She graduated!

Well, we officially have a middle school child living in our house...YIKES! Paige graduated the fifth grade on Friday and I am so proud of her. She received an amazing education, she made life long friends and went from a shy little girl to a confident young lady. Her future looks so bright!!!


Receiving her safety patrol trophy from Mrs. McGhee, her principal.






receiving her diploma from her teacher, Mrs. Pursley


Mrs. Pursley and Paige. Mrs. Pursley sent me an email one day and said that Paige was one of the most intrinsically motivated students she had ever met in her years teaching. That statement made this teacher very happy.


Paige and her principal, Mrs. McGhee. Mrs. McGhee has always been so kind to Paige. She runs a TIGHT ship and I think is top notch!


Paige and Meghan


Kendall, Paige and Charlsi Jayne...friends since Kinder!


Paige and Mitch


Me and my girl!


For the grads :) I thought this was a cute idea ... think I will use it for my classroom next year!


Paige's besties...Olivia, Paige, Molly and Arden...GREAT girls!!!


P and Olivia...otherwise known as peep buddies or yin and yang!


Gracie and Paige... wild and carazy girls!


A sweet moment between Corley and Paige...and...


...how they act 99% of the time...lol!!!


Weston and Paige




Paige and Ciannon....sweet girls!


Caroline and Paige


Silly girls!!! Yeah, they are sooo sad to be leaving elementary...yeah right :)


Me, Kim (Olivia's mom) and Bonnye (Weston's mom). We've been in this together for six years. Great friends!


Paige and Ava..school and dance friends.


Paige and Matty


Paige as she leaves Indian Lake Elementary for the last time!

It was a great ride! On to the next chapter...stay tuned!

So many milestones...and counting!

Paige and friends after they performed their hip hop routine in their school's talent show. They were so good! I went to the same elementary school and was in the talent show every year, as I was, ahem...a ... majorette :) Hey, don't knock it :)


I love that her peers love her so much. When they were announcing the girls' names, I beamed with pride when they said Paige's name and the crowd roared. I just wish you could all know her. She is such a funny kid. Her sense of humor is dry and she is so funny and silly and NEVER takes herself seriously. She is a great friend to everyone and I was tickled to hear the crowd cheer for her in such a big way. I beamed!


These four cuties were in Kindergarten together. I am not going to lie and say that everything was hunky dory with this group. There are two that were the "mean girls" and would often pick on Paige when she was little because of her speech. They would also make fun of her being from China. I'm not trying to show all of the bad here, what I want to focus on is that these girls have really grown up and are now great friends to Paige and love her for who she is. They have all grown up and matured and it does my heart good! Forgiveness is one of Paige's most wonderful traits. I could learn a lot from her.


Here is Paige and her friend, Meghan, before the Just Say No dance. This is an annual dance that is held for the fifth graders at the end of the year. I was asked to be the photographer for the evening so I got to be a fly on the wall....sooo fun :)


Silly kids!!! I mean, just look at all the different facial expressions :)


Paige and her bff's. No matter what, this kid always ends up being picked up! lol


Sweethearts!


Paige and Molly...friends since second grade! Two peas in a pod!




Gangs all here!

Stay tuned...big graduation is coming up Friday!

The many things...

...that I love about you that I NEVER want to forget!


You are beautiful on the outside, but far more beautiful on the inside. When I took this picture of you, you politely asked if I got "the shot". You were so concerned that I got a good pic to edit...you little love!


You are laid back and such a dreamer. You always talk about the future and how you want to be an engineer. Before you wanted to become an engineer, you wanted to be a DJ. You would talk about mixing music and getting a crowd excited. You'll be great at whatever you choose.


You don't take anything from anyone and are not afraid to give the "stink eye" if and when it is needed...(you are not afraid to give it to me, too!...you turkey :P).


You forgive easily and often with a slight smile. I love your forgiving heart. I wish I were as mature at times.


You CRACK yourself up! I love that you laugh at yourself and all of the silly things that life has to offer. Your favorite thing right now is potty humor. I swear you remind me of a boy at times. If I say the word, "poot, fart, diarrhea" you laugh out loud and A LOT! You love to tell me knock knock jokes that are on the cusp of being inappropriate. While I try to keep a straight face, we usually burst into laughter jointly and I can't help but love it!


You break into dance at the drop of a hat and don't care who is around to see it. Right now your fav. moves are the running man, roger rabbit, the sprinkler and the white man's overbite. You love to watch the youtube video of the young couple whose wedding party danced down the aisle to the Chris Brown song. You watch it over and over and always say, "I am going to do that when I get married. So cool!".


You think you are all that AND a bag of chips. However, you are quite humble when people pass around compliments. You always say thank you and blush. It is quite cute.


You say you have something "importNant" to tell me and will bust into story. You are a good storyteller, but sometimes lose me as you will start one subject and jump to the next and get tickled when you realize I am not following :)


You're soft and squishy and crack up hysterically when I grab the inside of your thigh and tickle you. You laugh so hard that no sounds come out. You are teeny tiny and have a figure most would kill for, yet, you refuse to wear booty shorts or tank tops and are extremely modest. You would live in basketball shorts, abercrombie t's and converse tennis shoes. You bite your nails and your toenails are longer than any I've ever seen (ick!) You love to stick your feet in my face and say, "Cut em' sis" and laugh as I get completely grossed out! Yet, you are still simply beautiful!


You are a daughter of God, daughter to mom and dad, sister to Greg and I, sister-in-law to Laurie, student, friend to many, dancer, dreamer, lover of animals (particularly Sambo), avid reader, great listener, singer of Opera :), basketball lover, Steeler's fan, precious little girl.

Never ever lose who you are. Stay true to your character and never follow the "norm". Don't be afraid to stand out! I love you to the moon and back!!!
xoxo,
Sissy

To see more black and whites visit Lisa's site!

Welcome to the Mad House!

Paige had her first "big" dance competition this weekend. She was so nervous. She awoke early Saturday morning asking if she should get ready at 8 am, even though they didn't go on stage until 3:20 :)

The girls did SUCH a great job performing. Their performance is a bit "edgy", but fortunately the judges loved it, as the girls took first place Platinum in the hip hop division and received fourth place overall out of 29 dance teams!!!

Paige loves these girls like sisters, as they have all danced together for six and seven years now. They have such a special bond. Here are some pics that I think are so stinkin' cute!


Paige and her best friend, Avery, prior to competing! Paige is a wild child...she thinks she is a rockstar (in my book, she is :P )


Sassy girls! The name of their dance is "Welcome to the Mad House"...they look pretty "Mad" in my opinion :)


Beautiful girls, inside and out. Avery's got her "game face" on!




Ava and Paige being dramatic...crazy girlies!


Girls on stage awaiting their awards. I caught this pic of Paige and I love it. She is my little angel.


Congratulations girls on your first place Platinum!!! Here's to many more dance competitions, but more importantly, great times with special friends!!! I am so proud of you girls!

Here is a video I took on my flip camcorder. I thought they were just precious. YES, that is me "wooooo-ing". Paige always tells me to yell for her and that, I do! No apologies for being my girl's biggest fan :P