Smiley's (aka....) School Year in Review

Last but never least is Smiley.

For a while now I think I could have switched up the nicknames and graced her with Hannah's ~ Sassy!

But instead, I will use her actual name, Alayna.

This kid is Sassy, Spunky and a bit Dramatic!

Alayna had a great school year.  She likes school for the most part.  

She does well academically and loves to be around her friends.

 (Alayna's first day of 2nd Grade)

(Alayna's last day of 2nd grade.  Notice the black eye?!  She was playing volleyball at a graduation party with 

some teenage boys and took a volleyball to the eye ~ YIKES!)

This kiddo is strong willed and typically has a lot of ideas going on in that head of hers, from what I should make for dinner, to how she could re-arrange her room and to planning parties with the neighbors that she forgets to tell me about.  

Last fall she was fascinated with mermaids (and still is).  She decided for her 8th birthday she wanted to have a mermaid themed party.  Before she was able to celebrate with friends, we were able to celebrate with family at my sister's house in another state.  My sister was sweet enough to get her a lovely mermaid cake!

When we were finally able to schedule a "friend" party she wanted to continue the mermaid theme.  

She went swimming with a few friends, then back to our house to celebrate "under the sea"  with food and fun.

Besides her fall birthday, she had a couple of other fun fall events:

Pheasant hunting with family (she walks alongside the hunters and tries to scare up birds)

and Halloween

However, much to her brothers dismay, she wanted to be like him and chose to be Robin Hoods Sister ~ HA!

This 2nd grade year was a big year for her at church.

She made two sacraments, Reconciliation and First Communion.

She had to learn a lot and was very proud of her accomplishments ~ as were we!

Alayna is spunky and definitely has some not so great moments with her siblings (and hubby and I if I'm being completely honest here).  

But she does love her family and is always cheering her siblings on

as long as we aren't in the volleyball gym for too long!

Like I said, she loves her family ~ once in awhile I'll wake up to notes like this one (her spelling has gotten better since this first one)

She loves spending time playing, laughing and simply just hanging out together

She is adventurous and full of life! I can't wait to see where she goes!

2,7 and 10

Three simple numbers.

The three grades that my kiddos started yesterday.

Summer came and summer went.

Today is day 2 of new school year.

Let me get you caught up on each one.

I'll start with Smiley.

She is a busy 7 year old ~ soon to be 8.

Yesterday was her first day of 2nd grade.

She can be stubborn, persistent and crabby (especially when she doesn't get enough sleep!)

BUT.....

She has a great imagination and like to draw and create things.  She is very creative.

She is obsessed with mermaids....obsessed.....

She played 8U slow pitch softball this summer and had a lot of fun (her team even ended up with some 2nd place hardware!)

 She loves playing with other kids and is thrilled when the neighbors drive into their driveway at the end of their workday, so she can play the moment they get home!

She finally learned to ride her bike without training wheels this summer and now loves going on family bike rides.

She enjoys listening to and playing back music ~ she knows the words to so many songs and it cracks me up when she starts singing songs word for word that I had no idea she knew.

She makes me laugh and smile with her goofy personality ~ I am blessed!

SaveSave

Puerto Vallarta ~ Part 3 ~ The Final Chapter

Onto the final chapter.....

Thursday, the girls hung out with another family and did a little shopping while Hubby, 

Action and I went zip-lining.  Action was feeling MUCH better and was excited to have his turn.  

The three of us had a blast ~ it's a bit invigorating to find yourself flying through the trees and over a river on a beautiful, warm, sunshiny day.

Friday ~ kind of a sad day ~ our last full day in Puerto Vallarta.....

Since Hubby, Action and I missed out on walking around and shopping a bit, we decided to to that on Friday morning with the Sassy and Smiley.   It just so happened that Friday wasn't just any Friday, it was Good Friday.  We took a taxi to the Malecon.  The Malecon is basically a boardwalk with lots of little shops and interesting sculptures.  On this particular day, there were also lot sand sculptures.  

This was one of them:

very cool!

There were also stations of the cross set up along the walk as well.  

I was very impressed and know fully that this would offend people in the US and most likely would not be permitted.

We continued walking and enjoying the culture.

Personally, I loved the architechure.

We also were able to visit this beautiful church, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. 

There was a Good Friday service in progress, so we just stood in the back and admired the inside of the church.

Sassy and Smiley had also gone in the day before when they were shopping with friends, and just like then, 

Smiley felt the need to kneel down and pray.

When we were finished, we headed back to the resort to enjoy our last day in the warm sun.....

(lots of handstands were performed in the pool)

Saturday we headed home.  

After a flight cancellation and an unexpected overnight in a hotel in LA, this is how we spent Easter Morning ~ 5:30am at LAX.  It was an adventure to get home, but we eventually made it.

This vacation was a much needed break from the run-around of our everyday lives.  

The hustle and bustle of school, work, sports and daily life.  

We had such a great time and made some awesome memories with each other and with our friends.