August

I haven't posted much the last month because we haven't done a whole lot! It has been a relaxing, HOT, and easy going month with the lots of trips to the pool and playing with friends. Luke is really looking forward to preschool starting next week, but I am going to miss him since he will be going 4 days a week. We did have a really fun family weekend, here are some pictures...

We spent thursday evening with Vic and Debbie. They wanted to take us out to eat at a Hibachi restaurant in Kemah and then take the kids to go on rides. We had a really fun time! Since they cook the food at your table, the kids were actually entertained and didn't mind sitting through dinner....a nice change since it seems like the only places the kids like to eat must have a play area (thank goodness for chickfila!).

The kids LOVE riding the rides at Kemah, and they have no fear. Luke's favorite ride is the "up and down" ride as he calls it. And Luke will proudly tell you he rode it 8 times! Both kids liked the airplanes and Abby's favorite is always a good carousel. Thank you Nana and Papa for a wonderful night!

Vic had Friday off so we took the kids for a end of summer treat to the beach at Moody Gardens. It was wonderful, they have white sand (must have come from very far away), a lazy river, wave pool, splash areas and slides for the kids. It was perfect and we enjoyed a day of swimming and playing on the beach, a great end to the summer.

Friends and Crafts

Today we had our friend Tyler over while his mommy was working, and the kids had so much fun playing together and doing crafts. It has been so horribly hot that we have had to be a little more creative in our activities!

Finger painting!

They REALLY liked the scissors, I kept a close eye on everyone to make sure no one got a free haircut :-)

Showing off their maracas....I am sure Tyler's mommy was happy for him to come home with an annoying musical instrument!

4 year old interview

I decided to ask Luke some questions about himself now that he is 4, here was our interview :-)

Me: What is your favorite thing about being a 4 year old?
Luke: Getting presents

Me: What are your favorite toys?
Luke: My spaceshuttle, ocean boat, bat cave and pirate ship
(basically we own every Imaginext toy that is made)

Me: Who is your best friend?
Luke: You!! (Wow, I feel so special!!), but then Luke added - Everyone is my best friend (oh well)

Me: What is your favorite food?
Luke: pizza

Me: Where is your favorite place to go eat?
Luke: Skeeters

Me: What has been your favorite vacation?
Luke: going to the pool (apparently he has already forgotten about Disney World last year??)

Me: If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be?
Luke: a lizard

Me: What did you like best about preschool this year?
Luke: Going outside!

Me: What is your favorite thing to learn about?
Luke: God
(I now feel much better about his answer to the previous question!)

Horseshoe Bay

Over the 4th of July weekend, we took the kids and stayed at a resort in Horseshoe Bay. I have no idea where this is, but we were in the car for a long time! The kids had a blast though, and it was a great weekend of relaxation and fun time with the kids. We spent our time at the pool, the beach, doing all sorts of arts and crafts activities the resort had for the kids, cooked smores and watched fireworks. We were exhausted after just being there a couple days, but I think that's because we spent most of our time outside and it was 100 degrees!

The resort has a man-made beach with water coming in from the Lake, but it is barricaded in to where the water is about 6 inches deep in the whole area, perfect for little kids!
First smore party, Abby was not happy because she did not have her smore yet....don't worry, she definitely got to eat one too!

Doing arts and crafts!

Waiting for fireworks...

Not everyone was happy to wait on the fireworks!

I think Luke had the most fun watching the fireworks, but Abby seemed to like it once they got started too :-)

At the parade on the 4th of July

Being silly at the pool

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Luke loved jumping into the water, he could do that all day long!

Happy 4th birthday Luke!

My baby boy turned 4 this week, I can't believe it!! We had a super fun day, lunch with friends and out to dinner with our families and back home to open presents. Luke is such a sweet boy and this has been a wonderful year with him. I am so blessed to have been his mom for 4 years!! Here are some pictures from his birthday.

Luke likes anything with pirates!

A tag reader from Nana and Papa, Luke loves to read!

The space shuttle from Grandma and Granddad, Luke has been asking for this since Christmas, so I am glad someone bought it for him!

A new bike from mommy and daddy, Luke didn't really ask for this but we decided it was about time he learns to ride a bike! Fortunately, he did like it and jumped right on!

No one wanted the princess to be left out, so Grandma got her a new tea set :-)

Blowing out 4 candles!

Practicing riding his new bike!

Swimming with Abby

A couple months ago while Luke was still in preschool, I did a parent child swim class with Abby. Our friends Aaron and Casey also joined us, and we had a blast! In fact, I am pretty sure that Casey and I enjoyed it more than the kids most weeks :-) Here are a few pictures from one of our lessons

Colorado

A couple weeks ago, I accompanied Vic while he had a work trip in Denver, and then we drove up to Estes Park for a long weekend afterwards. We had not been there since we spent our honeymoon in Estes Park almost 9 years ago, and we had a blast.

We stayed in the same condo we stayed in for our honeymoon, and it was so beautiful and peaceful.

We saw lots of animals close by - I think they are very used to people being around...

Due to late spring snow, the trails we hiked were snow packed, we attempted the first day just in our tennis shoes, and we (barely) made it around with a little slipping and sliding :-)

So, the next day we decided to get snow shoes and poles, and that made it much easier and so much fun too!
These were the falls we hiked up to -

We even had time for some fun activities like miniature golf :-)


We had a wonderful time, and are so thankful to our parents for taking care of the kids so we could have a trip away by ourselves!!