It's Finally Open

Yes, those are the words that my little girl has been longing to hear. Today she started school for the first time and she could hardly wait. She has been waiting ever so patiently to get there and finally today was the day! I could not bare to have her in school more than 1 day a week, so she will go on Tuesdays from 9-2. Last Tuesday, we had orientation and I took the camera to grab pictures of her in her new element...enjoying talking with her teacher
and all the other things there were to play with

This morning, Daddy didn't have to go in until later, so he was able to join us. When he asked E if he could go with her to school, she said, "UH, no!" Then he said, "I won't stay with you, just take you there and then leave." Her reply, "Oh, ok. That would be fine then!!"
Here are some pictures from our first morning before school...

I'm finished with my breakfast

Check out my new lunch box!

I have a backpack, too!

My 1st day of school picture

I'm ready...let me in :)

Bye, Daddy! I am so excited!!!

Dance, Dance, Dance

'With 5 years between them, I love that my girls have common ground. They both LOVE dance!! The new dance year has started and they are both trying something new this year. R has added jazz to her repertoire and E has added tap. I am so excited that the girls love going to dance every week and I am beginning to think I need to pitch a tent at the dance studio as I am up there 3 days a week :) Now, the countdown to recital begins and I can hardly wait...2 girls on stage...what fun!

First Day of School 2010

Where in the world did this summer go? I cannot believe we are already back at school. I am not sure I am ready for all the craziness that school brings, but I know my children will have an awesome year!! On Friday, we went up to school and the older two got to meet their teachers. They were both pleasantly surprised and are looking forward to spending the next year with these ladies. Then, this morning was the BIG morning!! Their Daddy was able to stay home a little later this morning and cooked them a delicious breakfast of eggs and sausage biscuits. You could feel the excitement around the breakfast table and we were soon on our way...

Little sister had to have one, too.
Today was "Meet the Teacher" day for B and he was super excited! He seemed to really like his teacher, Mrs. Birmingham

The Kindergarten does a staggered start, so only a few kids from each class go each day, so B will not return until Friday...he is ready and so excited about being at school with his brother and sister :) (Me, too...only one school for pick-up :)

Sleepy Girl

Since we have lost our na-na, it is not as easy to take naps:( Sometimes little bit will lay in her bed and just lay there, other times she will fall asleep. Some days we have really busy days and she may fall asleep in the car, but once we hit the bed, she will wake up. Yesterday, we had meet the teacher for the older two and E just got extremely tired. It was close to 3 before we were settled back home, so I decided to forgo the nap. Then, when Daddy got home, he heads upstairs and finds her like this She told B she was NOT tired but she needed to lay down to watch him play the Wii :)
She got some SERIOUS rack marks from this nap...

Bye-bye Baby

Upon our return from Texas, we made the last big change from baby to big girl...we got rid of the pacifier. It was a bittersweet moment saying good-bye to E's na-na. (The name came from her associating her pacifier with night-night and she then began calling it na-na (naw-naw). After Mommy put it off for several months, and then talking about the na-na going bye-bye, we took the plunge the day after returning from Texas. She had it for nap time and I just had to take pictures of my sweet girl with her sweet na-na...one last time...

The Stars at night are big and bright....

Deep in the heart of TEXAS! We were blessed to have 2 weeks in Texas this summer and saw lots of family and again made many memories!! We began our adventures at my parents house and celebrated my Dad's much deserved retirement!! My sister and I (sneakily..is that even a word?) planned a small retirement celebration for my Dad with some of their closest friends. It was so fun and remained a surprise until my husband took forever to answer a text while they were out and then told my dad he needed to let me know when he was coming home....pbbbbt! Anyway, it was so fun and my parents seemed to have such a good time. Kudos to my sister who did most, just about all, of the cooking and food preparation. She brought it all down from Dallas and it was delicious!! Also, while at my parents, I got to see my cousin and his daughter, from England, whom I hadn't seen in 9 years. He bought the kids a pirate ship for the pool and we swam... and swam... and swam some more. Then, after a few days with my parents we headed over to my in-laws house. The kids fed the ducks fed the deer, jumped on the trampoline and went canoeing . They had so much fun enjoying nature and many other things. We went to the movies, to IT'Z (a pizza/arcade/ride type of place) and took a day trip to Brenham and toured the Blue Bell Creamery. It was interesting learning about the ice cream process. Here are the kids getting ready... after enjoying a yummy sample and hanging with the Blue Bell symbol...the cow being led by the little girl After our trip to the creamery, we headed down the road to my alma mater, Texas A&M. I had not been back in over 9 years and it was good to see it all. Sadly, a lot was under reconstruction and we were not able to visit a lot of what I wanted to see, but we did get to eat at the original Freebirds...YUMMMY!!! After a birthday celebration at my in-laws, which my children decorated , we soon headed back to my parents for a few more days. I got to celebrate again, with a unique cake made of flowers . Our last few days of vacation, we were back with my parents and this time another cousin and his wife and 4 boys came as well. My family, their family and my two nieces made a house full of 10 children and 6 adults...and we had a BLAST!! We did a lot more swimming, especially at night and spent some time at the NASA Space Center. Sadly, I forgot my camera (it was a theme on this trip :( ) and so I have no pictures to share. The had a Clone Wars theme and the kids had fun trying out the many different adventures and then we toured the training facilities and just had a great time. Sadly, we did have to return home and face reality again, but we will always have the memories :)

Swim season

C, R and B all swam on the summer league team this year and they each had an amazing season. C was at the top of his age group throughout most of the season, R improved her times and did extremely well in her new age group and B had a slower start but an amazing finish!! I was so proud of all their accomplishments and enjoyed watching them enjoy a sport I love so much! At Championships, G and I were given the opportunity to swim on the coaches relay and that was so fun. It felt great to be in the water and racing again...even if it was only aa 200 free relay :) My little swimmers and their championship medals...



and then little E decided she needed to join in on the fun, so she begged for a purple one and smiled big...