Family at Heart

I took A to get her school uniforms last Tuesday.  She looks so grown up to me.  We got her entire dress uniform, skorts, both pairs of required shoes, and the school field trip shirt.  I have since ordered her polo shirts online so she should be set for the first week.  After she starts, I will know more of what else I need to purchase and how much/often I will need to do laundry.  I feel really good about having that much accomplished though.  We are all set for August registration.  We have the eye doctor out of the way.  The well check is set for July 1st and the dentist for July 14th.  That should just about do it I think

We were at the bookstore this afternoon and she and I were reading a Level 3 book (for 2nd graders).  She blew right through that book so (after we went and showed Daddy), we got a Level 4 book.  She read most of the first chapter of that book with minimal help from me.  The Level 4 book is for Grade 3 and for ages 8 and up.  We were so proud!  We talked to a lady who worked there and she suggested we start on the fairy series.  So we got a book about fairies who take care of animals – two of her favorite things.  To reward her hard work on her reading, we got her another Webkinz pet.  So now in addition to her kitty cat (Sunna), a new doggy named Polka Dots has joined our family.  A is one happy kid too!

One thing about the reading…we are not slave drivers over here   She genuinely loves to read and I find her sitting in her bed all the time reading.  Once everything clicked, she just loved it and we are all so happy for that.  She has a really good understanding of certain language rules about short and long vowel sounds and things like that.  I thought that if I taught her those, it would help her word attack skills.  Yay, it worked!  She can figure out words that I don’t necessarily expect her to.  It’s fantastic

Oh yeah, and by the way, her front bottom tooth is VERY loose and may fall out at any moment.  I am constantly asking her if it’s still there, especially after she eats and brushes her teeth.

The uniforms are so cute!

We picked up her new glasses this afternoon. They have a blue tint to them. I think they look awesome!

Last night’s Family Fun Night at the toy store featured a local magician, Kent Cummins.  We were so happy that we were able to take Daddy with us.  A was so excited.  We got there early so we were sure to get a good seat.  The tricks were very cool and he had those kiddos laughing and having a great time.  A even got to help him with a trick

The rope trick was pretty funny.

He was a very good juggler too.

His tricks were very age-appropriate. The kiddos thought he was hilarious.

He even juggled scarves. I was pretty impressed with that.

And then there was the juggling of the rubber chickens

A was so excited to get to help with a trick.

He had A and another little boy working on taking the rings apart.

She is having a great time at this moment!

This was such a treat for her.

Cool show.

She was happy to pose. She loved her stint as assistant.

M had set up a playgroup tour of Petco for Thursday afternoon well before she had to go out of town because of a death in her family.  I was  so sorry that she and Z missed the field trip.  We will definitely be doing it again soon.  We had a great turnout and the kiddos just loved every second.  A was so excited to go.  She was anxious for the trip the entire day.  We arrived a few minutes early and went into the Barnes and Noble next door.  She told a little boy there, “I have to look my absolute best because I’m going to the pet store.” 

A was so excited to see her friends again.  She had a fever last weekend and we hadn’t played with anyone.  She was also very happy to show everyone her very loose front bottom tooth.

A few of us went next door for ice cream afterwards.  It was the perfect treat after the scorching day and fun animals.

Hubby had a great day yesterday.  A and I had planned a very special day for him.  We knew what we wanted to do for him and we told him all day that it was his extra special day.  He completely got to choose where we went for lunch, what we did, etc.  We literally treated him like a king for the day.  He ended the day by saying he thought it should last for an entire week instead of just one day.  Nice try honey

A had made him a very sweet little toolbox out of construction paper at a playdate while he was out of town.  She did such a great job keeping it a secret.  We made little tools that have chores written on them.  He can use the toolbox whenever he wants/needs her help with something.  She and I both made him a card as well.  We have gone to making each other cards by hand.  They mean so much more.  I keep everything regardless, but it certainly does make it more personal.  She and I also made pancakes and took him breakfast in bed.

After breakfast he took a long bath while A and I just lounged downstairs.  We all got dressed and headed out to lunch a bit later.  He chose California Pizza Kitchen.  We had a great lunch there and then headed to the LBJ Library and Museum down on the UT campus.  I had read about the space exhibit they have and Hubby was very interested in seeing that.  The exhibits were awesome – the space ones and the other LBJ ones as well.  They have a replica of the oval office in there too.  It’s just very cool to stand there and look at it.  Every detail is there.  It’s exactly the same, only 1/8 smaller than the original.

Wishing well at California Pizza Kitchen

These two are just buddies!!!!

We left the museum and were just riding around downtown.  We were showing A the capitol building and drove up to it.  We noticed people just walking in and decided to do that too.  It was a very cool impromptu thing to do.  We walked all around inside, went up the three floors and looked down into the atrium, and got to see inside the legislative chambers where bills and laws are voted on and passed.  It was very nice and we had a great time.

We were pretty tired by this time so we headed home.  We ended the day by going to our favorite seafood restaurant for dinner.  During dinner, Hubby asked if my Mother’s Day was as good as his day had been.  Well since my Mother’s Day was perfect, I took that as a huge compliment.  He did have a great day.  He deserved it.  He is a fantastic father and I couldn’t have picked a better man to be the father of my little girl.  Once more, Happy Father’s Day.  We love you.

On Saturday, we got up early again and headed out to Brookshire, Texas for more airport fun.  Brookshire is just about 40 miles from Houston.  We started out by sitting in on a meeting of the local gyrocopter club.  Those guys were very nice and friendly to us.  They all thought A was a cutie and of course we couldn’t agree more.

At the meeting.

After the meeting, a summer bash birthday party began at noon.  We drove by the hangar where it would be and decided to go and get some lunch and then come back.  Just not much happening yet.  So we drove into Katy for Landry’s.  It was awesome food and the dessert that the three of us shared was simply amazing.  Fantastic lunch!

A's Webkinz pal (Sunna) made the trip and even got to have lunch with us.

Daddy and A at lunch.

Mommy, A, and Sunna at lunch.

The monstrous dessert that we all shared. It was awesome!

We went back to the airport and were happy that some more people had arrived.  We met a few people and hung out for a bit.  Someone was giving airplane rides and we were happy to watch them buzzing around the hangar.  There was a little boy there just a little younger than A.  He was very sweet and they were fast friends.  They especially enjoyed hanging out with a dog and cat that were there.  In fact, A was allowed to turn the water hose on the dog (he LOVED it) and ended up getting pretty wet.  Well, veteran momma that I am, I had an extra outfit in the car, so we got that quickly taken care of – problem solved, more fun to come.  A was quickly tiring out and we had another 3-hour trip ahead of us, so we headed out around 4:00 for home.  Another great day with my family.

Cool dog. He loved this!

A posing in front of a plane. Notice the change of shirts had already happened

The airport is always fun.

Friday was the last day of VBS and a very busy day for us.  A had another great day.  I spent my day at M’s house while she and I continued working on our scrapbooking that we didn’t get to finish during the last scrap night.  I usually get completely caught up again, but I had to do two birthday parties and graduation and that’s just about all I got accomplished on scrap night.  I was very productive at M’s though and feel almost completely caught up again   She made some great progress as well.  It was a great way to spend the day while the kiddos were at VBS.  We went together and picked them up, dropped off B at her house, and came back to M’s.  She made us all lunch and then A and Z played while we scrapped some more.

I left around 3:00 to come home and make dinner for T’s family.  M dropped A off a few minutes later on her way to soccer.  So I quickly got the rice spaghetti finished, touched up A’s hair a little bit, dropped the dinner at T’s house, and off to the airport we went to pick up Daddy.  We hit some traffic on the way, (apparently 5:00 traffic on a Friday evening on the way to the airport is the worst time to be on the road), but we got there exactly as Daddy and Mr. T were walking out.  We took Mr. T home and had a great family dinner at The Texcian restaurant.  Yummy!

So we are very happy with VBS and even happier to have Daddy home.  Good week!!!!!!

More of the same to report today – more fun and excitement   We did have something a little different though – we took B with us and then brought her home and kept her here until this afternoon.  B and A were so excited to play together and to get to visit.  They had lunch together here and played on the Webkinz site for quite a bit.  Then it was on to play with the million fuzzies (stuffed animals) in A’s room.  Those two had all of the fuzzies on the bed and not an inch of A’s comforter was showing   They also made a little tent and were camping.  It was good to just hang out at home for a bit.

After B went home and A and I had dinner, we were talking about what happened at VBS today.  Z had gotten pretty sad and upset about a coloring sheet the kiddos were doing.  They had two different sheets and he wanted the one that he didn’t get.  Trouble was they didn’t have any more.  I saw how upset he was when M was taking him home.  A had gotten the sheet that he really wanted, so I suggested that we trace hers to make him one.  She thought that was an awesome idea.  So we fixed it up.  She critiqued my work and we called up M and asked if we could bring him something.  She said sure.  So off we went.  He was so excited   They played for quite a bit.  It was a very cool way to end our day.   So happy to be able to take some of that sadness and upset away from you little buddy

I didn’t take any pictures at VBS today since I was handling two kiddos in and out, but I did get this pretty cute picture of B and A playing…

Since Daddy has been gone on business this week, I have been keeping us extra busy.  Besides VBS, we have been doing lots of other fun stuff…

Monday – Gattiland

Tuesday – Pool playdate with friends, Chick-Fil-A Family Night

Wednesday – Lunch at Moonie’s with M and Z, playdate with a preschool friend at Jungle Java

These pictures are from Wednesday, June 17

Right before going into VBS for the day.

B and A were playing with blocks. She didn't know I was there when I snapped this.

The theme is Gadgets Garage and is about robots. She loves it!

I suppose this is Gizmo. He's sort of the theme mascot.

A and her little friend from preschool. They were so happy to play again. They hadn't seen each other since the birthday party. Definitely have to get these two together on a regular basis

A has been having a blast at VBS this week.  Everyday she brings home her very cute art work.  There are several teachers for her class and they are all super nice and sweet.  I have zero concerns about leaving her there and she is beyond excited to go.  She wore her cute little shirt on the second day.  Enjoy!

FUN!!!!

A had the best day today.  This is the first year that we have done VBS.  M, T, and I signed the kiddos up together.  I had been telling A all about all the fun she will have at VBS.  But I was worried that she wouldn’t want to stay there without me.  She gets sad when she thinks about me leaving her somewhere.  We had that issue at school and she just loved her teachers and friends.  So I was very nervous about today since she would know no one except for B and Z.  Turns out I was worrying for nothing.  She was so excited to get there.  We got her all signed in and then found her classroom.  The three of us mommas caravaned to the school so the kiddos could all go in together.  The teachers already had the kiddos doing a sticker craft (huge hit with A) and had their little nametag necklaces ready for them.  I didn’t linger in the room after I told A goodbye, so I just hung out in the hall for a minute until M and T were ready to leave.  But I was able to watch A through the glass and I knew she was just fine.

As part of the price for VBS, A got a whole lot of goodies.  She got a t-shirt (which is currently in the dryer since she wore it this afternoon and wants to wear it again tomorrow ), a water bottle, a music CD, some sunscreen, and a little sun visor.  She was so excited about her goodies!  She can’t wait to go back tomorrow either

Daddy went with me to pick her up since we had to take him to the airport this afternoon.  She was a little sad about Daddy leaving (as always), but she was okay pretty fast.  I had a fun evening in store for her.   She and I finished our day with secret Father’s Day preparations, playing with friends (she even got to hold a real bunny), and a trip to Gattiland with M and Z.  A got a whole bag of fuzzies there.  I won a horse race and also hit 1000 points on a game so she had some great choices when it came time for prizes.

I took this just before we were out the door this morning.

She loved this bunny!

A and her loot at Gattiland

FUN Day – for A and for me!