Alexandra's First Day of School - Kindergarten

She is amazing! I was worried she would be sad and weepy but she was ready, set and GO! She woke-up with her usual huge smile and sunny attitude. Got dressed and had her backpack on within in minutes. On the first day of school we have decided to start the tradition of letting them have whatever they want for breakfast....she choose cinnamon rolls which was marginally better than the chocolate ice cream I thought she would pick. Here the girls are spreading the icing - moments before they 'toasted' the first day of school with their waters.

Dressed and ready to go!

Avery too - Ellie and big blankie included.

We headed out the door to walk to school but a storm blew in..so we rushed to the car with umbrellas in hand and drove over. Once there I had planned to take my camera in but it was so stormy and I didn't have a bag for it so I'll have to get some more photos later of her with her teacher.

She was all smiles though - I know this is blurry but this is how she looked moments before we cracked open our umbrellas and made a mad dash for the building. Sigh - I am so proud, so very proud....now I cannot wait for 11am!

the science experiment

Alexandra was teaching AVery how to mix colors to make new colors. She kept calling it a science experiment. It was so sweet to watch them work together....I think Alexandra will make a great teacher someday.

Love you both! Mommy

the DECK show

Now that the deck is finished, the girls used it as a platform for a princess performance. Beautiful evening with lots of twirling, leaping and laughter. Dang, my girls are charming, sweet and cute, cute, cute! Then they crashed out on the couch...

Happy Birthday Darling

Six years ago - man, how time flies. My 'baby' turned six in mid-August. She is beautiful, kind, funny, has the absolute best smile in the morning and the kindest heart. I love her so much. She starts school tomorrow (August 30th) and I am so sad to send her out into the world. Excited for her but sad that my baby is growing up and slowly, but surely, heading out into the big big world. Sigh. LOVE YOU ALWAYS.

First thing we do on a birthday morning is wake-up to presents!

She saw this cake at a local grocery store several weeks ago. It turned out beautifully and she loved it....hence the reason she is kissing it in the above photo.

We had a little party at the park with a few friends. It was a beautiful evening. So quiet and peaceful - words not often used to describe a child's birthday party. The party included dinner, playing at the park, gifts, a pinata and cake time. Everything went so well and our girl was SO HAPPY. Here she is greeting Grandma Georgene and Papa. Below Avery gets a hug too.

Present time!

A sweet party friend.

Whack - every child had two tries at the pinata. The very last attempt - by Mason - cracked open the pinata and the mad candy scramble began.

Happy happy day my darling girl. May all of your wishes come true!

Alexandra's 6 - Birthday Day Videos

Deck - Deck - Deck

All summer we have been working - or should I say Matt and Barton - have been working on the deck. The old deck was removed and a new redwood deck was put in along with some grass. It is SO beautiful and has really improved our backyard. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way and thanks to our beautiful girls who were so patient with us along the way.

Swim Lessons

The girls had swim lessons this past summer. They both ended up in the same class - it's a long story but basically there was lots of crying involved. This shows the difference between Alexandra and Avery. Alexandra loves the water, getting her face wet, etc...Avery, not so much. Proud of them both anyway...and love them both always.

Summer at the Zoo

We went to the zoo with our good friends and had a wonderful day. We spent close to six hours just strolling, checking out the animals, and having a fun day! Thanks to our good friends, amazing weather and amazing animals.

Avery watching her favorite, elephants!

The group at the elephant show.

All the kids giving a bird a dollar after the bird show....Mason...

....Alexandra....

....Avery....

...and Sophia.

Avery again with an ellie!

Alexandra on a dolphin.