It's official

Emma got her first bad note home from school. She didn't turn in homework and got in trouble. I can't believe it, it finally happened. She was so upset, and I think has finally learned that 3rd grade isn't a party anymore. Her teacher is wonderful but firm. We have our fall conference this week Friday........

Here is a picture her teacher took from the first week of school

They are learning about friction and simple machines in science class. One of the boys dad, owns Patton Tire and Auto in Chester, he came in to give the kids a hands on presentation about traction and friction and other things. Here is a pic of her class

We have a very busy week this week. Competition is on Sunday. We have 9 squads in our division and only the top 3 place and get trophies, hopefully the girls will do good, but we will see.......

The Nutcracker

Things have been really cooking in our house. The first 8 weeks of school have come and gone in a flash. Emma got a wonderful interim report, of all A's & B's. And of course an E in conduct and an E in study habits. She seems to be settling right into 3rd grade. Cheerleading is getting ready to wind down for the year, only 2 games left. This weekend is homecoming weekend. We have a competition on the 25th and then again on November 1. The girls aren't as advanced or as together this year, so we are just hoping for the best. Ya never know they may surprise us in the end.

On an exciting note, Emma was chosen again to be in the Nutcracker this year, she has been given the parts of the Toy Solider and also a Truffle in the party scene. She will perform on December 12, at the Maggie Walker Governors school. The weather has finally cooled down, and hopefully with that things will slow down a little bit. Cheering has been fun this year, but running the squad has made it a little harder for me to keep up. I haven't missed a practice or a game yet this year, so I am glad it is coming to an end. Emma will move up to the Juniors next year, and I have already been asked to move up as head coach with her. I am excited as I will get back a lot of the girls I lost that moved up this year. Now Emma may not be so excited that she is still stuck with her mom.

She did pick out her Halloween costume, we went into the store looking for a dead bride.... yes I gave in and was going to let her get the darn dead bride costume. We walked out with a Hollywood Starlet.... Thank god they didn't have any dead brides. So report cards come home in another 3 weeks. Girlfriend is working hard, lets just see if she can keep it together :)

And the Bengals loose AGAIN!!!!!!

A shot of me and the girls from the Enon game that we won

Watching the Gates girls do their halftime show

Momma really needs a haircut again.

Emma practicing before the game at Ironbridge park against Gates

Emma and Ashley practicing the halftime show. Can you believe it is October and the girls can still wear just the vests? It was such a nice night on Saturday.

Cheering for Gates when they were done with their show "Good job good job girls, good job good job"

"Halftime Ready!!!!!!"

Emma is the back stunt, the prep, this was at the second game against Providence.

Everyone all smiles, waiting for the music to start for the dance.

Our team was right back at it this weekend, for another butt whooping, but the boys try so hard. The girls are getting better. Here are a couple shots from this weekend.

Meet the President..........What?????

Yes you heard right. Emma and I are going on a "back lot" tour of the White House and are scheduled to meet the president on October 10, 2009. I am beyond excited for her. How cool is that at 9 years old to play hooky from school with mom to go meet the president. I may have a pretty demanding job, but it defiantly has its perks!!!!!!! This is all set up through one of our attorneys that could not make it, and offered it to the staff. We are driving up to Fredericksburg and then taking the train into the city. We have a 3 hour tour of the White House and then I plan on taking her to see the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Monument. Maybe we can make a stop at one of the Smithsonian Museums too..........

Talk about strict though, you cannot even take lip gloss in with you. Don't know how I will make it through the day without lip gloss. But poor daddy is sad he can't go. Even her teacher is excited for her. Her principal has also agreed that this is an excused absence from school. She has to write a paragraph about her visit and the principal is going to let her read it on the morning announcements. Hmmmmmmm guess we'll have to do some major editing to her writing!!!!!!!

Chester Bengals Are Number 1

Ok, well it has been a long time since I posted. The school year has started out with a bang and has been as busy as ever. Cheerleading is going great. And they boys FINALLY won a game this weekend. Here are a couple shots from the game

Emma at Halftime. The girls did great. We had to change some stunts around becuase of the rain, but they did awesome anyway. Maria, the little girl on the right, is a spitfire, and just a really fun little girl. The girl holding Emma on the right is Emma W. (yes we have Emma J. and Emma W.) and is just as sweet as she can be.

The girls stop for a pose with Coach Michelle. I have had more fun coaching the girls this year. Can't believe there is only 5 weeks left, and 2 competitions to go!!!!

So that's it for now. More pictures later.

Back to School

Summer is officially over and it was back to school today. The rains came for the first time in weeks. Diva was appropriately decked out in her red shirt, plaid skirt, white tights, black suede boots and black sequin hat from Justice. Although our bedtime was 8:30 we didn't fall asleep until almost 11:00 last night. We were both excited and scared. This is a big year, 3rd grade, no more E&S's we now get letter grades A,B,C,D &F. While we didn't get the teacher we wanted. Mrs. Lyons seems to be nice. Although if she is anything like the Mrs. Lyons I had, that may remain to be seen.

So after a week of hanging out with Ms Megan at our house, our teenager in training is back to the grind. Yesterday we cleaned out her room (again) made sure that there were no dead animals under the bed, and moved around her room. We managed to go through all of her clothes to see what still fit and what didn't. To diva's surprise, she actually didn't have that many clothes for a change. So after setting up a new homework area in her room, we hung Emma's reminder stickies all over the house. No more nagging from mom on what needs to be done. Everything is laid out clear.

This year is going to be a busy one. Cheerleading on Tuesday's and Thursday's through October. Our first game is this weekend. And I must say my squad is looking pretty darn good. Emma is flying again this year and has already mastered a prep and is working on a liberty with her stunt group. The girls while young have been like sponges, we have finished our halftime routine and will start working on the competition routine this week. The girls are thrilled as they got pom poms this year. So it should add another element to their routines. Our football team must of been inspired by our wins last year, as they have actually won their first 3 scrimmage games.

Dancing starts this week also. Emma was placed in a level 4 ballet class, which means 2 classes a week. These are pre-pointe classes, so she is really excited (hate to tell her that she still has another 4 years before she can be on pointe though). It also includes her getting character shoes this year, which is something she hasn't done before. She will also start training for taking the National academy of ballet exam. This is a great way for her to be eligible for scholarships in the future and is also a great training program.

So it was all kisses and hugs at the YMCA this morning as the kids reunited after a week break. And off on the bus. I have pictures from this morning and will upload them when I can.

Happy September everyone.

Outer Banks Part Deux

Emma and Morgan at the Aquarium

Daddy having a ball driving in the 4 wheel drive area at the horse tours. We had to keep yelling at him not to drive through the puddles even though he wanted to so badly. You'll notice very few pictures of Scott, as after today he lost his battle with the sun, and didn't appear again for 3 days.

Sunset on the dunes.

Our rag tag crew at the top of the dunes during the wild horse tours. We had the greatest guide. He knew all the little spots, and let us all climb the dunes and took the pictures for us.

We visited the light house in Corolla. Momma couldn't walk up the stairs becuase of her ankle, but Emma walked up all the stairs over 160 of them to get to the top with Uncle Eddie, Morgan, Missy and Michael. She got some amazing pictures.

I got these great pictures of mine and Emma's feet in the sand.

Shell and her new friend Morgan. By the end of the week, I got to put him to bed and read bedtime stories. He was so funny.

Emma playing diva in the waves at night, while we were filying kites.

Momma and Emma playing on the beach at night

Emma learned how to fly a kite. Even though it didn't go up that high, and almost ended up in the power lines. We learned that sometimes the fancy ones just aren't as good as a generic one.

Uncle Eddie helping Emma carry her big kite down the to the beach

Emma and Morgan building their masterpiece on the beach.

Emma having some girl talk with her new friend Missy

Watch out for the pipeline!!!!

Emma got some great shots of the horses, this little guy was around the first corner when we got on the beach. They are so pretty, it is amazing how they roam through yards

I love this picture of Emma, she was as happy as a clam in the back of the jeep. I'm so glad we opted to have the open vehicle, it really made it fun.

We had a great time. At least there was no tropical storm and evacuation this time, just sunburn, injured ankles, and a short trip to the ER for Morgan!!!!!!!