Rain, Rain, Let's Go Play

We had one of those unusual rains on Saturday with no lightening, so Craig took the kids outside to "play in the rain"!  Fall is here now and hopefully, we will have some new, cooler weather.  Fat chance in the south, so maybe in November.

Fearless 4 Year Old

Kate started VPK (aka 4 year old preschool) a few weeks back!  She was ready to go, but also seemed like she was enjoying her summer vacation too.  Now that we are back into routine, I think she is adjusting well to school and seems to enjoy her new friends and loves her teacher, Ms. Cindy.  She doesn't seem to want to wake up to go to school, but when I pick her up, she says, "I had a great day".

The next day, Kate officially turned 4.  We have a very spirited, or should I say, strong-willed, independent girl on our hands, but she is such a blessing.  We went for her 4 year check up and she is a healthy girl.

Hunting/Hello Kitty Party

This year we chose a low-key party for the August birthday twins.  Last year we threw 2 birthdays in two weekends.  What.Was.I.Thinking?  Anyway, Jack opted for a hunting themed birthday and Kate loves her some Hello Kitty.  We went to local park, invited some great close friends and ate cupcakes.  It was pretty great and the kids seemed to have a great time.

Jack Turns 6

Jack's second day of school came with his 6th birthday!  I can believe he is 6.  Most parents are saying, "how did we get here" and "aren't they growing up so fast"?  It is fast, but I'm loving watching them grow into little people.  I took cupcakes up to school at lunchtime and we celebrated with our new friends.  Jack then got to go with Gigi to Toys R Us and pick out his birthday toy.  He chose an awesome Hot Wheels race track that he has not stopped playing with.  We then went to his favorite restaurant Black Bean for dinner.

Wednesday, we already had our first "illness", pink eye, so he had to stay home from school.  We relaxed and then today started home school days.  He told me a few times today, "I love my new school", "thank you so much for my new school" and "I love home school".  So far so good!

Hard at work, doing his home school work.

Kindergarten, Part Deux

Well since our boy is barely old enough to be in school, we are repeating Kindergarten at a new school.  Our new program is based kind of a hybrid of home school and mainstream schooling.  There is a big emphasis on parent/teacher interaction and for Thursday and Fridays, I am the teacher.  Jack goes Monday - Wednesday, normal school hours.  We are so happy to be at our new school.  It is a Christian program focused on growing the next generation of godly leaders.  I think he will be challenged academically and spiritually!  We are very excited for this year.

He said his first day was "good".  He seemed indifferent to school.  He kissed me and said goodbye and was coloring at his table.  He said the best thing about this day was playing on the playground and finding frogs.  Unprompted, he said, "I had fun today".

Unicorns

I'm Back!  Let's blog.  I could rehash the last 6 months with quick pictures and stories, but let's start fresh!

Kate will be turning 4 in a few weeks and really wanted to change up her room.  That meant no more toddler bed.  We got Kate her very own "big girl", twin bed and she loves it.  Since she has an opinion now (and many more), she wanted to redecorate her room.  The theme of the moment is unicorns.  Rather than have prancing, Lisa Frank inspired horses around her room, we opted for more bright colors and go with a subtle unicorn approach.  I made the duvet, bed skirt and pillows.  I then covered two pieces of foam-core board to create a lightweight headboard.  Pretty fun!

December 2012

Yes, it is March 3 and I am just blogging about Christmas and such, but at least I'm doing it, so don't judge!  Right after Thanksgiving, November 27, my sweet new nephew, Brooks Christopher was born.  He is such a sweet, beautiful baby.

A few weeks after that, my mom, dad, Craig and I took the 5 older kids to Disney.  Being outnumbered was challenging, but the house of the mouse, was fun.  Us girls had a great time a few days before the boys came.  We took the buses, explored and even did a little swimming!

A few weeks later, and we had Christmas!  We didn't travel much this year and just celebrated time together.  Nana and Papa came to visit this year and they enjoyed their 7 great-grandchildren.  It was a Merry Christmas!