First Day of 1st Grade

I don't know how it's possible, but my firstborn is already a first grader...

Wasn't I just holding his tiny newborn self for the very first time? 

And now he's a big brother to this big sister...

And finally a "grader" as he likes to call it...

Today was much easier than last year when I dropped him off at Kindergarten.  I didn't feel the tears welling up in my eyes and the lump forming in my throat as we walked into school...

And I didn't see the insecurity and fear of the unknown that I saw in his eyes last year as I walked him over to his desk. 

Somehow in just a short year he has transformed into this confident little boy who can walk right into class, pull out the pencils, and start drawing a water slide on his construction paper (and of course, narrate for us with every stroke)...

I pray that he can hold onto that confidence and self-worth, and as he goes along on this big first grade journey, I pray that he knows he is unconditionally loved for who he is...

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

Since we will be at Disney World on Fair Day, we decided to go to Summer Adventures in Fair Park last weekend to get our State Fair of Texas (as Hunter loves to call it!) fix.  We had several friends who had been and said it was a really great deal...just $14.95 for unlimited rides and games.  It was definitely a toned down version of the fair, but the kids had a blast!

 

They gave us all leis when we bought our tickets...

We headed straight for the bumper cars...

Charlotte decided she was "too scared" to ride at the last minute, so Hunter went alone...

It was really crowded in there!  I think Hunter got a little frustrated that some of the kids didn't realize how to move their car:)

Then we saw this haunted house ride that Charlotte was set on riding.  We asked her about a trillion times if she was sure she wanted to, and she was determined to do it...which is completely strange since the bumper cars had been too "scary" for her.

She surprised me and didn't chicken out, but didn't want to ride again when Hunter decided he wanted to go.

Several of our friends had the same idea as us that day!  We spent most of the day with Amelia and her mommy.  Amelia was exactly tall enough to ride most of the rides, but some of the operators said she was just under the line and made Kim ride with her...

Grey rode in the stroller without his infant carrier for the first time and did so well!  It gave me hope for Disney World...

That kid constantly has his fingers in his mouth!

We rode a couple more rides, and then I needed to go feed Grey, so everyone else got in line to do these trampolines...

Hunter had changed his mind by the time I got back, but the girls weren't done, so the boys and I went to ride the carousel...

Then the 3 bigs rode this kiddie coaster...

It was really hard to get good pictures of that one.  Clearly.

 

We found the Fawkes and had funnel cakes and lemonade with them, but I was so hot and sweaty by that point that pictures were the last thing on my mind:)

 

It was a super fun day!

Charlotte's 4th Birthday: A Tangled Party!

Charlotte decided she wanted a Tangled themed party about 6 months before her actual birthday, so we had lots of time to prepare!  I love Tangled almost as much as she does, so I was super excited, too:)  We had floating lanterns...

 

And of course themed food...

These were my favorite...

 

 

And a Rapunzel cake...

 

I ordered a Tangled piñata and made "Flynn Rider's Treasure" bags for the kids to collect the candy...

And I made party hats and crowns...

I always make way too many hats, so we have a stash of about 20 of them from over the years in our kitchen cabinet.

I blew up a cooler of Ruffians and Thugs (water balloons) for the kids...

We had a slip n slide and 2 kiddie pools in the backyard...

And dad brought this pool for the front yard...

Those water balloons went so fast!

Charlotte loves to sing and dance, so she asked if I could play the Rapunzel soundtrack in the back yard during the party.  She had to take a minute to sing, dance and act out her favorite songs...

I love it!  She loves putting on a show!

I prepared a Pascal craft for the kids to make, but this was the only picture I got of it...

The blower part is his tongue, and the craft foam that Evelyn's holding is his head.

After lots of water fun, it was time to eat and have cake...

And then we grabbed the frying pan and went out to hit the piñata...

Not all of the kids got a chance, because the top broke off while Harper was hitting it.  James just dumped the candy out and the kids swarmed!

Then we just let everyone play for a while, and Charlotte ended the party by opening her presents...

(She and some of her friends decided to play dress up right before, hence the Dorothy dress.)

 

She got so many fun presents.  We are so thankful to all of her friends and family that came to make her day special!  She loved it!