Aggie time!

Lito wanted to take the children to Aggie March In this morning before the game. So Anastasia and I (and Stephen who chickened out at the last minute) dropped Daddy, Lito and the three girls off. It was their first time to see it, and they really enjoyed it!

Little Aggie girl

Lots of Aggie fans!

As for the football game, I was a little embarrassed by our team but very proud of our coach and how he handled their misbehavior! And at least we won the game!

Weekend visitors

Everyone is coming to meet baby Julian! We had Uncle Trevor and Tia Becky last night, and then Lito joined us all for breakfast this morning. Uncle Trevor's dog, Tucker, was a hit with the children (and so was Uncle Trevor, I just didn't get photos)!

Constructive playtime

I have found, in the last year, that I really have to have some constructive activities for the younger crowd so that mass chaos does not break loose when I sit down and try to do school with the older ones. It used to just work out so that whomever was not schooling was playing with the others, and they never really felt "ignored." But no longer. So, I was working on this a lot over the summer, and though I am by no means finished, I at least have some things ready! Yesterday I broke out these reusable sticker boards when Gloria was finished with her brief bit of school. They had a blast, and the older girls even anxiously finished their morning school so they could have a turn too. Anastasia is the most difficult to keep busy, of course, so I still have more work to do finding activities for her. But at least I have a few for "emergencies"!

Water time

The power went out yesterday morning several times, which completely wacked out our A/C. It got pretty hot in the afternoon, so until Austin could get home, we retreated to the backyard for water play. Lita brought the giant beach ball which was lots of fun!

Visit with baby Julian

We went to meet baby Julian last night. He is so cute and sweet. The children were in awe...and a little disappointed that we didn't let them hold him. But they will have plenty of chances when he is a little older!

Lita is there helping out and instigated a water balloon fight in the back yard. Uncle Matt was quite a trooper participating in that!

Water Table

Lita is here in town helping with our new little nephew, Julian. He was born to Uncle Matt and Tia Nana on Friday, and we are all dying to meet him! But in the meantime, Lita delivered this water table that we found on clearance when we were in Corpus Christi. It is already providing much fun. :)

Swim party!

Last night, Allia's orthodontist had a big swim party at Adamson's Lagoon, our favorite city pool, with free pizza and a drawing for door prizes. Although the party didn't start until 7:30pm (and the children are usually in bed by 8:30), we decided to brave it. It would usually cost our family $42 just to get in! I spent the whole time in the little kid pool with this girl. She loved the fact that she could stand in half of the pool and the froggy slide - she literally slid for 45 minutes straight! Everyone else spent most of the time on the big water slides in the other pool, so I missed photos of them, but we all had a great time!

First Time Forecaster

Our local news station has a contest for 3rd-8th graders to get a chance to appear live and do a weather forecast on the air. Allia entered when we were at the Children's Museum over spring break and was finally chosen this month. My sweet husband volunteered to bring her (at 6:15!) this morning, and we were able to watch here at home just as the other children were waking up. Here is the link to her TV debut...

http://www.kbtx.com/video?videoid=2661799

I think we have to pay money to get the video. :(

Manah time

The little ones got some much-desired Manah time since she stayed a few days after returning the big girls. It was especially helpful with us starting school! Manah sure knows the way to a girl's heart....goldfish, among other things. :) And this girl has not been easy to please lately. I think we are hitting the 2's a little early!

School Time!

We ventured into our new year of school today. I would have started Monday, but the three older girls spent some time at Pawpaw and Manah's house and returned yesterday. This meant that there was a lot more whining and moaning about school than usual since they have been spoiled for five days. We may have to plan that a little better next time. :) But nevertheless, here we go!

Miss shoes

Anastasia is obsessed with putting shoes on by herself. Of course, she usually chooses somebody else's shoes since they are easier to slip on. Here she is in Allia's shoes. Luckily, I remembered that we had some little crocs just her size. I dug them out of the closet, and now when I ask everyone to get shoes on, she is the first to obey!

Sweet sisters

These girls have been best buddies lately. They were so cute sitting out in the long grass, picking it together.

K family visit

We had our usual summer visit from the K family...what a treat! We had lots of fun playing, swimming, dancing, chatting, and barbecuing. We were sad to see them go this morning!

Ann and Mariana playing at the pool

Time for some dancing

Chef Max and his assistants working hard

The two "Anns" playing

 Loving baby Emily

 Carolyn loved the peg saints/people!

 Two readers

Silly Mr. Max on the tree swing!

Sprinkler fun

The big people

The small people

Stephen on prayer...

Stephen has really been wanting to pitch in with chores, etc. lately. One of his favorites is to feed the cat. This morning, he was the first one up, and the cat was waiting eagerly to be fed. After he fed the cat, he told me, "The cat is eating, Mommy, but it is ok. He doesn't have to pray first because he is just a cat." So cute. :)

A Montessori Moment

I have been working on bringing more Montessori-style learning tools into our schoolroom. We have limited space, so I am improvising a lot (she is working on the piano bench here). I made this Montessori-inspired set for Anastasia and was greatly rewarded. She loves it and will spend 10+ minutes (that is a lot for her!) playing with it. She is so focused, and it is so sweet to watch her little mind learn and grow!