Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A little early for costumes, but...

...well, we're prepared for every upcoming celebration in town!
The kids eagerly chose their own and tried them on as soon as we made it home.
We have one princess leopard...


...One pirate...



...One Native American...



...and one tulip fairy...



...who thankfully warmed up to her costume once she got a glimpse of herself in the mirror!


Monday, September 20, 2010

A new year of CCE

Another year of CCE started on Sunday, and both girls were very excited.

This is Mary Claire's first year. Here she is with her teacher, Ms. Christi.


This is a very special year for Catherine, as she'll make her first communion later this year. Here she is with her teacher, Ms. Mary.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A day at the Children's Museum with the Whisnant Boys.


Tuesday we met Crystal and her boys, Bradyn and Colin, at the Children's Museum.

These boys were beyond happy to see each other!

Colin and Amelia, checking each other out.



Gregory in the driver's seat...hmmmm....


Inside the 'tub of water' were little marble sized balls, soft and grown in water. You could not see them, but when you put your hands in the water, the tub was filled with them. Crystal and I were just as amazed as the boys.





Two very cute lab techs.




Face painting for our kids was actually mirror painting and cleaning.


Puppet show!

Gregory took this picture of Bradyn.


Who do these silly boys look like?

New reporters.

Exciting day for Colin! What a good baby.


What a fun day! I actually had to pull Gregory out of the museum to get Mary Claire from school. Needless to say, I'm surprised his protests didn't lead to security making sure he was my son! This museum membership has been one of the best purchases ever, and I'm sure we'll be using in many more times this year!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Carpool on Friday

Wow, what a busy week and TGIF!




Amelia, Gregory, and Mary Claire were sufficiently pooped! It provided me with a few minutes of "mama's choice" radio time.

The girls and I are off to a girl scout rally tonight, and they are so excited...about eating cookies!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Gregory's first day of SPARK


Yesterday was Gregory's first day of Spark. It's a preschool program, provided by our school district. I had never heard of this program before this year, but I'm now thankful we've found it. The lesson was focusing on starting school, with a couple of books about school and a craft.

The morning began with the first part of the craft, water colors! Gregory really liked painting the school house. He painted the whole thing a very artistic shade of black!


They then took a break for circle time, which included songs and stories. Gregory wasn't too thrilled, and of course, I couldn't understand why my usually social boy was suddenly unsocial. I told myself it was a new place, too many people, difficult for him to transition, etc. He later told me that he really wanted to play in the kitchen. One day I'll learn to read the three year old mind!



Then it was back to the table for cutting out the school house and pasting it to a sheet of construction paper. On the back, he practiced writing his name.


Here is a picture of Gregory with one of the teachers, Mrs. Gregory!


Gregory's artwork is hanging proudly in the kitchen, and he said he loved school and wanted to go back today. I hope that means that he'll love our next scheduled class on Monday!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

So what were you doing on Saturday morning....

....say about 6:25 am?




If you didn't know, I'm training for a half marathon in January. I was up and ready for a 5 mile run. We're not stacking miles yet, but it's coming.





Oh yes, and that's my new Garmin 405. It tracks my distance, pace, mile splits, etc. I've been drooling over them for almost a year now.

I have the best husband ever.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Johnson Family Visit


Today was quite a fun day. An impromptu family gathering because we were all in the same place, at the same time. Thankfully, with the help of our neighbor, we were able to capture the whole crew. (my grandma, my parents, my sister and her family, and my family)

.
The Benny's are in Houston because Stoney has training, Mom and Dad are here for a concert tomorrow night, and Grandma decided to combine a visit with us and and a visit with a friend.
Grandma always brings goodies for everyone. My sister, Danielle, and I got lots of yummy coffee. The kids all got coloring books, etc. .


Mary Claire got a math workbook, and couldn't be happier. Jeff commented that she would have been content to sit there all night and finish it



The kids are always happy to see the Benny kids. Catherine and Collin are only 11 weeks apart and usually have a fun time together.



Grandma and all 10 of her great grandchildren!

(Back L to R: Gregory, Josiah, Collin, Grandma, Mary Claire, Catherine, Gabrielle.
Front L to R: Connor, Amelia, Alysabelle, Adelle)