First Day of Preschool

I am no longer teaching preschool, so Renée gets to be taught by someone other than me. We are in a preschool co-op. There are seven kids and each of the moms takes turns teaching. We use the Funsteps program so it isn’t too much prep work. Renée already loves it.

Jenne'

My sister Jenné came and visited for a few days on her way back to BYU. We went to IKEA and to the Water Gardens. I also took her to get new running shoes. We spent a lot of time at the pool and played domino train more than I care to admit. Nick was nice enough to watch all the kids so Alycia, Jenné and I could go out for Mexican food together.

Marriage

Gavin told me that his friend Sydney asked him to marry her on the second day of school. They are in the same church class and sit next to each other at school. I asked him what he said and he said, “sure.” He was going to marry our neighbor, Paige, but Gavin explained to me that Paige has brown hair and he wants his kids to have blond hair like him and Sydney. My biology teacher dad is going to be proud that Gavin already know about dominant and recessive traits.

First Day at TCU

Sam started school the same day as Gavin. He wouldn’t let me take his picture in from of the house with his backpack on, but I did coerce him into letting me take this one. Each student is given a name plate to keep on their desks so the professors don’t have to learn their names. I found that amusing.

First Day of 1st Grade

Gavin started school the day after we got home from vacation. He was so excited that he didn’t have any problems getting up even though we got him to bed late. We let Gavin chose any sneakers he wants and this year he chose Sketchers Hot Lights, that light up all over the shoe when he walks. He is very proud of them. He has a Transformers lunch box and a G.I.Joe backpack, which also lights up. Gavin has Mrs. Barkman and he says she is just as nice as Mrs. Logsdon his Kindergarten teacher. This year Blake is at his school, so they see each other at recess.

Sea World

Part Two of our summer vacation was at Sea World. We rented a four bedroom house in San Antonio and we had plenty of room to spread out. We were there from August 19^th to the 24^th and spent every day at Sea World. The part wasn’t very busy on Thursday and Friday. We think it was because school was starting on Monday. We were able to walk right onto rides with little or no wait and we got to feed the dolphins again. We traded off kids with the Collingwoods so we could each go on the roller coasters. The waterpark was open and it was so nice to cool off. We would spend about half our time in the waterpark and the rest in the regular park. Sam took Renée and Gavin into the spash zone at the Shamu show. It only took one splash and they were running back up to our seats. Renée was chosen to participate in the pirate show. Her pirate name is Patches. Two of the evenings we were in San Antonio, we traded off babysitting. Sam and I were able to go to the river walk and eat dinner. This was our first time there without our children, and it was much more relaxing. On our way home we stopped in Austin to visit Sam’s brother’s family. The kids enjoyed seeing there cousins again.

Sea Turtles Inc.

At South Padre Island there is a sea turtle rescue center that is fun to visit. The kids enjoyed looking at all the different sea turtles in tanks.

South Padre Island

Part one of our summer vacation was at South Padre Island. We rented a three bedroom condo with our friends the Collingwoods. It had port hole shaped windows that the kids loved crawling in. We were there from August 15^th to the 19^th. The Collingwood kids are the same ages and genders as ours, so they always had a playmate. It was really nice.

We usually got down to the beach around 10 and went back around 1 or 2. After lunch and naps we went back to the beach from about 4 to 7. Our days were spent digging in the sand, boogie boarding, attempting to surf, and swimming in the ocean. Gavin loved boogie boarding and spent the majority of his time doing that. Renée loved the sand and the water. She kept asking Sam to take her in the deep water. Carter loved the sand and was pretty cautious with the water. It only took one wave to make him that way.

Michalann and I traded off cooking so we had prepared meals half the time, which is much better than at home. After we got all the kids to bed Sam and I played games with Jerry and Michalann. Every night was game night!

The beaches weren’t crowded, although Carter would join any family that was digging. The water was warm and no one had any trouble jumping in. This was our second visit to South Padre and I am sure it won’t be our last.