Happy Halloween...

Here are the kids in their Halloween Costumes...

Parade Time 2009...

The pictures below show how the kids have grown over the last 4 years...

Remember the Alamo...

For a quick Labor Day vacation, we took a trip to San Antonio...

We stayed at the Menger Hotel across from the Alamo...

...and rode the boats on the Riverwalk

...and dined on excellent Tex-Mex at the Casa Rio...

First Day of School, 2009!

All in all, I think both kids had a good first day and are looking forward to going back again tomorrow. They are both quite tired, and we're trying to get them to bed early tonight since school starts at the normal time tomorrow! Below are pictures from the kids' first day at their new schools. Scroll down to the bottom to see them in order.

Ike rode the big yellow school bus to the daycare this afternoon. He ate steak fingers, green beans, some bread, and steak finger sauce for lunch. He tried strawberry milk to see if he would like it, but it was too sugary (way to go parents!) so tomorrow he'll get white milk. They had goldfish crackers at snack time, and they had rest time. They read a rhyming book. Ike got to sharpen his new pencils with an electric pencil sharpener. They went to the computer lab, but they didn't use the computers today.

These are all of the details that I could pull out of him today. No details were available on what he might have actually learned today. I think the pace is going to start out fairly slow and he'll be bored for a bit. Next Monday's homework is to find things that are circle shapes and things that are red around the house and to practice counting to 20. Hopefully the pace picks up soon!

And this is Ike sitting at his desk coloring with his markers. This picture was taken on our way out. As Ike would say, "It's no biggie".

Ike's cubby is #8.

This is Ike just outside his classroom.

Mick and Ike pose outside of the school before going in.

At the end of the day, Aggie got the tambourine she made today. She also got a great report from Miss O. Miss O said Aggie helped her clean up a mess made by another child so Aggie was given a My Little Pony toy.

Ike and Aggie pose by the kitchen toys:

Aggie found her new cubby and put her backpack away. Her new teacher's name is Miss Ophelia, but everyone calls her Miss O.

This is Aggie walking into her new school for the first day. She has her Hello Kitty backpack and her new shoes. She has her sunglasses in her backpack so the sun won't get in her eyes when it's hot. She chose to wear this dress with the red squares on it (gingham) for her first day.

Are You Ready for Some Kindergarten?!

Below is a picture of Ike's teacher, taken from the sealynews.com.

Melanie Koy, who will teach kindergarten this year at Selman Elementary School, spent most of this week decorating her classroom to welcome students on their first day of class, Monday, Aug. 24. Koy, who said she's a fan of zebra print, decorated her class in the animal print, along with bright colors to catch the students' attention. Teachers spent this week readying for students and attending in-service training to gear up for the new year.

Are You Ready for Some Football?!

You could say "membership has it's privileges" or "what goes around, comes around", but I scored some sweet tickets to the Houston Texans pre-season home game from work. Although the effort by the Texans against the Saints last night was quite poor, Mick and I enjoyed the opportunity to see the game.

Little Teachers

Over the weekend, the kids decided to play teachers. You can see their stereotypical perception of what teachers should look like.

The Drought of 2009 comes to a stormy end...

The Good News: The Drought of 2009 finally came to an end...

The Bad News: The drought was ended by a storm that contained violent winds...

The kid's beloved swingset was smashed and ruined...

The Drought of 2009...

We've received no rain since April...

It's been the driest May/June ever recorded for the region...

The pictures show the lake level in 2005 vs. 2009...

Look Alike? Look Twice!

Aggie was enjoying a bubble bath last night and immediately started making bubble beards! Watching her reminded me of a picture of Laura and me in the bathtub doing the same thing when we were little, and I had to get the camera. The back of the old photograph indicates I was two years old at the time the picture was taken. Aggie just turned 3 in this picture.

...when the bluebonnets bloom

Here are a few photos from our trip to the ol' bluebonnet patch...

March Pictures...

Ike and Grandpa involved in a massive construction project...

A job well done...

The family at the Museum with a dinosaur in the background...

Ike the cowboy...

This is the model of playset that we have bought for the backyard...the kids are anxious for its arrival...

Mick and Anita at the Bellagio in Las Vegas...

Mick and Anita on the Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas...

The whole family at their favorite restaurant (Cracker Barrel)

The family at the new train in Hermann Park...

February Photos...

A trip to the local Pizza Hut with Aunt Kristy and Cousin Jill...

A visit from Uncle Dwayne (Aggie pronouces his name as Da-gwain)

The kids at the College...