Kat's Church School

Katherine really, really wants to go to school like her big brother and sister do.  She has one more year before she actually starts preschool a few days a week.  However, she does get to go to "church school" once a week this year while mom is attending a woman's group through our church.  She LOVES it.  They do teach her things and she also gets to sing, play and do crafts.  AND she gets to take her own lunch (which is a very big deal to her).  So when we did back to school prep this summer and bought Jonathan a new backpack she also got to select her very own lunch box.  This picture is from the first day of church school this year.  She was beyond excited to go & her whole countenance lit up at the very mention of it.  She practically skipped into the building and almost ran to her class.  When I pick her up she is beaming and immediately begins to tell me all about her time there and show me her craft of the day.  I love that she has this time for her while I'm having some really good me time too.  It's great for both of us!

Seamless First Day

Oh summer...where have you gone?  Is it really time for school again already?  I have to say this was, by far, the easiest first day of school yet.  It was pretty much seamless.  Both kids were excited to be back and very pleased with their teachers for the year.  Everyone woke up well and was at school early.  Joel came with us to see them off and to take these great pictures.

Waiting in the car before heading in.  Katherine really, really wanted to be going to school too.

Ready to get their day started.

 

 Jonathan has the same teacher this year that Emily did for 1st grade.  We love her & are so pleased that he's in her class too.

Emily's teacher (on the right) seems really great too.  She has a student teacher in the room as well this year. 

Epic Road Trip

My mom talked me into a 2 week road trip over the summer.  She & I and the kiddos to visit Kerry and Jeff in California with stops on the way there and back.  I will admit the thought scared me quite a bit in the beginning, but in the end I decided it would be a fun adventure.  I'm very glad we ended up making the trek out.  It was well worth it to spend quality time with my awesome sister and her equally awesome husband.  And we got to see some of God's beautiful creation along the way too.  Things you just don't see in Texas.  I think mom would agree we could have done with less car time, but hey, that's what was required & the kids actually did really great in the car and overall.  Memories were made that will last a lifetime.  So here are some pictures from our epic trip west.  (Disclaimer: Joel was not on this trip with his great camera and photography skills.  It was just me and my little point and shoot.  In no way are these pictures anywhere close to the level he would have been able to capture.  In a way it's sad because we saw such beautiful places, but they'll have to do.)

 

First stop: Carlsbad Caverns.  Here we are before we make the descent that ends more than 800 feet underground.  It was a long hike & not easy, but so very beautiful down there.  Katherine kept up and was a real trooper!

 This is the rest stop at the bottom right outside the big room.  Water and resting our feet a bit before seeing the last of the cavern and heading back up to the surface.

 Jon especially loved to ride the luggage carts at the hotels.

Stop 2: White Sands, NM.  The hotel let us use sleds for free to slide down the dunes in.

The pattern the wind made in the dunes was too nice not to document.

Stop 3: Kerry and Jeff's place and relaxing in their awesome pool.  The kids LOVED hanging out with their aunt and uncle.

We spent an afternoon at Pismo beach.  It was quite chilly - only in the 60s when we arrived.  We pretty much hung out in the sand & avoided the icy water.

 Stop 4: The Grand Canyon.  Seeing it in person is pretty awesome.  Just doesn't compare to the pictures and video.  It's breathtaking how big it is.

 

Joy bear made it out sporting a Grand Canyon shirt my grandma gave me when I was a baby.  She was very happy to be there, as you can see.

 

We stopped by the Grand Canyon Deer Farm on the way back to the hotel.  The deer knew there was food in the cups we had and were prepared to take it at any cost.  They were quite aggressive.  But, after our cups were empty they just followed us around and let us pet them.  It was fun.

 

Stop 5: Sedona, AZ Pink Jeep tour.  So, so fun.  The kids loved the bumpy, adventurous ride through the terrain.  And the red rocks were stunning.  So very beautiful there.  

 

One of the stops on our tour.

 

Katherine especially loved the crazy ride and laughed and squealed through it - especially the most intense parts.  She kept asking to do it again the rest of the day and even cried when she saw other jeeps leaving for their tours.

 

Kat would play with all the condiments on the tables whenever we stopped to eat.  I think she just really wanted to play with something, anything after being in the car for so long.

 

And this was our last night in Amarillo, TX before driving back home.  The drive and time change wiped us out and we all slept hard that night.

It was a very memorable trip.

Perfect Summer Rain

This morning we had a perfect summer rain.  Not too heavy, but just enough to play out in and really enjoy.  It was cool enough for me to have the back door open and sit under the awning, coffee in hand and watch Jonathan and Katherine play (Emily preferred reading inside).  They just earned pales & shovels from the library summer reading program.  They used them to catch the rain and then pour it out in various places.  It didn't take long before they were pouring it on each others' heads.  Then Jon asked for fresh water so I let him use the hose to fill up his bucket.  Which...of course...progressed to them dumping LOTS of water on each other.  They loved every moment of it as you can see below.  I loved the cooler temp, the patter of raindrops on my freshly painted toes, enjoying my coffee outside, and watching my kids enjoy their sibling's company.  What a great thing to be able to watch them make childhood memories like this.  I hope this memory is one that sticks & they can pull out later in life to smile about when they are grown & no longer living in the same house.  And then they can be inwardly grateful for the privilege of having grown up with someone as great as the other is and for having the chance to play in the rain together one summer morning back when they were little.

 

Chicago!

Joel and I got to go to Chicago recently.  My best friend from middle & high school, Jasleen, has lived up there since college.  I made it up there once to visit while she was still in college, but haven't been back up since.  I've been wanting to go back with Joel and we finally were able to make it happen this past June.  It was a great visit made even more awesome because we had fantastic trip planners in Jasleen & her husband, Geoff.  We just got to enjoy the sights and food.  And the weather was beyond amazing.  It was a welcome break from the Texas heat we gladly left behind for a few days.

Joel brought his awesome camera & captured tons of truly great photos.  So many that I can't include them all.  Here are a selected few from our long weekend in the windy city.

The beautiufl city skyline from Lincoln Park.

 Inside the Art Institute.  Such an amazing museum.  If I lived there I would have to become a member.

 Me & Jazzy.

 In front of the iconic Bean.

 Inside the Shedd Aquarium.  I think seahorses are one of God's coolest creature creations.

 In the Field Museum of Natural History by Sue the most complete T Rex ever found.

 On the 103rd floor of the Sears tower.  In a glass box portruding from the side of the building.  Very cool.

 And our last few hours in the city.  Glad I got to be in the sand for a few minutes.  Always makes me happy.

Summer Lemonade Stand

The kids have been asking to have a lemonade stand for several weeks now.  We had no plans this afternoon so we gave it a go.  I drew the block letters & they colored and decorated the signs.  They helped mix up the lemonade and we sat out for a few hours in the shade of our tree. 

I prepped them that if they just got 1 or 2 customers that would be a pretty good day.  They ended up selling to 13 customers & made $9.  We only asked 25 cents a glass, but most people gave them a dollar or more.  The moral of the story: being a cute kid is a big help when trying to sell stuff. 

Childhood memories being made while the kids were entertained for a few hours and I got to sit still...a good afternoon in my book!  And it was pretty precious seeing them light up with excitement every time a car would stop to buy a glass or 2. 

 

Cow Appreication Day

Friday was the annual Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A.  Basically you dress like a cow & get free food.  My kind of deal!  So we got "mootivated" and dressed up for some yummy chicken.  The kids even got to have their picture made with the Eat Mor Chikin Cow.  Good stuff.