1st Day of School

Today was the first day of school! Kendall and Taylor were both super excited about it.

When we got to school Taylor was ready to go. I showed Taylor where I was going to meet her (she is a walker) after school and before I could finish she said "ok I am going to walk to my classroom now". Um no! Daddy and I will walk you in. She was completely comfortable and ready to go. On one hand that makes me so happy that she is ready and excited for school but on the other hand she is my baby and I am honestly a little sad that they will both be in school and that I officially no longer have babies at all. So we walked Kendall to her classroom and got her situation and said our goodbyes. She was a little nervous but is excited about her new "pretty" teacher.

Kendall- 1st grade!!

Next up was dropping Taylor off. She walked straight in found her cubby, put her lunch away, hung up her backpack, found her seat and started playing with the play-doh out on the table. Never really looking up or anything. Ryan said good bye and have a great day but I wasn't quiet ready to go. So after a few more minutes of her playing and me giving her multiple kisses, hugs, and words of encouragement (I was the one who really needed them not her obviously) I left.

Taylor's 1st day of Kinder!

After school I was waiting for them to meet me. Taylor was the first one out and after she saw me she came running up to me and gave me a huge hug and climbed up me for me to hold her. It melted my heart, she was still my baby. Then Kendall came out with a huge smile on her face! Kendall said she gives 1st grade "100 thumbs up" and Taylor said she had an "excellent" day. They told me all about it on our walk home and through out the night. I could not be a happier mommy tonight. I know that both of my girls have excellent teachers and are going to have a fabulous year.

Sorry for the long story but I couldn't stop typing :)

Thanks Grams for the super cute dresses!!

Taylor 1st School Project

Taylor and I went to Kinder Camp on Thursday morning to meet her teacher and drop off school supplies. They have all the kinder students stay in the classroom with their new teacher for an hour while the parents go back for an orientation. While she was there she got her first homework assignment! She was to decorate the gingerbread girl to tell all about her. So Sunday after church we took a trip to the craft store and Daddy and Taylor picked up all things of goodies to put on "her". They came home and went straight to work!

Daddy and Taylor designing!

The finished product!

She wanted to include and did- soccer, peace signs, swimming, the beach, dance, Toy Story, Baylor, dolls, her sister, her family, Marley (our dog), ice cream, pizza, arts and projects (aka arts and crafts, she has called it this since she was little), GOD, music, and trophies (cause she likes to have lots of them). Pretty much sums her up, except that she is the sweetest most loving 5 year old ever!!!

Good job Daddy and Taylor!!!

Las Vegas

I got to join Ryan to Las Vegas this last weekend on a trip. I have only been to Vegas once before so I really excited to go and to be honest I was excited about getting away for a few days with him. He has been working like crazy this summer and with all the going the girls and I have been doing we haven't got to spend a lot of time together.

This time I got to go and see a lot of the different casinos that I didn't see the last time. We walked around the Venetian (where we stayed) and it makes you feel like you are in another country. Beautiful!

We went down to MGM to check out the lion exhibit. Incredible! They were two guys in the pit the whole with the lions just hanging out with them! They would even pet them like they were dogs- no thank you!

Check out the size of their paws!

One night we ate at the Stratosphere. The food was alright but the view made up for it all!

We saw lots of interesting people, did lots of gambling, had some amazing food (CUT, Wolfgang Puck's restaurant), and laughed lots.

We missed the girls but it was a great way to end the summer! Thanks G for a great time!

1st Sleepovers!

This summer the girls had their first sleep over!

To say they were excited was an understatement. Mrs A and Kendall are BFFs and Mr D (A's twin brother) and Taylor are two peas in pod. They all four play and get along wonderfully (hence why we do so much with them, and it helps that I love spending time with their Mom also). So they went over one evening and played and played and played. And finally after moving locations multiple times went to sleep. SUCCESS!

Here they all are watching a movie

The next week we had Mrs A and Mr D over to our house for a sleepover! They did awesome! After they settled down and got quiet I went upstairs to check on them and this is how I found Taylor and Mr D fast asleep!

I had to take a picture and send it to S (A and D's Mom), they looked so cute! I am not sure how long we can have sleepovers with boys but I will enjoy the innocence while I can. Kendall and Mrs A were passed out in her room. I am sure this is just the beginning of endless sleepovers!

Exploring!

My good friend S and I took turn watching each other kids one day this summer so the other could go to a professional development. The day that I had Mrs A and Mr D I loaded them up (along with Grams who was in town visiting) and headed to Austin Nature and Science Center. This has been on my kids "to do" list for while.

I didn't really know what to expect but I was amazed at all the super fun things to do and see. We started at the Naturalist Workshop and Trade Center. Here was is a perfect place to explore the natural world: get a close-up view through microscopes and magnifying glasses, use a balance to check and compare objects’ weight and identify touchable specimens.

Taylor checking out something under the microscope.

The gang in front of a cave we got to "explore".

Next up was the Dino Pit. Here they got to dig up actual replicas of fossils found in Texas, follow dinosaur tracks, and view fossils from the 301 Congress construction site.

Then we checked out the animal exhibit! We got to check out all kinds fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds.

The bob cat? that was currently eating a baby chicken (dead) while we were visiting!

Last, we walked through the Birds of Prey exhibit. We saw lots of hawks, owls, and ravens!

I know it is hard to see but here are two of the owls we saw. One of them had a hurt wing and the other had only one eye. That is why they are there, all the animals that they have can't be released back into the wild.

The whole thing is free and very educational. The kids had a great time walking in woods and along the different trail to each exhibit. It was lots of fun, definitely a do again!

Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Last week we loaded up with our good friends The C's and headed down to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the day. Kendall, Miss A, and Mr D had earned free tickets through a reading program at school last year and the girls had never been so we all were super excited about our day trip. We got there a little before it opened and the line to get in was already super long so I anticipated it to be crowed. But once we got in the park I was pleasantly surprised.

When we first walked in Scooby Doo was greeting all the kids. Which has become one of the girls favorite cartoons this summer.

Our plan was to ride a few water rides through out the day to cool off from this crazy hot weather we have been having. It was REALLY hot but all the kids were really good sports and didn't even really complain.

Motorama Turnpike

I was so proud of the girls, they rode every (and I mean every) ride that we could with no fear! The biggest discussion was who was going to ride with who.

Mrs Stephanie, Kendall, and Miss A

We rode a lot of the kid ride but they were a bunch of dare devils and wanted to ride all the fast spinney rides. So we did!

The last ride we rode was a roller coaster called "Boomerang". It had two upside down loops that you went through and they did the whole thing again backwards! The girls loved it! I could not believe that they didn't even think twice about riding it.

We had so much fun playing and riding rides that we didn't leave until after 8. I am pretty sure that we rode every ride that we could possible ride and the lines were not bad at all. We even got a 5 minutes rain shower to cool us off late in the afternoon. Can't wait to do it again.