Papi and Grammy

Here are some more pics from Papi and Grammy's visit:


They took the kids to the mall one day and let them ride the train:


Grammy made cupcakes with Aidan's help, and he also learned how to crack eggs:

We also spent plenty of time outside in the baby pool and on the Slip n Slide:


Daniel and I bought new dirt, shrubs, and mulch for our flowerbeds (we just had new retaining walls built around them) so Papi and Grammy helped us with that huge project!

Before:

After:

Then and Now

Papi and Grammy have been visiting from Florida, and we've spent the holiday weekend eating, playing, and working in the flowerbeds! Here are some pics of the kids enjoying some watermelon...and an "old school" one of my brother and I doing the same back in the early '80s :)

Happy Birthday Sage!

Here are some pics from Cousin Sage's 1st birthday party at the park this weekend!

New Pool

Cookie and Gigi are in town for Cousin Sage's 1st birthday party which is tomorrow. This morning I decided to break out the new blowup pool and let the kids play. Unlike our old house, this house faces east which means we have hot afternoon sun in the backyard. The new pool comes with an attachable cover but I'm not sure if it will be enough to keep us cool in the afternoons!

Vacation Bible School

This past week Aidan attended VBS at my friend Kimberly's church. They took kids as young as 3, so I signed Aidan up! A few of our MOMS Club friends also signed up, including Aidan's good friend Aitor who ended up being in his class. Thursday night was the closing assembly so here are a few pictures and a video of Aidan with Aitor and Kaelyn, performing their hearts out! Definitely a great first VBS experience for Aidan...we plan to do it again next year :)

Aidan's First Sleepover

Aidan spent the night with Kaelyn the night before Avery's tubes and adenoids surgery, since it was so early in the morning. He had a great time! Thanks for the cute pics, Tracey!

Tate’s Birthday Party

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for Aidan’s friend Tate.  Tate is a friend from church and Wee School.  The party was at Pump It Up Jr., the same place Aidan’s was!  The kids had a blast and Avery enjoyed eating her first piece of pizza.  Everyone was amazed that she ate the whole thing.  Everyone except her parents, that is…we knew the “eating machine” would put it away :)

P.S. I’m giving Windows LiveWriter a whirl, which I’ve heard makes blogging easier!  Thanks for the help Shannon and Brandy!

Computer Whiz

Aidan recently got a "Cool School" Computer for his birthday from Grandpa and Nanna. He's still not totally proficient in using the pen, which is like a mouse. You have to push the pen down to select something or to draw, which he's still getting the hang of. But it's really neat! It has an art section, letter and number sections, a music section, and a science section. Right now his favorites are drawing in the art section and tracing letters and numbers.

Ducks

Today we fed some ducks at the park with Aidan's playgroup.

Avery's Surgery

Yesterday morning Avery had tubes put in her ears, and had her adenoids taken out. She did great and although she was fussy and sleepy most of yesterday, she is doing terrific today. Aidan had his first sleepover at his friend Kaelyn's house, since Avery's surgery was so early in the morning. He had a great time! Anyway, here are a couple pictures of Avery before surgery, and a couple of us with her in recovery.

It's So Hard to Say Good-Bye, Part 2!

Today is Aidan's last day of Wee School (wahhh!!). Here is a picture of him with his wonderful teachers, Miss Cindy and Miss Rebecca. I'm also attaching a picture of him from his first day this year so you can compare how much he's grown!

It's So Hard to Say Good-Bye!

Don't be fooled by this picture...Avery absolutely LOVES these two women! Miss Toni and Miss Laura have been her Wee School teachers this year and they are wonderful. Miss Toni happens to be our friend Brooke's grandmother, and Miss Laura and I have been church friends for a long time, and we also went to Honduras together (that's her daughter Mary who is in Avery's class). Avery will go to them and not even bat an eye when I leave her. Which is a big deal for Miss Drama Queen! When I picked her up today I realized it was her last day (Aidan goes twice a week so his last day is June 2nd) so I whipped out my camera phone to take a picture. But when I handed Avery BACK to the teachers for the picture AND held another baby that wasn't mine, she got a little upset. Oh well. Thank you for everything Miss Toni and Miss Laura!

Port Aransas - Long Post!!

This past weekend we joined Daniel's family at a beach house in Port Aransas. For those of you who had voted, we DID manage to squeeze our four family members in our minivan along with Uncle Cody, Aunt Amy, Cousin Sage, and all of our stuff! Surprisingly, it turned out great...the drive was easy and quick, the kids did super (thank goodness for the minivan DVD player!), and traffic was a breeze. Avery came down with pinkeye as soon as we got to Port Aransas but Amy called her dad who's an optometrist. He called in a prescription and she was doing better by that evening! We all took turns making meals so it was very relaxing. The weather was great the whole time, just one rain shower. The beach was within walking distance to our house and the kids had a blast! We hope to make it an annual trip :)

Our family at the beach:


Our beach house!


View of the beach from our balcony:



The Cousins at the beach!


Boogie boarding:


Avery walking with Aunt Lindsay. Avery loved the waves...she cried if we took her back up to play in the sand!


Building a sand castle:


Burying Uncle Cody in the sand:


Cookie's friend Jeff with the neat kite he brought:


Avery reading with Gigi:


Aidan playing Candyland with Mommy and Aunt Amy:


Aidan's first S'more:


Avery's first S'more:


Everyone relaxing and playing football after S'mores:


Cookie and Gigi in the kitchen:


The Steward family:


The only decent family picture...unfortunately it didn't have Gigi in it!


Avery and Sage...Double Trouble!


My friend Jen and her family were also vacationing nearby! I took Aidan over to their pool so he could swim with Corinne:


View of the backseat...this is how we rode most of the way (Daniel and Cody were up front):