Katie's All About Me Poster

I love looking back at Katie's All About Me posters from the past few years.  This year, she took a bigger role in putting it together!  At the meeting before school started, her teacher gave us this sheet to fill out....My Very Own Poster All About Me!  It required magazine cutouts and drawing and really thinking!

 This is Katie's picture of our family...

 Here is a picture of her and her self-portrait....my favorite is that she put a "K" on her shirt :) Yay for monograms!

 And her three wishes and a little about her!  She wishes she could be a princess, could ride a helicopter, and that she could wear makeup :)

 When she grows up she wants to be a fairy (and have rainbows, apparently)...

 These are things she doesn't like - hot dogs, salad, bugs, scary guys, and thunderstorms.

 And here are some things she does like - doggies, cookies, makeup, Disney movies, birthday cake, coloring, talking on the phone, Strawberry Shortcake, Cinderella, and sunglasses! :)

It will be so fun to look back at this poster.  She is loving school this year and that makes me so happy!

College Football, Family, + Labor Day Fun

What a fun long weekend we had!  And be warned - there are lots of pics in this post - it is from Friday-Monday, so I guess that's to be expected :)  We got to see lots of friends and family - that combination always makes for a good weekend!

Friday morning, we met Katie's friend Annalane and her mom and brother for breakfast at a yummy local place!  Then we came home and Cat came over to swim with us - there were hardly any people at the pool, so that was fun!  And after Jack's nap and Brad getting home from work, we met Cat and Tyler for dinner!  Jack thought putting the noodles on his head was a good idea - crazy guy!

Saturday morning I got up and went to Tae Bo (I am finally not sore anymore! whew!) and then stopped at the grocery to get goodies for football watching with friends!  Then it was time for Katie's final swim lesson of the summer - she did great!

Then it was time to head home and have quiet/nap/get ready time before going over to Dallas and Katherine's house to watch football!  There were 20-25 folks over there and we had a blast!  Here I am with the kids before going over there...

And here's Brad with the kids!

This is about as good as it gets trying to get a pic of the kiddos - Jack is such a wiggly worm!

I think this is such a sweet picture :)

My sweet girl! So glad this dress still fits her :) At least for now...

And my wild man!  Look at that mischievous face!

Katherine, Ashley, and me!

And this was the best I could get of the kiddos...not too bad!

Here is an outtake :) I think it is hilarious!

On Sunday we got up and went to church and then headed home for playtime, lunch, and quiet time!  I ran some errands while Katie and Brad had quiet time (and Jack napped) and then we headed to my aunt and uncle's for a cookout!  They live on a golf course and Jack had a blast running on the cart path!  We took Katie's scooter and she rode around the cart path too!

Such a goofball!

Jack prefers to yell instead of smile :) All boy - that's for sure!

Love this pic of us!

And we got a family pic before we headed out too!  Not too bad considering the kiddos were worn out!

Monday Brad played golf and the kids and I ran around getting things ready for the first day of school!  Here are the kids sporting their red, white, and blue for Labor Day!

After Jack woke up and Brad finished golfing, we went over and cooked out and visited with Tanja, Nick, and Sina!  It was so fun and relaxing!

Then it was prep time for the kids' first day of school (I didn't go to bed until midnight!)...whew!  Fun but busy weekend, that's for sure!

Katie + Jack: First Day Of School

Another school year has begun!  Today was the first day of Katie's last year of preschool and Jack's first year of mother's day out!  Unbelievable!  They both had a fantastic day - and I bet they will sleep good tonight!

When we dropped the kiddos off this morning, I felt like we were moving in!  We had the school bags, lunchboxes, all about me posters, pack of diapers, goodies for the teachers, etc!  I have to admit that packing lunches is not one of my fave things to do - I think last night is the only time it will be exciting this year :)  And then we handed out "Favorite Things" forms to the kids' teachers to fill out so we know what to do for them for Christmas, Teacher's Appreciation, End of Year, etc!  And we gave them little bundtlets from Nothing Bundt Cake with a note that said "Hope your first day is a piece of cake!"  Doing the kids' posters was so fun - Katie did most of hers all by herself!  This morning she specifically asked if she could help take Jack to his room before she went to hers - such a sweet big sis!

And now for some of the pictures before we left home!  I love the outfit Katie picked out!  I think the cowgirl boots really complete the look :) And she made it through the whole day in them - and she can run in them!

 I can't hardly believe she will be in Kindergarten next year - slow down time!!  Look at that sweet girl - love her to pieces!

 And I made chalkboard signs for them this year - Katie thought that was pretty fun :)

And this little guy had a good day too!  Apparently after we dropped him off (he didn't cry at the hand-off), he just sat still for like 30 minutes - they were convinced he couldn't walk!  And he did cry a little at some point.  But then he got up and played and ran around...and after a bit he warmed up to the teachers and was his normal smiley self :) He ate most of his lunch and slept for just over an hour!  According to his note home, he loved the ride up the elevator on the Bye Bye Buggy :) 

 This is hilarious to me!  Brad was being a goofball trying to get him to crack a smile and he would have none of it!   But at least you can see him and the chalkboard :)

 And this one will be going in a frame - LOVE it!  

 And here Katie is on a mission to find her classroom and meet her teacher!  She has a great teacher this year and I think she will do great!  She was excited that they played on the playground twice AND didn't have a naptime :)  And she couldn't wait to tell me that she saw Jack when he was riding on the Bye Bye Buggy - but she didn't say hi "because he was with his friends and had his pacifier in his mouth." :)

 And Annalane and Katie had fun playing hide and seek before we had to leave - these girls are so funny together!  Both very strong personalities, but very sweet too :)  And they both love their little brothers!

I'm so glad they both had such excellent first days at school!  I had a productive, busy day while they were there - I have a feeling most Tuesdays and Thursdays will be action-packed so I can run errands and get things done around the house!  Maybe there will be some leisure and relaxation thrown in there from time to time :)  Today it consisted of running almost 3 miles, shopping, chiropractor visit, home for lunch, work on consignment sale things, and then it was time to pick them up!  Time sure does fly by - and boy did I miss those two!  Their hugs and smiling faces were just what I needed!

Doggy Dresses, Chick Fil A, + The Fair

A few weeks ago (was it really three weeks ago??), we had a girl's night and headed to the fair with Stella and Jill.  We went with them last year (it is crazy to look at that post and see how much the girls have changed) and thought they would really enjoy it this year!  We put the girls in their matching dresses and tried to get a few pictures of them together all matchy-matchy.  These were the best ones I could get!

And then one of my sweet girl.  I can always tell when it is a fake smile by those little dimples under her eyes :)

And I got a cute one of Jill and Stella too!  Love this one!

After we finished the pictures, we swung by Chick Fil A and ate it in the car on the way to the fair.  That was a great idea - the girls had chicken and milkshakes - and they were ready to roll once we got there!

It is so fun to listen to them really talk and carry on cute conversations!

Katie could hardly wait to ride everything!

We payed and got the girls their stamps so that they could ride whatever they wanted (as opposed to buying tickets) and headed to the rides!

Love this action shot!

They were so excited to ride the roller coaster - they couldn't stop watching it go around as they waited!

And the girls went on the big slide.  I think that ended up being Katie's favorite - she went on it 3 or 4 times...all by herself!  I thought for sure she would be at least hesitant, but she couldn't get enough!

Here she is ready for another ride down!  

It's hard to really see her, but she has the biggest smile and you can tell she is laughing as she slides down the bottom!

Then we went inside for a little while - time to cool off and use the bathroom!  Jill took this picture of me and Katie - love it!

They did all kinds of rides - even the carousel! 

And after walking through the part where they pretend to be farmers, they wanted to visit all the animals.  Here they are trying to feed the horse some hay!

And another ride - this was at the end as she slid out.

It was a late night for the girls, but it was so much fun!  I know they had a great time...and I think it is safe to say it may be a tradition.  That is, until the little brothers are old enough and decide they need to go too! :)