Preschool Here We Come

After Alexa started Kindergarten Emma started counting down the days until preschool started.  Emma is our little social bug and absolutely loves preschool.  Do you think she looks excited?  She could hardly contain herself the morning of preschool! 

Emma wanted Daddy to take her on her first day.  Emma loved her dates with daddy last year when he would take her or her and Alexa for breakfast before preschool.  Emma asked her daddy if they could go for breakfast before preschool.  How could a daddy turn those big blue eyes down?  Eric texted me during breakfast to ask if Emma ever stopped talking :)!! She is my little talker and if you add a little excitement she talks a mile a minute !  I'm think she got more talking in than breakfast eaten. 

She is ready to go!!

One of Emma's first stops when she got to preschool was the play kitchen.  She was trying to find things to do while she waited for her friend Cara to arrive. She played with one eye on the door. 

The scene when Cara arrived!! They did make quite a scene.  They just kept hugging and giggling! Last year Emma and Cara were in the same preschool class and so were their sisters.  Both sets of girls became amazing friends throughout the year.  We also had a number of play dates with the girls.  We made sure Cara and Emma were in the same class again this year.

  

Best Buddies that are ready for a great year!

Emma, it was so fun to see your excitement and anticipation as you waited for preschool to start.  You are such a little social bug that has a huge love for life.  You love life and have a way of living it to its fullest.  Your smile is contagious and you draw people to you.  That's just the way God made you sweet Emma.  You love others and in turn they love you!  I can't wait to see the way you grow and blossom this year.  I love you !

Love 

Mommy

Alexa's Big Day

Alexa Grace,

My sweet girl, I can't believe you are in kindergarten.  Where has the past 6 years gone.  It seems like just yesterday that I was holding you for the first time and was in awe of how perfect God made you.  Those tiny little fingers that I would stare at for hours now are big enough to write with, color with, cut with and hold your new little friends hand with.  It seems like just yesterday our eyes met for the first time and I knew I was in love with you my sweet girl.  As I looked into those same big brown eyes on your first day of kindergarten I could see nothing but excitement and anticipation for what was ahead.  Alexa I'm so excited for you on this new adventure you are on.  I love the excitement you have for school, your teacher and meeting all your new friends.  You have such a love for learning and I can't wait to see how you grow and blossom this year.  I love it that when I tell you how beautiful or how smart you are you respond with "God made me that way!"  God did make you special Alexa Grace and I'm so glad he chose m

e to be your mommy! I pray that God will continue to give me and your daddy wisdom in raising you to be the women he would want you to be.  Alexa, I know you are going to have an amazing year! I'm so proud of you! 

Love

Mommy

Kindergarten Here We Come

Alexa was so excited for her first day of Kindergarten.  After looking in a number of stores for the perfect backpack she finally found one she loved.  She decided since she was in kindergarten she might be too big for the Dora or Princess back packs.  Isn't it cute?  She had all her supplies packed inside just so.  She is totally a first born who likes everything in order. 

Alexa wanted daddy to take her to school in his car.  I agreed but said I would be following right behind in the van.  There was no way I was going to miss my little girls first day of Kindergarten.  

She was so excited when she got to her room.  She found her chair and sat right down at the green table.  She just kept looking around with a big grin on her face.  

Alexa and Emma have such a sweet sister bond.  This was Emma giving her sister her last good-bye hug and Alexa whispering in her ear.  Emma was so excited for her sister.  Emma said, "I think I have tears for Alexa! "  When Emma gets excited her eyes tend to tear up! 

 

Mom walked out of the room with a couple tears in her eyes.  I was a little sad that my little girl is growing up so fast but the tears were really from the excitement and anticipation that I saw in my little girls eyes.  Alexa got in the van after her first day and said, "I LOVE IT!"

Alexa's teacher e-mailed me that she had a great week.  Her teacher said she was sweet, a great listener and that she's a great example to her classmates.  I'm so proud of our little kindergardener. Oh yes, and how could I forget we are no longer calling it kindergarten but calling it school per request from Alexa!

Drive-In Movie

The highlight of our weekend was the Drive-In Movie Theater.  Eric came home from work on Friday and had found a Drive-In only 30 minutes away with the new Wall-E movie playing.  We told the kids we were going to do something special on Saturday night and it was something they had never done before.  It was something Eric hadn't done before either.  I remember going to a Drive-In when I was a kid and seeing the Gremlins.  The kids were very excited and their little minds were spinning trying to figure out what we were going to do.  

We borrowed our friends truck and piled tons of pillows and blankets in the back.  It was a perfect night and then kids were very excited when we got there.  There was so much to take in they just didn't know what to think.

Getting all cozy and ready for the movie! 

Daddy and his girls!!! The girls were talking daddy's ear of with excitement! 

And then there is nothing like a daddy and his boy! 

Do you think Alexa and Shane look excited?  

We were there an hour early to make sure we had a good spot and to get all settled.  The kids were quite the entertainment for the vehicles around us.  The couple next to us thought the kids were the cutest things and the kids talked their ear off.  They went to get some food and came back with some Pop Rocks for the kids.  I remember this candy as a kid but our kids had never had it.  They thought all the popping in their mouth was so funny! Shane couldn't eat it fast enough and check out Emma's reaction below! 

All cozy and ready for the movie to start! 

What a view! A movie with the sun set in the background! This was a family highlight for all of us! I'm sure we'll be back to the Drive-In again!

How about you?  For any of my faithful readers or lurkers leave a comment and let me know if you've been to a Drive-In.  It has been fun to hear people's Drive-In stories and I'm amazed at the amount of people who have never been to one! 

A Trip To The Zoo

We had a great weekend!! It was busy when we had 3 little ones 3 and under but now that everyone is out of diapers, gets along so well and has fun together  it makes the business worth it.  The kids are such buddies and it is fun that they all love to do the same types of things.  Just going to the park and having a picnic is exciting for them.  It is hard to believe summer is over but we truly did have a wonderful summer with our little blessings!

We had to make a quick stop at the zoo this weekend to check up on our little friend, the baby monkey!! The kids love watching him.

The other highlight is the Petting Zoo.  This time dad was with us to help feed the goats!  We still had some squeals but they are getting better at feeding the animals.  I love Emma's tongue out on the picture below! 

We were at the zoo when it was closing.  The Zoo Keeper stopped us on our way out.  She was on her way to bottle feed some baby baby animals.  I can't remember their exact name now but they look like a dear.  She asked the kids if they wanted to help her.  What a treat.  There were two little babies and they each needed 2 bottles.  The kids had so much fun!! As we were leaving Shane told the Zoo Keeper that now he wanted to wash the lion because he was all dirty.  She thought Shane was pretty cute but informed he they couldn't wash the lion. 

 

After we left the zoo we had a picnic and played at the park!   The kids never get sick of our summer days at the park! 

Shane and Alexa pretending to be lions in a face off! 

Pictures At The Park

One of our favorite summer spots is a park in town.  The kids love the playground, it has huge beautiful shade trees, sometimes there are plays/music at the band shelter, there is a free wading pool and a beautiful flower garden.  We often pack a lunch and head there for lunch or dinner.  The weather has been beautiful so we have been taking advantage of it.  This weekend we had lunch at the park on Saturday.  I had the kids pose for some pictures in the flower garden.  Eric said I should post the picture flops instead of some of the good ones.  We had some funny ones.  I decided to post some of the better ones instead.  

Emma is our princess!! She loves anything girly.  She loves flowers.  I think her husband may be in trouble someday! She calls herself the fashion queen and what fashion queen doesn't love a bouquet of flowers on her night stand! 

I can't believe how big by brown eyed beauty is getting.  It is hard to believe she is starting kindergarten tomorrow.  She has matured so much over the last year.  She is such a wonderful big sister and quite the little helper.

We didn't have too much luck getting a picture of all 3 of them.  Shane is all boy and doesn't have too much sit in him.  He also had decided he wanted to sit on a rock in the other flower garden.  Alexa was doing the unnatural beauty queen pose and Emma was going for the biggest fake smile award.  That's what mom gets when she tries to take too many pictures in the flower garden! 

Shane loved smelling the flowers.  He was so cute.  He would blow air out of his nose when he would smell them and all of them were "yummy"!

Emma, Miss Blue Eyes, you make each day a little brighter with your smile and big blue eyes! 

Natural Beauty! 

And then there is Mr Shane! He is all boy and his mischievous smile says it all! Life is never dull with our little man around!

This picture was too funny!! I wanted Alexa and Emma to bend down and smell the flowers.  There were a number of bees in the flower beds.  So this is a picture of my nervous little girls trying to do what mom said with their eyes on the look out for bees! 

The kids love chasing squirrels at the park too! 

Having some fun on the playground!

Kindergarten Already

I can't believe how big you are getting Alexa Grace? 

I can't believe that Alexa is getting ready for kindergarten.  She got her supply list last week and hasn't stopped talking about it since.  Her and I went on a date this week to get her school supplies.  She said, "I think we should go out for dinner too mom!"  We had a special little date night! She kept making comments like, "Isn't it nice just the two of us, isn't it nice not to have a stroller, this peace and quiet is nice!"  Little did she know there wasn't much peach and quiet because she was talking a mile a minute.  She had her dinner of choice, noodles.  She then found all the supplies she need and went on a hunt for the perfect backpack.  Mission was accomplished! When she got home she had to show Eric everything she got one at a time! Eric started to get teary watching her.  I said," I know she's growing up way too fast."  He said. "No if only life was that easy and new school supplies could bring that much joy to everyone's life!"  Needless to say Alexa can hardly wait for school to start and to be a kindergartener!

Cousin Fun

This week the kids cousins, Darby and Tyra came to spend the day with them.  Aunt Alissa and Aunt Ang came for the day too.  We were planning on going to Wild Water West but the weather was a little questionable.  We decided to hit the zoo instead.  The kids were so happy to see each other they probably would of been just as happy in the backyard.  

The kids were off and running the minute we got to the zoo.  They did stop for a minute or two to check out the animals.

The kids highlight, or maybe it was my highlight, was the cute little baby monkey.  It was just a little thing.  It was so much fun watching the mom monkey trying to teach her baby to climb.  The baby would hang on to her mom's leg for dear life as she swung from rope to rope.  When the mom when get to the destination she would force her little one off her leg and try to get her to climb down the cage on her own.  The baby was rewarded with a little milk from mom in the end.  My sweet little Emma made the announcement at the zoo, "Mom that's how you fed us huh?"  Nothing gets past her! 

Another highlight was feeding the animals at the Petting Zoo.  Darby is an animal lover and showed my kids just how feeding the animals works.  My kids are definitely city kids would would scream and dance when the goats tried to eat out of their hand.  Darby was the old pro who didn't flinch.  She showed them how to get the job done without all the noise and dancing. 

Alexa and Darby have always been two peas in a pod.  They have so much fun together. 

Emma loves her Aunt Ang.  We were so glad she came along for the day! 

What a fun day at the zoo with cousins!

 Wouldn't you know it totally cleared up when we got to the zoo so we finished our day at the Splash Park. The kids had fun cooling off!