The First Day of School

Well today’s the day. It is unbelievable that we dropped William off at kindergarten today. How does it happen, and so fast? One day you are changing diapers and taking car rides to soothe them to sleep, and the very next you are taking them to school! When William was a little baby my dad said that I should treasure each moment because they don’t stay little long, and that before I would know he’d be off to school. How very right on he is!

William was so excited to go to school that he got up early and had his uniform on right away—he even did a dress rehearsal yesterday. It was especially nice that we all got to be there with him on his first day. He is in an all-day program (most, if not all, are here), but he goes ½ day today and tomorrow to get them in the groove.

A few tears were shed, but not by William. We left him with a big smile as he was working on a picture. I can’t wait to hear how his day was!

William's Birthday Celebrations

William managed to squeeze out several celebrations of his 5th birthday. We went as a family to the amusement park at City Park. It was lots of fun, and the kids had a great time riding all of the rides—William is now just at 48 in. so he could ride everything except the bumper cars. Then, after we arrived in St. Louis, we celebrated his birthday with my mom and dad, Mary, Tim, Corey, and Meagan. Mom did a bug theme. We even celebrated for Clark since we likely won’t all be together for his big day in September. This celebration continued this past Saturday when William had a few of his friends to the bowling alley for yet another birthday party. Needless to say, lots of fun for his 5th, and really can you get too much of your own birthday?

Girl Scouts in St. Louis

After I returned from San Diego, my Girl Scout troop traveled to St. Louis via train and I met them for a fun day and overnight downtown. We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch, to the Arch, and then to a Cardinals baseball game. We all stayed a hotel and then they traveled back to JC on the train that next morning. Our visit seemed too short, but it was so great to see them all!

Destination: Wedding

Andy’s sister, Kay, got married to Chris in beautiful San Diego on July 31. The kids stayed with my parents, and Andy and I headed to California. The wedding was beautiful! The ceremony was in Spreckles Park on Coronado Island. The reception followed on the Newport Yacht with yummy food and dancing. And, then an after party was held at Chris’ Aunt Darcie and Uncle Henry’s house for cake cutting and visiting with everyone.

There was much to do in the days leading up to the wedding, but we did squeeze in a few fun things including going to Sea World with Mike and Jenny, Jose and Andy went fishing with Chris and Kay so Lara and I took a trip to La Jolla to see the seals and sea lions, a concert and picnic in Spreckles Park, and a bridesmaids trip to the spa at the Hotel Del Coronado (which was absolutely fabulous). We also got the chance to celebrate Kay and Ben’s 30th birthday at the rehearsal dinner. It was a fabulous time, but I was definitely ready to be back home with the kiddos. However, the kids were very good for my mom and dad and got the chance to do lots of fun things with their grandparents including fishing at Aunt Ruth’s, went to the Transportation museum, swimming at Mary and Tim’s, to a Cardinals game, and pottery painting.

The Red Stick (aka Baton Rouge)

Yesterday we took the kids to see the sights and sounds of Baton Rouge--the state capital, yet another Mississippi bank settlement, and home of Louisiana State University (LSU). It is about an hour from our house and there are many fun things there, so I am sure we will be going back for more. We visited the USS Kidd, a WWII Naval destroyer, which is docked on the Mississippi in downtown Baton Rouge. The kids had a great time climbing all over the ship…and really how better to spend a 100+ degree day? We stopped at a Cabela’s on our way home, which for two animal-loving kids was the topper to the trip.

Super Hero Birthday and Super Hot Trip to the Zoo

Last weekend William attended a super hero birthday of one his friends. It was at the Louisiana Children’s Museum, which the kids love. As you can, they were asked to wear capes and t-shirts to help get into character. Earlier that same week I took the kids to the zoo. It was very hot—110+ with heat index by 11:00 am that day. As you can see everyone, including the bears were trying to find ways to cool off.

Family-Filled Fourth

Just before the 4th of July holiday weekend, Andy found out that he could have an extra day of leave added to the already extended weekend. So, at the last minute we decided to pack quickly and headed North to see family. The Brennecke’s celebrated on the 4th at the cabin. We were actually able to surprise Andy’s parents by just showing up there. It was the quintessential July 4th with blackberry picking, lake swimming, fireworks, tire swimming, and duck racing. Really, what more could you ask for? We had a wonderful day! The next day we went to Mary & Tim’s to celebrate and visit with them and my parents. We swam in their pool and had a nice lunch together. It was so great to be able to spend time with family, especially unexpectedly!

We also had a chance to deliver some big new to our families…we are expecting baby #3 in December! We are so excited and our families were too!