FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

It's here!! It's here!! And yes, I'm very excited. This was my first summer as a full time stay at home mom and without any friends/family in the area it was a long one. BEYOND fun, but I was sure ready for school. The good thing is that they were as well! Here are some shots from their first day this past Monday...

Drew's Meet the Teacher Night

Although he is our tentative baby, he did so well talking to new friends and exploring his classroom. He's in one of SEVEN first grades so yes, it's a large school, but there are only 17 kids in the class so I heart that. His teacher is fresh out of college and is in her first year of teaching so I'm excited for the enthusiasm she'll bring to the room.

Bailey Turns 10

Although she doesn't get a birthday post every year, this was her 10th birthday and I feel the need to put something up about her.  If you ignore the fact that today she slipped into the pantry and ate an entire bag of buns, this dog has been a dream family dog. The kids pester her and hug her nonstop and she takes it all in stride. She's so happy to see all of our guests, loves other dogs and is seriously the best dog in the world. I hope she makes it to 25 years of age and sets some world records because I don't think she'll ever be topped as the best family dog ever.

Happy Birthday pretty girl. Hope you enjoyed your McDonalds cheeseburger!

Solar Eclipse

I was so excited that this event fell on one of the days where Drew and I were together sans the little one all day. I knew I wanted to do something special with him and read that a local library had glasses and was having a viewing party. Sounded perfect.

... until we got there and there was hundreds of people in line. They were handing out papers so you could play with eclipse shadows for those of us who didn't get glasses. I was slightly disappointed until I noticed people were happily sharing their glasses around. Drew and I got to take a peak quite a few times and although it wasn't as cool as what our family/friends in Kansas City saw, it was still a neat experience. We can't wait until 2024 when we are right in the path of totality right here in Texas!

Summarize My Summer

Want to see the two scenes I saw most this summer? Well here you go...

Ady doing her nonstop karaoke singing. Trust me.. hours of it.

And Drew building a new lego each day. He took apart everything when we left DC and had about 35 different sets to build all summer!

Those 2 shots perfectly captured my children this summer. :)

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Summer Recap

Summer is almost over and although it's been hard, it was something I know I'll miss. Hard as in we had 2 weeks of camp scheduled for Drew this summer that got cancelled. Hard because I've always had full time childcare for my kids and this was 8 weeks of being a full time stay-at-home-mom! Hard because it's a new city where we know no one and had no routine.

But fun.

Fun because we slept until we wanted to. Fun because we got down old things like paints and kinetic sand and enjoyed those for hours. Fun because we enjoyed tons of frozen treats and hours at the pool. Fun because we had a golf cart to ride around and visit different parks in. Fun because we explored our city and other local cities and even had a museum day. Fun because we watched more movies than we probably should have. Fun because it was just me and them. And I love them. Lots.

So farewell summer! We had a blast this year!

More Birthday Fun

Catching up a bit! Here are more pictures from Ady's birthday and the waterpark we went to the day after her birthday. She had a blast in the sun and enjoyed going down the slides!

We also went to enjoy Rainforest Cafe with Mimi, Grandpa and Aunt Whit on her actual birthday. Both kids thought it was pretty cool!

Ady in a new dress from Mimi...

The Dollhouse Saga

So for Ady's 3rd birthday I decided it was time to give her the dollhouse that my father and I spent countless hours building when I was young. Was 3 maybe a bit too early for a breakable dollhouse with tons of miniature pieces? Maybe. But it would be worth it.

On her birthday morning I facetimed my parents and led her into the playroom where it sat. She immediately gasped and threw herself in front of it. We opened the box with all of the pieces and she began to play putting everything into rooms and loving each second. For hours each day after that she would play with the dollhouse and I was beyond excited.

And then, a few weeks down the road, things changed. She started breaking little pieces here or there and I was constantly fixing them. Then, on one morning, she found the styrofoam piece glued under a sheet for the master bed and tore it to shreds. I was furious as it is such a special piece of my childhood. That was it. Last straw. The dollhouse has since been put back into storage and will re-appear for her 4th birthday.

Maybe.

Cooking Time

I bought a fun popsickle jello mix that the kids and I enjoyed making last week. Love when we're able to find projects to all do together. :)

And yes, I even got in the frame for a shot...

They were good, but the chocolate ones will be better when we make those. :)