Kindergarten Registration & Pre-K Graduation

On May 12th, I registered Zane for Kindergarten. WOW! It is so hard to believe that he will begin "big school" in August! He was so excited to see his soon-to-be new school, especially the gym.

He looks so tiny next to the Ponder Elementary School.

And on May 27th, Zane graduated from Pre-K at Mother's Day Out! The church had a small little "graduation" in which the kids said the Pledge of Allegiance, sang a song, said a prayer, & got their certificates.

Way to go Zayner Bug! Mommy, Daddy & Berkley are so proud of you!
Zane had WONDERFUL teachers this year that we will miss! Thank you Mrs. Marie & Mrs. Kelli for preparing Zane for Kindergarten this year & for teaching him about Jesus!
Making his graduation cupcake at the class graduation party.

Zayner Bug,
Daddy, Mommy & Berkley are so very proud of you! We love you so very much & cannot wait to see what God has in store for you as you go to "big school" and learn so many new things!

Mother's Day 2010!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
On Mother's Day we headed to church, came home & played a couple of games of Memory with the kids, then headed to have a late lunch with Patrick's mom & dad.

He's all boy, loves to hunt & fish, but deep down I really think he's a momma's boy!?When I drop him off at Mother's Day Out he plants a big one right on my lips everyday! I leave the church with a huge smile on my face! But I think to myself the entire way to the car, "How long will he do that?" I just don't want him to ever get to that 'it's embarrassing to kiss your mom stage'! But I am sure it's coming. But, he can be a momma's boy forever if he wants to be!

Check her out!

Berkley has always been scared of anything that moves, that isn't a human or a real animal. She is terrified of her crawling Winnie-the-Pooh, freaks out completely when she accidently puts her foot on the petal of the battery operated 4-wheeler, runs from her walking baby, shakes at Zane's Spike the Dinosaur in action ..... you get the point! But check her out, she has fallen in LOVE with the tractor! If daddy is mowing, he now has a princess in tow!

Justin Fun Days

On May 8th we celebrated Justin Fun Days here in Justin. It was a big success! The kids had a blast! There were lots of activities for them to do. There were a number of vendors set up, good food, & wonderful music! Yep, there was even a street dance! :-) What do expect from Texans?

Playing in the bounce house

My blue-eyed babies A huge bounce house slide! Zane really like this! A pretty cool little set up where you take your kids pictures & then log onto a website & put in all their information in the event they ever come up missing. And of course my kids were all about the horse/pony rides!

Berkley Marie eating a hamburger.

Doing some fishing

Fishing with daddy

Zane enjoyed these things (not sure the name). He was not heavy enough to do flips or anything but he still had a good time.

Now, this was his favorite -- the zip line!

He was so cute when he got off, he said, "I was scared at first but then I was hanging on real hard, & said in my head 'This ain't so bad'!"

Justin used to do Fun Days every year. They stopped doing them back in 2003 and then the Fun Days returned last year. This is the first Justin Fun Days that many can remember in which it didn't rain all day (even back before 2003) so we had one excited town!

More Ponder Park Fun!

We LOVE the local Ponder park! I try to take the kids at least once a week, if weather permits. They have so much fun! (And burn off some energy!)

Did someone say, "Cheese"? Peek-a-boo

Kyle & Zane

Name Game - Zane & Berkley

I often times read this sweet blog, Kelly's Korner. She has various topics of discussion she links to other bloggers' pages to sharing "mommy" information. The topic this week is: Your kids (or future kids) names.

Since I was in high school I have thought of names for my children. One of the names I have always loved is Zane. I have always thought it was perfect & different. Even after marrying & then starting the teaching profession, I had always stuck with Zane. After getting pregnant, Patrick & I went back & forth with a few names: Zane, Zeke, & Wyatt. We had agreed on Bailey as the middle name. Bailey was my maternal grandfather's middle name. He was a wonderful, respectful, hard working, Christian man. Even though he passed when I was very young, I have nothing but wonderful memories of the grandfather, husband, & father he was. Through the years, he was always spoke of frequently in nothing but positive ways. (I can honestly say I have never heard anyone say a negative word about my grandfather! He was honestly a great man!) And boy did my grandmother ever love that man! It was amazing to listen to her stories of love for him. We quickly decided on Zane Bailey as the name of our son! And I do believe it fits him perfectly!

When pregnant with Zane we had a few girl names picked out too. Hannah Grace was the name that was agreed on. So our Zane would have been a Hannah had he been a girl.

With our daughter's pregnancy things were much different! Choosing a name for our princess was hard work! We knew we wanted Marie for her middle name after Patrick's paternal grandmother. At the time she was the only living grandparent for either of us, & she played a very large role in Patrick's life. She was a great lady, very loving & nothing but sweet! Oh, how we all just adored her! For a first name we threw around the following (or should I say, "I" threw around the following): Colbea, Emma, Avabeth, Ellie, Emmalynn, Preslee, Zoey, Brilee, Brynnlee & Berkley. I couldn't get Patrick to agree on anything. I was dead set on Brynnlee, calling her Brynn. I finally threw the name "Berkley" out to Patrick, thinking there was no way he would go for it, & to my surprise he immediately agreed! (Come to find out, Berkley is a brand of fishing equipment/gear so he was game!) I loved it & can't imagine the princess of the house being anything but Berkley Marie!

Now, had Berkley been a boy: Dax, Zeke, Ty, or Aiden as the first name and William as the middle name.

Zane Bailey & Berkley Marie

I can't imagine my life without these two precious little ones! I love them with a love I never imagined! I love to watch them learn & discover new things! I love to see them laugh & smile, especially at & with each other! Their kisses & hugs make my day! I am truly blessed & thank God for them daily!

Frank Buck Zoo 2010

I went with the kids Mother's Day Out classes to the Frank Buck Zoo. The kids had a great time, & I was exhausted by lunchtime! :-) The kids got to feed the giraffe, see an animal exhibit on how to care for various animals, & then got to touch a couple of the animals. Then we headed to the park for lunch.

Zane feeding the giraffe.

Checking out the zebras.
Sit pig, sit!
Petting a hedge hog.

Zane petting a boa.

Berkley petting the boa.

Petting the goats.

A happy little girl!