Interview with Quinn - Age 10

Here is the interview with Quinn - all her favorites from this past year.  All the answers in green stayed the same as last year.  Check out her answers below...!

What is your favorite color?            Turquoise
What is your favorite toy?              Stuffed Animals
What is your favorite fruit?            Apples
What is your favorite TV show?      The Thundermans
What is your favorite outfit?           Athletic Capris
What is your favorite game?          Skipbo
What is your favorite snack?         Cheeto Puffs
What is your favorite animal?        Dolphin
What is your favorite song?          Piece by Piece (Kelly Clarkson)
What is your favorite book?         Nightmares 2
Who is your best friend?               Maddy P.
What is your favorite food?          Chipped Beef on Toast
What is your favorite thing to do outside?       Four Square
What is your favorite drink?         Lemonade
What is your favorite thing to take to bed?    Blankies
What is your favorite candy?         Jelly Bellies
What is your favorite holiday?       Christmas
What is your favorite season?     Summer
What is your favorite movie?       Star Wars

What do you want to be when you grow up?    Dolphin Trainer
The thing I do the best is...             Art
The coolest person on Earth is...      Taylor Swift
Three words that describe me...     Dramatic, Funny, Awesome
One food I really do not like is...         Spinach 
One wish I have is....                      To swim with dolphins

This is how Quinn writes her name when she is 10...

Click on the following links to see Quinn's answers at Age 9, Age 8, and Age 7.  

It is fun to see how her answers have changed over the years!

 

Quinn is the BIG 1-0!

Quinn has finally entered the double digit club... she is already 10 years old!  

Holy Moly!

As tradition in the Pooley house, the birthday girl gets to decide her birthday breakfast.  That said, my children are not fancy breakfast eaters.  So Quinn said to me the night before her birthday, half-jokingly, "I wonder how you are going to get a candle in my cereal tomorrow morning?"

Well, her mother didn't disappoint....!

Anyone that knows Quinn, knows that she can dawdle with the best of them.  Morning routines are painful at our house.  But not yesterday morning.  We told Quinn if she was able to get ready in a hurry, she was allowed to open a present before she went to school!  Man oh man, did she get ready fast!!!

The birthday girl enjoyed her day at school, and was even serenaded by her track team with birthday wishes!

Quinn was allowed to choose the meal of her choice for supper - any restaurant, any meal.  This sweet sunshine of mine decided she didn't want to go out for supper, but instead wanted chipped beef on toast! That is her all time favorite meal - a meal we just don't have very often around here.  So it was a royal treat for her!

Can you see how much that cake glows with candles?!  

She is getting old, I tell you!!!

She opened her presents and enjoyed every last one of them...

Her 10th birthday was a huge success!  She has officially entered into old age - never again to be in single digits again!

*********************************************

Dear Sweet Quinn,

I look at you and the past decade flashes before me.  I know it sounds cliche to say, "where did the time go?" but I honestly feel that way.  It seems like yesterday that you entered the world - creating a presence with your strong cries and screams for attention in the hospital nursery. It was yesterday that your mom held back tears as she walked you into school on your first day of kindergarten.  It was yesterday that you were as proud as punch for FINALLY losing your first tooth - earning you the title as the last person in your first grade class to do so!  It seems like yesterday that you bravely learned how to ride a bike on your own - proving once again that you were becoming more independent and less dependent on us.  It was yesterday that I looked at you on your 10th birthday and realized I am losing my little girl, but in exchange I am gaining an amazing young lady as my daughter!

This past year has brought many changes.  You have acquired a whole new set of friends this year - true friends - that love you for you!  They embrace you for who you are (quirks and all!), and you do the same for them.  My hope for you is that you continue to foster amazing friendships with this group of girls! They truly love you!

Your sense of humor amuses me.  It is apparent that you now TRULY understand sarcasm and can use it pretty wittingly.  Your main target of your sarcasm and your humor is your dad - as you love to rile him up and poke fun at him!  As much as you LOVE to dish out the humor, you don't always appreciate getting back what you have given.

You melt my heart with your kind spirit and inclusive heart.  Your teacher boasts often about you - that you give 100% of yourself to all that you do, that you are an amazing friend and helper to your classmates, and that you are a person of amazing character and a great role model.  You are a passionate individual with a very strong will - both qualities that will benefit you later in life!

I have seen that you have matured so much this year.  Not only do you look older and act older, but your relationship with your sister and your cousins has shifted.  The activities that you once liked to do as a young girl, are being exchanged for more mature activities.  All signs that you are growing up! It both pleases my soul and makes me sad all at once.  I want to hit the 'pause' button on life and keep you little for just a bit longer!

Quinn McKenna - as you enter this 10th year of your life, please remember how much you are loved!  We love you more than words can describe and are so incredibly blessed that you are in our lives.  We celebrate you, not only on your birthday, but all year long!  Happy 10th birthday, my love!

Love,
Mom and Dad

Latests....

Spring has sprung, and we couldn't be happier!  There is something about the sunshine beating down on you that warms the soul!  

We've been busy soaking up the sun and spending time outdoors....

You know it is also spring, we you can enjoy ice cream season outdoors...!

Some other indoor happenings lately include a slumber party in our bedroom one evening.  Sullivan created a fort around herself with her stuffed animals staring at her face-to-face...

 

Quinn chose to sleep without her stuffed animals staring her down...

We also celebrated my dear friend Cheryl's 50th birthday last week! She is such an incredible person...and I am blessed to not only call her a neighbor, but a dear friend!

  

And finally, here are the girls at a Fun Friday event after school recently.  I was 'fortunate' enough to be asked to help with the event, so I got to see Quinn and Sullivan with their friends.

Travel Indiana

Quinn's class has been studying Indiana - not only it's geography, but it's history as well.  As a culmination activity, they were split into groups and given a region of Indiana to research in-depth.  

Quinn was given the East region, which if you are not familiar with Indiana, includes cities like Muncie and Fort Wayne.  

After each person in the group researched a specific attraction within the region, the class held a "Travel Indiana" open house.  They had to become travel agents, and "sell" their parents on their travel attractions.  

Quinn's group called themselves the "Talented Travelers Tour Agency."  Here are the business cards that Quinn made for her group...

The talented travel agents selling their region...

These sweet ladies didn't even discuss their outfits before the open house... turns out great minds truly must think alike!

Quinn's attraction was a fancy restaurant called Club Soda.  If you are ever in Fort Wayne, the restaurant comes with great reviews and recommendations from Quinn.

The best travel agent that I've ever encountered.  Probably the cutest too!

The entire class did an amazing job with this project, and I loved learning more about the state we now call home!  

Quinn's Spring Party

Here are a few highlight pictures from Quinn's spring party - a truly good time!

I was lucky enough to be chosen as a helper for this party.  The kids played game after game after game.

For one of the games, they had to be on relay teams.  Can you tell that Quinn's team was victorious?!

Mr. Stage even got in on the action - helping Quinn's team to victory!

There was a feeble attempt to get a class picture after we played games...

What a crazy, hard-to-wrangle, fun-loving, amazing bunch of kids!  

Here is that said group, with their pretty fabulous teacher!

(Got to love the kid that has his back completely turned to the camera! 

Apparently he wasn't "feeling" the picture.)

Interview with Sullivan - Age 7

Here is the interview with Sullivan - all her favorites from this year!  The answers in purple stayed the same as last year.  The green answers are different!

What is your favorite color?            Purple
What is your favorite toy?              Legos
What is your favorite fruit?            Pomegranates
What is your favorite TV show?      The Thundermans
What is your favorite outfit?           Dresses
What is your favorite game?          Sorry
What is your favorite snack?         Goldfish Crackers
What is your favorite animal?        Dolphin
What is your favorite song?          Welcome to New York (Taylor Swift)
What is your favorite book?         Clark the Shark
Who is your best friend?               Phoebe
What is your favorite food?          Raviolis and Salt 'n Vinegar chips
What is your favorite thing to do outside?       Play with friends
What is your favorite drink?         Sprite
What is your favorite thing to take to bed?    Little Blankies
What is your favorite candy?         Zotz (fizzy candy)
What is your favorite holiday?       Christmas
What is your favorite season?     Spring
What is your favorite movie?       Zootopia

What do you want to be when you grow up?    Artist
The thing I do the best is...             Writing
The coolest person on Earth is...      Mommy
Three words that describe me...     Jealous, Funny, and Sweet
One food I really do not like is...         Fish
One wish I have is....                      Go back to SD to live  (awww...)

This is how Sullivan writes her name when she is 7...

One last picture of the birthday girl in her birthday crown.  

Click on the links to see her answers at Age 6 or at Age 5 or at Age 4. 

It's fun to see how her answers have changed over the years!  

Sullivan's Sweet Seventh Birthday...

This sweet thing turned 7 years old yesterday and that made her the happiest girl on the face of the planet!

She woke up and popped herself right out of bed.  She was ready to begin her day! 

She sweet talked her way into opening a present before she left for school.  Who could say no to a birthday girl?  Especially when she is as cute as she is!

She got to choose where we ate that evening.  It was a fairly strong request for McDonalds, until she took in the nonverbal cues from her family.  Sullivan's heart of gold wanted everyone to like her selection, so she quickly changed her mind.  We ended up here...

At Steak N Shake.  A tad bit better than McDonalds!  

We celebrated with a cookie cake and presents.  Lots of presents. 

She had the best day - from start to end.  The simple joys in life - like celebrating a birthday!  There is nothing like it.

***********************************

Dear Sweet Sullivan -

As you turn another year older, I reflect on this past year.  You have changed from a little girl into a girl who is so mature.  Your teachers rave that you are the best helper one could ask for - always helping your classmates or the teachers find and organize things.  Your desire to organize and clean (not only at school, but at home as well) melts my heart!

You have grown a bit taller this year, but your weight has remained steady.  Despite the endless pit that we call your stomach, you haven't seemed to put on many pounds.  Your mom is envious of your petite stature, and wonders daily why she didn't get those genes!

You have one of the kindest spirits and are so incredibly generous.  You are the first person to give your last bite of something to someone else, to offer someone a turn at a game before you, or to give a hug and a kiss to brighten their day.  You tend to hold out on your sister a bit, but I guess that's what sibling rivalry is all about!  That will change someday when you are in your 20s.

You are a child of many likes - most often pleased by the simple things in life.  Like having your first wiggly tooth. Or snuggling on the couch with your family.  Or being outside.

You have enjoyed school this year and have become a crazy, good reader.   Your willingness and desire to accept new challenges will get you far in life!

You genuinely are a happy spirit who lights up the room with your smile and infectious laugh.
We affectionately call you "Jealous Judy" - as it KILLS you if someone else is getting attention and you are not.  You are quick to break up a hug, to steal a kiss, or to create a hog pile on someone in the hopes to get a bit more attention.  It is both endearing and sweet.

We are so incredibly proud of who you are - we celebrate you, not only on your birthday, but all year long.  We love you more than you will ever, ever know, Sulla Grace!  Happy 7th Birthday!

Love, Mom and Dad