Splashway with Tara and kids!

Tara and the kids were going to Splashway (near our hometown of Hallettsville) the day after my birthday and she invited us to join her and Kaylee and Peyton and Luke and her mom.  The park has grown a lot over the past few years and on this particular Saturday, Tropical Storm Don was supposed to wreak havoc on our area but instead went to Mexico so the park was unusually quiet! Yay for us!

Once again I didn't get that many pictures b/c I took some video of Kate and Kaylee climbing across the lagoon.  But they had a blast!  We will definitely be going back a lot next year (on the way home John Paul - Tara's younger brother who helps out at the park- gave me a back road short cut to get home and man did it ever reduce the travel time!)....so definitely going to see more Splashway action in 2012.  By the way, a classmate of ours from Hallettsville and his wife and her father own the park and recently went to a convention in Las Vegas to get some ideas for new attractions.  They are doing really well with the park and we love to see a hometown family do so well!

Natural Bridge Caverns..finally we meet again!

Kate's Kindergarten teacher sent me an email on the last day of school saying that Kate loved science.  She was really intrigued by caves and she and Kate would spend extra time looking at caves on the computer or in books.  She recommended that I take her to Natural Bridge Caverns.  This was very ironic because I had been wanting to take them there anyway because I went as a kid and absolutely loved it.  They did too! 

It was hard to get good pictures with my phone camera because the caves are pretty dark.  There was one section of cavern that Kate mentioned it looked like a bunch of jelly fish floating around.  The guide was impressed at how creative her mind was......all of us learned something and will remember this experience forever.

With Nae Nae outside the caverns.....

Right next to Natural Bridge is the Wildlife Ranch and its a drive through safari type of setting. When I was a kid the animals were not as well fed (and the weather was not as hot) so the animals came up to the vehicles to get food that you can purchase when you drive in.  We went on a very hot day in July so therefore the animals wanted nothing to do with our crazy human alfalfa food!

They wanted SHADE!

We did get a few deer type of animals that came up to the car and ate from our hands but I didn't catch that on camera b/c I caught it on video but the kids did get to see some animals that they had not been able to see in the zoos before.  So it was a learning experience for them and we had tons of fun spending the day together!  Next time dad is going to have to go because he would have loved it!

Happy Birthday to Me! Yay 33!

I had a fabulous 33rd birthday!  I took the day off because Kate had her cheer camp performance today.  So by the time that I ran her here and there and got back to her performance, my day was almost over.  Grandma came and celebrated with us yesterday when she was in town.  She brought us this delicious chocolate cake.  The kids enjoyed singing to me and buying me silly singing cards (they LOVE singing cards!)  It was a magnificent birthday.  Tomorrow we head to Natural Bridge Caverns and Wildlife Ranch near San Antonio....I am so excited!  I haven't been since I was a kid myself.

I got this lovely necklace from the kids..I have been wanting this necklace for a while and Justin (thanks Vanessa!) finally got  on the computer and ordered it for me (and he did it with enough time for my birthday too!)  Justin got me a pair of nice rocking chairs that we have been wanting for a while so that we can enjoy our nice porch view. 

COBRA Cheer Camp

The theme was 'ROCK ON WITH THE COBRAS'!

These are really the only two pictures I took b/c I took a video of the actual performance.  Kate was the 'flyer' meaning that they did a stunt and she was the one that went up in the air.  Not suprised...she is the smallest in the group (wonder where she gets that from?!?!)

Kate did fabulous in front of the large crowd.  I think that part of her personality always suprises Justin.  She is so quiet and even tempered and (when she was younger) she was very bashful.  But she has really come out of her shell the past few years. 

She loves her school, teachers and friends! She is an amazing little girl and ready to start FIRST GRADE!

Wesley's birthday gifts....sneak peak!

Grandma got Wesley a martin house bird house because he loves the outdoors and she has one and spends hours watching it.  Of course it was a daddy project (smile dad!)

We probably won't get birds until it cools down a bit but we are ready when the birds come around.

Uncle Scott and Aunt Michelle and the girls got Wesley a gift card.  He picked out a toy and wanted a weed eater like his dad.  This is such a cute picture I just had to share.  He is such a big boy!  I love him so much and hope that one day he'll be able to help dad with the real weed eater and some outdoor chores.

Summer Vacation 2011

We had an absolutely amazing family vacation July 4th week!

We went to the beach on July 4th and had a really great dinner on the water just in time for the wonderful fire works display Port A put on.  Everyone (kids and adults alike) were in awwww of the display.  I enjoyed it so much I didn't take any picture of the fireworks.  :)

On Tuesday (the day before Wesley's birthday) we went on a dolphin and lighthouse tour.  As many years as Justin and I have been going to Port A, we have never gone on a dolphin watch so it was definitely a cool experience to have seeing our kids get so jazzed about the view.

Mr. Dolphin coming to tell us hi!

The lighthouse............it is currently owned and operated by the HE Butts family.  Its fully operational but is not used currently.

How can I even begin to caption the picture below?  His hair looks good longer when he is wearing gel and/or a cap but when its been windblown?!?!  This is the result!

Kate acting like a seagull......... 

 Justin and the kids in the surf.....I do NOT do ocean water.....not even when the water is warm....but luckily the kids enjoy it!

We had originally planned to spend Thursday and Friday of the week in San Antonio and New Braunsfels doing the Sea World and Natural Bridge Caverns but Justin got called into work and Vanessa had to work nights, and I didn't want to take them that far on my own.....so we went for Plan B.  Which allowed us to stay at home and do some 'house' things.  Number 1 on the list was creating a 'big girl' room for Miss Kate now that she is officially sleeping in her own room and LOVING IT!  I had originally told her I'd do it before she went back to school because I didn't think we'd have any time but with two free days at home, we got it done!  First she picked out her bedding and then we picked out the paint.  And the rest is history!  We still have a few items to finish:  Justin has to put up the curtains and we have a cute wall art to put up and then I want to put an area above her TV/desk where she can display all the art and prizes she has.  But for the most part its done and I LOVE it, she LOVES it and Wesley LOVES it (he tends to sneak into her room when he gets scared at night and he thinks her new sheets are so soft and comfy!)

Note:  this was the cutest door hanger but 'someone' slammed the door last night and it fell off and the mirror cracked so we are creating a different one with a similar look but no plastic to crack if it falls again (since everyone seems to use Kate's door to go into the bathroom or Wesley's room..Wesley has his own door to his room but no one uses it...we all go through Kate's room..haha!)

Happy 4th Birthday, Wesley!

 

First, let's go over the formalities so that one day when my little man is a big man, he can look back and see how far he's come! 
Wesley's Stats at 4 years:
46lbs
42 inches
*These are unofficial stats taken from our 'height' wall and bathroom scale.  We will have official stats from the pediatrician when we pair up the kids annual well visit in August (before they head back to school!).

Wesley is my little fire cracker.  Goes perfect with having a birthday right after the 4th of July (firecracker season!).  He goes a million miles an hour ALWAYS!  But when he's ready to sleep, he sleeps wherever and he loves his little blue blanket (I do wonder if he will take that to college with him?!?!).  He is a GREAT eater...loves to try new things, loves to eat his favorites.  Wesley is so full of energy that some (more conservative) moms would probably have rushed him into the pediatrician seeking an ADHD diagnosis at this point BUT I have refrained because of two main reasons:

1.  He's sharp as you can only imagine.  This is the little boy that was holding full conversations with us at 18 months and at age 3 was using words like outrageous, obvious, definitely (you get the picture).  He has known his alphabet for years and is starting to read some of his sisters stage 1 books!  So there is no lack of focus when it comes to learning. His perception of the world is amazing!  He relates almost everything to what he's learned about Jesus and God and what They want us to do with our lives and how they want us to treat other people.

2.  It's genetic!  After being around my grandma (almost 80) and my uncle (57), it is very obvious that Wesley is just 'wired' like us.  I call him my little Tasmanian devil. I see so much of my dad and my uncle in him every single day.  It was hard to get my dad to sit still but when it came to things that intrigued him (fishing, working on sports cars, drawing) my dad could concentrate for hours.  Wesley is exactly the same.  He LOVES to fish and put together his Knex and gets very very drawn into the things he has passion for.

Its quite a joy raising him because Kate is so mellow like Justin, so we get to experience the best of both worlds.  Its cute to watch Justin interact with him because Wesley is so different than Kate (and Justin).  There are times, I can tell that Justin doesn't even know what to say to him or how to respond to one of his quit witted questions.  But even though Kate and Wesley go at two different paces, they are the best of friends.  When Wesley gets scared at night he walks straight to Kate's bed and lays with her.  One night he even woke her up because he had an itch on his back and needed her to scratch it so he could go back to sleep.  He will wake her up to take him potty during the night.  Kate is obsessed with cats but Wesley is obsessed with Jake and other dogs.  But they will feed each others animals just to help each other out.  He has a heart of gold and is very tender.  He for the most part (he is still a typical 4 year old!) follows directions really well but asks a million questions!  It is such a joy to have this little guy!  WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Now...I'm ready for the part where they say 'boys get easier'...come on come on come on.....

Here are a few pictures...Wesley and his mater bubble blower that nae nae got him...he loves it!

He got a little bashful when everyone was singing to him  :)

Wesley and Grandma..she gave him this awesome Martin bird house..dad has to install it 20 ft in the air!

Silly faces from his bounce party!

On VACATION thru 7/11...more to come!

Adios Kindergarten...HELLO FIRST GRADE!

I am going to have to keep this short and sweet (like my Kate!) because looking at these pictures as I type and thinking about how far we've come, makes me tear up.  I am so proud of her! 

My feelings at the beginning of this school year were very anxious.  A new community, a new house, a new school, new kids, teachers...you get the point.  Kate has always adjusted seamlessly to new environments.  But this was a lot of adjusting in a short period of time.  And she rocked it! 

Here she is sporting a diamond angel necklace my grandma gave her the night before.  So very pretty and special (like Kate!)

 Kate getting her Kindergarten Completion certificate from Mrs. Keith

 From Left to Right:  Elizabeth, Natalie, Zaydan, Emily, Maddie and Kate

 Kate with her Citizenship Award

 Only 1 kid per class received the Citizenship Award.....Kate received it for Kindergarten....not surprised because she is very obedient and a true sweetheart to all.  But half of Kate's class has parents that are teachers in her district so I wasn't going to assume anything until they called her name.  Vanessa knew the minute they described the award that Kate would get it.  :)

 Her completion certificate

And finally....her final report card sending her on her way to the 1st grade.  Inside the report card...mastery of all things Kindergarten.  On the back of her report card, E's for Excellent in all things social, listening, behavior, fine arts and PE.  She was exposed to so many things this year of school and loved them all.  That is my favorite memory of this year.  Picking her up every day and listening to the new things she got to encounter and how she enjoyed each and every one. 

Could it be......a future cheerleader in the family!!!!!!!!!!

Kate is officially registered for COBRA cheer camp on July 28th (coincidence that its my birthday!!!).  And a few weekends ago we signed her up for COBRA cheer leading in the Fall.  Our community sponsors a youth football league which allows young boys to learn the fundamentals of football and they also allow the girls to cheer for the teams.  So starting in the fall, Kate will be able to cheer for the boys that she has in her class while they compete with neighboring communities.  I SO wish they would have had that when I was her age.  Nonetheless, everyone that knows me, knows that cheer leading was my passion.  Even at 32 years of age I can recite numerous cheers from high school and bust out in some of my favorite competition moves from back in the day.  Cheer leading is something that just pours through my veins and brought me so much happiness when I was younger.  I never thought Kate would even be interested in cheering because she has such a mellow disposition.  But I've watched her come out of her shell the past few years and really become quite the passionate little girl.  So needless to say when she approached me about the cheer camp, I was MORE than happy to fill out the application.  Now our evenings are spent doing gymnastics in the yard or in the trampoline.  And yes (just for the record) I can still kick it and flip it.  I might hurt a bit the morning after but I still have it and the kids think its HILARIOUS watching mom with spirit fingers (and the occasional fall on my behonkus!)

We've already purchased her uniform but I did a little shopping tonight to find her the perfect pair of pom poms (because not all pom poms are created equal!).  And of course along the way I found some cute socks and face stickers.  So no matter if this passion for cheering lasts a year or for many years to come, I am so happy to be able to share this common bond with my sweet girl and watch her have fun and enjoy life.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011 (in pictures)

If you've followed my blog for any period of time, you'll notice that at times I can write a novel (maybe its one of those nights where I just can't fall asleep so I multi-task between blogging and HGTV).  But then I have times when I want to share my story with mostly pictures.  This entry is more pictorial.  I was able to snap some sweet (and very candid) pictures of our fun swim on Memorial day thanks to a few factors:

1.  Justin was able to share the day with us so therefore I did not have to be in the pool the entire time acting as a hanging post for Wesley, and

2.  Our kids are becoming more proficient swimmers (well at least Kate is) so that leaves a few hands free to snap some pictures...ENJOY!

She started the day with her floaties...she is not a daredevil and has a very strong appreciation for water.  Its made for some really nice toddler years because I never had to worry about her just jumping in and gulping water

 This one left his floaties on the entire time.....he's not a daredevil in water either (somehow I must have put the fear of God in them when it comes to appreciation of water)

Justin being Kate's biggest cheerleader..wait, that is supposed to be ME being her biggest cheerleader?  Oh well...2 cheerleaders is better than none!

His girl.......

Swimming from one end of the pool to the other..so proud of her!

Yes....still in his floaties and won't try to jump off...maybe if the pool didn't have these cool fountains he'd be more adventurous?!?!

Loves of my life!

Maddie

 Wesley acting like he is going down by himself...........

 Until dad had to come to the rescue!

Maddie going off full speed!

Typical Kate style...she went down the slide slow and cautious...and when I asked her why she stopped before the end, she replied 'Well Mom, I have to take a deep breath before I can just jump in....'

I did explain that as she gets older she'll realize that she can take a deep breath at the top of the slide and it will last her until she jumps in.....she replied 'But mom....your and adult and I'm a kid...your lungs are bigger than mine'  And I can't argue with that my sweet (almost) 1st grader!