Katelyn's First Day of Kindergarten!

I can't believe it finally came...her first day of Kindergarten!  She was so excited to go and has enjoyed every day since.  She also really likes her teacher, Mrs. Stanton.

The morning of...ready to go!

 Walking to school

 At the front steps of the school before going to her class

 In her class, at her seat

Her table

 Welcome home, Katelyn.  It's your day!

Celebration dinner at Katelyn's favorite--Chicken Express!

Happy 6th Birthday Katelyn!

Katelyn celebrated her 6th birthday on August 24th!  We started the day with setting her "birthday place" at the table (inclusive of cards, presents, and the birthday pin).  Then we headed over to a local kolache shop of Katelyn's choice and ate some yummy cinnamon rolls.  From there we continued the birthday tradition of visiting the hospital at which she was born just a few minutes away in Carrollton.  Later that afternoon, we had her birthday party.  She wanted to have a "dress up" tea party this year, so we invited a few of her friends to come dressed in their favorite dress up outfits to a local bakery and had a very special and sweet time!  We love you, Katelyn, and are so thankful for the gift the Lord has given us in having you as a daughter.  Enjoy the pictures below for more of a peek into Katelyn's special day...

 Rise and shine birthday girl!

 The Kolache House Bakery

 The hospital at which she celebrated her actual day of birth...six years ago!

 Room 242...at one time was the room we stayed in when Katelyn was born.  Today it is a storage room for medical equipment. :)

 Our trip to the hospital is never complete without a stop at the gift shop!

The Tea Party

 The favors

 The gift/donation collection basket--we collected juice boxes and individually wrapped snacks for the kids who visit the Children's Advocacy Center (located just down the road from us)

 The decor (complete with two cute little girls ready for a tea party!)

 The girls decorating their princess wands with stickers and jewels

 Katelyn serving the cupcakes

 Singing happy birthday!

 What a day!

Two and a half years old!

  Anna turned two and half years old at the beginning of August!

Katelyn at two and a half

Highland Village Hot Air Balloon Festival

The girls and I went to the 26th Annual Highland Village Hot Air Balloon Festival last weekend (Dave was in China, so we needed to distract ourselves somehow!).  It was such a neat experience!  We got to the park (it was held at one very close to our house!) at 7 a.m. for the pancake breakfast and to watch balloons take off and land.  The girls thought it was really cool to see the balloons so close....

 Rise and shine!

 Anna showing off her sausage link from the pancake breakfast

 I have no idea who this guy is...I was really just trying to take a picture of the balloons taking off!

There were about 10 balloons that were in the "race" and flying toward the finish line

10th Anniversary Trip!

Dave and I recently enjoyed celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary (a little belated, but better late than never!) by traveling to San Diego for a few days at the beginning of August while Mamaw and Peepaw came up to Dallas to watch the girls (thank you for that!).  We stayed with my Aunt who lives just north of San Diego in Escondido.  She is an amazing hostess, as is her seven-year-old daughter. :)  We started off our trip by eating at one of our favorite places, the Point Loma Fish Market.  Their fish sandwiches are fresh, filling, and delicious!  Then we headed over to the Cabrillo National Monument to do some hiking and site seeing.  The next day, we hiked at Torrey Pines State Reserve.  Other highlights were a kayaking tour at La Jolla Cove, Dave's surf lesson, riding bikes along the beach on Coronado Island, and going to a Padres game (too bad they lost 1-4 against the Orioles).  We also were able to drive up to Mission Viejo and have dinner with some good friends who happened to be visiting family there during the same time!  It was a great time together, and the girls had a fun time with Mamaw and Peepaw (Who doesn't??!).  Here's to 10 more years!

 Hiking at Torrey Pines

 Dave heading out to his surf lesson (he's the one of the left)

 Padres game

 It was cold!  What a nice change of pace from the Texas heat...

Another one bites the dust!

Katelyn lost her third tooth!  It was one of her front teeth, and it had been pretty loose.  When I went to pick her up from Vacation Bible School, she flashed her smile (minus one tooth) and said with much excitement, "Look mom!  My friend accidentally knocked my tooth out at snack time!"  She was holding her tooth and a quarter in a ziploc bag (the quarter was from her teacher!).   Her teacher said there was lots of blood, but no tears!  Way to be brave, Katelyn! 

Family Summer Vacation!

We went on a week-long family vacation in Canyon Lake, TX at the end of June and had such a great time!  Thanks to the generosity of one of Dave's colleagues, we had a free place to stay in a condo at a resort overlooking the lake.  Katelyn and Anna stayed with Mamaw and Peepaw in Austin the first night while mommy and daddy went on down to "scope everything out" and have a date night to themselves!  We all met up the following evening in New Braunfels for dinner and took the girls to the resort from there.  We spent the first day hanging out at the resort which included a walk down to the lake, playing mini golf and shuffleboard, swimming at the pool, enjoying the playground, playing games at the arcade (Katelyn hit the "jackpot" on one of the kids games and won 125 tickets!), eating a special ice cream treat, and topping it all off with a family movie night watching Curious George and cuddling up on the couch munching popcorn and M&Ms!  

  View from our balcony

Deer at the bottom of our building

 

 Who loves Blue Bell?

Jackpot!

 Playing shuffleboard

 Playing mini golf.  Note: Anna figured out that you can get a hole-in-one every time if you just walk up and drop the ball in the hole.  Genius!!

 Katelyn and Anna enjoying the pool

 Daddy and Anna walking back from the lake

 Collecting shells at the lake

  Katelyn and Anna enjoying the playground

The next day we went to SeaWorld and made the most of our time there by playing at the water park (Katelyn even went down some "big girl" slides with Daddy while Anna and Mommy enjoyed some of the smaller slides) and seeing a few shows, including the famous Shamu and a new show called Elmo Rocks! The girls were amazing, and we all had so much fun together! 

 Katelyn going down the slide by herself!

 Daddy and Anna going down the slide!

 Shamu Show

 Elmo Rocks Show

  

What a day!

We drove into New Braunfels on our last day and swam in the Comal River.  It was so refreshing and cool on a hot summer day.