Chinese project

Jamie really enjoys her Chinese class. She made this project to help her study her Chinese vocabulary.

Movies

Last weekend we went to see Dolphin Tales which is a true story. Family is Forever.
Michelle asked us to go and Sha provided the tickets.

Tonight we are going to see Courageous - the new Christian film about fathers. Hyde Park Baptist church provided the tickets for this one plus dinner and childcare.

Fall leaves

It is still hot here but we raked up the leaves and let the girls jump/slide into them to make a memory. Anne likes the crunching sound they make.

Alice in Wonderland unbirthday party and new dishes

James made the Fun da-middles cupcakes on Friday night and we invited Callie over for pizza and a sleepover. We had an unbirthday party and watched Alice in Wonderland. Jamie came down with a bad head cold and did not make it to rehearsal on Saturday. We slept for 4 hours that afternoon. She had a bad nosebleed on Monday and didn't go to school. We will have work to make up but hopefully she is now rested. Marilyn let me have these fun blue snowman plates. I couldn't wait until December. Any day is an excuse for a party. Lori's birthday was Saturday but we celebrated all weekend.

Ten Gingerbread Men - Book Fair

Annie's school is having a book fair this week. I saw this book and fell in love with it. And it was the first one on her teacher's wish list. So we got a copy for the classroom and for us. I read it to the class this morning. Books make me happy.

Snickerdoodle cupcakes

A friend of mine made these incredible cupcakes and then we did too!

http://gourmetmemoirs.com/2011/08/31/snickerdoodle-cupcakes/

Open House

Tonight we went to Open House at Anne's new daycare/preschool. Her new teacher Ms. Cathy was kind enough to let us take a photo. We met a few new friends. Anne showed us all the centers and choices. I loved checking out the book center and the dress up area which has animal masks. She will be attending full-time next week when mom goes to work.

Scrabble

Marilyn and Katelyn came over to hang out with us and swim on Sunday afternoon of Labor Day weekend. Jamie asked Marilyn to stay and play Scrabble with us. She was a good sport about it. My mom used to love Scrabble and we inherited her board game. Mom has been gone 4 years now. And my sister April has been gone for 10. Hard to believe!

Amy's Ice Cream

Our Common Ground group met a few Friday nights ago at Amy's Ice Cream and Callie spent the night with us. I am finding lots of pictures from our adventures.

Jet Ski adventure

Took me awhile to find these pictures. Lucy called us in August to have our annual jet ski adventure. We went to City Park this time. Anne is a brave girl and wanted to ride with her daddy. She also enjoyed looking for tiny seashells with her cousin Zach and Aunt Teresa. Jamie will only ride with Lucy. Jamie's legs and height have passed me now.

Letterboxing

Jamie went on a treasure hunt called letter boxing. Hope to do more hunts when it cools off.

End of summer beach birthday party

About 2 weeks ago the girls went to celebrate Amanda's birthday with a pool party and sleepover. They had a blast dressing up in beach grass skirts and leis. Also had fun with the beach balls.

Ringlets for a Day

When I took Jamie in for her back to school haircut, she asked Michelle if she could curl it. Michelle always likes fancy hairdos so 2 hours later Jamie had ringlets for a day. We went straight to church for the talent night and she flipped her hair all night to get attention.

1st dental appt

I had a lot of pictures on my camera phone to go through. Anne did a great job in the dentist's chair in May.

Moms Together

I was able to attend one Moms Together meeting today - to reconnect with my mom mentor. She gave each of us a new journal. One of the girls in our group sang Word of God Speak. They are doing a Priscilla Shirer bible study - Navigating a Life Interrupted. They had a lovely breakfast - several different loaves of bread and sausage cheese balls. The lake is beautiful and peaceful as always.

Baptism

The girl I watched for the last few weeks in August was baptized on Sunday. Even with all the crazy ups and downs of life - no air conditioning and broken down cars, God let me be a witness to this girl's enthusiasm for life, singing and Him.

Volente Beach

Volente Beach Last month we went to Volente Beach for a visit. It is a local waterpark in Austin. I got tickets for 1/2 price on the daily deal. I knew it would be smaller but I didn't think about the lake/beach being closed due to the drought. It was a little disappointing but glad iit was close to home so we could leave early. We relaxed in the waterfall for awhile. The girls rode the alligator. James and Jamie played water volleyball. I don't think we will go again.

Cadette Girl Scout

Friday night Jamie got 10 new patches to add to her vest. She will be doing a lot of community service this year. We went and picked up the Once Upon a Story badge for all her work with the writing club and talking to authors. And most important connecting with friends.

Square dancing luau

Anne got her hair cut short! She loves twirling and dancing.



It is Anne's turn to wear the square dancing outfit. We went to the annual luau and had fun dancing - squares and lines. And yes we love the food too.

5 years of blogging

My sister asked me to look up something from many years ago. I have been scrolling through my blog and realized it's been about 5 years since I started it. I haven't blogged much this summer even though we have done a few things worth posting. Maybe later this weekend I'll get caught up.