October rewind

November is here, fall and coolness in the air, wonderful changes for a pregnant mommy almost in her third trimester!!! We had a fast, furious and FUN October...

Cambry has begun gymnastics and is LOVING it. She is still as independent as ever and would rather "master" skills on her own, but so far is not afraid to try any of it. Hope she loves it as much as I did (actually still do).

She is officially sleeping in her "big girl" bed and doing GREAT. It was out with the crib one day and into her big bed that night. She asked about her crib only a few times and has been so proud to sleep in her new one.

last nap in her crib

We have been in full swing with Colten's school and activities. He is doing superb in Kinder and we recently had a great conference with his teacher. She is a jewel! A few things to note on our Kindergarten experience thus far...


- rhyming is so fun!!! At least every other word is followed by a rhyme...
- you CAN play too rough during Duck, Duck, Goose (all in fun of course)
- girls DO NOT like their food taken during lunch, but other boys think it's hilarious!!!
- it is extremely fun to count to 100, no matter how many times it's done
- the list can go on and on...


He had a wonderful fall festival at school a few weeks ago and the PTA raised lots of money for new fun and exciting things to come to his school. There was a parade, bounce houses, games, silent auction, skits, bike demonstrations, firetruck tours, train rides, dances and lots of great food.




We also had a "family night" at the local pumpkin patch with Colten's Kinder class. We met at the patch, let the kids pick out pumpkins, read stories and played some games. We then all headed to get pizza together. It was really fun to see the kids interact outside of class and get to know some of the families more. It's a great group!!!

the boys' story

my best "attempt" at a group photo

And...after all those fun festivities it was time for HALLOWEEN. Saturday we made a quick afternoon trip to Sea World (missed you Whitesides). We really wanted to see the Sesame Street Halloween show so Cambry could see Elmo and Abby. It was precious, so worth the warm day and many steps taken. She loved it!!!

Wish I could have captured her face, it was priceless, but couldn't get a good one to come out!!! Sunday the kids and Caleb (mostly Caleb) carved our Jack-O-Lantern and we got ready to cruise the streets. Doc came early to help pass out candy while we went out. Like each year, there was a mass of kiddos. The costumes were GREAT and excitement was everywhere, our kids were pumped about it ALL...

Halloween morning and goodies

our very own Obi-Wan Kenobi and Fairy Princess

light sabers and wands up...ready, set, go...

one more light saber adjustment

and we're off...

Cambry walked about ten houses and then Daddy was her mode of transportation around the rest of the block.

back home to finish handing out our candy...whew, what fun!!!

And...another pregnancy update. Everything's going great. I am at 27 weeks now and feeling HUGE. Our baby girl is doing wonderfully and is right where she needs to be. I'm exhausted, sore, hungry, etc most of the time BUT the weeks are flying by and I know they will even more so with the holidays. No name yet, the debate is still in progress, so stayed tuned!!!

September Stuff...

Last weekend we made a last minute decision to head to College Station and cheer on the Fightin' Texas Aggies. We bought tickets online, booked a room and were on the road the next day. It was heavenly driving into good ole College Station, ahhh we miss it more and more each year. We had a GREAT time!!! The kids were awesome and loved the game. We even got to take sweet Shelbi to lunch and spend a little time with her. The kids were super pumped to see her!!!

pre-game, all Aggie attire of course

walking up and up and up, to the top of the Zone

a little rest and photo op on the way to our seats

Cambry enjoying some nachos

awesome fly-over (and I mean right over our heads) before the game

go Aggies go...aTm in red, white and blue for 9/11

havin' fun and cheering on the Aggies!!!

awesome band "block T" formation...love it and love being there in person!!!

We drove back to SA right after the game. A little tired but so nice to have a full day Sunday AND naps for all!!! Can't wait to get back one day soon hopefully....

School has been an entirely new adjustment for us all. We have settled in pretty well now and all are doing great!!! Colten is loving his class, teacher, friends and really just about all of Kinder, well minus rest time. He is almost always full of excitement about the day when we pick him up. Cambry and I are enjoying the one on one time together. Well...for the most part, she has definitely taken hold of the "2's" phase. She is experiencing it to it's fullest now and is more that happy to test my patience daily with the attitude!!! She's sure keeping me on my toes and still misses Colten greatly while he's at school.

Last Friday was Grandparent's Day and Colten was sooo excited to have 3 out of 4 grandparents see his school and class (my mom was out of town). So....Granden, Doc and Gram joined us for a grandparents' breakfast and then a tour of his class.

the gang outside his classroom

Gram reading a story to Colten and one of his buddies

so proud

Gram was then asked to read to the entire class, Colten was thrilled

It was a fun morning for sure!!!

And a few random pics...Cambry half-way smiling. She wanted her picture taken, but this was all she would give me. Oh well, I'll take what I can get...it's just too exhausting otherwise!! :)
And...for those of you who have asked. I am terrible at documenting my pregnancy through photos, but here you go. This was taken a couple weeks ago. I'm now at 21 weeks and we are about 80% positive we're having another GIRL!!! So exciting, but a little unnerving for Caleb I think!!! Gotta love those girls...

Kindergarten!!!

We officially have a kindergartner!!! So hard for me to believe...five years has passed in a hurry. Colten has been very anxious to get back into the "swing" of things, he definitely is my structured child and does well in the learning environment. He got up Monday morning ready to go and embark on the wonderful world of Kindergarten. A little anxious, but a little excited, too.

not into taking pictures at 7:15 am, however

one with Daddy and Cambry

goodbyes to Daddy

and to Mommy

heading to the classroom, ready to go!!!

Cambry's face as we left the school, already missing her To-To

Monday, we picked Colten up and he could not stop talking about what all he had done. He liked everything except walking quietly in the halls, ha AND rest time, naturally!!! His only negative comments were that the day starts too early (amen to that one) and Kindergarten is longer than pre-school AND you have to go everyday?! Tuesday, was a little different, he woke up more anxious and less enthusiastic for sure. I worried all day about him, and Cambry missed him terribly. She would walk in his room, look around, call his name and then find her pretend cell phone and "call" him at school. Made me miss him so much more!!! I was SO ready to pick him up just anticipating what he would say. His first words..."Mom, it was better than yesterday!!" Whew, so thankful!!!

He did great today, just a little tired from the new schedule. Can't wait to see what this year brings. Gotta run and get the little guy...

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park

This summer my family ventured out to Canyon Lake, to Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park campsite. What an experience!!! The "campsite" offers several different accommodations, we stayed in some of the lodge rooms, but there are sites for tents, RVs and even full size cabins. There are pools on site, a HUGE jumping pillow, arcade games, crafts, movies, hay rides and much more fun to be had. The park was PACKED the few days we were there. People were everywhere, the place was maxed out, but that didn't stop us from having fun!!!

Ricky and Dad making us breakfast

light sabre fighting

an appearance by Yogi Bear

the girls...walking around the campsite

going on the hey-hey ride

pool time...

the jumping pillow

slushies one afternoon

cooking burgers

walking with Aunt Chera

going for a ride with Uncle Ricky

we went to Canyon Lake one morning

kayaking on the lake

more swimming

tickled by Uncle Ricky

slip-n-slide on the jumping pillow

after wiping out in the sand

we went into Greune one evening and ate at the Gristmill....delish!!!

What a memorable vacation!!! Definitely a HOT one, but filled with tons of FUN and great memories. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us to Jellystone!!!