Labor Day Weekend

On Friday we drove to Bellville for the long weekend. On Saturday and Sunday there was a long list of things to do around the farm. Granny has recently gotten a new roof on the house and ALL new windows!!!!! All of the old windows and storm windows were still piled up in the front yard, so we moved them to a barn. William mowed the lawn and took down the old TV antenna from the roof. Mike used the skid loader to remove the old basketball goal (which probably would have stood a 1000 more years!). The oak tree in the backyard was struck by lightening, so Mike and William climbed up the tree to cut out the dead part, only to discover that the entire tree is rotting. Granny will have to call someone out to take care of that. The cousins had fun playing in Granny's new room. 25 years ago they had remodeled the house. However, they never finished the office and at the time sewing room. It still had VERY old carpet and unfinished walls. She had the carpet ripped out and put down a new floor, put up drywall and painted, built in a closet, and got a new back door. The room looks fabulous! It is now an office/playroom. On Sunday evening we met at Grandma's for dinner, Kathryn and Jackson were there, too. After dinner we loaded up the car and drove back that night. We arrived back home around 1:30am. Thankfully, Amy slept until 8:30!!! A very nice treat to sleep in.

Another morning hike at the Heard

Today we decided to go for another hike at the Heard. Mary picked the Hoot Owl trail this time. It was the first time we had done this one. We got to see a tree struck my lightening several years ago that is still living. It also has the oldest and biggest tree. It is over 250 years old.

First day of Pre-K

Mary's first day of school was last week. She was so excited to be going back to see all of her teachers. While eating breakfast on the first day, she told me "Next year my first day will be in Kindergarten" I can't believe that next year she will be going to school with me! She is definitely ready! She is beginning to read and spell. Last night she was naming her muscles...gluteus maximus, obliques, pectoral, triceps, biceps, and hamstrings (and many more...but not sure how to spell them!!!)!!! We were quite amazed she could do this.

Perdido Key, Florida

We had a fantastic time on the beach at Perdido Key, Florida, near Pensacola. This was our first vacation since we visited NYC when Mary was 15 months! It was certainly a fun time!!! We spent a lot of time on the beach just hanging out, digging in the sand, looking for seashells, and swimming. We found that we need to go to the pool after every trip to the beach. We went to the National Aviation Museum, Johnson Beach, The Wharf (a lot like Kema boardwalk), out to eat, and William and his dad took an off shore fishing trip. William was determined to go to the end of the key! One day he suckered me into walking with him. We walked for over an hour and never made it. I convinced him to turn around. The next day we drove as far as we could. And we walked again for over an hour and still didn't make it. He pulled out his iphone and found that we still weren't even close! He says next time he will do it!

Getting good at walking

Amy has really been doing a lot of walking while we've been on vacation. We've been enjoying the beach. I have yet to eat a meal inside. In the mornings we get to see the dolphins swim by. When we get back I'll down load all of the videos and pics.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!

Our lives are going to be so busy, restful, and then busy again. Monday the carpet cleaners are coming. After they leave I have a long list of errands to run. William will take Mary to swim lessons in the evenings after dinner. Tuesday and Wednesday the girls will go to Mrs. Debbie's since I have full day professional development trainings. On Thursday, I will be packing all of our bags to go to the BEACH!!!! On Friday, I will take Mary to swim lessons early and then start packing the car. Hopefully, William can catch a ride to work with a coworker and we will pick him up at 3 to head to Bellville. On Saturday, Granny and Mary will go to a wedding at 2. As soon as they are home we will hop in the car and make the 8+ hour drive to Perdido Key, FL (near Pensicola). Grandma Betty will also make the drive from Georgia to join for a week long of fun on the beach. Then we'll pack the bags and head back to Granny's on Saturday morning. Then we'll drive back to McKinney on Sunday. Amy will go back to full time daycare when we return. I have a team leader meeting Monday morning. On Tuesday, I have have a first grade team meeting. Wednesday is my LAST DAY OF SUMMER! :( I go back to work on Thursday. We have 7 days of inservice and then the kids come on Mon, Aug 24.

Another week on the farm!

Saturday morning I loaded up the girls and we headed to Bellville. Later that afternoon we had some rain. We decided to sit out on the patio and watch it. At about 7:15 lightening struck VERY close to the house. It scared all of us. As soon as it hit the electricity went out. Mom called it in. Since we knew it would be a while before it came back on we decided to go for a car ride. On the way out we picked up Grandma b/c she was out too. We were the only 2 out in the area. We went down to the grain bins to see Uncle Fred and Greg. A little after 8 we decided to head back home. Luckily earlier in the day the kids played in the kiddie pool. Amy took a bath outside by the light of the car. We lit candles and open windows. Mary was having a hard time grasping this concept. We have NEVER lost power in McKinney. After playing Scabble Slam (very fun!!) we all crawled into Granny's bed. Her room was the only one with a window letting in a cool breeze. I don't think I got much sleep that night with Mary kicking me in the head and the nice breeze stopped at about 3am. Mary had to sleep the opposite way so she could see the moon light coming in the window. At 7 am we still had NO electricity. We decided to see if we could figure out how to get the county water line connected to the house so we could at least have water. We spent about 15 minutes trying to get it with no luck. Just as we were calling for help, the electric company truck came driving down the road. About 10 minutes later we had electricity again! We took showers and got ready for church. Then we had lunch with Brady. That afternoon Jackson and Kathryn came over to play. Then it was time to go to Grandma's for dinner. All 5 of the cousins were there. I think Thanksgiving will be a little crazy this year! On Monday we went to Brenham to meet the triplets and visit with Adrienne. They are just adorable. On Tuesday, we went to see Brady and then headed to Space Center Houston. Aunt Cynthia went with us. Mary had a great see all of the astronaut outfits. Then we had a nice lunch out. We went back to Aunt Cynthia's for nap time. When Mary woke up she got to swim in their pool with Pamela. Then we enjoyed dinner and hopped back in the car to go home. On Wednesday, we went shopping and had dinner at Galileo's! When we got home we thought it would be fun to go on one more gator ride. Just as we got to the back pasture it DIED on us. It wouldn't restart. We had about 30 cows swarming us because they thought we had food for them. Mary started to get scared. We climbed through the fence, over a gate, and walked almost a mile while carrying the kids. Luckily we made it home just as it was getting dark and the rain clouds stayed away. When William got home that night he found a note from the city that our water had been cutoff due to a water leak. I guess a neighbor called it in. No telling how long it was bubbling into the street. I'm expecting a very ugly water bill next month!!! Thursday morning Granny went back to work and we came back to McKinney. William called a plumber to come out first thing to fix it. By the time we got home around 1 it had been fixed. Enjoy the pics of our visit!

Amy's One Year Pictures

Amy's Dr Visit

Amy went today for her 1 year well baby check up. She weighs 18 lbs, 7 oz (10th%tile) and 29 1/2 in (61st%tile). The doctor is not too concerned about her weight right now because she is still growing and hasn't lost any weight. She got 2 shots today and did okay. She will go back in October for her 15 month well baby visit. She is talking more and using her signs more. She can now say ball and baby (sounds more like ba-ba). She will sign for milk, more, bye-bye, hi, tired/night-night, and light. She is bottle free and I fed her for the last time on her birthday! I made my goal again of 1 year. She only drinks from sippy cups now. She is still taking a morning nap, but doesn't have to. hich is nice because we can go out and do more things in the morning.

I plan on leaving with the girls on Saturday morning to go see Granny. We will probably stay until Thursday morning. We plan on going to Space Center Houston while we are there.

Amy Turns One Year Old!!!!

Wow! It is hard to believe but our sweet little Amy has turned one year old today. Mary was so excited to run into her room this morning to tell her happy birthday. She will go see Dr. Alvis on Tuesday for her 1 year check up. Here are her monthly pictures. Enjoy!