Balloon Festival

We made our annual trek to the balloon festival. We usually load up the radio flyer and get there in time for the Sunrise Launch.....the weather was nice (a little hazy this year) and the crowd wasn't bad that early in the morning. Since Adam is usually up and ready to go EVERY morning at 5:30 am, we had no problem making the 7 am launch. Adam keeps us punctual for all morning appointments/events.

There were lots of very unique balloons this year, as you'll see in the following photos. My favorite was the daisy, hailing all the way from Georgia. I think the kids liked the tree and/or cow best of all. David's favorite was the Flat Earth balloon.

As always, we had a wonderful time and were amazed at how the festival continues to grow each year. Maybe, one day, it will be as spectacular an event and the one in New Mexico.

On our way to the festival. The wagon is a "must have" and comes with us every year.

The balloons are airing up...getting ready for take-off.

Anxiously awaiting lift off! This is actually one of the few times Adam stayed within the

designated spectator area.

Did you see that flying tree, Daddy?

Here are a few of the balloons!

Belt Graduation

Gracie has been taking Tae Kwon Do lessons from Master Vu, her martial arts instructor, for about four months now. She's in the "Little Ninjas" class and doing very well.....starting with a white belt, then yellow and, here, earning her orange belt.

Many of you got to meet Master Vu at Gracie's 5th birthday party. All the students love him because he makes learning fun. He teaches the kids about integrity, practicing self-control, being respectful to your parents, and, most importantly, that girls are NOT allowed to date until they are 30! I love Master Vu!















The ceremony has just started and the Little Ninjas will be the first to perform their 'combinations' in front of the black belts. Gracie's not even the least bit worried....nerves of steel I tell ya, nerves of steel. Of course, Gracie has always LOVED having an audience so this is really no big deal. : )

The Little Ninjas had to complete a 6-move combination to earn their orange belt. Pretty impressive front punch, don't ya think?

Yeah, she did it!! I'm so proud of her!

Labor Day at the Lake

We spent Labor Day weekend at the lake house. It was our crew, plus Uncle Steve, Aunt Lorie and cousin Nathan. The kids played from sun up to sun down. Gracie and Adam both had runny noses but that didn't slow them down for a second. The weather and water were perfect as we only had one day of sprinkling rain. The storms held off until right after we left on Monday afternoon.

The last time we were out at the lake, Sunshine, the Palomino, had just had a foal that Grandpa named Sandy. Back then, she was just a tiny thing. Well, that wasn't the case this trip. In just a few short months, Sandy is now almost full-grown.....I thought my kids grew fast! Gracie and Sandy became fast friends. Adam, my little cowboy, loved riding Snickers. We'll definitely have to outfit him with the full hat and boots ensemble next time. The Crocs just don't quite fit in. : )

We took the pontoon out for a ride each day. Adam didn't have the patience for any long trips out on the lake so we opted for short morning and evening rides. He DID enjoy driving the boat and, I must say, he did a pretty good job.....as did Gracie and Nathan. Everyone got a turn to be Captain.

Thankfully, we made it through the holiday without any injuries, only a few ant and mosquito bites to remind of the trip. All in all, we had a nice, long, restful weekend.

Gracie and Sandy

Awww, how cute is this picture? I love this little girl so much

my heart feels like its just gonna burst sometimes!

....and here's my handsome cowboy! What a little man. I think this is probably the only time he sat still all weekend. He really gives me a run for my money but I wouldn't have it any other way. : )

We're in good hands!

On your mark.......

get set.....

Gooooooooo!!!!!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today is Monday, August 27th, THE most traumatic day of my life........Gracie's first day of kindergarten! I really thought I would do okay, and I WAS doing okay until I saw Mimi, the mother of one of Gracie's little friends, start crying...then I lost it. Of course, it being my first child, I had a legitimate excuse right? Well, this was Mimi's second go-round at the whole "first day" thing so, obviously, it won't be any easier when its Adam's turn. Oh well, at least I'll know what to expect. : )

This picture is taken at home. Gracie has her backpack on, her lunch is packed and she is ready to go!! I was bearly able to talk her into posing for half a second.

Okay, at this point, we've made it to school and we're attempting to go throught the breakfast line. Gracie is suppose to find her teacher's name, then pull her cafeteria id card. First hurdle: Colwill, Ellie....the cards are filed by last name (first), then first name (last).......neither of which she is used to seeing on a routine basis. Second hurdle: opening the milk carton.....I watched as this little bitty paper carton even got the best of a fifth grader. How on earth will my child EVER master this seemingly simple task? Maybe we better do breakfast at home for a while longer. : )

After 10 minutes of struggling with the milk carton, Gracie finally starts eating breakfast. Her first official school cafeteria meal was a waffle and some peaches. All of which, with milk, cost .80 cents. Not bad. About 5 minutes in, the 8:20 bell rang and we had to go line up in the hallway with her classmates. Yes, I think we're going to have to fix breakfast at home.

Walking the hallway to Ms. Glaze's classroom.

Here she is cued up in line to enter her classroom. There were probably one hundred people in this small, cramped hallway.....parents taking pictures while waiting for the kids to be waived into class.

The final wave goodbye. I held it together for about 2 minutes after this picture was taken then the water works started.

Her school held a "Boo-hoo/Yahoo" coffee for all the parents. I was there for the kleenex.

Just some recent pictures

August 4th - My two little angels. : )

My littlest angel.....don't let the wings fool you. : )

Monkey see, monkey do....

Storytime with TJ Beary Tales.

The shower caps stayed on for all of five minutes then they became tools for holding mass amounts of water to dump on each other.

Boy in a bucket!

"Where would you like to go your highness?"

"Now, I'm suppose to hold this, point here and click?"

Gracie's Day at Libby Lu

Gracie's friend, Molly, had her 3rd birthday party at Libby Lu and Gracie was invited! In case you're not familiar with the Libby Lu experience, it's a place where little girls can go to play dress-up. When the girls arrived, they each got to choose an outfit to wear, pick a hairstyle, got their make-up done, had their fingernails painted, and got to make their very own glitter lotion. This is a picture of Gracie having her hair done. She picked the "Princess" do.

.....and here is the final result. The "do" came with the tiara. Believe it or not, it took the Libby Lu stylist only 5 minutes to put this hairstyle together. It did, really.....I swear!

Once all the girls were "glammed up", they put on a show.....right there in the middle of the store. It was the cutest thing!

Out to the mall to do some SERIOUS shoppin, ya'll!

Natural Bridges Wildlife Park

June 30, 2007

Here we are in San Antonio getting ready to leave our hotel to head home. We spent the entire day (before) at Sea World. Boy was it H-O-T!!! Gracie and Adam have their backpacks on for our trip to Natural Bridges Wildlife Park. Since most of our time at Sea World was spent at the wave pool we were very excited about seeing some actual wildlife.

If you've never been, I highly recommend going. The park is just outside of San Antonio and right off the highway so not much of a detour at all.

Check out their website: http://wildliferanchtexas.com/home.html

Of course, we had to stop to see the giraffe......Gracie's all-time favorite animal in the whole wide world! They don't allow the giraffes to roam free throughout the park like the other animals so we had to admire them from afar. : (

We gave each of the kids their own camera. I haven't dropped off the film yet. It will be interesting to see what's developed. : )

I think most of Adam's pictures are of the car floorboard.

Adam's new BFF. This little goat followed him EVERYWHERE and he loved every minute of it.

Our little photographer, trying to get the goat to pose for a picture. : )

Hook 'em horns!!

David's favorite animal....the mighty buffalo!

Up close and personal......FYI - buffalos DO slobber.

African longhorn. Hook-dem horns!

I'm almost certain that this ostrich wanted to come home with us. Never before have I been face-to-face with this odd bird......strangely, I had the sudden urge to shave my legs.

World Aquarium

Here are a few pictures from our day at the aquarium. This was a "first" for Adam so he was in for a big treat. We had a great time. I can remember when this place opened and the monkey's roamed free. They would come right up to you and eat right out of your hand. Those were the days..... : )

We had a great time. Gracie always loves visiting the manatee.

Adam spent most of the day pointing at one thing or another. There were so many new and exciting things to see at the aquarium!

We loved the stingrays.

The beautiful waterfall at the aquarium caught everyone's attention.

Surf's Up!!

"Casanova"