Ellie's First Day Of Gymnastics...

Ever since Ellie became mobile, she has been very agile and loved to climb on everything, jump, roll, spin...you name it.  I always thought I might decide to put her in gymnastics at some point, just to give her an outlet to channel her activity.  Well today was the day, and she did great!  She is already asking when she can go to her next class!

 Before class started, she was up in the observation room with Mollie and me, looking down into the room she would be practicing in.

 My pictures turned out a little blurry because she was moving so much.  I had so much fun watching her though.  She loved every minute of it!

Random Silly Pictures...

Since this is a collection of my little memories for the kids to read about when they are older, I thought I'd include these two random pictures from earlier this month.  

Every time we go into Old Navy, Mollie first looks for this little girl mannequin.  Every time she finds her she hugs her and says, "Look Mommy, it's me!!!!"  Then she tells me that the bigger girl behind her is Ellie, and that the lady mannequin in the back is Mommy. 

 Every. Single. Time.

 And I don't know what I love most about this picture...perhaps her fleecy footy jammies on a hot summer day.  Or maybe it's the inside out tutu, or the fact that her helmet is on backwards while riding her brother's old bicycle.  I just love everything about her unique personality!

Last Swims of the Summer...

Once Mason started back to school, I took advantage of my time with the girls by visiting a pool that we never go to because Mason doesn't really care for it...it's mostly shallow and has no diving board or big slide for him to enjoy.  Instead, it has this awesome little clam slide that the girls had lots of fun playing on!  So after we dropped him off at school, we got to enjoy this pool 3 times before they closed for the fall last weekend.

 So long summer!

First Day of Third Grade...

I'm nearly a month late, but here is Mason's first day of 3rd grade as we were about to walk out the door.  

I

I really don't want to think about how he is beginning his downhill side of elementary school.  This is going way too fast.  

The Sidewalk...

Sometimes it's the little things, folks.  Our neighborhood is old, and thus, had no sidewalks.  Our street is relatively busy.  These two things don't mix well when you have little ones.  We are so blessed to live 8 doors down from our elementary school, which allows us to walk Mason every day to and from school and bypass the very long car pick-up line altogether.  The problem is, for three years the girls and I were forced to walk in the road with all the street traffic in addition to the school pick-up traffic.  It got hectic at times. We'd heard rumors over the past year that we were finally going to get a sidewalk leading to the school...information that made me feel like a little girl on Christmas morning. And finally, last Monday (the first day of school, no less) the construction men showed up at 7:30 tearing up curbs and driveways.  It's possible they could have picked a better time than the first day of school to begin construction on the road that runs directly in front of the school.  But hey, I'm not complaining...cause we've got a sidewalk now!

The above picture was taken in front of our house on Tuesday. 

By Friday we had this:

 There are three consecutive lots completed, and this is just enough length for the girls to go back and forth on their "wheels".  You can see the construction going on in the background.  They are about halfway down to the school at this point.  

The girls and I have spent some time outside in the mornings watching the crew work.  It's been so hot this week, and they work so hard, so we decided to share our popsicles with them.  I really wasn't sure if they'd accept our offer, but as soon as they saw us handing them out, they dropped their tools and came running.  A few even sat under the shade of our beautiful oak tree to enjoy them.  

There was even a news crew in front of the school one day this week, and as the "resident neighborhood walking mom" as one person called me, I was even interviewed by the reporter regarding our new sidewalks.  The kids even got to make a small appearance. 

Today I'm feeling very thankful for something that probably seems very insignificant to most--thankful that my children now have a safer place to ride their bikes, and thankful that we have a much safer route to get to and from school.  As I've been watching my kids play on this thing that is really nothing more than a long strip of concrete, with such excitement on their faces, I thank God for joy found in the little things, and I pray that I never take for granted even the smallest gifts from Him.

San Antonio, Day 1...

This summer we wanted to take the kids to Sea World.  They had never been, and Matthew and I hadn't been in nearly a decade.  It was so much fun, and the kids loved it!  On the way we stopped in Gruene to eat lunch at the Gristmill overlooking the Guadalupe River.

 Then afterward we toured the Natural Bridge Cavern.  The kids were really impressed by this.  Here is the start of our 18-story descent into the cavern:

No one is allowed to touch any of the formations inside the cavern, so for anyone who wishes to get their "touchies" out, here is the one thing they allow you to put your hands on.  You can see how the oils from our skin turn it brown, basically killing the formation and stopping its growth.  

These photos don't do it any justice.  It was a looong way down...and back up again!  But the kids handled the steep hike well, and even Mollie was able to walk most of it by herself.

San Antonio, Day 2 & 3

We spent 2 days at Sea World because there was so much to see.  The first day we saw all the shows and rode the rides.

 The kids got a very up-close look at the dolphins.  If you reached your hand out you could even touch them!

 All of the shows were outstanding.  We loved watching all the animals perform and interact with their trainers.

 Ellie had been talking about seeing Shamu for months.  This was her reaction when Shamu first entered the arena: 

 We had really good seats, and yes, as per the kids' request...we sat in the "splash zone".  It's really amazing how much water and wind she can move in one swish of her tail!

 Mollie was too short to ride most of the rides.  So here she settled for a carousel ride instead.   

 Mason and Ellie loved this little Shamu roller coaster.  I lost count of how many times we rode it.

 That afternoon we visited the splash pad to cool off.  There was a huge play structure made out of nets.  I could hardly pull them away from this one.

 We spent the second day at Aquatica, Sea World's waterpark.  But because we were in the water all day, I didn't get any pictures.  Matthew and I took turns riding the big slides with Mason, and playing on the kiddie slides with Mollie.  Ellie did a little of both.  After two long days, the kids were pooped out.  But they had so much fun, and made lots of memories!