First Day of School!!

All of the big kids were excited this morning for the First Day of School!! They got up this morning and dressed all on their own!! 

Miss Katybug was super excited for her first day of Kindergarten!!! So cute!!

Luke was even a tiny bit excited he admitted last night.

Rachel has been ready for this day for about a month.

Group shot. Look at Kate and Rachel. That is the difference between the first year of elementary school and the last year. Next year Rachel will be wearing uniforms in Junior High.

By the tree. I hope to look back one day and see how much the kids and tree have grown.

Kate at her desk. I have one of Rachel and Luke at their desks on their first day of Kindergarten too.

Mommy made it okay dropping everybody off...even Kate. I did not get too sad until I sent Chris in to say good bye to Kate, but no tears!! At least I still had Superman to walk me home!

If you want to see Luke's Kindergarten pictures just click here. He has changed so much and was SOO cute!! I did not keep the blog when Rachel went to Kindergarten so I will have to dig those up.

Dolphin Encounters

We took a boat ride as a special treat before we left Port Aransas. I had found a recommendation for this company on a website while I was researching things to do while we were there. It was called Dolphin Encounters. I was hoping we might get to see some dolphins but my expectations were very low.

There was the perfect window for Wade-o.

We saw a lighthouse. This lighthouse has some history but I forgot exactly what it was.

We saw some para-sailors. This is what the big kids really wanted to do. Maybe next time when they are older and can go with out an adult.

We were over half way through the boat ride before we saw any sign of a dolphin. Chris had decided the whole dolphin thing was a farce. I was not surprised we hadn't seen any. Anyway one of the passengers hollered DOLPHIN. They travel in groups so we actually go to see several!! Rachel was hoping they would come up to the boat and let you pet them, but they did not get that close.

This ship came down the bay and the dolphins like to ride the waves in front of the ship. That was really neat to see.

Another bonus was Wade went to sleep on the trip!

Here is a little video of how the dolphins jump in front of the ship. Sorry for the bouncing but it was hard to keep steady.

Port Aransas - Beach Vacation

We spent this past week at the beach!!! I have been wanting to go to the beach for probably the last 10 years. Something seemed to always come up or we were having a new baby or the baby was too small for a beach trip to be fun. We finally decided to go this year. The big kids and I were SO excited!!!

Watching the little clams dig themselves back into the sand.

Rachel's sand castle with a moat.

Daddy and Wade sleeping in while we went to collect shells.

We did not find any shells so the kids decided to sit and let the waves hit them.

Closest thing to a family picture we could get.

Let's just say Wade did not care for the beach...AT ALL!! The sand and waves were just too much for our little guy. I did manage to get a few pictures of him, but he preferred hanging out with Daddy in the hotel room under the AC.

Chris about to catch the big wave.

 Wade jumping the waves.

Playing in the sand.

 Surfing the waves.

Cartwheels on the beach.

 Sunset.

 This is a view of our condo from the sand dune going down to the beach. I booked this condo on line. I was so worried we would not like it, but it was great!! The unit was very clean and big. The kids had their own room with two double beds and we had a living room and kitchen.

Surfer dude.

Surfer girl.

Self portrait.

Rachel heading into the ocean.

A rare smile from Wade while he was on the beach.

Katybug with her sand castles.

We had such a great vacation!! Rachel, Luke, and Kate want to move to the condo where we stayed. Chris and Wade are just not beach lovers. I thought we could convert them while we were there but I am afraid we didn't. Good thing all Chris needs to enjoy himself is air conditioning and TV. We all had a nice relaxing time. We are all already talking about when we can go back again.

Wade's Birthday

We had a little birthday party for Wade to celebrate our baby turning 2! Mama made him a cake. It is supposed to look like his little car he drives around in the backyard.

Wade checking out his cake.

Getting ready to blow out his candles.

Opening presents....with help.

He got a motorcycle and Batman car from us. Daddy and Mama liked the motorcycle, and Wade picked out the Batman car.

Doing a little reading with Grandpa.

Wade on his Batman car. He LOVES it!!

I did not give him any of his cake on his birthday because I did not think he would eat it. He does not like icing or to get his hands messy. I gave him some the next day when he acted interested in the piece I was eating. He ate it and loved it.

He loved it so much he had a second piece!

Our little guy turned two whether we wanted him to or not! He had a big day!!