Preschool Rocks!

So many days had passed since her big brother and big sister went back to school.  

This little lady could hardly contain her excitement.

After Labor Day weekend, it was finally her turn!  Curled hair, sparkly shoes, big hot pink bow...

monogrammed water bottle and new Elena of Avalor lunchbox.  This girl was ready to go!

I was thankful that someone at NSLC made this cute framed message for her to hold.
As much as I would love to be a Pinterest mom, it's just not in me!

She went right in, put away all her belongings, gave Mrs. Abernathy a sweet hug and told me goodbye.  She is so ready for this year.  She'll get to do many more things, like P.E., Chapel and Discovery class.  We're only 5 days in and she's already a pro.  Shine bright my little firecracker!

Summer del Lago

Our Summer del Lago ended on a high note on Labor Day Weekend.  We had some old baseball buddies of Jackson's and their families join us for a day and night, then Gigi, Boom and Cami came up after that.  So many fun memories were made!

Brock, Jackson and Gavin were ready to hit the tube!

While some of us were on a boat ride, Brock and Jason tried out the Wave Runner.
Before they took off, I heard Brock say, "you're not gonna go too fast, right, dad?"

Gavin and Glenn joined them on the Sea Doo and enjoyed zipping around Texoma.

Karen, Angie and I got to catch up, which was so nice.  We used to spend hours upon hours together every weekend at baseball--I miss them!

The boys tubed all afternoon and loved every second of it.

The girls didn't want to be shown up, though, so they broke out their hula skills on the water.

Later that afternoon, we anchored the boat in a cove.  The kids got a wild streak and swam to shore.

Safety minded the entire time they were on land!  My Meme would have been proud.

On lake time.  It's tough to beat.

We finally tore ourselves out of the water and went to get cleaned up. I'm so glad that we did because we found this amazing band at The Island!  The kids danced the night away.

Gavin, Brock and Jason were leading the way!

The next morning the boys did some fishing...

but mostly just enjoyed a pretty morning on the dock.
Jared misses hanging out with these cool dads, too!

After Brock and his family went home, the rest of us went out on the boat.
My girls!

Gavin and J tubed all over the lake.

Love these handsome boys.

A few hours later, my littlest arrived!  Pigtails and those sunglasses--just the coolest kid.

"Yeehaw!"

We played until the sun was setting and then called it a day.

The next morning was our last day on the lake.  Time to learn to ski.  Lila was up first, then Jackson, then Madison.  After 30 rounds, we had all three able to get up and ski at least 100 yards! 
Great success!

Cami didn't want to be left out, so we made sure she got plenty of time on the tube with Bubbie.

We played until late that afternoon.  No one wanted to go home! It was our best summer in a long time.  Cheers to the fall, but summer, you will be missed.

News Report

 Cool crisp air this morning! 

 As much as we love summer, we are all looking forward to fall. 

Some exciting new changes are on the horizon.

Jackson joined a new baseball team.  They had a scrimmage recently and just blew us away.
The NTX Eagles are legit!

Jackson pitched really well.  Then he played 2nd, 3rd and Short Stop like a pro.  We can't wait to see him elevate his game with this new team.

While Hurricane Harvey was no laughing matter, we did get a fun surprise from the Houston area--the Michetti girls came to visit!  Their school had been cancelled last week, so they headed north.  It was good to catch up and show them a fun time on a school night, nonetheless!

On Thursday, Cami finally got to visit her new classroom, meet the class mascot...

and get a hug from sweet Mrs. Abernathy.
We just love her and can't wait for the school year to start!

The next night, we went out for Aunt Lyndsie's birthday and the kids found out she had a surprise for them.  The littlest girl could hardly contain her excitement.  "What is it? What is it? What is it?"

Their surprise was delivered via cookie--they are getting a new baby cousin in March!!!

Cheers to Lyndsie and Scott and a new baby!

Miss Lila has joined a new club soccer team this fall as well.  She's a proud member of Sting, a premier select girls soccer club.  She played well in their first game on Saturday and is looking forward to the season opener this weekend.  Go Lila, go!

This recent school project sums Lila up so well.
She is all of this and so much more, and is most definitely a sunny sunflower.

And that's a wrap on last week!

Up next, our final lake weekend of the summer.

First Day of School!

Monday morning dawned bright and early.  We had dreaded this day all summer long, simply because summer is always so magical.  No alarm clocks.  No rushing around like maniacs.  No sports.  Just lots of chilling in the pool and at the lake.  SO great!  But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Both kids woke up with their alarms and were excited to start a new year at Hunt.
Yep!  That's all 5 fingers that Jackson is holding up.  5th and 2nd grade. My gosh, their elementary career is zooming by.

Memaw came over to stay with sleeping Cami--thank goodness!

Daddy and I loaded up the kids in his truck and were out the door, even a few minutes ahead of schedule.

In Jackson's previous 5 years at Hunt, we have never made it to school in time to get the coveted First Day photo by the school sign.  We were on it, this year, though!

We were meeting lots of 5th graders at the sign.  So many of them showed up!

Our first stop after getting inside was the second grade.  Miss Lila had lots of things to put in her locker, including photos, a mirror, a pencil holder and sticky notes.  The shelf didn't leave any room for her backpack, so it didn't make the cut.

We said good morning to Mrs. Tillery...

Lila's friends arrived and then we were off to fifth grade.

By the time we made it to Mrs. Flaherty's class, it was almost full.  It's her last year of teaching and we are so glad that Jackson gets to have her for homeroom and math.

He's pumped that he's got some good buddies with him in class.
They are all so happy to finally be the oldest at school.

Meanwhile, over at Schell, Miss Madison was having a great morning, too.  She loves her new teacher and was super excited to see her sweet friend Jazlin, as she walked into the room.

We made it out the door a little after the bell rang and then came home to Miss Cameron Nicole.  She was all about helping me bake a cake that morning.  After we had baked and decorated the first day of school cake, she went to visit Gigi. 

And I went to celebrate with some friends at Taco Diner!
Cheers to the kids being back in school and to less arguments to referee all day!

These two made it home on the bus right on time...

and we all enjoyed learning about everyone's first day as we ate some cake.

But wait, there's more!  The fifth graders were meeting up at Baskin Robbins, so we joined them.
The fun never ends!

Safe to say, they loved their first day of school.  And I did, too!
It's going to be a fantastic year.