Winter Wonderland? The girls and I headed out to take some Christmas pictures. Today it was 70 degrees and sunny, so the hats are completely fake :)

Busy Christmas Time This month has been very busy with lots of programs and holiday details to arrange. Featured here is the best triangle player in all of kindergarten, along with her biggest fan.

Team Beautiful's Own Drama Queen Kelly's afterschool drama program ASAP held their fall semester drama competition on Saturday, December 9th. Kelly's group did a great job with their presentation of Cinderella. They won best use of narrative drama technique!

Happy 6th Birthday, Tatum Renee!!!


Tatum on her 3rd and 6th birthdays. To help celebrate her birthday, she was the star of the week in her class.

Just Another Saturday Morning... We woke up the first Saturday in December to find ourselves surrounded by runners. It was the St. Jude Marathon and Half-Marathon. The girls enjoyed seeing the runners finish (the final stretch went past our front door and into the ball park across the street)!

First Days of School Featured are the traditional first day of school pics. Love the girls' new uniforms (although Tate is not happy at times since there are no "soft, fuzzy" uniform pants)! The school the girls attend is a mix of traditional and optional school programs with a great afterschool program. Kelly was a little nervous but has made a lot of friends. Tatum made it for 30 minutes on her first day before I was called at work to come to school because she was refusing to leave the classroom (Is that a new record?).

Summer Time Pics Here are some more pictures from this summer. Swimming in the new pool, riding on the Memphis Duck Tour, and hanging out in front of the FedEx Forum (home of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies).

Halloween 2006 This year the cats ruled. Team Beautiful tried out new pumpkin stencils, and they worked great! Kelly carved a mummy, and Tatum created a cat. The girls participated in a costume contest at the YMCA, and Kelly won 1st place. We then went out with a group from LeBonheur for some trick or treating.

Field Trip Fun This fall has been full of field trips. Kelly explored the Memphis Childrens' Museum, walked to the church that was burned in the Memphis Fires last month, and attended a play at the Performing Arts Center. Tatum learned about animals of the night at the Memphis Zoo and played with the animals at Kidz Country (see pictures above).

Pumpkin Run 2006
This past weekend, Kelly, Tatum, & I participated in the LeBonheur Children's Medical Center 5k with Team Rehab. What I thought would be a nice walk with my coworkers ended up turning into a great run with Tatum running 2 miles and Kelly running the entire race! The girls looked great in their cat costumes, and we are looking for more races to run later this fall.

Honors Ceremony
Kelly had a great 1st 6 weeks and was rewarded with Honor Roll and Good Citizenship Certificates. Tatum was awarded the Exceptional Effort Certificate. Kelly is a 2nd grader and is involved in drama, art, and piano. Tatum is in kindergarten and participates in the CLUE (gifted classroom) and Tae Kwon Do.

Courtyard Fun The girls enjoying part of their backyard. Enough sidewalk for biking and scootering. Jump roping and snail hunting (Tatum displays her snail farm in the cup).

A Fairy Tale Day In August the girls and friend, Erika, attended Disney's musical production of Beauty & the Beast at the Orpheum. As a surprise, the Cinderella carriage was waiting out front of the theatre to carry the girls to an early dinner. The girls had fun waving to the crowd!

New Downtown Friends Kelly & Tatum love to walk by the Peabody Hotel. Sometimes we stop in and visit the famous Peabody Ducks, but the girls really love to visit with the horse and carriage drivers out front.

SUMMER MOVE
Team Beautiful moved downtown this summer. Pictured here is Heather's new ride to work (Kelly & Tatum's elementary school is in the background). We are having a lot of fun exploring our new neighborhood--walking everywhere!