Yay!

This morning:
Daphne: Do I have school?
Me: Yes, you have school 4 more days this week.
Daphne: Yay!

Aye Aye

Sometimes when I ask Daphne to do something she salutes me and says, "Aye, Aye Captain Mommy!" It is super cute.

Daphne's 1st Day of School

This year Daphne is going to Pre-K at the same elementary school as Tyler. She is very excited and I am excited about taking both kids to one place at the same time. The Pre-K does a staggered start this week and so Daphne's first day was today.

Ready to go

Yesterday Tyler wanted dropped off. Today I
parked and walked in to make sure Daphne
got to her class line in the cafeteria.

Daphne had a great first day and told us
that she wants to do Pre-K forever.

Tyler's 1st Day of School

Tyler started 2nd grade today! He was excited
to see all of his friends and recess remains his
favorite part of the day (at least when it's not
a PE day).

Teamwork

The kids actually worked together to build
some train tracks, which they haven't played
with in a long time.

Summer Reading

Tyler's 1st grade teacher challenged the class to
read 50 books this summer. Tyler finished the
challenge on Friday- each link represents 1 book.

Soccer

The kids both put on soccer shirts today
independently of one another. They both
start soccer season in a few weeks.

Self Portraits

Now that school will be starting next week, I finally sorted through the big pile of papers in Tyler's backpack that he brought home on the last day of school. It was fun seeing how his self portrait changed between the beginning and the end of the school year.

August 2015

May 2016

Meat Eaters

While reading Daphne a dinosaur book tonight, she declared, "I only like the meat eaters!" This is ironic since we have a hard time getting Daphne to eat meat.

Face Painting

Daphne was quite pleased with the face painter
that dropped by her school this week.

Pool Party

Last weekend we went to Houston for a joint birthday pool party for Noah (age 7), Damon (age 5), and Micah (age 3). Between the three of them there are two July birthdays and one August birthday. Brad and Megan came in from New Orleans and so all the cousins were together along with other friends of Bryce and Sonia for a great time. Michael, PawPaw, and Mary were around somewhere too but didn't surface in the photos.

Damon and Renee

Noah, Bryce, and Penelope

Megan and Hazel

Damon, Noah, and Bryce

Sonia, Damon, and Noah

The birthday boys getting their cupcake on

Tyler and Daphne

Lined up to hit the pinata

 

 

Sign of a successful party

Round Rock Express

During the week we took in a Round Rock Express baseball game with the cub scouts. The kids were excited to sit on the lawn, which gave them plenty of room to roam and play.

Snack time

Running up and down the hill

Playing tag

The Fun Zone

Tyler, Daphne, and Ryan slid down together repeatedly.

Splashway

The kids and I met up with Bryce, Sonia, Noah, Damon, and Micah at Splashway Water Park to celebrate Damon's 5th birthday. The kids had a blast and were bummed when the park closed.

(c) Splashway. Tyler and Noah rode every big slide in the
water park. Daphne rode a few of the big ones too but also
enjoyed playing in other areas of the park.

(c) Splashway. The lazy river was a great way to get around.

(c) Splashway. Damon and Micah liked
the little slides in Pirate's Cove.

(c) Splashway. Daphne and I rode the purple slide
side-by-side and she is still amused that Mommy
screamed like a little girl the whole way down.

(c) Splashway. Daphne and I also rode Midnight Storm (the
black tube slide) on a double raft and it was pitch black the
whole way down. Daphne was fearless but it was a little
dark for my liking.

 

Tyler, Noah, and Daphne all really liked the wave pool too. Daphne loved getting pounded by the waves. Tyler and Noah were better at jumping the waves.

 

All smiles after a day of fun

 



Meanwhile...

Daphne spent the weekend with cousin Micah in Houston.

Bryce said he got a little worried when
Daphne climbed all the way to the top.

Soaking it in

Rub a Dub Dub

Rub a dub dub, three cousins still barely fit in the tub!

Texas State Aquarium

After our overnight stay on the USS Lexington, we headed over to the Texas State Aquarium. They have a really nice mix of indoor and outdoor exhibits as well as fun shows to watch.

The dolphin show

Checking out the diving cage with a shark
video playing in the background for perspective

Checking their wing span

Cooling down before the bird show

Splash pad at the aquarium

USS Lexington

We spent one night aboard the USS Lexington aircraft carrier in Corpus Christi with Tyler's cub scout pack. We all had fun but it was hot and Tyler said it was the most exhausting day of his life. We walked all around the ship during the afternoon and then did a scavenger hunt after the ship closed to the public. Certain parts of the ship were air conditioned such as our bunks but most areas were not air conditioned. Daphne had to sit this trip out since she didn't meet the minimum age 5 requirement.

Ready for adventure

The bunks were separated by gender, which
meant poor Michael had to clean up after Tyler
vomited at 1 am likely from heat exhaustion. Don't
worry- he ended up being just fine (Tyler that is).

Getting the run down of the Lexington protocols and the schedule.

I wouldn't want to meet up with Noah and Tyler in battle!

In the brig

Nearby beach in Corpus Christi

Before we got on the ship I told the boys they would have to walk
the plank so I was tickled to see "The Plank" on one of the signs.

The flight deck was pretty impressive!

Damon runs from the shark.

Tyler and Noah took turns sitting in the cockpit.

We all took turns sitting at the helm of the ship.

Posing in the barber shop during the scavenger hit

Excited to have turned in their scavenger hunt form

Harbor Bridge

Damon was a fan of the heavy artillery.

Rounding out the day with some fun in the game room.

I'm on the top left of the closest bunk shown. I have to confess
that I had another mom help hoist me into my bunk!

Damon is fired up!

Exploring the jetty