Our Little Ballerina

Bailey took a tap and ballet class this summer at our city Recreation center. She has taken ballet several summers in a row but this was the first time she took tap. After a few weeks she informed me that she still loved ballet but wasn't in love with tap. I think it was just something new but she insisted it was boring. I thought getting to stomp her feet and make a lot of noise would thrill her.
This is B with her sweet dance teacher. We have had her several times and we have actually had her mother one summer too.

Monkey 1 and Monkey 2

The last week before school started Bailey went away on a quick trip with her Aunt G, so the boys and I found ways to entertain ourselves. We enjoyed the cooler weather this last week and played in the backyard. Connor rode around on his little Diego bike. He has just begun to pedal and loves to ride.
Jack enjoyed running through the sprinklers and jumping on the trampoline. He also loved making Connor laugh by standing on his head in the sprinkler on the trampoline.
I love this pic. Connor looks up to his big bro so much. I am constantly telling Jack to be careful what he does because little monkey is watching him all the time.
The boys had a great time just "monkeying around" in the yard!

Here We Go Again!

Today was the first day of school here in Richardson. We had finally gotten the kids back to bed at 8 after a summer of staying up really late. We all dressed and after our yearly pics in the front yard we headed to the donut shop for our first day breakfast. These pictures are out of order we actually took Bailey to class first then dropped off Jack. Here is Jack with his 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Fox. She was Ms. Kees last year but got married this summer and she is an Aggie, which Jack thinks is really cool.
Here is Bailey with her very sweet 1st grade teacher. Bailey told me all last year she really hoped she would get Mrs. Collins and she did! She also has several of her Kindergarten friends in her class.

Don't they look so grown up? For some reason Connor didn't want to be in the pictures this year. After we dropped off the kids he cried and cried and actually sat down on the outside sidewalk and cried that he wanted Jack and Bailey. He is going to miss them so much. And so will mommy!

Sweet Prayer

Jack has now lost his 8th tooth. He was getting into bed tonight and said it was loose. I reached in to wiggle it and it fell into my hand! After we got him all tucked in and tooth into tooth pillow the boys said their prayers. Connor's is pretty much the same every night. Mommy, Daddy, Bailey, Jack, ... Jack's tonight was pretty normal until he got to..."God, look after my friend Lane and my cat Chester." We had a rough week around here. A friend of Jack's from his 1st grade class was killed in a tragic accident last Sunday and Jack has asked Greg and I many questions this week. Then Thursday night our 19 year old cat Chester died in his sleep. I still think of Jack as so young but then he says things that make me realize he is truly growing up. He finished his thoughtful prayer with, "help Bailey and I to have a good year at school." That is exactly what I was going to be praying tonight!

Beach Pictures

After dinner one night we headed down to the beach to snap a few fun beach pictures!

The Aquarium

After Hurricane Dolly hit the coast it rained for about two days and so after spending the first day indoors we decided to head to Corpus to visit the State Aquarium. We have been many times but this was Connor's first visit. The kids really enjoyed looking at all the different fish and turtles and sea life. The best thing we did was go under the dolphin show area to the underwater viewing area. Connor loved the dolphins. He ran the length of the glass yelling at them and they would come right up to you and show off.
This was a fun little fish tank that you could go under and come up inside it.
My three sweet children up on the viewing deck in the really horrible wind.

Rockport Beach

On Tuesday morning we loaded up and headed out to the beach. At this point we knew that Hurricane Dolly was headed into the Texas Coast and we wanted to make sure we made it to the beach just in case... All three kids enjoyed piling onto Daddy in the shallow water.
Connor spent a lot of time chasing the birds! He would yell, "Here birdie, birdie, come here now!"

Of course, sand castle building was in store! Bailey and Jack are expert sand castle planners. Connor is the expert sand castle destroyer.
After an hour and a half, Bailey just went to the umbrella and sat in the shade. She really isn't in love with the beach. She would much rather be in the pool.
The boys enjoyed some football.

Who is that really skinny kid relaxing in the water? Someday when he is older and has a little meat on his bones I'll show him this pic.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame...

A few months before our beach trip, I began to look for something new to do around Rockport. We have been so many times that we feel like we do the same things every year. I decided to check out the Corpus Christi AA team, the Hooks. It just so happened that they were playing the Frisco Roughriders while we were in town. And, it happened to be dollar dogs and sodas! What else could we ask for, baseball, dogs and cokes. We settled into our outfield seats on the lawn and ate a few dogs. Bailey enjoyed resting on Mimi.
The kids loved standing along the wall and looking down to see the players and Jack really enjoyed begging after each and every inning for a ball to be thrown at him.
Connor didn't appreciate the game too much yet. He was more interested in running away to the really nice kids play area below us. One home run ball was hit like a line drive directly between our blanket and Terry and Nicole's. It hit the ground very hard and flew to fast for us to get it behind us. I was so grateful that none of the kids were in the path of that hard hit ball.
It was a fun, new adventure during our beach vacation.