October 2012: Pumpkin Patch with Bonniwell cousins

We went to Anderson Farms with Mike, Camille, Nathan, Jack and Sami....on one of the coldest days of the year so far, Oct. 6! But, it turned out fine, despite my reservations! Ryan had a cold soccer game first...with precipitation and wind! But, by they time we drove an hour north to Anderson Farms, the precipitation and wind was gone. With some hot chocolate, I was happy!

October 2012 - First Snowfall

Our very first snowfall since being back in Colorado was on Oct.4. It was small, but very exciting! I'm glad I got these picturesat 6:30 a.m.  Before it melte by 10 a.m.

Our second snowfall was on 10/14, and we had a little more...about 4 inches. The kids were sledding out the back of our yard before 7 a.m.! I was glad Mark was home to do that with the kids. I was happy to take pictures!  The snow stayed on the grass for 2 days, and it was a new experience for the kids to play in the snow at recess.

Rain!

It rained today....almost all day! It was a delightful soaking rain which we need so very badly. Lauren wanted to put on her rain coat and boots and play in it. I checked on her and was able to take some  photos!

What do you do in the rain....collect water from the gutter and pour it in your rain coat pockets, of course!  And what are boots for....collecting yet more water from the gutter!!! Yea for the rain....we are thankful for it, and hope it saves our trees, prevents fires, fills up the lakes and helps the economy! Rain, rain, come again soon!

Back to School. Kindergarten & 3rd Grade

Lauren started Kindergarten and Ryan started 3rd Grade! It's one of those moments that really stops you and makes you think about the last five and a half years. It seems so short, and yet I can hardly remember life without Lauren, like she's been here forever! Lauren is so very ready for Kindergarten and so excited that I can only feel excitement for her. I think it helps that she has watched Ryan go to school for 3 years and she's comfortable with the school. Then we were so fortunate for Lauren to have the same Kindergarten teacher that Ryan had. She is amazing, loving, enthusiastic and very nice, and Lauren is familiar with her. Lauren is very excited about having her.

We went to "meet the teacher" Friday night and she asked me why it was so short...she wanted to stay longer. Then she came downstairs Saturday morning announcing..."Only 1 more day until school!"

Ryan is in 3rd Grade, and also seems very relaxed and a little excited about school! He was very positive after "meet the teacher" Friday night! He has 2 teachers...one for math and science and another for reading and social studies.


Here's a picture of Lauren going to the "meet the teacher" night. She wore her new soccer uniform (she starts soccer in 2 weeks) and her new "light up" Kindergarten shoes!

Kindergarten at David Elementary

Yesterday my mom and I had a girl's lunch while Mark took Ryan to a Cub Scout Astros game. We went to a tea house and made a big deal out of celebrating her going to Kindergarten. Last night she picked out her clothes for the whole week.

Ryan enjoyed an Astros game with friends and even got to run the bases! He had such a great time and it helped make him excited for seeing his friends at school. I think we learned a good lesson....to do something really fun with the kids the day before school starts. It really helped Ryan to be excited and not to have all day to worry about the first day of school!

Here the kids and Mark are before we rode bikes to school.

1st day of Kindergarten and 3rd grade

From a practical standpoint, it will be nice to have both kids at the same school! I think we've only had that one time....when Lauren was 2 and Ryan 4-5, they were at the same preschool. They'll be together for 2 years in elementary school, and then not again until high school when Ryan is a Senior and Lauren a Freshman. That makes me a little sad, but what can you do.

So, we've had a fun start to the year!

Lake Travis Vacation

Mark's mom, Nancy, has started a tradition of renting a vacation house every other year for a vacation with her 2 son's families. It's a great chance for us to see Mike and Camille and for Ryan (8) and Lauren (5) to spend time with their cousins, Nathan, (15) Jack (13) and Sami (9).

We've gone to Destin, FL, Sunset Beach, NC and Lake Grandby, CO. This year we went to Lake Travis, a lake outside of Austin. We towed our boat and the house had a dock, and we had a true lake vacation for a week, filled with boating, fishing, swimming.

Mike and Camille flew into Houston and were able to spend one night at our house and see where we live. The kids had fun swimming in the pool and fishing. The next morning we all drove the 4 1/2 hours to the lake.

The kids had a great time on the dock and on the boat. Jack, Nathan and Sami all learned how to knee board or wakeboard for the first time! And Lauren also learned how to knee board on this trip! Ryan was very proud that he was able to "teach" everyone! Nathan became quite good at the wakeboard, and Mark wowed the kids with his big jumps on the wakeboard and showed that he's still "got it"!

That's really all we did, plus play pool and fooseball, cook, eat, walk up and down the long walkway to the lake, apply sunscreen, prepare boat and dock bags with drinks, shoes, bait, goggles, etc. and read the occasional magazine. Also, I have to mention the animals... we saw lots of deer, which would drink from the lake in the afternoon, and we also saw 2 water snakes, (one of which Jack caught), a skunk, and many, many fish that were caught, including the elusive large carp that Mike finally caught on our last night!  Nancy and Gary were able to golf a few times also, which I'm sure was a nice break! It was hot, which is normal for Texas in the summer, but we are also in a drought, and the lake was down 24 feet! Fortunately the house we rented had a floating dock and a walkway long enough to accommodate it, and we were on the main part of the lake. So, it didn't impact our boating. But you can see the water level in soem of the pictures.

Our one outing was out to dinner at the Oasis restaurant, which is known for its sunset views of Lake Travis.  (complete with islands...due to the low lake water).

It was a successful vacation!



Deck



Sunset view from deck. Dock at bottom of hill.

Lauren, Sami, Grandma Nancy

The dock was the hub of activity for the week, followed by the kitchen!

Lake Travis from Oasis, with islands to left

Famous shot of umbellas at the Oasis

 The kids were selected to ring a bell at the Oasis at sundown!

Jumping backwards. (they played on this jetski lift for many hours!)

Lauren and Sami

One of Ryan's fish!

The Bonniwell Cousins....5, 8. 9. 13, 15

Relaxing

View of deck from boat dock

Nightly fishing and play at the dock!

Watching America's Got Talent!

The familiar boat scenario....Mark driving, 3 people on the tube!

The Oasis

Lauren's first time knee boarding....she's a natural!

Mark jumping the wake



Happy Birthday Grandma

This post is a little late, but are you surprised! May 29 was my mom's 63rd birthday and we celebrated a few times...before and after our Memorial Day lake stay. Here are pictures of the kids presenting "Grandma Jacqui" her cake. They blew out her candles, so we re-lit them, and sang again....and blew them out again, and again. This went on quite a few times!

Relighting and blowing out candles resulted in these belly laughs! Happy Birthday Mom! I'm glad you are close so we can celebrate it with cake and candles!