Week 1: Our Graduation Party!

We have less than one week until graduation. That is completely CRAZY! Week one kicked off with me and Lauren's graduation party, and it was an absolute blast! Lauren graduated from the University of Texas and I will be graduating from Austin High School. It is unbelievable how fast time flies! We spent the entire day preparing for the party and my mom did an amazing job with everything. She has got this party-planning thing down perfectly! We had friends and family arrive from all different aspects of our lives. I am so thankful for each and every single person that came to help us celebrate! It is Memorial Day weekend, so I know a lot of families were out of town. We had Pappasito's catered, plenty of tasty desserts, and lots of drinks. We had a UT shrine at the kitchen table for Lauren and my AHS table in the dining room- complete with my senior legacy, prom book, yearbook, and Project 365 book! I enjoyed socializing with everyone, but my favorite part was hanging out with my closest friends after everyone left. Our combo graduation party was a total success and a HUGE thank you to everyone that has helped us throughout our lives. We couldn't have accomplished these great things without you. Happy Graduation Week!!!!



Week 2: Hollywood.

Shannon and Mia's 11th birthday party was on Saturday night! They are best friends and their birthdays are only one day apart. The theme was 'Hollywood', so all of the girls dressed up like they were ready for the red carpet. They gave out awards, took lots of cute pictures, and danced like rockstars. There was a chocolate fountain and plenty of food! Katy even came to help celebrate their big day! I had an absolute blast pumping up the party and getting everybody on their feet. We took a ride in my Dad's Kids R Kids bus, danced around the pool and even made up brand new dance moves. Hollywood party = TOTAL success!!! 

Week 2: The Amazing Race!

Saturday was our final PAL Hangout and it was the PALS version of The Amazing Race! Melinda and Colby planned the entire event and they were our hosts.  They divided everyone into teams by color. The red team was me, Taylor, and Ira. The blue team was Katy, Chris, and Ashkahn. The yellow team consisted of Lolly, Katie Payne, and Calena. And last but not least, the pink team was complete with Brelynn, Erica, and Monique. We started the race at Austin with our bandanas and our first clue in hand. The clues led us all around town, caused us to take several pictures, and undoubtedly challenged some people. My team was exceptionally competitive, and we had a distinct advantage over the other groups. Taylor rolled the tire across the field, Ira posed for a picture inside my freezer, and I was the camera and clue woman! We did several other things, took a bunch of pictures, and filmed a video in between each leg of the race. The event was very well put together, and we appreciated how much effort they put into our final hangout. The red team ran two red lights, almost got into a head on collision, and struggled putting together an ostrich puzzle. The best part of the race was by far when we "Road-Blocked" the yellow team and they were required to wait at the Jackson household for 13 minutes. After all was said and done, the red team found themselves at the Oyster Creek hardtop winning first place in this challenge! We were not leaving this game without the big win and we were totally successful. The Amazing Race was by far my favorite social event that we've done this year!!!

Week 2: Eleven.

Happy 11th Birthday!

Today was Shannon's 11th birthday! On May 26, 2000, a beautiful baby girl was added to our crazy family. She brings a tremendous amount of laughter and love to all of our lives. She looks identical to my beautiful mother, yet acts exactly like my careful father. Shannon is witty, smart, and wise beyond her years. With three older siblings, she has been exposed to more than any eleven year old kid should ever be. Her big birthday present was her first cell phone. Too say she is obsessed with it is definitely an understatement. Today for her birthday, I brought her lunch to school and we took pictures by the WSE marquee. In the evening, we went to Dave & Buster's to celebrate! She was given a free chocolate dessert for her birthday after dinner, and then we all played arcade games. I enjoyed watching my dad relive the dreams of his youth, cheer on my mom as she raced in the horse game, and laugh at Shannon as she lost miserably in the Deal or No Deal Game. We started with four full swipe cards, earned almost 700 tickets, and walked away with two cups as prizes. What an eventful birthday! I hope Shannon's day was as special as she is. It's crazy how fast she is growing up, but she will always be my precious baby sister!



Week 2: Rock & Roll.

Walker Station Elementary's

Spring Choir Show

-Rock & Roll-

Tonight was the Engle family's LAST Choir Show... EVER! My 23 year old brother, Jason, went to kindergarten at Walker Station and in the next couple of days Shannon will be a 5th grade graduate. Despite our lack of dancing abilities and the fact that we are extremely tone deaf..... all four of the Engle children participated in Choir! Tonight was Shannon's final show and the theme was Rock & Roll! Not only was I watching Shannon dance her heart out, but I was also watching all of my fourth grade students. Some had speaking parts, some sang solos, and some danced like divas on stage! I know how much work these kids and teachers invested in this show, and all of their efforts paid off. The show was incredible!!! The talented Mrs. Sebesta was the choreographer, like she has been for every single choir show at WSE. She never ceases to amaze me! This was her last year as a part of the Walker Station family. She has decided to move on to bigger and better things! I found out several months ago, but the students found out just recently. They sang "Dancing Queen" as a surprise tribute to her, and I was bawling like a baby. The show ended with the entire crowd dancing along to "I Got A Feeling." This was by far the best show the Walker Station Choir has ever performed. We had a feeling tonight was gonna be a good night!

Week 2: Lifeskills!

Last Day with Lifeskills!

Today was Wednesday and that only meant one thing for 4th period... it was Lifeskills Day! All of the PALS love each and every one of the special needs students at Austin. Some of them I met just this year and others I have grown up with since Kindergarten. Our final party for them was exceptionally bittersweet. I will miss seeing all of their joyous faces and I will never forget their undeniable smiles. Katy and the rest of her PYPM group did a fantastic job of leading the other PALs and the rest of the school with the lifeskills students. I was in Mrs. Greak's kindergarten class with Tisha Bose, and I was lucky enough to get to know her better all throughout grade school. Her disabilities have grown progressively worse during recent years, and it truly breaks my heart. She may not be able to sing the alphabet anymore or color inside the lines perfectly, but every single week she was able to remember my name. She would always greet me with a huge hug and scream, "KAITLYN!" When I said goodbye to her today, tears were flowing down my cheeks. Lifeskills students are some of the most amazing people that I've ever met in my life.

Week 2: The Last

Week 2 will be filled with a ton of "lasts" for me! Last night was my last FCA meeting ever! That was completely unreal to me. For the past four years, my life has been fully invested in that organization. Every batch of cookies I baked, every leadership meeting I attended, every message I prepared, every game I played, every bible verse I read, and every announcement I wrote down.... every Monday was "FCA night". Our vision at FCA was to see the world impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches. I loved standing in front of those red gym bleachers and preaching to my peers! I combined my creativity, organization, public speaking ability, and the Lord’s heart to impact countless lives weekly. The results of my efforts ultimately resulted in His Glory. I will forever be thankful for every ounce of energy that I invested in FCA. It changed my life and hopefully it encouraged someone else's.

While I was student teaching this afternoon, we got BIG news delivered! All of our TAKS scores came in! 100% of our fourth graders passed the writing test- 93 students earned a perfect score of a 4. That is completely UNBELIEVEABLE! Let me help you put this into perspective... We had the most students score a four in the entire district and another elementary school came in 2nd place with only 23 students scoring a four. I wouldn't be surprised if we had the most 4's in the entire state of Texas. We had 93!!! Mrs. Sebesta and her writing teammates are truly the BEST. They are all incredibly gifted teachers and their students' test results reveal how hard they worked each and every day. I am so proud to say that I was a part of these efforts and I couldn't be prouder of all of my little writing students! There is no greater feeling than being a part of the Walker Station family.

Tonight was the Spring Awards Night! It was an honor to be given so many awards after all of my hard work for the past four years. I loved standing alongside my girlfriends, earning my chord and other medals, and cracking jokes the entire time we waited in line. We took tons of pictures and Katy was awarded "Most Outstanding Senior Girl" by the faculty. This girl is on a hot streak! Prom Queen, MVP of AHS 2011, what's next? I couldn't have been as successful throughout my high school years, if it wasn't for the love and support of my amazing parents. I can't thank them enough for sitting through each and every boring awards night this school had to offer. Tonight was the last one, thank goodness!

Week 3: My Little Nurse.

This weekend, Lauren graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a degree from the School of Nursing! It feels like just yesterday that she graduated from Austin High School, and now four years later we witnessed her earn her college diploma. Lauren is beautiful, smart, dedicated, and truly one of a kind. She is not only my older sister, but easily my best friend and my inspiration. She always encourages me to stay true to myself. Although she struggles to tell a story without laughing the entire time, I love her to death and I would do anything for that girl. She is now officially a registered nurse. Lauren will be there when new lives are brought into the world and she will be there when people's lives come to an end. She is educated and trained to take care of the child that cannot take care of them self, the mother that is screaming while giving birth, and the man that is battling the life-threatening disease of cancer. She will be someone's hero and she will continue to save lives every day. Jason also came in town from North Carolina for her graduation weekend! He is hilarious and seeing him is always a great time! As we continue to grow up and move on to different cities, there are very few meals that my entire family can be seated together around a single table. I cherish these times, because they are the memories that matter the most. We spent almost the entire weekend in the strange city of Austin, TX. We now have two official college graduates and almost one new college student! Time is flying by.