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

High School Graduation is Bittersweet

It only seems like yesterday when Alyssa started Kindergarten...

And all of a sudden she's graduated High School and will be turning 18. When they say the older they get, the faster time goes..they are right!

See the problem is, Alyssa is a very enjoyable child. She's not perfect, but she's close. She's always been very easy to raise and the teenage years weren't really so bad. So while I was able to sit and be very proud of her during her graduation, I was also sad because it means in a couple of months she will be going to college. It is surreal.

It also means I have to let go. I'll have to take pictures of her bathroom and room right now so it will make it easier...they are never clean. LOL. That's seriously the only thing I have to go on...

This is pretty much what she looked like throughout graduation:

After she accepted her diploma:

And at the wonderful party that her friend Bonnie's mom threw for both of them:

With Diplomas:

Here's to a successful and fun four years of college with lots of memories!

Congratulations girls! I am so proud of you! I can't wait to see what the future holds for you both!

Words of advice to anyone with children....save a TON of money, starting NOW. You have no idea how expensive these suckers are until they drain your bank account..and it's not until they are 18...it's really until they are 22... :)

Totally Forgot

How I forgot my daughter's 6th birthday in my last post is beyond me. I'm going to blame it on all the craziness lately. LOL. Madison had begged for a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party for years.Fortunately  she fell in love with Best Gymnastics, so we were able to have her party there for the past two years.I wasn't so lucky this year. I loathe Chuck E. Cheese. But to my surprise, it was actually a really fun birthday party.We were very lucky to be the only party at that time.That is the key. I'm an only child so I don't share very  well, so this was perfect! she had a blast and the party host was AMAZING. She went WAY out of her way to make sure it was a very memorable event for Madison!

Madison had a great birthday celebration at school.

 She had a fun time with her grandparents eating at Texas Roadhouse (tradition to sit on the saddle)

And this year she asked her friends to bring donations for the Flower Mound Humane Society in lieu of gifts. Here she is donating them.

Madison's Learning Blog: Faithful Blogging

Madison's Learning Blog: 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...

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