1st Day of 1st Grade & Pre-K

I know this is a little late, but sorry! This summer the kids had so much fun; they never thought about school starting. Then 2 days (Tuesday) before KatieLynn's first day, we went to Meet the Teacher night; that was when she got excited! She was able to see all her friends, meet her teacher, and check out her classroom. Wednesday night she told me she didn't think she could go to sleep because she was so excited, and the next morning she got up almost an hour earlier than usual! Thursday was a fabulous day for her.After KatieLynn's first day, Dean started asking every day when he was going to school... it was nearly 3 weeks away! But we filled our days with Daddy, errands, taking lunch to KatieLynn, playdates, and of course playing! On his first day, he asked me if any of his friends from last year would be in his class, and I told him no, they were all going 3 or 4 days a week this year (instead of 2 -Dean goes Tuesday/Thursday). He had a great first day too! Though the second week of school, he told me that next year, I should sign him up for just 1 day a week! I laughed, but broke it to him that next year would be kinder and 5 days a week! He was comforted by the fact that he would be at the same school as KatieLynn.Most mornings, the kids spend 15 -30 minutes outside playing, before loading up for school. The mornings are when they play the best together!KatieLynn is ready to get to work!Dean is ready for centers.

Neither of them shed a tear, and actually barely told me good-bye! I fared pretty well too; no tears.

Weekend in San Antonio

This past weekend we went with my parents for a mini-vacation to San Antonio. We got there Friday afternoon, where the kids were anxious to swim in the hotel pool. After swimming and relaxing for a while, we ate yummy Mexican food, and then settled into our hotel room to watch Swamp Loggers before turning out the lights.

On Saturday we headed to Sea World. The kids played in the middle play area, but I wasn't entirely comfortable. There were people EVERYwhere, and it was difficult to keep an eye on both kids through all the mazes. The kids and I went on some of the water slides. The slides were fun, but very crowded, and a little foul smelling. We watched a couple of shows, and loved AZUL! It was like circus on/in the water! If we are able to go back next year, I think we will plan to go during the week (not the weekend), as soon as KatieLynn is out of school (her school gets out a little earlier than most schools, so it should be less crowded, plus not so hot!)

Sunday morning we ate breakfast in our room, and then enjoyed a couple of hours at the pool, before we checked out. We ate lunch, and then headed home. I was shocked that Dean didn't nap in the car, but he was in bed that night at 7:15, and KatieLynn at 7:30, and they both slept 12+ hours! We all had a fun time, but were also ready to sleep in our own beds Sunday night.

Bebe & Papa with the kids One of the AZUL performers
KatieLynn cools off at hotel
Dean splashing in the water

The hotel pool was pretty neat!

Swimming

We are lucky to live so close to Bebe & Papa's (my parents in Brenham). We love visiting with them, and also enjoy cooling off in their pool!

KatieLynn & Dean are both great little swimmers!

Uncle Harper can throw us really high!!

Hunters

I tried to get a few shots of the kids yesterday, but it can be difficult to get 2 kids to look, smile, stand still, etc. at the same time! I can't imagine how much harder it would be with more kids! Maybe that's a good reason for us to stick with just two. :) SILLY! I thought if I did this, they would relax and give me more natural smiles the next time, it was a good idea, but .... not sure it worked.

The kids (and us!) love to play the deer hunting game! We got this in West Texas at the Lacy Family Christmas a couple of years ago. I think I actually got a bottle of wine, but I traded Laura for the game. (Thanks Laura!) We are so outdated because we don't have a Wii, but that's ok. :)

It is serious business when it's your turn to shoot! The kids have come a long way. At first, Dean would just shoot the does because they were easy to hit, (but that ends your game) and now he can shoot bucks, coyotes, foxes, and more. KatieLynn could usually shoot a few bucks, but now she is pretty competitive with us! At any rate, it's great fun, and Darren likes that they are learning to enjoy hunting at an early age.

Zube Park

We started playing at Zube Park 5 years ago when KatieLynn was only 1year old, and barely big enough to reach anything, and I was pregnant with Dean. They are now pros at everything on the playground! Though right now, we can only go early in the morning because of the heat, the kids still enjoy playing there often! We are lucky that it's only 5 minutes from our house.

It's a Little Dry

Like many of you, we've not received significant rain in MONTHS, and even then we were behind. Our cornfields are not tall, the plants tasseled very early, and the stalks are drying down quite quickly. The kids and I prayed for rain almost constantly after we planted, but in mid-April we changed our prayers to ask God to make our crops grow and be prosperous. We still pray that our harvest is good, but more than that, we trust that our Lord will take care of us through whatever happens.

I think KatieLynn found the biggest ear! It was on the end of the row, and the surrounding seeds never came up. Most of the others we found were about half that size. Dean loves to pick ears!

Galveston Weekend

We had a wonderful and relaxing weekend at Galveston Island this past weekend. My good friend, Catherine and I headed out first thing Friday morning with the 4 kiddos. We ate lunch, and then hung out at the beach for the rest of the day. The kids had an absolute blast splashing, wading, and digging! I apologize for no water pics, but I didn't take my camera to the beach or the pool.

Darren and Jack got in Friday night as we were getting the kids ready for bed. Saturday morning, we went swimming at the pool until lunchtime. Then after lunch we napped, and then headed to Moody Gardens Aquarium. We had fun there, but were disappointed at how expensive it was, especially considering the poor lighting in most of the exhibits... We spent Sunday morning at the beach before we headed home.

It was a fun weekend, and I imagine we'll try to do it again next year. :)
Here's Hadley, KatieLynn, and Dean outside the Aquarium

The kids play in the shark cage.

Kindergarten Graduation

Our sweet angel graduated from Kindergarten last night. So hard to believe that we are now parents of a first grader (or in 2 1/2 months!)! It was a great ceremony! They had a slide show of pictures from the whole year as we waited for the program to start. Here's KatieLynn as she walks in. The students recited Psalm 139, so sweet to hear God's Word spoken by children! Then they sang 2 praise songs. Next, the teachers announced a Character Award for each student; KatieLynn received the Character Award of Attentiveness. Then the specials' (Music, PE, Computer, & Art) teachers gave one award, and KatieLynn was chosen as the recipient of the Outstanding Physical Education Award! After the diplomas were presented, the students, parents, and staff read a Commissioning Litany praying for each student and family.

As we were waiting for the ceremony to start, Dean asked what a diploma was. So I explained it was a piece of paper with words stating you had completed a task, and that he would get one next year at the end of preschool. He looked at Darren and I with one side of his lip curled up, and said, "You mean I have to do this?" I told him it would be 2 years in a row, preschool and kinder! He had his lip curled up like that for at least 5 minutes, as he thought about himself graduating! It's too bad I didn't get a picture of that, but here he is eating celebration cookies. :)

Here's my mother and my nephew, Tice, back at our house. He's a happy little baby, almost 5 months old now!

Fishing at PawPaw's

We went to Darren's grandfather's house to celebrate his 85th birthday. We are so lucky to have him close by! He has a beautiful place, as you can see in the pics! We had a great time visiting with all the family. The food was delicious as usual, and the kids kept having a parade on their riding toys. It was hilarious; it's too bad I didn't get any pictures of that!

The kids are so excited when they get to go fishing. Darren is not really patient enough to be a true fisherman, but he does his best for the kiddos. And, his dad IS patient when it comes to fishing!

Darren & DeanKatieLynn & Papoo
Dean & KatieLynn, Claire & Jonah

Darren, Dean, Emma, KatieLynn, Papoo, & Claire

Dean & Jonah