1st Day of School

Well today was Brooklynn's 1st day at her new school. I was so excited for her to finally be back in a social situation with lots of other kids to play with and learn from. I have enjoyed being home with her during the summer and going on our road trip together, but it was time for this to happen again - for both of us. I was a little worried though how this morning would go b/c she is at the age where she is very clingy to me in a new environment and gets upset when I have to leave without her. She did surprisingly well - of course the teacher distracted her just long enough so I could make my escape before she could see me dart out the door. I knew she would be ok - its just the initial few minutes that are rough for her.

It was strange coming home to an empty house - it was very quiet - I think the dogs enjoyed it too - they could actually sleep in peace on the couch without fear of Brookie coming to terrorize them....lol.

The day flew by for me b/c I finally got around to tackling our mounting laundry piles - its never ending. Anyway....when I went to pick her up, I needed to stop by Walmart for a few things that we needed. I was in and out in 10 mins flat - what a concept. It was so peaceful and quiet in there and I could just run in and get what I needed and not have to worry about bringing snacks for Brookie to eat while I walked around. Wow - I think I am going to have to do my grocery shopping during the week - you just can't get any better. The shelves were full, the aisles were empty......very un-walmart like. That was like the cherry on top for me for deciding to stop working full time...lol! I can enjoy Walmart in peace now.

So anyway...when I got to Brooklynn's school, it was still their nap time but as I walk in the door - guess who is just sitting up on her mat looking around?? Yep - thats my girl......no naptime for her. Old habits die hard I guess. She was the same way at her old daycare. It was a miracle if she slept for an hour.....so needless to say - it wasn't a surprise for me. Her teachers said she did just lay there the entire time and was quiet - so at least she wasn't disturbing the rest of the kids who were actually SLEEPING. Maybe one day she will get the hang of it - she's just too worried about missing something if she closes her eyes. Oh well - as long as she continues her awesome sleeping habits at home - I'm okay with that. They said she did really well and they loved all her giggles....so day 1 was a success - lets hope it continues.

Here are a couple of pics I snapped before we left for school this morning...such a big girl!!!

We're Back....

We drove over 3450 miles total and lived to tell about it! Actually the trip back home went really well too. It was a long drive and I am glad its behind us but we did have a blast. The weather was perfect on the way home - sunny and blue skies the entire way - definitely makes for a much nicer drive than driving through blinding rain and severe thunderstorms in the middle of nowhere like we had on the way up.

It was such a great vacation - we were sad to leave everyone behind again. The weather couldn't have been better if we asked for it - the highs never went above 75 the entire time we were there and the week that Andy & Andrew were there it was 75 and sunny, blue skies every day. Absolutely perfect. Now we are back in hibernation mode in Houston....lol. Heat index today is supposed to be 108 degrees - oh how I didn't miss this weather!

The last few weeks of the trip were jam packed full of things going on. Got to visit with old friends (Dione, Farah & Daniel) who I haven't seen in about 17 years - where did the time go?? It was a blast getting in touch with them again after all this time and catching up and meeting their own families now - it was really neat. Gotta love Facebook....

The 3 girls (me, Dione & Farah)...I'm not going

to get into any of our nicknames from back then....lol

I can't believe we are all grown ups now....

when did that happen??

(l-r: Daniel with son Wesley, me with Brooklynn,

Dione and Farah with Anissa & Khalil)

The last week of our trip we planned so much for us to do - including being tourists in Toronto - it was tons of fun. Everyday we had something planned so it was non-stop. Andy & Andrew flew in on Friday night.

Saturday we went to the zoo for a bit so Andrew could stop and visit with the stingrays...he really enjoyed that. Then since it was finally warmer that day, the kids got to play in the splash park there and they had a BLAST. I got totally drenched (note to self - next time wear your bathing suit) trying to keep up with Brooklynn. That girl is FEARLESS. She was going on all the big waterslides by herself. Andrew would help her at the top and I would be at the bottom ready to catch her - she loved it. Saturday evening we got together with all my close friends for one last get together before we left. We had a bbq at one of their houses and had a blast - it was nice to have everyone together like that.

Sunday we went up to my oldest brother, Ray's house for a bbq. It was another fun day - the kids ran wild outside all day and wore themselves out. They had so much fun playing all together - the go-cart riding was the most fun for them - they would fly down the hill in the back yard so fast and would run back up and do it all over again. Even Brooklynn got in on the action with her Daddy....so cute! The faces in these pics pretty much sum up how much they loved this new ride....

Nathaniel's turn...


Brookie's turn with Daddy...

Andrew's turn...

I'll leave the tourist pics for next post - we did so many things - tons of pics to come.