Birthday parties and big boxes

The last part of September was filled with birthday celebrations and room makeovers. Rowan finally got moved out of her crib and into a big girl bed. We saw a bed and fell in love with it, but we weren't sure if it was just TOO much. Eventually, we just gave in and got it. It was too cute to pass up. When we told Rowan she was so excited, but wanted to have princess room to match her princess bed. She picked the color, so it is a very pink pink. There is nothing subdued about it at all.

Her Royal Highness's Dressing Area - notice the hooks for her many gowns.

A happy little princess in her castle bed

The box that the bed came in was huge. The kids had a great time playing in the box and pretending it was a house.

Some birthday party fun at a friend's house

Soccer balls for Sassy Pants

Rowan started soccer on her birthday. She LOVED her class, but did not like the idea of sitting on the ground or getting dirty. The practiced kicking the ball and balancing one foot on the top. By the end she looked like a pro!!!

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Princess Birthday

Rowan turned 3 in September. Of course, she had to have the biggest, pinkest princess party imaginable. We had planned on doing water slides and sprinkler fun, but mother nature had different ideas. The kids ended up playing upstairs and enjoying some princess cake. She loved her party and talked about it for weeks. An umbrella from Uncle Steve and Aunt Chris was a hit. The kids loved pretending that it was raining and walking around the house!

School Days

August 24th - First Day of school

Hearing Aides and Hysterectomies

That is how we finished up our August, with hearing aides and hysterectomies. We have known for a couple of years that something was wrong with Ashley's hearing. Turns out the she only has 45% hearing in her right ear. She received her hearing aid in mid August and is doing really well with it. Within minutes were were able to tell the difference. You never realize that you are repeating yourself a million times until you aren't having to do it anymore. The hearing aid is tiny and behind her ear, so it is barely visible. Heads up! Its time to buy stock in energizer batteries, because that thing sure eats them!

I ended up having a hysterectomy at the end of August, so we are officially out of the baby business. Its not really a big deal and the recovery has gone really well. Thankfully, it has ended a 20 year struggle with an organ that just didn't seem to want to work right. At least I got 3 beautiful kids first!

August Excitement

August was full of birthday parties, school openings, Dr visits and saying goodbye.

My parents had been here for the summer and had to leave a bit earlier than anticipated. This kids had a great time with them and really enjoyed going out to their RV to play with Nana and Papa. The night before they left, we went out to eat at a local BBQ place and the kids really enjoyed being little hams for the camera. Of course, midway through dinner Alan's pants fell down much to the surprise of the table next to us. I have learned to love pants with adjustable waistbands!

These are some of the pictures that we tool over the summer with my parents. We all loved our trip to Bell Blue, even though it seemed to take forever to find someplace to have lunch after. The kids were pretty full on ice cream so they didn't complain too much.

The new elementary school opened on August 11th. We went to the grand opening and met some of the teachers and toured Alan's new classroom. It is great that the kids are at the same school this year. All of the classrooms are equipped with smartboards. Alan and Ashley had a great time showing Alan's new teacher how to use hers.

Kids having fun at a Chuck E Cheese birthday party

July Happenings

After Alan's birthday we decided to take the family to the Rainforest Cafe in Katy and play at the Katy Mills Mall. My parents joined us and we had a great time.

Alan checking out the fishtanks in the bar

picking Tracy the talking trees nose

Rowan waiting for lunch

Checking out the boats at Bass Pro

Ashley went to sleep away camp for the first time. She went to Camp Kachina on Lake Belton. The program was called "Boots and Boats", so she learned to canoe and kayak and ride a horse. She LOVED the lake part, and the horses..... not so much. This just totally confirms that she is my daughter. Horses are big and boring and stink, especially when you just ride around in circles in a little arena. I am sure they are much more exciting when they run and you can go somewhere, but for camp purposes, they stink. Next year we are looking for a camp with more boats, less large smelly animals.

The showers

Her bunk mates



We week after Ashley came home, she went to a camp at a local church. The put on the musical- Moses are We There Yet?. She loved being in the play and I think it really made her love being in the spotlight. She is such a ham that it was great experience for her. Plus, it helped to ease her into the boredom of being at home again. Life can get boring wuick when you aren't constantly entertained!