Kindergarten

Today is O's first official day of 'big' school.  He's in full day kinder (730-230) with Mrs Berry at an amazing school right in our neighborhood Cibolo Green.  We had our meet the teacher day on saturday and he's all set to start.  He was up on time all by himself, 630am, and was excited to leave for school.  He wanted to ride the bus really bad but we convinced him to let Kev drive him the first few days.  Sending my big guy off to such a big place is tough but I know he'll be in great hands and have such a great time, it helps that it didn't bother him a bit.  Have a great day bud!

Bassmasters

O had been fishing with my dad a bunch while he was home, I'd get pictures and videos every few days of how much he'd caught.  He was so proud of his fishing ability he wanted to show us how much he could catch when we got there.  Trucking all four kids to a fishing pond in the middle of a golf course was next up on our agenda...

the shiners were just as big a draw as the actual fishing

first cast

 caught one

" see mom I'm a bassmaster "

Fin's turn to give it a shot, here is her catch in action

she caught one too

Norah would help with the bait, she ended up killing most of them

Keira's catch, yes we fish in pretty tulle lined dresses

Fin was the only one brave enough to hold and release it

Norah even got in on the action, see?

Daddy and Popi's prized catch.  They were actually going after a snapping turtle but couldn't reel it in far enough before it would break the line.  Fishing for fish ultimately turned into fishing for turtles.

When I was leaving with Keira (who ended up falling into the muddy gross water) and Norah a guy at the driving range says "wow it sounds like you guys were having a great time, oh and I guess she went for a swim".  We were so loud and rowdy I'm sure everyone at the golf course could hear us, the kids had a blast and it's a good thing we don't live close by.

Our day in the City

This trip home we tried to spend less time driving around like crazy people and more time doing fun things with the kids.  We left Norah at home with my sister and took the 3 big kids into the city for the day.  We hit up the Childrens museum, the Barking Crab for some lunch and then took a ride on the T (Owen insisted on it).  The Boston Childrens museum is such a great place, it was a bit crowded but the kids had a great time exploring all the stuff.  After taking a break for lunch O noticed a sign for the T, he had no interest in going back to the museum after that.  After we had to have help figuring out how to buy our tickets (boy how times have changed) we jumped on and got to ride both the silver line and the red line.  I think everyone had a great time and they've since asked when we're going into the city again...

checking out the tea party boat

real construction equipment, O was in heaven

exploring peep's water exhibit

using muscle power to pull herself up

waiting for our lunch, seafood doesn't get any fresher

riding the T, they would have stayed on it all day if we'd let them

The beach

One of the first things we did once we were back in MA was head to the beach.  It was super humid when we first got there and as you can see in these photos a cold front came through while we were there.  It was Norah's first time at the beach and she loved the sand and even tolerated the cold water a bit.  Of course she had to chase the sea gulls, too bad she couldn't catch them.

checking out the water

chasing the sea gulls

finally decided to test the water, cold!

Jet Blue here we come

We packed up and headed to MA for a nice 10 day break from the TX heat.  Both Kev and I were prepared for the long 4hr flight with Norah, especially since we were traveling from 6-11pm.  It went better than expected, she didn't sleep for even a second but kept relatively quiet although constantly moving.  Good thing we only travel once a year!

watching the planes come in and out

perfect place for some gymnastics

Norah on the plane, this face pretty much sums up the flight