Sophie's Swimming!!...

Yup.  Took her first swim lessons this summer.  Only a few weeks and this girl can SWIM!  She's so proud of her new found achievement.  Heck, we can't keep her out of the water now.  So fun to watch her in action.  WooHoo Sophie!!

JJ's 3rd Birthday!!!....

Went back home for a few days to visit the family.  Joseph turned THREE!!!  He had a Spiderman themed party at Jumpin Jungle.  The kids [and adults] had fun running and bouncing like maniacs.  These places make you realize how old you actually are.  When you fall, in a bounce house, and it hurts...as if you've hit asphalt.  My kids look at you like you're crazy.

Isn't he the cutest?

Anyhow...pizza and cupcakes make anything feel better.  Especially when your mouth is completely black afterwards...

Happy Birthday Little Joey!!!  We love you!!

P.S. - Jen...I totally kicked your ace in the obstacle course.  I'm just saying...

Blue Bell Factory...

Dare I say it?  Yes!!  The actual BLUE BELL ICE CREAM FACTORY.  Yummo.

We took the short drive to Breham this week to visit the factory.  Our friends met us their to enjoy the tour.  No pictures could be taken inside so I can't share the girls excitement.  The factory is only open during business hours so we tourists could see the magic [real time] happen.  I have to say, watching the popsicle stick machine put those wooden sticks into the molds was quite hypnotic.  I think I could have watched this process for hours.

So many interesting facts about this place.  Opening back in 1907!!  They actually delivered ice cream by horse and wagon.  And the name was create after the native Texas bluebell wildflower.  That was news to me.  What's the most popular ice cream flavor you ask??  Simple...Vanilla.

When the tour ends you get to, of course, eat ICE CREAM!!  We, however, did not choose vanilla.  Sophie went with the Rainbow Sherbet.  Charlie with Mint Chocolate Chip and me...the #3, Cookies n' Cream.  Seriously...can't go wrong with these but if you make a visit, good luck deciding which flavor to munch.

Love!

Daddy's Day!!...

Love our Daddy.  So much the girls picked out the biggest card they could find.  We baked his favorite Red Velvet Cake recipe [compliments of Grandma, of course] only it had to be BLUE!

Charlie having a hard time waiting for Dad to eat cake...

Happy Dad's Day!  We love you!!

We may have eaten your cake while you were at work the next day...oops.

Summer Home-School...

With the hopes of keeping Sophie up to speed with her learning from preschool and preparing Charlie for her first schooling experience, I decided to construct somewhat of a summer-school day-to-day schedule.  Nothing to dramatic.  And so far, week one was a total success!

Monday Math...jelly bean graphs...

Craft/Science...Fairy Garden creation...

Crafts...making mini caterpillar clothes-pins...

Charlie using glue for the first time...

Science at the Dinosaur Museum...

And to keep things documented, I'll fill you in on our school registration process. So...the new public school in our neighborhood is finally completed.  Its enormous.  So, I take Sophie to Kindergarten Registration Day with me so she could get a feel for what this new GINORMOUS building is going to be like.  She, needless to say, was completely overwhelmed and stayed pretty glued to me as I was going through the process.  Towards the end of my registration route she warmed up and sat down with a few other kids to watch a movie while I finished up.  Some relief.

Now fast-forward a few weeks.  Sophie starts to question every aspect of her new school and Kindergarten.  Meanwhile me...being none other than myself...start to become incredibly anxious about this new school too.  Not to mention, Charlie starting CrossPoint [Sophie's old preschool] in only a matter of weeks still doesn't even have a teacher lined up.  Solution?  Tour a new school.

Our decision was made easy.  After touring Simonton Christian Academy its safe to conclude our girls [yup, Charlie too!!] will be in good hands.  We are thrilled to start this new chapter in our lives and hope this school will be everything and more for our beautiful little girls.

Next up...meet the teacher!!

San Antonio!!!!...

We had to start summer off right and hit up San Antonio!!  I cannot begin to explain how excited these two were about going to Sea World.  The weather was a bit risky but we were all for sticking it out, rain and all.

Saturday we started by touring...The ALAMO.  Its been years since I've visited and I can't say I remember it being such a beautiful place.  And the weather turned out to be perfect.  The girls made wishes for the day [probably wishing for no rain tomorrow] and ran around looking for butterflies.

After much anticipation...SHAMU!!  [Or better-known-as...her "look-a-like"...but we won't tell]  The girls were so excited to go to Sea World.  We couldn't get in the doors fast enough...literally...beware of fine print on Preschool Pass.  I might have forgotten their birth certificates for proof of age.  UGH!!

On a better note...These whales did not disappoint.  The girls were so amazed.

Off to brave our first face-painting.  This chick did an amazing job in mere minutes.  We were totally impressed...more so, maybe, that the girls didn't completely smear their paint all over themselves.

Now for lunch and another show.  At the Azul show we watched the Beluga Whales and Dolphins put on a fab show.  Sophie now says she gonna work at Sea World after watching.  I might have to do much encouraging for this career path!!

We waiting around for the/our last show, another with the Killer Whales.  This time we decided to brave the "Splash Zone" as there we NO OTHER seats available and we had saved the best show for last.   Figures, this would be our luck.  And speaking of "luck"...Charlie was dead asleep in Mike's arms and Sophie was freaking out about getting wet.  So, of course, we get WET.  Completely soaked.  And Charlie received a very wet, cold, surprise awakening.  Face paint now totally smeared. Note to self...yes, its a splash zone.

Overall, great trip.  Would do it again in a heartbeat.  Girls are still talking about getting wet by Shamu.  So it wasn't that bad afterall.  More memories to write in our story.

Graduation Day...

It's here.  The day that officially marks toddler years are over.  Sophie graduated from CrossPoint Christian Preschool.  At 5 years old she's such a sweet soul.  She loves school and has learned so much this past year.  She's one smart cookie.

All dressed up and ready to Graduate!

Ms Carmen stating she will most likely be a TEACHER for her leading ways... 

Ms Carmen...

Ms Bonnie...

Loved this school and Sophie's experience.  She had the best teachers and has gained so much confidence.  A special thanks to Ms. Bonnie and Ms. Carmen...you both will forever be in our hearts!!

Congrats Sophie Leigh!!!  We are so proud of you!!