Tag: school photos

Posted in Friday Favorites, Kids, School

Friday Favorites {#224}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday (the 13th!)

Are you superstitious? I am…about the number 13! That being said…fun fact: this is my 1,113th post that I’ve shared.

How was your week? We’ve had a really good full week, but I’m definitely ready for the weekend.

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Here are some favorites from the week.

Taking it back to last weekend, I went with Hadley to Sevierville, TN for the team’s volleyball tournament.

Usually, the varsity team goes to Chicago in October, but this year, the boosters and coaches decided to pay for all three teams to go to this tournament. The girls left from school on Friday morning, rode a charter bus, received goody bags, and had all their meals paid for….and…bonus – they stayed at The Wilderness at the Smokies Lodge which has an indoor water park.

It was so fun to watch all three teams all weekend. The freshmen team played in the JV tournament, and had three games Friday night. We didn’t get back to the hotel until around 10:30. They won all three games.

Since the girls won all their games, they didn’t have to be up super early as their first game wasn’t until 11:00. They won their first game that morning which was the last pool play game. They grabbed some lunch, and played a couple of hours later. Since they were 4-0, they made it to the gold (best) bracket of the JV tournament. Unfortunately, they lost the first tournament game in three sets…and the last set’s score was 14-16! It was a nail biter.

They played their hearts out and ended up 6th/22 teams in the gold bracket.

We made our way back to the hotel, and the girls had time at the water park, hanging out in their rooms, and playing games in the arcade. They had a team dinner and ran around a bit more until time for bed.

The moms almost didn’t know what to do with ourselves since we didn’t have to be in charge of our daughters. haha

Another mom and I rode one of the water slides, and then we all met another friend at the roof top bar for a drink.

We had dinner and then went back to the room for a bit. That night, we hung out by the fire and enjoyed a glass of wine.

The next morning, we left and the girls traveled home on the coach bus. I got home and had a couple of hours to get chores and errands finished before picking Hadley up.

They had such a great time, and I was glad to be able to see her games and have some downtime.

Once we got started with the week, we got the proofs for their school pictures.

I swear, it costs an arm and a leg to purchase photos. I prefer the download option because then I can order picture sizes that I want. Anyway, I think they turned out great.

One day at school, two students came up to me with these cute signs. Now, of course, they were buttering me up to let them switch seats and sit by one another. haha!

I still appreciated the effort!!

I haven’t been to Trader Joe’s in a couple of weeks, but last time I was there, I picked up these “Apple Blossoms.” I finally had one this week with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top…they are so delish!

Favorite Mom Meme:

…but sometimes they listen…

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week:

Share our Lives
Aug and Summer reading
Let’s Look

What are your weekend plans? For once, we don’t have much on tap! I hope to put out my fall decorations. If I don’t get to it this weekend, then I don’t know when I will.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Posted in Friday Favorites, Kids, School

Friday Favorites {#177}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

TGIF –It was another week school and busy evenings, but we’ve made it to the weekend.

As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Why not round out the month sharing photos from Shay and Erika’s Photo Challenge like I have the past few weeks?

Here are some favorites from the week:

September 22: Festival

No photo, but the kids went to Oktoberfest on Friday night.

Trav and I went last year, I always find the Bingo tent!

September 23: Autumn

The best autumn quote on the first day of fall.

September 24: Comfort food

Soups are definitely a comfort food, and on Sunday, we had a nice fall meal followed by a yummy fall dessert.

I made Bev’s Simple Chicken Pasta Soup and Apple Cider Donut Cake for dessert.

September 25: In my cup

I started Sunday morning off on the back patio watching Southern Charm while sipping my coffee in one of my favorite mugs.

September 26: Crisp

Well, I could have said “crisp fall air” as we’ve had some cooler mornings and evenings, but really our grass has been “crispy” from lack of rain!

September 27: Memory

I always love this sweet memory of when we took the kids to the pumpkin patch for the first time in 2010.

September 28: early

Quiet early mornings with coffee, a candle, light up pumpkin, and the local news. That’s how I start most of my mornings, but in the fall, it’s even better.

Other Faves:

This Life in Lilac candle is amazing. It’s my first time buying one of Jen Reed’s candles, and it won’t be the last.

Saturday night was a favorite because of the fall temps and a night at home. We pulled the sunroom tv outside and hung out while watching the Mizzou game.

8th grade school pics came in, and they are definitely a favorite. This is the first school pic in a few years without the kids in braces.

Hayden joked with me that he wasn’t going to smile, but I’m so glad that he did…Hadley too, of course.

I made a trip to my favorite place to pick up pumpkins for our front porch. This is one of my favorite things to do every year.

My dad came to visit for a few days. Of course, we took the traditional porch pic, and he was able to see two of Hayden’s races as well as my nephew’s football and baseball games.

Hayden had two great races this week. He had a top 5 finish on Saturday in a very competitive race where he had a 4k PR by over thirty seconds. He really pushed himself to he finish.

Trav’s brother got a few great pics of him running which I always appreciate.

On Tuesday, our district had their end of season championship 4k, and Hayden placed 1st!! He was 1st place in the elementary race his 5th grade year, so it’s neat that he did that again as an 8th grader.

Of course, we’re proud of all he’s accomplished this season. The state meet is in a couple of weeks.

Favorite Mom Meme:

This is very relateable.

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

Ahhh…I feel like the three years of middle school have flown by!

Hayden through the years:

(8th grade left, 6th grade top right, 7th grade bottom right)

…and Hadley through the years:

(8th grade left, 6th grade top right, 7th grade bottom right)

Weekly Recap:

Here’s a peek at my posts this week in case you missed one:

5 things in my…
Monday Memes
September Books
Monthly Musings

Well, it’s officially fall break for us, and I’m ready for it. We have some fun plans, so I don’t know how often I will post next week, but I have a few posts planned, including Prime Purchases on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#135}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and Happy Friday! Why do the short weeks always feel so long? We had a great week with a couple of extra days off, sports, and some early birthday celebrations.

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Here are some favorites from the week:

School photos arrived, and Hadley said that they look like grown ups. She’s not wrong!

Hadley got her braces off a couple of weeks later, but I’m glad to have this moment in time forever!

Also, the day they had school pics, I picked the kids up from school. When Hayden got in the car, I asked him if he got pen on his shirt before or after the photos were taken. He said,”After.”…Hmm…shaking my head.

Another favorite was an unexpected four day weekend. Due to high rates of illness and teacher absences, we didn’t have school on Monday. Obviously, I’m thankful my kids haven’t been sick (nor have I), but I hate that so many have been these past few weeks. Since I knew we also had Tuesday off for Election Day, I let Monday be more of the fun day while Tuesday we had schoolwork and chores to do. So, Sunday night, Hadley spent the night at a friend’s house, and Hayden played about five hours of Xbox on Monday!

Tuesday, they slept in, we had lunch with family for early birthday celebrations, we raked leaves for a couple of hours, and the kids had some homework and studying to do.

*Early* birthday cards for the kids are always a favorite...

…as are silly selfies I find on my phone.

On Sunday, I put one pencil tree up in the living room until we get our real one.

Then, on Monday, I put up the other one in the sun room.

If having a favorite pencil tree up the same time as having a glowing pumpkin out is wrong, I don’t want to be right!

I voted on Tuesday which is always a great feeling.

Over a week ago, Travis and Hayden used the leaf blower to blow all of our leaves into piles under our three trees. With the nice weather on Tuesday, (and Travis working so much), the kids and I bagged 25 bags of leaves. Joke’s on me! We need at least 30 more bags to finish the other two trees.

Lexington typically has dates that if all your leaves are on your curb, they will drive by and suck them up with the vacuum. Well, due to staffing shortages, they aren’t doing that, so that’s why we are back to bagging. The kids were big help, but I needed two Tylenol that evening.

Hadley’s volleyball team had a big win this week against a cross town rival. It was amazing to see how much better they were from game one last week to game two this week!

And…last night, Hadley served 12 straight points including the game point. Serving is something she knew she’d need to work on this season, and we’re so proud of her that her hard work seems to be paying off.

Favorite Mom Meme:

Right?!? I swear, all I find now are empty candy wrappers from Halloween, water bottles, and cups in their rooms!

Favorite New Follow:

I have a fave new follow on Instagram – @karikampakis

Raising teens is hard, y’all. This account is a best selling author and mom to four girls. She has so many great posts talking about being an encourager, helping your daughter find real friends, teaching your child to trust their intuition and more! Whenever these posts are on my feed, I always stop and read them.

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

This sweet memory before Sesame Street Live popped up from 2013. This was a part of the kids 4th birthday present, and they were so excited.

Not Just a Mom:

On Monday I’m co-hosting our monthly Not Just a Mom link up with these fun bloggers:

Our topic is: the internet made me buy it.

If you have a blog, we’d love for you to link up with us on Monday!

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts for this week in case you missed one:

Weekend Top 5
Day in the Life on Insta
Breeder’s Cup recap
Blog Challenge Part 1

What are your weekend plans? We are busy with lots of fun things! I’m sure I’ll recap those next week.

Thanks so much for reading, and have a great weekend.

Posted in Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites {#65}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hey, hey! It’s Friday! Per usual, it’s been a busy week, and we’ve even had some crazy weather! I can’t believe we only have about four weeks of school left! Of course, that also means the end of the year craziness mixed with an already hectic spring schedule, but summer is on the horizon, and I’m here for it!

I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Here are some favorites from the week:

We’ve seen lots of baseball in the past week. We went to my school’s high school game last Friday night. Then, on Saturday, we watched cousin Wyatt play his game.

Then, Wyatt (and fam!) came to Hayden’s game.

Hayden’s game on Wednesday we postponed due to the freezing temps and snow!

On Friday night, we tried a new gourmet hot dog place. We all love hotdogs (except for Hadley who settled on the chili cheese fries!) I can’t say “no” to a corndog, so that’s what I got, and Travis tried the “Ranch Dog” which looked so good. Hayden had the chili dog. We hope to go back when the weather is warmer and sit outside. The restaurant has such a picturesque setting!

Trav’s Ranch Dog

The kids’ service project has been a favorite. They baked and delivered cookies for church members this week.

They also wrote notes to those who were receiving the goodies.

Trader Joe’s flowers continue to be a favorite. I went to TJ on Sunday, and picked up some tulips. They look so pretty in the morning sunlight.

Well, it’s April, but 5th grade photos are in! They turned out so cute, and I love the background.

For perspective, here they are in kindergarten. We’ve gone from toothless grins to braces. #holdme

While snow in April isn’t a favorite, this is April in Kentucky, y’all! *English teacher nerd alert: one of my favorite literary terms to teach is “juxtaposition.” That’s the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the snow on the beautiful flowers on Wednesday morning.

Favorite Mom Meme:

I feel this meme deeply. Besides always wanting a bite of whatever I have, Hayden always asks for a sip of my Diet Coke, and ends up chugging half the bottle!

I saw this one on Instagram and literally laughed out loud.

{Ramblin’ Mama is so funny!}

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

Since today’s post had so many baseball photos, this 2014 photo of Trav and the kids before their first ever Wee Ball game, is appropriate. It was always fun having both kids on the same team!

Hayden with his hand on his chin is just too much!

Weekly Recap:

I was able to post every day this week! #whoamI ?! Here they are in case you missed one!

Monday Meal
Tuesday Talk: Girl Clothes
For the Love of Reading
Three Things

What are your plans for the weekend? We have a baseball game and Hadley’s dance competition, so those two things will definitely keep us busy. I think the weekend (and next week) looks to have warmer weather which is welcomed after our cold temps this week. See you back here Monday.

Thanks so much for reading,

Posted in Let's look

Let’s Look: Your School Pics

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

I can’t believe it’s already the second Wednesday of the month which means I’m linking up with Shay and Erika for Let’s Look.

So far this year, we’ve looked at:

  • January: your bedside table
  • February: your winter wardrobe
  • March: what’s inside your purse
  • April: Easter at your house
  • May: your weekend
  • June: what’s in your carry on bag
  • July: your summer wardrobe
  • August: your desk

**I must have skipped March and July.

This month’s topic is: Let’s Look at …your school pics!

Of course, I immediately thought of my own kids’ school pics! Those are easy to find because I have a “Twice as Nice” frame on my bedside table which holds each year’s updated pic.

My kids know that on picture day, I’d like to have them look presentable and cute ;)…which basically means I’m asking Hayden to wear a shirt with no words or sports figures on it!

Each year, I’m always so pleased with their photos. It’s a fun surprise to open the envelope to see how they turn out! In 1st grade, the company the district uses started giving background options. So, they take one photo, but then have basic backgrounds as well as school related backgrounds from which to choose.

Here are their photos:

Kindergarten

Toothless photos are my fave!

1st grade

I clearly remember when Hayden saw his 1st grade photos, he said, “Mom, I look like the President!” (#flaginthebackground)

2nd grade

Second grade cuties!

3rd grade

Looking so big in the 3rd grade…especially Hayden with his glasses!

4th grade

I love the 4th grade photos so much…Both of them chose their outfits…and Hadley was really into the side ponytail last year!

Of course, this stroll down memory lane has me wondering about school pics this year. Hopefully, we’ll get back in the building at some point and get a keepsake for this year.

Blast from my past:

Of course, I know some will post photos of their own school pics…so I figured why not. I texted my mom to ask if she had any of my photos handy, and about 30 seconds later she replied with one photo of lots of school pics. I even replied, “Well, that was quick.” She so happened to be at my Gma’s who was sorting through photos at the time.

Anyway, the quickest way to humble yourself is to look at your 1988 permed hair 🤣

O. M. G.

I showed these to Hadley, and she said I look the most like the bottom row, peach cardigan photo. I think that was 8th or 9th grade. At least she didn’t say I still look like top row right… 😉 I think I look like little orphan Annie!

An of course, I had to share my 1998 senior photos! My mom gave me the trifold display of these a year or so ago. It now collects dust on a shelf in storage in my basement.

Listen, y’all, overalls were very in style …at least in Missouri!…and I’m guessing my suit was purchased at 5-7-9 in the mall! And…I’m sure I spent too much time trying to get those wispy bangs just right!

So, there’s a look at our school pics! Next month’s topic is: How You Pumpkin.

Thanks so much for reading! Don’t forget to check out the other ladies’ posts too!