so fun to hear all about her experiences each day and the friends she played with. She is a very smart girl who loves to learn and it is fun to be in her environment and apply what we know about her to that setting!

The Christmas party was on the Wed before Christmas. It worked out really well b/c i was able to go while Rob loaded the van at home and right after the party we launched the 'Christmas Tour' bus :) The girls and the boys in the class were split up into groups. The girls did their gift exchange first while the boys made snack and then the two groups exchanged places. Hopefully you will get a glimpse of Gracie in this setting, some of the friends she interacts with, and just the expression that is on her face when she is at school (she was pretty proud to have her momma there as well ;)This is her friend, Kinzie....she was the first to start off the gift opening time.Next up was another friend, Anna...And then it was Emma's turn...she opened Gracie's gift and they were sitting next to each other so they shared a hug =) Gracie and Emma are also 'lunch buddies'--they both bring cold lunch everyday so they sit by each other daily for lunch!Shelby was next to go...Mrs. Aalbers has told us that Shelby and Gracie can often be found playing "school" during their free choice times.Then it was Gracie's turn. She got some very fancy princess bracelets from Emma :)The girlies waiting patiently to switch stations with the boys....Gracie calls all of the girls in her class her friends and tells stories about all of them too! As a mom, that is just one of those things that you love to hear...she seems to get along and care for everyone, she is shy though so obviously she is more drawn to some personalities more often. Starting in the left hand side Maddie is in the purple shirt and then heading clockwise it is Mia, Emma, Gracie, Ashlynn, Vanessa, Kinzie, Sydnee, Shelby, and Anna.These are the reindeer cupcakes that they made....such a CUTE idea!!! Pretzels for ears, M&Ms for eyes, a tootsie-pop with the stick trimmed down for the Rudolph nose, and a piece of pull 'n peel licorice for the mouth ;) SO FUN!And FUN to eat!Back at her desk with all of her snacks ;) she was so proud to sit and have her picture taken at her desk!Gracie and Ashlynn with the Rudolph hats they made earlier that day. Gracie's didn't quite fit on her head so her nose was more of a head lamp ;)Gracie and Kinzie in the group picture...everyone had their reindeer hats on!LOVED this picture of Anna's face! She was definitely excited for Christmas Break and had lots of energy from all the sugar ;) It was such a fun day in Kindergarten!!! I LOVED the opportunity to see Gracie with her classmates as well as participate in the Christmas festivities! Hoping for lots more parties in the years to come!!!

Two sleepy heads and one ball of fire :)

During the last week of school, the girls were starting to feel the anticipation of wanting to be on Christmas Break as well as just the fatigue of the season. They were EXHAUSTED from a busy weekend (dance recital, parties, etc) so they got all cozied up on the floor after supper...6:30 to be exact for a movie! Gracie was out before the movie was even over 715pm and Karys made it to her bed but was definitely asleep by 745 ;) Addyson on the other hand had taken an almost 3 hour nap late that afternoon and got to bed on time all weekend. She laid still long enough to take this picture but ran all around the living room until we finally wrangled her in to get her jammies on and head for the hills around 9pm. So funny to me how you can have three little ladies on such different pages sometimes ;)

Christmas Program at Church

On the same night that we made the Christmas cookies, the girls had their Christmas program for church. My parents arrived just as we were finishing up the cookies and in time to order some pizza, get ready and head over to the NWC chapel for the program. The girls were THRILLED that they were able to come and watch! And it was just good to see them before Christmas as well since we would be going to their house on the back half of Christmas this year.We tried to get Addyson in the picture with everyone but she wasn't having it...I wanted to get a picture of her though b/c she wore the dress that Gracie wore when she was a flower girl in Auntie Heather and Uncle Seth's wedding ;)Karys even tried to help distract her ;)This is as good as we got ;) But this pose is SOO Addy! She is always holding her arms out this way :)Gracie had a speaking part this year and she was the first one of the entire program to go! SHE DID GREAT!Just so hard to believe she is old enough and brings you back to the days of standing up there for so long, folding your arms and playing with your dress....she did these things too as well as A LOT of yawning! She was so tired from baking all day with no down time and the program was a little later as well ;) Bless her heart!Karys also got to take part in the program this year. Her group got on stage and recited John 3:16 together (which Karys knew after the first week ;) and then they got to sing a song together as well about Baby Jesus birth!It was so cute to watch her walk up onto stage right past Gracie, they smiled at each other so big and gave each other 5...I love that they get to do these things together while getting the chance to have their own parts and shine as individuals as well! After not getting a nap that afternoon, Addy was definitely a little restless throughout the program; however, between playing with Bruce sitting behind us and bouncing back between laps she had such a GREAT time watching sisters as well!!! WE had a great night, the girls did GREAT and THANKS SO MUCH to grandma and grandpa for making the trip!

Christmas Cookies with Cousins

Sarah, Leah and Caden came over the Sunday b4 Christmas to spend some time with us and to bake some Christmas cookies. Every year the girlies get more and more into this project; however, by the end it is usually the "big" ppl that are using the rest of the frosting to frost the rest of the cookies once they lose interest ;)The girls did have fun rolling out their own dough this year though and cutting out the cookies themselves...sometimes I think they ruined the cookies when they picked them up just so they could have enough dough to roll out again!Gracie getting her dough all ready to roll outThe little ones snuck up onto the chairs after the big girls got tired of rolling the dough out and were waiting for the next stage...frosting!Caden got a couple good sized chunks of dough in his mouth when we weren't looking...he was rather THRILLED about this ;)Addyson was so focused on using her cookie cutters I really don't think she even realized you could eat it...just thought it was play-doh ;)Gracie with her frosted creationsThe girls hard at work with the frosting and LOTS of sprinkles!!!I ADORE this picture!!!! How BEAUTIFUL, PRECIOUS, CUTE is my niece Leah?!?!?!?Karys was so thrilled with her work! I did have to scrape some excess frosting off her cookies but she worked SO independently! That is GREAT for her!
Sarah and I finishing up the leftovers ;) So glad we got to spend some time doing this together! Everyone had a GREAT time! Thanks for making the drive Roe family! See you next year :)

Girls Winter Dance Show

Just for Kix Dance started in Orange City this year. This was so weird for me b/c that is the dance program that I was involved in for quite a few years growing up. We have looked into other dance options in the area for the girls but they are not right in town and the cost is much higher. SOO that being said we were glad to get them started with this! They have absolutely loved it! It has taken an adjustment b/c they are just doing dance this year and they are slightly confused as to why they cannot do gymnastics as well...but they are so glad to be doing this with some of their friends and being able to have something to do each week.

Right before Christmas they had their "Winter Show". They both got to perform both of their dances at the NWC theatre, and had so much fun getting up on stage as well as getting all fancied up for the performances. Here are some of the snapshots from the evening!This was her first routine, "Three Little Kittens".This was so GREAT b/c Karys and her good friend Amaya ended up being the only ones to do this part on stage...they were not going to miss the opportunity to spin t/g!Gracie came on next, SO EXCITED! To do her 1st routine, "Susie Snowflake".Next up for Karys was, "What's Cooking Now"And Gracie's class finished up with "Pretty Woman"The girls by the tree afterward, of course we didn't have time before hand to grab the pictures so Gracie was very ready to be out of her outfit as well as ready for bed ;)Oh the "Megan pose"Karys, however, was feeling very photogenic ;)She is my posing, dancing queen!Addyson wanted in on the photo action too!
What a GREAT night! WE were SOOOO proud of the girlies! They did such a GREAT job and it was fun for them to see all their hard work pay off! We are already looking forward to the Spring Show April 16th!!! Save the date!