First Day of School

As much as we tried to will it not to happen, the first day of school arrived!  

It was only August 13th and felt like they had just gotten out of school.  

Thank goodness all were smiling and ready for the day.

Jackson was equal parts excited and nervous to walk the halls of Murphy Middle School.

Lila was pleased to be able to move to the "big kid" side of the school.

And Cami was all about being the oldest at North Star!

We set out for elementary school first.

Lila met her friends...

and then went to her classroom to see Mrs. Bhakta.

Before we left, Jackson went down the hallway to visit his third grade teacher.  Mrs. Galvan was one of our faves!  He's so much taller than her now, it's crazy.

Next stop, MMS!  The excitement was palpable.

As we walked into the school, we were greeted by the mascot and cheerleaders.  So fun!

We hugged Jackson's neck and then headed over to Pre-K.  This girl is ready to rule the school!

Mrs. Brandt was thrilled to have Cameron in her class and told us she was looking forward to a fantastic year.

Cami was all about the cool toys, 

but got down to business before I left.  She's such a good student!

A few hours later, I had collected all my kiddos.  Jackson was the last one home...

and was greeted by all the girls.  Maddie came to have the First Day of School cake and we got to hear all about their day.  Cheers to a wonderful year!

Summer Love

Right before school began, we just had to fit in a few more things!

We went to the Roughriders game in Frisco with Gavin and his parents.

It was such a beautiful night for the last game of the season.

The Roughriders won and then they let everyone down on the field.  The kids had a ball running around until the fireworks show began.  

The next day we headed up to the lake for one last weekend at Texoma.

These kids LOVE them some time on the water.

And why wouldn't they?!  Wind in your hair, being pulled behind the boat, it's so great!

We played on the waverunner...

let the kids swim...

and simply enjoyed being with each other.  Our sunset cruise to end the day was perfection...until we realized the rope was wrapped around the propeller!  Oops!  It's never dull around us, that's for sure.  Thank goodness Jared was able to hop in the water and get it unraveled before the sun had set.  

Fast forward a few more days and we held the first Fantasy Football draft for Jackson and his buddies.

Soon after that we finally got to share some SUPER exciting news with our kids.  Aunt Maria and Uncle Andrew are having a BABY!  We all went to dinner and they told us that it's a BOY!

Connor is going to love having a little cousin to play with!  I think it's so neat that all three Hays boys have had a boy as their first born.   We can't wait to meet Baby Mason!

Holding onto Summer

This past summer flew by, at warp speed!  Between Gulf Shores and camp for Lila and Jackson, it really felt like it lasted all of three weeks.  We found ourselves staring August in the face, with school on the horizon, and tried our best to soak up the last few days of freedom.

We met Larry, Julie and Cole Squiers at Top Golf one night for a little golf, a few drinks and so many laughs.  It was all fun and games until we tried to go home...and found out my CAR HAD BEEN STOLEN from the parking lot!  

Moving on to a better day!  Lila played in a soccer tournament one weekend...

and we hosted Jackson's baseball team for a swim party.

When the boys got in the pool it was 100 degrees and muggy.  An hour later it was a total downpour and it rained all night.

No problem!  We partied on the patio with these fun people.  Love the Eagles parents!

We got in some good baby time with Lilly...

and then Cami and I spent a day downtown at the Dallas World Aquarium.

Cami and Nash were SO excited to see all the animals and fish.

 

Check out this strange creature!

Love this little firecracker and all her spunk.

We saw some enormous crocodiles...

but the manatee was my favorite.

These sharks were pretty cool, 

but I think the scuba diver might have intrigued Nash and Cami the most, though!

A few days later we got to babysit Cousin Connor while his parents were playing in Mexico.

He's such a happy baby!  Uncle Jared came home for lunch to see him...

then we played on the floor with some toys.  He started rubbing his eyes, so I turned on some lullaby music and began to rock him.  Within in five minutes he was out.

He took a two hour nap!  Go Aunt Crystal!

Stay tuned for our last days of summer break.

Ana's Wedding Shower

Ana and Brent are about to get married in NYC!  We had a wedding shower in Texas for all of her family down here and it turned out so beautiful!

The flowers were gorgeous, the cake was delicious...

and the cookies from Sugar by Lyndsie were fab-u-lous!

Ana and Gail were so very appreciative of their three hostesses--Linda, Gloria and my mom.

Lila and Cami were thrilled to hang out with the bride-to-be.

Sweet baby Lilly didn't quite know what was going on, but she sure looked cute!

Those cheeks!  I can't get enough of them.

Such a girly day with my best girls.

Sipping pink lemonade from a "real glass."  This one is growing up at warp speed.

Lila was in her element being such a good cousin.

Congratulations, Ana!  We can't wait to celebrate your big day in a few weeks!

Cheers to the happy couple.