Haven't Forgotten About the Blog....

I know it may seem as though I have forgotten about our blog...but, rest assure I have not. I do have every intention to update....but things are crazy around here with the store opening, Caroline out of school for the summer, and moving to a new house! I promise to update soon with pictures! :o)

Lots of Love to All...
Lindsey & Family

And the Ribbon Has Been Cut!!

The day finally came!! We didn't think we would ever see it! The store is open for business. We had our ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, April 18 with the local Chamber of Commerce. We had several of the board members show up, and some local business reps. It was short, sweet and to the point. We had lots of customers on Friday. Almost all of them said the same thing, "we have been so excited about this opening up...we wanted to know what was behind the plastic." From what Casey and I understand...we caused quite the little stir in the big town of Madill!

Posing with the ribbon and giant, fake scissors!

Caroline had fun holding the giant scissors...she wanted them to cut!
Our store front...with our bulletin boards...and no plastic on the windows.
I forgot I never posted our red & white awnings...aren't they cute...
This is the office side....Thank you Leslie for helping put it together!!!

Neon Yellow Test

Well, Miss Caroline passed another belt test in Karate. She is now a neon yellow belt. Granny and Grandpa came to watch her perform. She did so good!! She had to perform all of her blocks, several of the holds she has learned and a maneuver called Universal One. Casey and I are so proud of her!

Kee-yah!!

up block
testing on one of the holds

receiving her neon yellow belt & certificates
a smile of pride

Our Soccer Star

Caroline is playing soccer now! She has had two games now and loves it! There are 5 girls and 1 boy...YES, one boy, on her team! Casey is one of the coaches...he got signed up for that one by his loving wife! (hee hee) He has lost his voice at both of Caroline's games...if that is any indication of how competitive he is....Here are some pics from practice and one of her games.

The Store is Opening!!

Hello Family & Friends! I apologize that the blog has not been updated in quite some time. We have been incredibly busy!! Here are some recent pictures of the store. We are finally opening this week! Our Ribbon Cutting is this Friday, April 18! We are soooo excited! We invite everyone to come see our pride & joy!!

workbooks and more workbooks

stickers, border, booksmore and more merchandise...

Bulletin board sets My mom & Sherrie helping tag merchandise...thanks ladies!
My sister helped put out merchandise...thank you!!

My nephew Patrick, putting together our desk...good job Pat!!

Spring Break at Chuck E Cheese

Casey and I took the girls to Chuck E Cheese last Friday to celebrate Spring Break. Caroline has been begging us to go...so Casey and I found the strength to brave that place. It might be a play land for children, but it is worse than a root canal for adults!!! I am pretty sure we were the only parents that got up from our table and stayed with our kids!! My teacher discipline skills were coming back...I wanted to correct misbehavior for over half of the children and a few parents there!! Overall, we had a good time....Now check that one off our list for many months!!

This was Georgia's favorite ride...a trolley car...Caroline was not amused!

Georgia attempting to pedal this bicycle and waving at the same time.

Caroline riding the same bicycle...one of her favorites there.

This game was dangerous for all involved and around...Georgia loved throwing the balls, but they didn't always go forward...


Caroline was much more successful at Skee Ball!

And the Merchandise Arrives....

Finally............we have STUFF!!! Look, some of our merchandise is arriving and it is so cute! It was like the biggest Christmas ever yesterday at the store! :o) We still have many more shipments that are coming and we still are waiting on our computer system. Here are some pictures of our recent shipment...Carson-Dellose stuff! For you teachers and former teachers out there....I have the cutest DJ Inkers stuff!

I checked the merchandise in & Casey tagged most of it

Some of our Carson-Dellosa boxes
Mom put out our workbooks for us this morningMore cute stuff....
these are cute cut-outs and 2-sided decorations
Look at the cute, little frogs & bears....almost too cute to sell!!

Growing Up....

Look what I found!! Oh my gosh, look how much they have grown!! I found this the other day in an old file on my computer. This is the picture we used on Georgia's birth announcement. Isn't it amazing how fast our children grow??? As my friend Leslie says..."the brick on the head is not working!!"

Dot Dilemma

Well, all my cute, cheery dots above the slatboard decided they didn't want to be cute and cheery. Most of them fell.....so I had to go to plan F. The same lady that painted the playroom came back and painted fun teacher sayings above the slatboard. And in between the sayings, I used spray adhesive to get the dots to stay up there. Next time, I will be using staples or nails!! :o) Here are some of the sayings Carla painted for me! They are so cute

The School Box Update

I realized recently that I have not posted anything about our store and all the progress we are making. We have new carpet, we have begun putting together our fixtures that will hold our merchandise, our laminator came in, we have our store front sign up, our awnings out front were installed today (pictures are coming), and the most recent addition....we had an awesome painter paint in the playroom. Check out the slideshow above! Her name is Carla, and she is sooooooo talented!! Casey has been working so hard trying to get the store up and ready to receive merchandise. His mom and dad came up last week to help us!! Thank you so much, Tom and Becky! My dad finished our front bathroom...it looks so good! Thanks Dad!! Check out the rest of our progress....

our new laminator...didn't know someone could get excited over this, huh?? (we are)

our new carpet...so pretty!

Casey and Dad putting up our new sign

"Look good Bill?...Looks good Casey!"

Father and Son working together....

some of our fixtures...these are called pinwheels

"Papa!!!"

Another Snowy Day in Oklahoma

So, check out the slide show above...I think Casey had the most fun in the snow yesterday. Georgia is not feeling well, so she did not think much about the snow. She would rather wear her coat inside and stand at the window and watch Daddy and Caroline play.

Daddy and Caroline having a snowball fight!

Caroline....she will pose for a picture ANYWHERE!

"You want me to play out here?"

Everyone having a great time???

"Look Georgia, dinner!!!"

So, Casey dared Caroline to lick the tree....and she did!!

Caroline is a "Daisy" Girl Scout

Caroline is following in her Auntie Kim's footsteps by becoming a Girl Scout...called "Daisy's". She has two other friends in her troop. She has so much fun with these girls learning the importance of being a friend, a helper, and a great big sister. At one of her recent meetings, the troop had a guest speaker...Caroline's Daddy. He came to speak with the girl's about the importance of being a community volunteer. Casey did so good in front of his first audience. (He wanted to really hurt me for volunteering him to do this). All the girls wanted to try on his fireman's gear. He was swelling with pride!!

The girls (and Georgia) are saying their Girl Scout Promise

Posing with the Guest Speaker...Daddy!!

"Can we try on all of your gear, Mr. Fireman?"

"Kids, don't try this at home..."