Our PreSchool Graduate

Munch graduated this evening from Kids R Kids! You can tell in the picture he was more than excited to celebrate his big day with his friends and family. They did a great job organizing the program which included them walking in and singing a few songs on stage as a class. Then they went back up on stage,one by one, to get their "diplomas". Then it was time for food and cake! They also handed out folders for each child that showed their progress through the year writing their names, letters and math homework. It's amazing to see a snapshot of how much they really learned in a year, very thoughtful. Ella was waiting patiently for the ceremony to start, reading a book on Dora, her latest favorite character. She sings Da, da, Dora everytime she sees a picture of her. She stood up next to daddy as Avery's class was walking in, showing her excitement for big brother. Avery and his pal, Brandon before graduation A proud mommy moment when graduation was over, Avery ran off stage to me! Avery and Alex, friends forever! Kindergarten, here I come! It was all smiles and laughter at the graduation but when we got home, Avery showed his sensitive side and started to cry thinking about how much he is going to miss his teachers. It's touching to know your child has created such a bond with his teachers and reassuring that you're decision for childcare was a positive one. He's memorized his favorite teachers phone numbers and I'm sure he will be asking to call very soon. Thankfully this isn't the end- they were back at school today and we still have summer before our real goodbyes.

Maui's new home

It's weekend #3 of working in the yard and we can finally say that the pond is complete! (Well, 99% complete) We still need to dress up the edges and put down mulch or gravel, we can't decide, but wow, what a difference it makes. Just sitting outside, listening to the peaceful flow of the water is wonderful. And Maui, the pet turtle that has been living in a bowl the past year now has a suitable home. When we released him for the 1st time the kids were so excited. We said, "look, he's in heaven" and Avery said, "Oh no, he's dead?" That's my Avery... always thinking in the most literal sense. Don't worry, we're not finished yet but we look forward to a weekend of relaxing and hanging out with family so we won't have any progress to report next week. Avery graduates from preschool on Thursday night which will surely produce some priceless pics. Then it's The Black Crowe's Friday night under the Texas stars!!

Busy Work Weekend...

It was another weekend of landscaping the backyard. After last weekend we decided it was time to make a semi-selfish purchase and get the kids a ride on toy. So we unveiled THE GATOR Saturday afternoon and we need say no more. For the rest of the weekend the kids were occupied, having so much fun, allowing us to continue with our work. A win-win situation, LOVE IT! Avery was very cautious and good with his sister, making sure she was holding on tight before taking off. He's even teaching her to drive, mashing the gas pedal for her, but she isn't so careful. Avery got "run over" by accident when Ella decided to take to driving all by herself but no blood or broken bones thankfully. She grazed his knee and face when he was bending down outside the gator. Who thought she would be the one we would have to look after for being a little devious!! But all in all we are thrilled and look forward to many sunny weekends to come to play outside. Brandon and his little brother, Tanner of 14 mos, came over for a long awaited play date at our house on Saturday afternoon. They have become quite the pair at school and even as a parent, the 2+ hrs seemed to fly by. The exhausting part was Ella, who didn't want to share her stroller, and Tanner who seemed to try to break everything he touched. Ah, good times. Later this summer I know it's off to Brandon's to play with his toys. Mom managed to go shopping on Saturday to order her bridesmaid dress and pick up shoes for Aunt Stepher's wedding. I found another pair I couldn't pass up and when I got them home it was hilarious. All I said to Ella was "want to see mommy's shoes" and she started clapping and jumping up and down. So far she has gotten more wear out of them than me... Not even 2 yet and she has a love for shoes. I can't get over it, sorry. Here's a sneak peak at the work in progress. Our newest future addition to the backyard is a 12'x12' concrete patio with a sidewalk continuing from the current patio to this area. It will be great to have an area closer to the play yard at ground level for the kids to play. We removed the planter bed and laid new sod to the left side of the patio. No more balls running off the patio into the plants, hooray! Our future pond. This is Wade's project 100%. Everything was going well until he came across some left over rebar mid-dig. Another wonderful discovery of things left behind by our builder. To be continued...

Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day to all the hard working, dedicated moms out there. Our mother's day celebration may be considered unconventional by some but it was just right for me. It consisted of working in the yard, watching the kids play on the playset while we worked in the yard and worked in the yard some more. The only thing that stopped us was the fact that the kids had to get to bed and we have to work tomorrow. Forget the lack of sunlight and drizzling rain! Hopefully we can finish up this weekend and plant some flowers. But we all had a great day and a great sense of pride in what we have accomplished so far. Here's a few fun pics from the weekend. Enjoy. This was Ella on Sunday morning. I just adore how groggy she is when you wake her up and she doesn't dare leave her crib without her blanket, binkie and her favorite Minnie and Mickey Mouse dolls. I can't believe how BIG she is. She understands everything we say and listens (most of the time) without incident. A real sweetheart through and through. Saturday night Wade and Avery "camped out" in the backyard! I must say I was in shock to wake up and realize that they made it through the entire night sleeping outside. Especially when I saw the ground was soaked! But they stayed dry and Avery had a great time so I guess we are ready for a real camping trip this summer. (I think Ella and I will rent a pop up to sleep in while the boys stay rugged!) Welcome to Kiddie Park in San Antonio! Established in 1923 I believe, and as Wade said, "Nothing in that park was made after 1970" it was actually a really great place for the little ones! Even though I didn't manage to get 1 picture of the birthday girl, Hannah celebrated her 5th birthday there and it was a blast. Including Avery and Ella's 1st ever carousel ride together! They loved it.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Look at that smile, high atop Splash Mountain at The Magic Kingdom. This was a favorite, along with Pirates of the Caribbean and Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. Our 1st trip to the Magic Kingdom Taking it all on the Jungle Cruise I'm not tired... about 6pm on Day 1 Back for SpectroMagic, and this picture was his idea! Day 2 at Animal Kingdom, waiting for Finding Nemo Yum, my 1st Mickey Ice Cream Bar Ahhh, aren't they sweet! It's Tough to be a Bug - check out those glasses! Fighting Zurg on Buzz Lightyear Mommy and Avery Train Ride to Fantasyland A little scared, or should we say "cautious" on the Haunted Mansion Look who's driving! We found Zurg! A HUGE high-five for grampa- they got soaked! One of our many trips to Pirates of the Caribbean - 5 in total Wow, what an amazing trip to sunny Florida and Walt Disney World. We had such a wonderful time celebrating Avery's and Grampa's birthdays! The first day, Wednesday, we had to go to the Magic Kingdom. It started when the doors opened at 9 and with a 3 hr break in between we headed back to see the SpectroMagic parade at 10pm. Thursday Aunt Stephers joined us for a day at Animal Kingdom and she and grandma even rode Everest together- a rollercoaster that goes forwards, then backwards! Avery loved the land rover ride, Dinosaur, the best. Day 3 we were back to the Magic Kingdom to do our favorite rides one last time before heading home. Grampa and Grandma were real troopers, outlasting me! Saturday we took it easy, Avery rode grampa's tractor and printed photos for his album so we could show daddy and Ella how much fun we had! I will say we are forever spoiled with the perfect weather and ZERO lines we had 2 of the 3 days we were there. If only we could go back again tomorrow. Driving with Grampa Got my album with grandma Love being above the clouds!