The Countdown Begins

I can't believe I'm actually posting twice in one week! I really enjoy sharing these stories, photos and family activities with everyone, it's just finding the time to sit down at the computer and actually type it all out that is tough but, hey, so far so good, right?

We're all gearing up for school to start on the 25th. We'll be attending Gracie's "Back to School Night" Thursday evening where we'll get to meet her teacher and tour her classroom. She is so excited about going into the 1st grade. Ask her, she'll tell you ALL about it! : ) Adam will be going to the same daycare/school but will be moving up to Ms. Barbara's class (I love her!), where they'll begin potty-training boot camp baby!! Can't wait for the day when diapers no longer appear on my weekly grocery list.

August is also the time when we register for all the "extras" in our weekly schedule, i.e. piano, tae kwondo, dance, little gym and, possibly, soccer tots....whew, I'm worn out just thinking about it. These are the many activities we "consider" in the Fall. Gracie has been pretty adamant this year that she does NOT want to take piano (boo) so we're thinking about letting her take a little break from it. Instead she wants to try a Musical Theater class, which she says "if I don't like then I'll just switch to a Hip Hop or Jazz dance class." She told me that she might be too shy to take the theater class.....riiiight, that child doesn't have a shy bone in her body! Oh, and how could I forget Girl Scouts! Did I mention that I volunteered to be an Assistant Troop Leader? Ugh, what was I thinking? Now, I'll be attending the Kick-Off Training Seminar for Girl Scouts this weekend. By the way, I'm putting the word out early......Gracie is happy to be your GS Cookie Connection this year so get ready to place your order for Thin Mints, Somoas, Tag-alongs or whatever tickles your taste buds. Cookies go on sale in January (I think). : )

As for Adam, he has been in Little Gym all summer and LOVES it! He's a maniac on the uneven bars! The only "issue" we have is when they bring out the bouncy BALLS. While other kids are innocently trying to learn how to throw and catch with their parents, our son is PUNTING the balls into the rafters! It's a parent participation class so we spend most of "ball time" running interference between the ball and some poor unsuspecting victim's face. When the new fall semester begins, he'll be moved up to the older class and, guess what, no parents are allowed. We have to sit and watch the fun from the designated "waiting area". Oh, I can already see it now.........one of us (either me or David) is going to get chewed out by another parent when their child is smacked in the face by a 90-mile per hour ball flying across the gym. Hence the need to sign him up for Soccer Tots. Hopefully, this activity will provide the "sports" outlet he craves.
Gracie will test at the end of September for her Junior Black Belt!! We're so so so proud of her! Once she earns that belt, she'll no longer be a "Little Ninja". She'll earn her "whites" (white uniform) and join the older class. A Junior Black Belt is the same as a Senior Yellow Belt.

Well, that about wraps up the latest news. Here are a few pictures we've taken over the past couple of months.


Thanks for hangin' in on this lengthy post.


Our trip to the museum:









What IS this thing?











I want to be a fireman.....














....no, maybe an astronaut




















Bobbi the Builder









Rubber ducky you're the one!













Okay, first you go like this and,
Voila!, you've got your bottle of milk!







The Dinosaur Dig!!!








Look what I found!








She does all the work, I take all the credit!!










Trip home from the museum! : )







A few more of my favorites!


The Build-Up....





Okay, there's a stick of gum.....









I don't know, why DID the stick of gum cross the road?










because it was stuck to the chicken's foot.....ha ha ha ha, now
that's funny!!!




Just goofin' around:




Dadda Montana!

The Lesser-Known Marx Twins

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.

Just some recent pictures

August 4th - My two little angels. : )

Monkey see, monkey do....

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.

"Where would you like to go your highness?"

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

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.

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

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!

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

Love 'em and leave 'em! My little heart breaker.

Adam's 1st Birthday

A good time was had by all.

Katy and her captive audience.