Back to School

Savannah started kindergarden on Thursday, August 20 at St. Thomas More.  That first morning brought a lot of tears and a lot of "I don't want to go to school" but I think that was due to the sadness of just leaving Grams' house.  Thankfully the second day went much smoother and now we've establish a groove.  The early morning is still tough since she doesn't like to wake up early but we're slowly adjusting.  She never gives a lot of details about her day but every now and again she will say something that lets me know how much she is enjoying her new school.  Yesterday it was playing games on the iPads in her classroom and today was how fun P.E. is.  She went into the first day with no friends in her class and now she rattles off names of all 24 students.  I think it's safe to say that she's easily making friends and settling in.

sporting her P.E. uniform

alternate school uniform (side note....why does she look sooo old?!?) 

Walker is going to two different preschools this year.  He will continue at Resurrection Preschool on Mondays and Wednesdays and he will now be going to Westminster on Thursdays and Fridays.  Resurrection started on Wednesday, September 2 and he walked into his classroom without ever looking back at me.  He is more than comfortable here where he knows the place, knows the playground, and recognizes the teachers.  Westminster has been a little more of an adjustment.  At meet-the-teacher he was hesitant and shy and he kept coming back to me to sit in my lap.  He still calls the place "sissy's school" so I can tell that he's not too sure about being left there without her even though he did wonderful there all summer during camps.  He even knows one of his teachers really well so I'm hoping he will come around quickly.  Unfortunately the first day didn't end so well.  He got in trouble for fighting over toys and he even bite a child on the playground.  I've heard that the first month of school is a big transition time and there's usually lots of acting out especially at home.  I've noticed this especially with Savannah.  She picks on Walker more which is causing him to act out more.  Let's hope this transitional period quickly passes and we can get back on track soon.    

first day of the school year at Resurrection Preschool

his first day at Westminster Preschool

perks of being friends with his teacher--she sends text pics 

So we're fully in the swing of this school year.  The mornings are still rushed but we're all getting used to waking up earlier and getting out the door sooner.  The afternoons are becoming full with tennis and Daisy meetings so are days are just generally busier all around.  We welcome the weekends more now than ever before.  Speaking of which, is it Friday yet......????

Family time in Texas

The kiddos and I left for Texas on Tuesday, August 11 and we flew into San Antonio where Grams and Grandad picked us up at the airport.  We spent the night at a hotel on the RiverWalk and drove to Kerrville the next day to visit Granny.  I had been over two years since I had last seen her so it was nice to check in and visit with her and Tom.  It's amazing how quickly time flies (I know, I say that a lot!) but I realized that they had never met Walker.  Technology is wonderful in that FaceTime allows you to frequently see people who live hundreds of miles away but really nothing replaces actual face to face time.

We left Granny's late afternoon and drove almost six hours to Grams' house.  Of course Savannah and Walker did not sleep during the drive so it was an interesting drive to say the least.  But I did learn that my children can actually survive without constantly watching movies in the car.  I'm just glad that we didn't have to drive back to fly home.

in charge of their own carry-ons

big girl sitting by herself

early morning visit to the Alamo

visiting Granny

Our time on the farm went by just as quickly as it always does.  Savannah spent a lot of time doing crafts and playing with my old Barbies.  Walker loved feeding the fish and sitting on all the tractors.  We went to a birthday party at a kids gym in the Woodlands on Saturday but other than that we stayed pretty close to the farm.  We drove into town almost every day to check on Nanny at the rehab facility and we would walk down to visit with Pa every evening.  Harlan came out to visit on Sunday so we were able to see and visit with almost everyone during this trip.  Despite it sounding like we didn't do a lot we were surprisingly busy.  We stayed up past bedtime every night and were up with the chickens every morning.  Actually there were a few mornings that I beat the chickens so I could get a run in before it got too hot.  And just like that before we knew it, it was Tuesday again and time to head home.  Grams drove us into Houston and dropped us off at the airport amongst a lot of tears and goodbyes.  We're always sad to leave but the good news is that we will be back in January for a short visit during my race weekend.

feeding the jumbo catfish

he was beyond thrilled to drive the tractors

trampoline time

working on her swing at Grandad's driving range

the Johnson waterpark

birthday party fun

motorcycle rides

Such a fun way to finish off our summer break.  Can't wait til next time, Grams and Grandad!  Now it's time for back to school.

Summertime Fun

The kiddos actually spent most of their summer attending summer camps.  Savannah attended 3 Westminster camps, a tennis camp, and a pottery camp.  Walker went to 4 Westminster camps.  Rarely was there a week when we had nothing to do and even then we stayed busy at the pool or around town.  Here's a brief sampling of all that we did while at home:

crafts at Kidzu

birthday party

homemade snowcones

pool fun

all dressed up for church

swim team friends

diving in for freestyle

hanging out at swim meets

going into camp together

waiting for the choo choo train

arts and crafts at home

at the movie theatre watching InsideOut

my big girl on her final day of camp at her beloved preschool

happy campers

lounging poolside

I can't believe the summer is almost over! Every year it seems to go by faster and faster.  I remember it flying by as a kid but I think it goes by even quicker as an adult.  We've got one week left that we're spending in Texas and then Savannah immediately starts school.  Fastest three months of the year!!!

Sea Island 2015

Ahhhhhhhh....Sea Island.....my favorite place!  We left on Sunday June 28 and returned home the following Saturday.  This visit was pretty much like all the past visits in that we did our same routine but now that the kiddos are getting a little older, the whole trip is becoming a little easier.  Our days were filled with lots of pool time, afternoon teas, yummy dinners, early bedtimes, and early mornings out with the double jogger.  I'm sure hoping that this will be the last year with that big yellow thing; surely Savannah will be able to ride her bike beside me while I push just Walker, right?!
We all had an amazing week and I'll just let the pictures show how we spent it.

pina coladas

they got along amazingly well

princess tea party

Walker escorting his princess to the party

family runs

4th of July parade

they attended a build-an-undersea animal workshop

horseback riding

never a dull moment with this girlie

even on vacation this is what they want to do

BBQ dinner

Thanks for the great family memories, Sea Island.  We'll see you next year!