Hale Household

 It's Friday and we made it through the first week of school!  We are all a bit tired but ready for a full weekend full of running, parades, rodeo, maybe a little swimming, resting and whatever else we can squeeze it.  With our girls there is always FUN!  How about Miss Em and Abbey Grace with mustaches...
 And Lainey Girl is growing up so fast!  This is a picture of her before her interview the afternoon of the pageant.  She was so calm and poised.  She is wearing her lucky necklace. 
 Our 4th and 5th graders... Seems like yesterday they were 4 and 5 years old.
 Abbey had her first Jr. high volleyball game yesterday.  They lost but played really GREAT.  They were full of nerves.  They second game they got beat 27-25 so I know they will just continue to improve.  Its going to be a fun year! 
Happy Labor Day Weekend!!! 

Miss Em is the BEST "littlest" sister and cheerleader supporter! 

Happy Hump Day!

 Saturday night was our local pageant.  I had tried everything in my power to try and talk Lainey Beth out of doing it.  She was going to be the youngest in her age division of 5th-7th graders and I couldnt stand the thought of her getting her heart broken.  Well, I couldnt convince her not to enter so I finally gave in. 
 We found the perfect melon dress on clearance, of course, and had it hemmed to fit our girl and we were set with Abbey's borrowed necklace and hand-me-down shoes!  She looked amazing.  She did great at the interview that afternoon.  I sat outside the door and heard the room full of judges laughing as Lainey was in the room.  She came out of the afternoon interview feeling good about herself.  That is all I hoped for after this was over. 
 That night, Lainey Beth came on stage with her HUGE smile and looked amazing.  I was so proud of her maturity. 
 She walked with pose and never got flustered.  (She did that often when we practiced at home.) 
 See, She looks pretty tiny up there! 
 She answered her question like a pro!  She even said she wanted to be JUST.LIKE.HER.MOMMA!!!
 That EXTRA special moment came when Abbey got to crown Lainey!  I CRIED Happy tears.  Oh yes, she also won Most Photogenic!  Precious girl...
 This year's pageant was a little more special because Miss Lubbock was there.  She's for our little town and attended Tech.  We are SOOOO proud of TJ.  She competes in Miss Texas this weekend! 
I am a super proud Momma!  I have the best three girls EVER! 

Here We Go Again... Last night was the 41st Annual Dove Festival Pageant.  You may remember that Abbey Grace was crowned Duchess last year.  Well, after watching big sis last year, Lainey Beth deciced she wanted to take a shot at it!  Lainey competed with pose and grace last night and won the crown.  I cried tears of joy.  I knew she could do it but she was one of the youngest in the age group of 5th-7th graders.  I will be back to post more about our BIG night but we have another FUN year ahead representing H-town with our middle girl!  So Proud!

Today, my baby girl, my first born turned 13 years old.

Today, it is so hard for me to realize that Abbey Grace is a teenager.

Today, in Abbey's word's has "been a mix of emotions."

Today, I still feel like I should be 23 years old rocking a new born baby.

Today, I love this blonde haired-browned eyed beauty so much.

Today, I am so proud of the young lady she IS and IS becoming.

Today, Abbey Grace is more than I EVER expected.

Today, my baby is almost looking me in the eyes and wears a bigger shoe than me.

Today, Abbey Grace is a Christian woman who worships a Mighty God.

Today, my girl still loves kisses from me and her daddy.

Today, my 13 year old still lets me braid her hair and tuck her in at night.

Today, this girl is learning who she is and her place n this world.

Today, I am thanking God for 13 FABULOUS years with this AMAZING girl! 

 Let's do a little catching up, Tuesday Talk...
1.  We are trying to soak up every LAST bit of summer.  Can't believe its coming to an end.  Seems like it just began. 
2.  That means eating ice cream (Daily!) and swimming every chance we get!
3.  YES, we loved the Olympics just like every other American!  Miss Em especially loved the gymnastics.  She finally convinced us to fit a regular gym class into our schedule!  How could we say NO!
 4.  Part of our summer CRAMMING is home pedicures.  We have come to LOVE turquoise and lime green nail polishes this summer :)
5.  Yes, I have gone back to teaching part time at the Luthern Preschool.  I'm pretty excited!  I will be working with some amazing ladies!!
6.  Abbey started REAL athletics this year.  Our week this week consists of drug testing, parent meeting, cheer sign making, cross country practices, cheer pictures, shopping for volleyball knee pads and I am sure a 1,457 things I am missing and school hasn't started with the 6 a.m practices!  We are EXCITED though and so is SHE! 
 7.  This little Duchess will pass on her crown in the pageant this weekend.  It's been fun! 
 8.  This little beauty decided she wanted to be in the pageant so we are at it again this year...
9.  Will is still running, biking and swimming away.  He is in FULL Ironman training mode!  He has a big race/training weekend ahead. 
10.  Life is trucking along at lightning speed... Wish we could slow it down a bit! 

We had a SURPRISE birthday party for Abbey's 13th about a week earlier than her actual birthday!  We really caught her off guard and it was GREAT!  She was at a friend's house "playing" for the day and we just happened to kidnap her that even along with a few other friends!  We blindfolded her in the process.  While Abbey Grace was blindfolded, she thought we were headed out of town but we kept adding friends to the car and she was REALLY confused. 
We eventually had about 15 girls at our house for a SURPRISE birthday party and ABBEY was surprised!  It was so fun... Lainey and I had prepared most of the afternoon making sandwich trays, getting ice cream sundae fixings together and setting it all up.
We snuck off to Waco the day before while she was at a Jr. High Youth Conference to grab a cookie cake :) 

It was a GREAT evening for a teenager!  Cant believe she has grown up so fast... SURPRISE, Abbey G!  WE LOVE YOU!  (She did say she was a little upset because she was still wearing her clothes from cross country and cheer practice earlier in the day!  GOTCHA!)

 Last weekend we had our little couples' get-away and it was GREAT!  We all have 22 kids combines (one couple was missing in this pic) and it was nice to get some time away from preparing meals for kids and doing kid stuff!  We stayed at a wonderful place that had bed and breakfast type homes, close to the river. 
 We ate a great dinner Friday night, listened to good music, floated the river on Saturday, swam, visited, ate again, and just relaxed... It was MUCH needed! 
Thanks for a good time, Friends! 

 It feels like we are wrapping up our summer around here.  Really it feels like the girls  just got our of school for the summer.  This summer has really just flown by and I am not ready to send the girls back to school.  We have enjoyed our days at home.  Lainey celebrated her 11th birthday and with that comes a surprise from ACU... a pillowcase for sleepovers and summercamps!  Speaking of Lainey Girl she is doing the local pageant this year since Abbey did it last year... Since we were in "try on pageant dress" mode, I tried on my pageant dress from 1993.  Last year I could get it on but couldnt get it zipped all the way. {Lacked about an inch.}  Well, this year...it zipped ALL THE WAY!
 Lainey and her BFF found this cute little grasshopper while swimming the other day.  Its a real LOVE BUG with a heart on its back! 
 Abbey got her UCA patch in the mail this week!  We got her registered for the Houston Thanksgiving Day parade.  She's excited and my birthday just happens to be on Thanksgiving Day this year!  She pulled out my letter jacket to compare cheer patches.  FUN times...
 Abbey's been in workout mode all summer with basketball camp, volleyball camp, conditioning, cheer practice, and now cross country workouts.  The other morning after cross country practice a mom sends me this picture...
I would have been running the other way!  Oh Abbey Grace!

Miss Em has been obsessed with the Summer Olympics and the gymnastics.  She now wants a balance beam for her birthday next month.  She has made her own balance beam out of a quilt.  She even measured it so that it is the right width.  I must get a picture of it!  Its precious! 

Happy Weekend!

 On Sunday morning we woke the girls up with a "Surprise, Let's go to Six Flags!"  They had all earned tickets from their reading so we loaded up and headed to the metroplex for a day of rollercoasters. 
 The lines were not long and we only waited for one water ride and the Viper!  It was over 100 degrees but we really never got too hot because we kept drinking water and got under the misters!  The girls were able to ride all the favorites and sometimes even more than once. 
 We always LOVE the Mine Train. I think Lainey and I rode it at least 4 times. 
 We even took time this trip to drive the antique cars.  I remember doing this as a little girl.  They were pretty good drivers.  As Abbey approaches 13 in just a matter of days, she reminds me she will REALLY be driving in 2 years! SCARY! 
 Lainey got to drive with Daddy. 
It was a good day topped off with ice cream at Chili's on the way home.  One last road trip before school starts! 

Happy Hump Day! 

Lainey and Whitney (my brother's daughter) are so shy and sweet.  They LOVE hanging out.  They were also pretty crafty at making their quilt square.  They are only 4 weeks apart in age :)
These sweet cousins were all born in 1999.  Do you think Abbey has some catching up to do? 
Saturday night we went to our local "fancy" steakhouse for dinner.  The young counsins and their kids all ate outside on the patio.  Our parents and aunts and uncles all ate inside in the peace and quiet.
Here is my momma and her brothers...

And now the first cousins with their spouses. (My brother is on the far right.)
And here are ALL our kiddos... WOW!  But man, they have a great time together!  (Oh, and they are in order by age.)

Sunday morning Cathe, Vanessa and I decided to go for a little work-out together.  More fun cousin bonding time before it was time for everyone to head home.  We have a BLAST each year and cant ever wait for next summer!