Last Day to Vote - Please Help!!!

Today is the last day to vote for the Best of Denton County 2013 Awards. I wanted to share some of the nominees that are dear to my heart and if you have a moment, it would mean a lot to me if you voted for them. You don't have to register and you don't even receive a confirmation email, so your email is not recorded or kept. It seriously only takes a couple of clicks to vote.

I am very excited that Family eGuide is nominated in three categories, because they ROCK. They provide so many resources for parents that I personally have relied on for years. They offer coupons (including Legoland and Sealife), kid friendly recipes, calendar activities, parenting tips and tricks, things to do for free, and so much more!

***Please vote for them for Best Publication, Best Publication Neighborhood, & Best Online Publication.

Jenny Froh donates her time to capture the best portraits of cats and dogs for several local rescue groups. Please take a moment to vote for her in the Best Pet Photography category!

Here are some of my other favorites. If you could please take a second to vote for them too:

AquaKids: Best Swimming Instruction
Art House Studio: Best Art Studio
Best Gymnastics:  Best Gymnastics

Each of these businesses has had an impact in my family's life. The winners of each of these categories receives free advertising and the honor of being voted the best! Thank you so much for taking a moment to help out local small businesses!

June 2013 Summertime Fun Update: Perot Museum, Swimming Lessons, Father's Day Fun and More!

It's amazing how fast summer can fly by! We had a super busy and exciting June. It started off with Madison graduating from Kindergarten, Alyssa graduating from High School and Madison's 6th Birthday, all in the first week of June.

My parents came down to visit and attend all the fun events. We went to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science which was on our Summer Bucket List. Because we love the Perot Museum so much, we have an annual family membership so we are able go often and we were happy to be able to share the experience with my parents.

Madison loved drawing a picture on the computer and then spinning the wheel fast enough that the light projected the picture onto the wheel.

The Perot Museum is so cool, I will have to do a future post all about it, but in the meantime here is a great quick article to read. After having lots of fun at the museum we went down the street to the Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch. They have a trolley in the restaurant! It was really cool!

Madison was able to grow a Zinnia plant from seeds in school. It was outgrowing it's little cup, so she had a blast transplanting it all by herself! She is very proud of how well her plant is growing.

Madison really enjoyed going to a Calloways Kids Workshop. She listened to the book, Princess and the Pea and then planted pea seeds in a cup. It was a nice, quick morning activity. The next one is August 21st!

We went out for Madison's birthday to Texas Roadhouse. It is a tradition and she LOVES to sit on the saddle while they shout out Happy Birthday to her!

We are a foster family for the Humane Society of Flower Mound. In June we welcomed our current foster dog, Sadie. She was kept outside most of her life until she was surrendered by her owners to an animal shelter where she stayed for 5 months! She's only a year old. She is very sweet and loving, but really shy and in desperate need of socialization. She's come a long way so far and I know soon she'll find the perfect family that will welcome her into her forever home.

We had a great time doing a 'Naked Egg' science experiment. We placed an egg in a container with vinegar so it would dissolve the outer shell so we could see the inside of the egg. Madison really enjoyed this! In the end, we couldn't see the yolk as well as we thought we would have. I am not sure if it's because we used an Eggland's Best egg versus a regular one. We'll have to try it again before the summer is over and see.

And after the shell dissolved, we had a squishy semi-see-through egg:

I signed Madison up this year for her summer swimming camp at AquaKids and after being inspired by her swimming Coach, she decided to work very hard to move up 5 levels throughout the summer and join the Swim Team in the Fall. In June, she completed Elementary 3 and Intermediate 1. We are all very proud of her and extremely happy with AquaKids for helping her obtain her goal. I am very grateful that they truly cared about my daughter's love for swimming and that they went out of their way to help her reach her goal! I cannot express enough what a wonderful place AquaKids is. They are currently looking to expand to a third location and are taking suggestions, so if you would be interested in having an AquaKids close to you, please let them know where by clicking HERE. They are in the final three for the Best of Denton County 2013 for Best Swim Instruction, so if you have a moment to vote, it only takes a second (no registration required). Thank you!

This year on Father's Day, Jeff took Madison fishing for the first time. She caught one fish and was SO proud of herself! (Since they left early in the morning, I wanted to note that he dressed her, not me! LOL)

Then they went to Bass Pro which offers a lot of fun and free activities every weekend over the summer. They had a blast!

Madison did a couple of summer dance classes at Top Hat Dance, but then decided swimming was her thing. She is continuing to do gymnastics and tumbling too.

Madison has really enjoyed hanging out at the pool with friends. Here she is going down the outside waterslide!
 

We are currently working on some workbooks and reading books every day so that we don't have the summer brain drain. I bought marble jar reward sheets and marble stickers from the teacher store and when Madison completes a chore (make bed, brush teeth, etc) or does a workbook page, then she gets a marble. When she fills up the sheet, she can either pick a prize from the prize bin which consists of dollar store toys and stickers or she can earn iPad time.

Here's a great blog post on 7 ways to Boost Brainpower Over the Summer Vacation!

At the end of June we temporarily watched another foster family's puppy while they went on vacation. His name is Tony and he was a bundle of puppy love! He has already found his forever home, but I feel really good about fostering for the Humane Society of Flower Mound and teaching Madison to give back to her community. She now knows that she is the voice for those who cannot be heard.

Tony was 8 weeks old here and had just found his unknown love for sprinklers and mud. ;)

Jeff took Madison to the skating rink on Memorial Day for a free skate special we saw on FamilyeGuide and she was hooked. She has been skating every week since. The local skating rink, Interskate has skating lessons every Saturday at 9 am for $3 and she LOVES them! She is learning a lot and becoming a great skater!

Madison also started a musical theater camp at Studio B at the end of June. I'll post pictures and videos from the production in my July post.

Check out our 2013 Summer Bucket List! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and having lots of fun!

Look for more upcoming posts on Walt Disney World, toy room and American Girl Doll accessory organization, and July's Summer Update!

Updated! 2013 Summer Bucket List

This summer I decided to create a 2013 Summer Bucket List of fun things for Madison to do. Since it is almost the end of July, I think my bucket list is now going to be extended through the end of the year. LOL. So far we've accomplished the ones that are crossed off, most of which are ongoing.

• Gymnastics class
• Tumbling class
• Swimming Lessons
• Musical Theater Camp
• Dance Class
• Perot Science Museum
• Zoo
• Library Reading Program
• Dallas World Aquarium
• Movies
• Disney Musical Camp
• Cooking Camp
• VBS Camp
• Bowling
• Fishing
• Swimming
• Mini Golf
• Go Carting
• Bike ride
• Fireworks
• Picnic
• Gaylord Texan Painting Fun
• Make homemade Popsicles
• Playdough fun
• Roller Skating
• Play tether ball at Bahama Bucks
• Egg experiment 

In my upcoming monthly posts, I will feature pictures and details about all of our summer bucket list activities!

Update: If you are looking for awesome activities and ideas to add to your summer bucket list, then please visit FamilyeGuide! They have a calendar feature as well that you can just look up what is going on in the area by day. They are also finalists for the Best of Denton County 2013 in the following categories: Online Publisher, Publication and Publication - Newsletter. Thank you so much for taking a moment to vote for them to win in all three categories HERE! It's super easy, no registration is required.

Support Small Businesses Series - Best Gymnastics

Madison started taking gymnastics classes at Best Gymnastics when it first opened in Flower Mound, TX over two years ago. Best Gymnastics is an exceptional business because of the values the business was built upon and the amazing staff that carry out the vision of Best Gymnastics every day.

In Madison's first class, I noticed that she was being taught gymnastics like I had never seen it taught before. She was 3, and she was taught how do skills from beginning to finish. The coaches weren't just 'going through the motions' they actually cared that she learned how to do things the right way! She was really learning gymnastics while having fun. And she LOVED it! As she has progressed throughout the years, the quality of instruction has been extraordinary regardless of her level or coach. I have never experienced that with any other activity she has been involved in.

What do I love most about Best Gymnastics? There are many things, but the main reason is the feeling of being treated like family. The coaches are all very close and would do anything to help each other out. This extends on to their classes...they care about the kids as if they are their family too. All of the coaches want the very best for the kids in their classes and teach them correct gymnastics, exhibit an amazing amount of patience, are very encouraging, and work with them every week to help them master different skills. They go out of their way to give their all to every class they teach, every day. They are not there for 'just a paycheck', but because they love what they do and they want to make a difference in every child's life. That is why Madison takes classes three days a week and has gained such a sense of accomplishment and a high self-esteem. I am impressed with their emphasis on safety because they are very well organized and follow safety rules and have an age appropriate learning progression so my child is safe while learning gymnastics. I know that Best Gymnastics has the cleanest gym in Texas. That also shows how much they care. Best Gymnastics is also very fair to me as a customer and they don't charge 'member' fees for events or annually, or try to lock me into a contract. They don't have to. Best Gymnastics is a business with integrity.

If you love Best Gymnastics, please vote for them to be nominated for the Best of Denton County 2013 award HERE. Just choose Sports & Fitness, Gymnastics and fill in Best Gymnastics as the Nominee. You don't have to register and it only takes a moment.

If you would like to try Best Gymnastics, they offer a free trial class. They also have AWESOME  activities for kids and if you are interested in signing up for one of their camps, FamilyeGuide has a coupon HERE!

You can also check them out on Facebook!

Support Small Businesses Series - AquaKids

AquaKids is the BEST and ONLY swimming school in the area to take swimming lessons! We have only gone to their Flower Mound location, but they also have another location in Keller. My daughter, Madison, can't wait to go to each lesson and doesn't want to leave when her lesson is over. Also the pool is warm, so she doesn't have to take time to 'get used to it'. She just jumps right in!

I love AquaKids because I can trust all of their instructors. AquaKids has a great employee selection process which is very important to to me.

Madison has learned SO much more with the AquaSteps program.at AquaKids than she has with any other swimming instruction. The amount of skills and how quickly she learns while having fun is just amazing! I can say without any hesitation that the amount of skills Madison has learned is worth far more than the amount tuition we have paid for them! I am so glad we decided to give AquaKids a try last year!

The instructors at AquaKids are awesome and have instilled the love of swimming in Madison. Ms. Mackenzie was so encouraging and fun while she challenged Madison during lessons, now Madison wants to work her way up to be on their swim team!

If you love AquaKids, please vote for them to be nominated for the Best of Denton County 2013 award HERE. Just choose Sports & Fitness, Swimming Instruction (at the end of the drop down list) and fill in AquaKids as the Nominee. You don't have to register and it only takes a moment.

If you've never tried AquaKids, coupons can be found for them on FamilyeGuide and Flower Mound Family!

They also have an awesome special going on right now:

Check out the list of my favorite small businesses in the area HERE.

Next up is Best Gymnastics!

Support Small Businesses Series - ART house

My daughter LOVES taking art lessons at the ART house. She has the opportunity to learn many different art techniques and types of art, refine her fine motor skills and learn some art history too! The classes at the ART house allow her to express her creativity, which is very important for her development. She is beaming with pride when she brings home her artwork every week. I like the small class size and personalized attention she receives. Not only are the classes here fun, but she learned so much that she received an E (Exceeds expectations) on her report card in Art class for school!

ART house has two locations, one in Flower Mound and one in Southlake. If you love ART house then please nominate them for the Best of Denton County 2013 award! If you would like to try a class or camp at the Flower Mound location, Flower Mound Family offers a coupon HERE!

Why Small Businesses Are the Best!

Small business owners have a special place in my heart. In my opinion, not only do they give better service, they are the heart of what the American Dream stands for. My grandpa owned his own business for his entire life and was happy and successful. He left a legacy that will be handed down from generation to generation. Work hard-play hard. I truly believe in supporting small business owners that work so hard, day in and day out so that they can provide us with a quality like no other. Franchises loose the 'heart and soul' of quality and the 'hometown' feel.

Here are the small local DFW business in alphabetical order that I am going to write posts on that I believe are exceptional. If you have the opportunity to nominate any of these for the Best of Denton County Award 2013, thank you in advance! You don't have to register and it only takes a moment. Right now with the economy, it is more important than ever to support them! If they are nominated and win they are given free advertising and a prestigious title. This means a great deal to each of them. This is an easy way to give back to your community and make a difference! I am not affiliated with any of these businesses or paid for these posts. All opinions are my own. If you are not familiar with any of the businesses below, please take a moment and check them out.

Art House

AquaKids

Best Gymnastics

Cross Timbers Animal Medical Center

Enzo's NY Pizzeria

FamilyeGuide

Studio B Theater

Faithful Blogging

So today begins the day of faithful blogging. I did really well on a previous blog I had, and then I started working. I loved my job so much, but there wasn't time to do all of the things I really wanted to do too. Two years later I left my job to focus on my family and to spend more time volunteering. I miss writing blogs for them, but I am very happy to have the time now to write my own. :) I have so much to write about, like our Disney trip and summer learning and fun, but first....the last two weeks of school....

School is officially out and I am now a proud mother of a First Grader and a College Freshman. In the past couple of  weeks, I survived the last week of school, kindergarten graduation, my parents visiting and a high school graduation.I am going to do short blog posts on each of these, since someone once told me that no one likes to read long things. ;)

Madison. She has had the BEST year of kindergarten ever! Madison and her class were blessed with the best teacher in the world. She had tons of fun participating in Mad Science after school, dance class, gymnastics, tumbling, and art class.

The year came to an end with Field Day, Splash Day and Kindergarten Graduation.

Super Hero Field Day photo credit: Jennifer Bassier

Super Hero Field Day photo credit: Ms. Walker

 

Splash Day photo credit: Carrie Parker

Kindergarten Graduation photo credit: Carrie Parker

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

It's ironic how this is the book we focused on this past week and somehow it seemed to be the theme of the week...wanting one thing after another! LOL.

I hope everyone had a great Forth of  July! We decided to take it easy and went to Vista Ridge Mall during the day for our festivities. It was an air conditioned event which is key in the middle of the summer in Texas. They had crafts and facepainting so Madison really enjoyed it! Later that evening we watched fireworks. It ended up being a late night, but that's ok once and awhile.

Madison enjoyed making her take home craft from the Lewisville Library

This week we enjoyed reading "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff. We have it as part of the Mouse Cookies and More Treasury.

It has activities and songs and a CD that is the audio version of each book and the songs too. Madison listened to them over and over. Then we did some activities. She drew a picture like the mouse did in the book, she made playdough cookies and molded a mouse out of molding clay.

Then we did some great If You Give a Mouse a Cookie activities I downloaded for free from ingles360 that have activities for preschoolers as well as grade school! For more activities to make books and reading fun visit my Book Lists and Activities Pinterest Board.

If you have a post that you would like to share with activity ideas to go with books please leave a comment below with your link!