Little Gymnasts

The only activities going on in our home are cartwheels, backward rolls, headstands, handstands, bridges, and the splits.

Yes, the girls are back in gymnastics class and loving it!  Peyton is actually in a tumbling class because she doesn't care for the balance beam and the parallel bars, apparently, make her neck hurt. However, doing a backward somersault into the standing position doesn't hurt one bit. The only down side to this is Kai. Kai is trying out these moves as well. His somersaults and half cartwheels are the cutest things ever, but I am so paranoid one of his little limbs are going to snap. He just needs to stick with his funky dance moves while listening to Katy Perry, Kesha, and Usher and playing with his trains. Yes, he has great taste in music and some incredibly sweet moves. His favorite day at school is Thursday because they have chapel and he gets his groove on to "Jesus Loves Me" and other adorable chapel music.

Back to my little gymnasts.  The girls are loving their Wednesday gym time and practice nonstop at home. Eliza announced she was going to be a gymnast as her job. She was then curious about what college she would have to go to in order to get that job. 

I am just happy they are happy and can't wait to see what they learn and if they will, eventually, be able to do the splits. They think they are close, well, Peyton is closer than Eliza, but they have a ways to go. I will keep you posted.

posing in their new leotards

 Peyton's leotard slept in bed beside her last night

Breath of Fresh Air

The temperature gods finally decided to cool off North Texas, so we could open windows and go to the park without sweating and all smelling like garbage! 

These two were most excited!

They sat by the open window all afternoon. There was no breeze in the backyard, so this is where they preferred to be.

  

                                We let the girls have some much needed and deserved freedom and ride their bikes to     the park....alone. They were so excited they left without helmets or saying goodbye. They won't let that happen again. Andy was about 3 minutes behind them in the car and he spied. He decided he better go over the family rules one more time and then came home. 

When Kai woke up from his nap, we headed back to the park. The girls were playing tag with other kids, well running from boys who had pretend guns and were shooting at them. Not cool!!  We told them to play something else. At that point, Peyton went off with a friend from school and rode bikes and Eliza played with us and helped Kai on the slides. 

I think it is time we loosen our tight reigns a bit. I tend to baby them a little too much, especially with Andy gone so much, and I think that has been having a negative effect on their attitudes and confidence. I will be working on treating them like the big 8 and 6 year olds that they are and expect the same respect in return. I just don't want them growing up too fast, but keeping them sheltered and home with me all the time won't do them an ounce of good. We will find a nice balance and make it work for all of us. We are very proud of them! We just need to get them a watch because if we hadn't shown up I think they would have come home way too late, like after dark late.  We love you girls!                           

 weeeeeeee

Yumm, drinking from the dog fountain. Awesome!

It's beautiful nights like these, we wish Andy was home with us. The moon was so beautiful and there was such a nice breeze we could just sit outside and get some much needed fresh air. The dogs love laying out at night sniffing the breeze and enjoying the cooling temperatures. I love fall and can't wait to be able to enjoy the outdoors again, during the day!

Nosy Neighbor

Now that we are in a new neighborhood we really need to meet those around us. We have been trying and have, finally, been getting glances and an occasional hi back.  I am sure people are just intimidated by us because we are so cool and awesome! :)

We do have one neighbor, however, who watches our every move and spies on us.  Particularly, when we are in the backyard. He never makes a peep, just watches. He is super cute too, so I would love to get to know him ;)

 

 

isn't he the cutest? 

Kai's Favorite Time of Day

PICKING HIS SISTERS UP FROM SCHOOL!!

sweet ride Kai

bye mom!

  A definite perk of having Andy work from home, whenever he is home!

Choo Choo Kai is 2

Kai is 2! 

He had a wonderful day filled with trains, cars, trucks, and wonderful family friends! 

The last few years have been the quickest ever and I would love for them to slow down ,just a bit.

 birthday morning tv, Thomas The Train of course

not my best work by any stretch, but Kai loved it!

presents from Granny

ohhh, a new train

Kai loves his sisters

notice the new ouchie on his face

kai's gift from us. he really doesn't seem to care about it though.

Party time and more presents

cool

waiting patiently for daddy to open his new front loader

very cool

here comes the cake

make a wish

and eat! yumm yumm

big boy playing in his room with his new toys

he wouldn't let me play and tried to kick me out 

P.S.

Kai's new word is MINE!!

Love This Product!

I just thought anyone who reads this should know how great this bounce dryer thingy is! It make our clothes so fresh and static free! It is about $8.00 and lasts approx 4 months, depending on how much laundry you do. You just have to stick the holder on in the dryer and slide the bounce bar in place. The best part is you don't have to worry about forgetting that dryer sheet again or have it float out when you open the door to check on the clothes :)

Leaders Are Not Bullies

The girls participated in their first school fund raiser last week and had a blast! A group of young dudes came to the school everyday, for one week, and talked to the kids about the importance of being a leader and not a bully. It is so important these days to help get that message across to kids! 

A track was set up outside and the goal for the kids was to run/ walk between 25 and 35 laps in 30 minutes. Eliza ran 34 and Peyton 35. They were so beat at the end, but had so much fun running, skipping, lassoing, hopping, and dancing their way around the track to music. 

Our girls are so uniquely different, so it was interesting to see how each one approached the run. Eliza was cool, calm, and ready to have fun whereas Peyton had her game face on from the beginning and was ready to come in first. 

Kai enjoyed watching his sisters run, but really wanted to run too. 

Thanks to everyone for supporting them and their school. The students raised $21,000!! 

Go Eliza!

always time to pose

 almost done

Peytons class walking out. Notice she is in front :)

Peyton just High-fived one of the  Boosterthon guys 

 exhausted

 Kai was psyched when he got to run through the tunnel

Seriously Dog, Not Cool

My darling Cali decided it would be just fine if she made herself a bed in my fresh, clean, and folded laundry piles. Plus, she got up on the couch! Naughty girl!

San Antonio

We have been having some fun since arriving in Texas! Over Labor Day, we headed to San Antonio for a PMI family retreat. The resort was awesome and the weather was glorious! The kids had a blast in the lazy river and racing on the water slides while we were able to work on our tans. Kai had his usual afternoon siestas which allowed me to sneak little naps as well. 

The kids would disappear all day and we would catch glimpses of them here and there. Eliza was always being searched for and that is why I don't have many pictures of her. That girl probably did 100 laps on the lazy river! San Antonio is a beautiful spot and it felt like a real getaway for us!

Peyton, William,Eliza,Eleni, and Kai are snuggled up with a sitter, so the grownups could go out!

 Kai loved the pool, although he doesn't look thrilled in this picture.

William and Peyton in the lazy river

a tired boy munching on some cheetos

young love

our budding soccer star

Eliza is in the hamster wheel

there she goes

William and Peyton racing

a true Texan

beautiful Hill Country of Texas

authentic Texas town