I may have lost some readers after the long break I have taken from blogging. So to those of you who are still reading, sorry. We ARE in our "new" house now, however we still have some more work and minor packing left to do back in San Antonio.

Updates on the kids:

Ashlyn- she is enjoying Preschool now. Before the summer was over, she learned how to swim without floaties and was extremely proud of herself. Currently, she is practicing how to swing all by herself and she is learning to jump rope also. These activities consume most of her free time. I don't think I ever wrote about how we kept those 2 kittens that were found in my in-laws attic... well these kittens are the loves of her life! She carries them around as if they were babies and Roxy and Tigger are very tolerant of her. It amazes me at how very responsible she is becoming.

Benjamin- he and I have really been enjoying our one on one time while Ashlyn is at school. He is such a sweetheart. He is talking more and more, however he mostly says his words when prompted by big sister. My favorite thing he says is "I DID IT!" As we have continued to work on the house, Benjamin has wanted to be involved and is always willing to help. He can find the appropriate toy tool for whatever job he is watching someone else work on. He is so observant and very smart! Ben still has a shy side and tends to be quiet, but when he is in a comfortable environment, this boy is turning into one NOISY kid. He is just so much fun to be around.

And now for the pictures:

Roxy and Tigger with Ashlyn

Ben and his trusty drill

I forgot to mention that Paul and Ashlyn went to the Father-Daughter banquet put on by the church at the same place where we had our rehearsal dinner way back when. They had so much fun on their "date," there was a horse-drawn carriage, dinner, and dancing! Ashlyn's favorite was the chicken dance. Could not have been sweeter!

We are so glad to be watching college football again- Hook 'em!

1st day of Preschool

As we are still in the midst of relocation, Ashlyn started preschool! Anyway- she has been so excited about school for a long time. However, Tuesday morning she kept telling Paul that she didn't want to go to school today. When we got there she kept asking if I could just stay with her for just a minute. She was not acting like herself... clinging to me, crying. I finally had to just give her a kiss, tell her that I loved her and that I would be back. I left her sobbing in the classroom. If you know this girl, this is SO very unlike her! Ashlyn has never had any sort of separation anxiety, in fact I have more trouble getting her to leave and come with me than I ever have dropping her off.

This is in the parking lot. She did not want me to take her picture. She does look pretty sad.

She warmed up a little when we got closer to the doors and she saw everyone else's Mom taking their preschooler's pictures too:She did stop crying fairly soon after I left and reports that she had such a fun time. Her teacher also said she did really well for the whole day after that first minute or two. Ashlyn said she made lots of friends and even held hands with some of them on the playground. So sweet!

I think her odd behavior has to do with the state of chaos that our lives are in at the moment. Long ago my goal was to already been living in the house by now (actually I was aiming for mid August- ha!) We are still not there yet- hopefully after this weekend we will really be living in that house!

Ears pierced and our trip to Houston

Since about May 15th (see post) I have been trying to talk Ashlyn into getting her ears pierced and finally Tuesday a week ago, she agreed. I was hoping we could have 2 employees simultaneously pierce both ears, but Ashlyn assured me that she could handle having one done at a time. I explained step by step what she could expect- this approach of full disclosure works well with her, and she did great! No tears, she just wanted to sit in my lap and she was very quiet. Her account of the experience was that she was told it would feel like a little pinch, but it felt like a big pinch.

One of Paul's younger sisters and her family recently moved to League City near Galveston. Last weekend was our niece Hannah's birthday party and was a perfect opportunity to go see their new house and make a trip to the beach. We also visited the Boardwalk which the kids loved. As for our day at the beach- even though it wasn't sunny we did miss most of the rain and had so much fun!!

picture post

I have LOTS of pictures from July that I haven't shared yet.

I am always taking pictures of the kids in their p.j.s- I think they look so cuddly in them.

mmmm blueberry pancakes! Gotta love IHOP.

Popsicles are now his favorite food, we have them nearly every night when we're home!

Some from the 4th of July...

Cousin Ethan (who I think Benjamin resembles) playing in the pouring rain... afterwards it would be bright and sunny again (happened twice)

the girl who did not want her picture taken

Ben reminds me a lot of Paul here-

pictures from a random hot SeaWorld day...

And then some from later that same day...

Ashlyn has taken it upon herself to help Paul with yardwork for the last several weeks. She is dedicated- she stays out there and helps him the ENTIRE time!

from one of our Austin visits... Ashlyn likes to tell people "sometimes we live in a hotel."

They both think it is hysterical to hide in the closet.

In the NEW carseat! He puts his sunglasses on himself...

...and then gets very upset after he throws them down

I still just love that Ashlyn can buckle herself into her carseat!!

Separate occassion- Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.

why do kids want to be outdoors ALL day? even when it is over 100 degrees out!?

Aunt Kari found a kitten in Grandma's attic

Ashlyn was in heaven... until we had to go home.

But...

when Kari found two more, we had to go back over to Grandma's again. Ashlyn named the light gray one Skittles, Payton named the striped one Nemo, and Ethan named the orange one Garfield.

If anyone want a cute little kitten, let us know!

My vacation at The Phoenician

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I was here at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, AZ with Paul.

He was there for business and I was there for a vacation. The kids stayed in San Antonio with the in-laws so I got to have a lot of time all to myself.

Monday night we gad a leisurely swim after having a fancy dinner.

Tuesday I slept in late. Fortunately my internal clock was still on TX time- Arizona is 2 hours behind so I woke up with the clock reading 7:30am.

I had a quick breakfast with Paul before he headed out to work, afterwards I hit the gym

The fitness center:

It was awesome! I forgot how much fun it was to workout without any time constraints. In the early afternoon I headed to the spa and got the BEST massage I have ever had! If I ever make it back there, I will be sure to have another massage and ask specifically for Dawn.

The Spa:

the rest of the afternoon was spent at the pool. I thought I might be able to nap, but it was too hot even in the shade!

One of the many pools:

This is what we could see as we left our "Casita."

Wednesday was a bittersweet day because we had to leave, but we were ready to see the kids again. We had our breakfast at the 19th hole of the golf course- lovely. We also managed to make it to the gym and the pool before we had to checkout.

The hotel was just GORGEOUS and I hope to make it back there someday! I feel like new person after all that R&R.

Patriotic?

We had a fun 4th of July, we packed a lot of fun into one day. Then this evening at bathtime we were singing USA songs, and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" was the only America-themed song that Ashlyn knew well enough to sing along. I know that is sad- we will work on it. Anyway, she has misunderstood a word and it was so funny to me - I like it enough that I may not correct her:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jryGajzTYLc