2015 summary

2015 was sure good to us. We did some fun things, and it really did fly right by.

Karalee

This year Kara was involved in lots of fun things. She continued on swim team, and improved a lot. She achieved her green belt with a black stripe in Tae Kwon Do, and really enjoys that class. She ran with Girls on the Run, and improved her 5K time by 15 minutes. It was a much more pleasant experience this year. Her team got to be on Fox news to talk about the program and demonstrate a lesson. That was very exciting for her and all of the girls. One of her favorite classes that she took after school this year was chess. She thinks she's gotten pretty good at it. She graduated from brownie scouts, and is now a junior girl scout. She has enjoyed earning all of her badges so far this year. She attended a basketball camp over the summer, and is playing again with the school district league. She has gotten pretty good, especially defensively. Now that Daddy bought her some LeBron James shoes, she feels like she can run harder and turn faster. She has some growing to do, being one of the shortest girls on the court every week, but she's hoping to catch up soon. Kara has become very interested with the scratch computer program, and enjoys creating video games on that. She has also gotten really into Minecraft, and likes to spend as much time playing that as we'll allow. She participated in 2 different math competitions this year. In November, she qualified for the first round at the district level, though she was one of the younger kids. She is hoping to make it there again next year, and get even farther. Kara auditioned for special chorus this year and made it. I enjoyed watching her sing in the Veteran's day assembly, and am looking forward to her concert at the end of the month. Kara got glasses and then braces this year, and she pulls them both off in the cutest way possible. If we could all be so lucky... She is taking a photoshop class through CCL, and her current goal is to become proficient in that. She admires Raina Telgemeier because she is a funny writer. She has hopes of becoming a veterinarian. Kara is 57" tall and weighs 64.2lbs. 

Her updated list of favorite things is as follows:

Favorite color- hot pink

Favorite animal- cat

Favorite food- mac n cheese

Favorite song- "Hello" by Adele

Favorite game: Tsum Tsum

Favorite movie- Pirates of the Caribbean #4

Favorite TV show- The Amazing World of Gumball

Favorite friend- Addison

Favorite playtime activity- video games

Favorite toy- beado studio

Favorite non-playtime activity- Art

Person she would like to see right now- Adam Sandler

Favorite outdoor activity- football

Favorite outfit- Jeans and "chocolate makes me happy" shirt

Favorite thing to do with Mom- paint

Favorite thing to do with Dad- play video games

Food she doesn't like- tomatoes

One thing she doesn't like- racism

Kiersten

Kiersten was also involved in lots of things this year. In the spring she played softball, and really liked that. She had some fears to overcome at first. but she always faces challenges head on. She joined a new soccer team, and really shined as the goal keeper. She played a few times in other positions, but really excelled at stopping those goals. She also swam with the crocodiles this summer, and became a much stronger swimmer. She was able to compete in all 4 strokes, and even swam a no breather at practice one morning. She received the most improved award for her age group at the end of the season. Kiersten decided to go back to dance this year, but instead of ballet, she wanted to try out jazz/pom. So far she is really liking it, and is excited about the recital coming up in June. Kiersten was proud to star in the 1st grade play at school this past spring. They put on "Pete the cat and the new guy", and Kiersten did a wonderful job of playing the new guy. She really liked being on stage, and having everyone watching and listening to her. She completed the second level in magic class, and really enjoys showing us her tricks. Whenever anyone tries to do a magic trick for her, she calls them out if she knows it, or can figure out what they did. I've tried to get her to stop doing that. At girl scout day camp, she did it to the lady that had a booth set up from the magic school she attended. I had to tell her to stop spoiling the tricks. Kiersten graduated from Daisy scouts, and is now a happy little brownie. We have done some fun activities and field trips with her troop this year, and have a lot more fun things planned. She completed her nature unit at CCL and is extremely excited to be starting a robotics class and an astronomy class. One of Kiersten's dreams came true this year at a Chiefs game. Her hero, Dustin Colquitt saw her wearing his jersey, and came over to sign it for her. She was just in heaven over that lucky interaction! Kiersten's current goal is to receive her accelerated reader medallion at school. She's actually pretty close. At the beginning of the year, I gave Kara a goal for A.R., and Kiersten took it upon herself to crush that goal, and surpass it. The person she admires is her friend Calvin because he is cute, has cool glasses, and is funny. Everyone likes him. She hopes to be a rock star when she grows up. Kiersten is now 53" tall and weighs in at 52.4lbs.

Here are her current faves:

Favorite color- pink

Favorite animal- panda

Favorite food- tortellini

Favorite song- "Black Magic" by Little Mix

Favorite game- Fill or Bust

Favorite movie- The Little Mermaid

Favorite TV show- The Amazing World of Gumball

Best friend- Eva

Favorite play time activity- jump rope

Favorite toy- walking Kitty

Favorite non play time activity- reading at school

Person she would like to see right now- Papa and Grams

Favorite outdoor activity- softball

Favorite outfit- Blue "Tres Cute" dress she wore for picture day

Favorite thing to do with Mom- cuddle

Favorite thing to do with Dad- Go to Chiefs games

Food she doesn't like- corn (???WHA???)

One thing she doesn't like- running the turkey trot at school (could have fooled me!)

 Evangeline

This year Evie graduated from preschool. She started attending when she was 2, so it was a strange feeling to leave on the last day knowing we'd probably never be back. She has been able to keep in touch with a few friends, and some even go to school with her now. She started kindergarten, and all my worries about her being ready were for naught. She is doing very well. Her teacher called me at 7:30pm last Friday to tell me what a good reader Evie is, and how happy she is to be teaching her. Isn't that sweet? Evie just adores her teacher and loves the fact that we sometimes run into her at Kara's Tae Kwon Do school. Her teacher just placed her in the accelerated reader program which normally doesn't start til first grade. I've got my hands full with these 3 smarties! Evie played T-ball this spring, and though it was a hilarious comedy of errors for the parents to watch, she loved playing. If she decides not to do that again, we will probably let her try soccer. I think she could use any running around she can get. She has more energy than she can ever expel, and somehow just keeps going and going all the time. The one problem she's had at school is talking. This does not surprise me. One of her very best friends is in her class, and they can both be loud, especially when they start talking over each other. She has gotten a few "yellow cards" sent home as a warning that she was talking too much. Kara and Kiersten have never had a yellow card between the two of them. So we have to have talks with her sometimes to remind her to listen at school. When she is home she doesn't stop talking unless she's asleep or sulking. Even when she's playing alone in her room or the toy room, I hear a constant rambling from her. This summer was Evie's first year on the swim team. I was worried she wouldn't make it, mostly because we were on vacation for the first week of practice. But she kept trying and pushing herself, and made the cut. The first few meets were pretty tough for her, and we had some DQs, but overall she enjoyed it, and is currently in swim lessons to train for the upcoming summer. Evie falls in love on a daily basis with people, animals, or objects. She is always talking about her new "boyfriend" which usually switches between 2 boys she knows, but sometimes, it is an animal she sees at the zoo, one of her toys, or other things. She particularly likes the male mannequins at Kohl's, which is kinda weird, as they don't have heads. She also says she loves men in magazine ads, TV commercials, etc. She always keeps us laughing and guessing. Her current crush is Travis Kelce of the KC Cheifs. At the last game we attended, she tapped my shoulder and asked, "Do you like Kelce?" I said yes, and then she said, "Well, he hates you"  while narrowing her eyes at me menacingly. I got a good laugh out of that. Evie joined the girl scouts and is happy and excited to be a Daisy this year. She is also taking dance with Kiersten, and is having a great time. For the first time in her life, Evie made it through an entire year without a single trip to the ER! We are looking forward to an accident free 2016 as well. Right now, Evie's goal is to write straight on the line on her school work. She can be pretty sloppy. The person she said she admires is Daddy, surprise, surprise... She admires him because he's fun, cool, good at football, and has muscles. When she is grown, she would like to be a...wait for it... financial planner! Every 5 year old's dream, right? Evie has grown to a staggering 46", and weighs 46.2lbs. She grows like a weed, and I think she's trying to overtake her sisters!
Here are her favorite things:

Favorite color- red
Favorite animal- monkey
Favorite food- rice
Favorite song- "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
Favorite game- headbandz
Favorite movie- Cinderella
Favorite TV show- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Best friend- Lydia
Favorite play time activity- taking care of her horse, Thunder
Favorite toy- Cinderella doll
Favorite non play time activity- going to school
Person she would like to see right now- Papa
Favorite outdoor activity- swimming
Favorite outfit- red Snow White dress
Favorite thing to do with Mom- lay down
Favorite thing to do with Dad- snuggle
Food she doesn't like- brussels sprouts
One thing she doesn't like- when Kara says Kiersten is a bad singer

That sums things up, I guess. My year was fun. I think Ben's year was fun. I hope your year was fun, and that the one coming up will be even better. My highlights were swimming with Salvador the dolphin in the Bahamas, going to Cozumel, and watching the girls play sports. Oh, and of course, lounging by the pool, as I've been known to do.