Tuesday, August 25, 2015

New Smile

It wasn't enough for this girl to start school yesterday, Marin had to prove that she really is turning into a big girl by losing her very first tooth last evening, too.  She was beyond excited to have a visit from the Tooth Fairy.  The next day, she came home with a special book to read and a journal to complete...so fun.
We sure do love this new smile.

Monday, August 24, 2015

And So It Begins...

One second grader and two kinders.  All three kids officially primary students.  What's a mama to do? Apparently, sit in her car in the parking lot after bravely delivering them to their new classrooms and boo hoo like a baby...and then rush back to pick them up at 2:50 and celebrate an amazing first day!
On Sunday night, we read the Sweet Dreams poem to Marin and Ellery from Mrs. Hoang.  They sprinkled magic confetti underneath their pillows and said prayers for an extra special first day of kindergarten. 
After bedtime, Mama and Daddy were getting ready for a celebratory send-off  in the morning!
This year's back to school goodie for the teachers...SOAP!
Second grade and kinder were hits!  All three kids came home wearing huge smiles.
 And a sweet end to the day with a Back to School cake after dinner.

Here We Come!!!

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Kid Stats

We had three well-child visits and three dental check-ups this week.  All went well.  No cavities or concerns.  Here are the kids' vitals:

Ellery
Weight:  38 pounds (33rd percentile)
Height:  42 inches (33rd percentile)
Marin
Weight:  44 pounds (70th percentile)
Height:  43 inches (47th percentile)
Liam
Weight:  65 pounds (89th percentile)
Height:  50 inches (74th percentile)

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Jon's Phone Pics: NYC


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Banging Around South Africa

who would have thought that one of the most incredible moments of my life would have been watching my son get excited about a lion eating water buffalo poo, but i'll claim it. tracking a lion in the wild for nearly an hour is one of the many amazing gifts south africa gave us. it gave us 3 days in kruger national park, a herd of 40+ elephants strolling past a pack of 10 lions for water in a nearly dry river basin, a stand off with a rhino on the road(rhino won...rhino always wins), wild dogs, kudu, a leopard, numb hands on a near freezing july morning, endless chicken mayo, that lion getting weird in the buffalo mess, and the dik dik. SA gave us the beautifully quiet coastal town of hermanus, the waves and wind at the cape of good hope(we thought jeff might have blown away), penguins, a death-defying cliff drive into cape town, an incredible italian meal in a south african dutch community, way too much fanta grape, and a surprising amount of rest and peaceful flights. all us bunch of americans trying not to created an international incident (we did not shoot anything) could give it in return is our love and respect. thank you, SA.