High Five for Friday (9.4.15)

1. September is National Preparedness Month! I wrote a piece for the National American Red Cross about emergency preparedness…centered around the very first survival kit I ever created (as a seventh grader) and which I happened to find, still completely intact, in the top of my parents' garage this summer. Don't you love finding treasures like that?! I certainly do.

Check the post out here!

And just for fun, this is what I looked like when I created that survival kit in seventh grade.

2. My sweet little dancer received a role in Ballet Brazos' annual production of The Nutcracker. She - alongside several of her friends - will play a mouse, and she's beyond excited. Not knowing whether or not Hallie made it into the show was one of the uncertainties contributing to my anxiety last week, so this week I'm both thrilled for her and relieved to finally have a better picture of what our fall schedule will look like.

Now that Hallie's hair is short, bun-making has become a task and
a half and requires unheard of amounts of gel and hairspray. As
in enough to make her little ponytail stand straight up in the air. 

Ready for her audition!

Looking for and finding her name on the casting list...

…and celebrating! (I feel the need to mention that she's wearing
half of a costume - she doesn't usually sport polyester pants…)

3. Tom bought me this ring during our vacation to Minocqua, Wisconsin this summer, and just this week I finally found the time to have it sized. I have itty bitty fingers - both my sister and I have child-sized hands - so I couldn't wear it at all until it wouldn't fall off my finger. So pretty!

4. On the way home from school last Friday, Will taught his little friend Jax that if your own backpack and lunchbox aren't too heavy, the gentlemanly thing to do is offer to carry the ladies' backpacks home. Oh, the sweetness…

That's a lot of backpacks...

5. And last but not least… Even though I don't particularly care for Blue Bell ice cream, the fact that earlier this week it returned to grocery store shelves deserves a high five. Nearly every Texan I know is a HUGE Blue Bell fan, which means that nearly every Texan I know is having the best week ever. It was like a weight lifted off the state's shoulders at 4:30 a.m. on Monday morning, and you can feel joy and excitement radiating from folks as they reintroduce their favorite sweet treat into their diets. Hey Mom…will you send me some Chocolate Shoppe ice cream? Pretty please?

A friend of mine braved a crowded grocery store in the wee hours of
the morning so she could surprise her kiddos with banana splits
for breakfast. Monday's "Best Mom Ever" award went to Jen!

Happy Friday, friends!

Linking up with High Five for Friday!