Kindergators

Monday morning was somewhat of a blur. I didn't completely have it all together, but from what I can recall... two of my children joined the ranks of publicly-educated kids. 

And, by golly, they were ready.

Cause nothin' says "ready for kindergarten" like a TMNT t-shirt. Nothin', I tell ya.

 Except for maybe a Batman Thermos.

 Or a Hello Kitty Thermos.

These sweet little things had a great first week. They. love it. And while I do pride myself on my multi-tasking skills, I can't keep up with their both-at-the-same-time-talk-as-fast-as-they-can recaps of the day. Heaven forbid they take turns. And Heaven forbid they repeat themselves. So, from what I gather, life is good, 4 girls have the same water bottle as Kate, 7 boys have the same nap towel as Ethan, Ethan's best friend is Cole, Kate's is Bella, some mysterious "blue dog" comes to visit Kate's class who is "hi-LAR-ious," and going to the gym is the highlight of their week (although I think they go twice a week). 

Not that I was too worried that they wouldn't like it, but you just never know, and I'm SO glad it's gone well.

Weight. Lifted.

My buddy

Mid-lunch, Drew needed to take a visit to the little gentleman's room.

He told me, rather, admonished me,

"Don't let anyone take my lunch,"

and checked back every 2 or 3 steps to make sure it was still there.

He knows it's just me and him here, right?

And just for the record, he didn't even want any more lunch when he came back.  He's a strange one, that Drew.

He's also my best little buddy these days, and I seriously think I might burst with how much I love him. We have had a really fun week together and I think I'm going to like this kindergarten thing. I know the twins have done 2 years of pre-school, but it was just 2 days a week, so I spent those days getting all of my errands and stuff done. Now that I have 5 days, I can pace myself. And have dance parties.

Other California Stuff

One of my favorite things about going to California is the friends I get to see when I'm there. I can't see everyone every time, but it's pretty fun to get together and force bonds between our children that will hopefully last a lifetime.

This visit was at Traveltown, Griffith Park, with my friend, Lindsey. She was randomly assigned as my roommate freshman year at BYU, FOURTEEN YEARS AGO! Man, we're old. It was a match made it heaven and she has remained one of my best friends. I'm so glad she moved to California so that I get to see her when I come home. Every time I regret not getting a picture of us together, and now that Kate is an excellent photographer (excellent is a stretch, so is photographer, but we're going with it), we even had the chance. Oh well, next time. 

Such a fun park and the kids had a blast. Of course, they did. It's in their blood.

Another perk of going home is all that LA has to offer. They just paid 50 mill for this baby. So at $2 a pop to get in and another $20 at the gift shop, it was a steal for us. The kids thought it was so cool.

 The tour guide man told Ethan that it went 17,500 miles per hour- that's faster than Superman. He could hardly believe it. Such a sweet little boy- does he really have to start kindergarten???

 "5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Blast off!!!"

And this concludes my California posts. It came to a sad ending dark and early Wednesday morning, when we loaded the car and headed back to Texas, with my DAD in the driver's seat. Seriously, why do my parents have to be so cool?

Hat's off to the fam bam for another great vacay!

Goofy's Kitchen

 We didn't go to the 'Land this time, but we did have dinner with Goofy. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Nana, greatest Nana ever, made these darling shirts for the boys, and got these cute shirts for the girls. So cute. Did I already mention like a thousand times how cute it is to see all the cousins together? Cause they really had so much fun with each other.

Okay, just one boring story: Drew (unbeknownst to me), has an infatuation with Minnie Mouse. The second she walked up to the table, he jumped out of his seat, ran up and gave her a bear hug that literally lasted about 90 seconds. He just wouldn't let go. She went on, doing her thing, hugging and high-fiving the other kids, with Drew, still clinging to her side. And then, after she left the table, he said, "I love Minnie. She's my favorite." Who knew?

Am I the only who keeps forgetting to change the settings on her camera before handing it off? Some day I'll learn.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Goofy makes a mean bread pudding.

Newport Beach

Kids and the beach make a perfect pair.  

Truth be told the beach and anything make a perfect pair. Except for maybe sunburns. That's a rough duo. But kids really bring out the best of the beach.

 Unker Jammy's not a bad addition to the beach.

And the backyard pool is a very acceptable substitute.

 And while we're on the topic of perfect pairs... summer and s'mores.

 ... and picnics.

 Oh, the beach again? Okay.

Pima, AZ

I just got back from a wonderful trip to California. Words do not do justice how much I love being home, being with my family, seeing my kids with their cousins. Delectable nourishment is icing on the cake.

My mom, greatest mom in the world, flew out Sunday night so that we could leave early Monday morning and make the drive. Why drive? you may ask. Cause I'm crazy, that's why.

Anyway, a little detour from the beaten path takes you through Pima, AZ, the hometown of my beloved Bumpa. Don't let the "AZ" part fool you. It is beautiful. They built a temple there a few years back, and we had to see it. Being Monday, it was closed. But probably for the better, because it made the perfect place to let the kids stretch their legs.

The only other noteworthy tourist attraction was the post office. My great-grandmother was the post mistress in her day. I'm going to go ahead and guess that this was not the original building. But... I've been wrong before.

Pima, AZ, my friends.

Natural Bridge Caverns

Greg's parents came to town last weekend for a little visit. One of the highlights of the visit was the trip to see the Natural Bridge Caverns. 

Seriously, it was cool.

But not in the way the website said it would be. Definitely not 64 degrees. 70 degrees, with 99% humidity. It wasn't uncomfortable, but you definitely didn't need jackets. And when you try to tie jackets with 18" arms around your waist, that doesn't work. And I'll admit it here and now... I was the one who insisted we bring the jackets. If you do make the trip out there... don't make the same mistake.

Here's my darling Kate, all ready to go, sporting the shirt she and grandma made together.

 

 Yeah, don't worry about it, stranger. We weren't trying to take a picture. We were just all sitting on a bench, smiling in the same direction. We do that all the time.

 No, wait. Actually, we were trying to take a picture and you blew it.

I'll say it again. It was cool. And if you come visit me in San Antonio, I'll take you there. If you ask nicely.