Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Panda Express

The Giants are coming!
The Giants are coming!

It's the end of August and that can only mean one thing,
the baseball pennant race is in full swing.
My favorite team, the San Francisco Giants are definitely in the race.
Lucky for them, they have a three game series in Houston where they are sure to pad their lead.
Lucky for us, we would be there to cheer them on for two of those three games.

Of course we couldn't see the Giants play so close to home without having one key baseball buff with us.
Papa just had to be there with us...
We wanted to make sure the girls stood out so to hopefully get the attention of the players.
There was one player in particular that we were hoping to get noticed by,
Pablo Sandoval (a.k.a The Panda)...
What we won't go through to get noticed, huh.
The girls donned these winter panda hats in August in Houston.
Good thing this ball park is air-conditioned.

Although the "Panda" himself didn't notice my two girls, he was just about the only one.
After two nights at the ball park, the girls each received two baseballs a piece.
That is one each night.
They were also the recipients of autographs.
Pretty awesome if you know just how hard it is to get one of these, let alone all of them.

The games as always were a ton of fun to watch.
My Giants won all three games and extended their division lead.
But even better than all of that is that I think I finally got my husband to switch to the good side...
Go Giants!

Monday, August 27, 2012

First Day of First Grade

My girls are getting so big, so fast.
Lily starts first grade today.
I still find myself thinking that she is in Kindergarten, but I have to accept facts, first grade it is...
I am thinking that we lucked out with Lily's teacher this year (and crossing my fingers that this statement is true).
She seems equal parts kind and tough.
The perfect type of teacher for Lily...

Just like with Sophia, I interviewed Lily.
I didn't want to take the chance of forgetting anything that would help us mark this day.

I am  47 inches tall and weigh  50 pounds.
My school: Joe Hubenak Elementary School 
Teacher's Name: Ms. Dominique Dugas
My best friend's name is: Meaghan, Erin and Emily (neighborhood girls)
My favorite thing to play is: Dress Up
My favorite color: All of Them
My favorite book: Anything Junie B. Jones
My favorite TV show: Jessie
My Favorite Holiday: Halloween
My favorite food: Tuna Fish
My least favorite food: Cheese
My favorite snack: Peanut Butter Ritz Bits
My favorite cereal: Cheerios
My favorite game: UNO
When I grow up, I want to be: a Waitress
Something I really like: Soccer
Something I really don't like: Being Treated Bad
My favorite thing about myself: "I'm super nice!"
My favorite summer memory: playing with Meaghan
Something I want to do this year: Play Soccer
Three words that describe me: Talkative, Funny, Friendly
This is what I look like on the first day of school...

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Pk Day 2

I can't deny it...
This is one cute kid!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

PK 4: Day 1

Excited does not even begin to describe Sophia this morning.
School starts today and boy is she ready.
She put on her fancy new shoes...
She got all decked out in her school uniform...
I thought Sophia might be a little upset that she had to start school and Lily still was on summer break...
But like I said, this big girl was ready for school...
Before she left for school, I did an interview to help us remember this day:

I am 42 inches tall and weigh 40 pounds.
My school: Westlake Lutheran Preparatory Academy
Teacher's Name: Mrs. Rebeca Gibson
My best friend's name is: Caroline Koch
My favorite thing to play is: Bears
My favorite color: Purple
My favorite book: Bunion Burt
My favorite TV show: Dora
My Favorite Holiday: Halloween
My favorite food: Steak
My least favorite food: Green beans
My favorite snack: Animal Crackers
My favorite cereal: Cheerios
My favorite game: Bingo
When I grow up, I want to be: a Ballerina
Something I really like: My mommy
Something I really don't like: Being upset and crying
My favorite thing about myself: Being a good sister
My favorite summer memory: Coloring
Something I want to do this year: Homework
Three words that describe me: Cute, Happy and Smart
This is what I look like on the first day of school...

Monday, August 13, 2012

Meet the Teacher

Tonight was Sophia's night to meet her new teacher.
We bagged up all of her school supplies and drove the mile and a half down the road.
I am not sure who was looking forward to this evening more, me or Sophia.
Her teacher had sent out a scavenger hunt ahead of time to help the kiddos get acquainted with their new surroundings.
I thought this was a wonderful idea and really loved the fact that her teacher was organized enough to send it to us before tonight.
There is nothing I love more than an organized person, especially an organized person who will be my daughter's teacher.

Nights like tonight tend to be on the hectic side.
There are usually so many new kids and parents to meet that it can be overwhelming for both the kids and teacher.
But if tonight was any indication of how Mrs. Gibson was as a teacher, I would say that Sophia is in very capable hands.
Mrs. Gibson was very cool, calm and collected.
It took no time for Sophia to warm up to her...
I get the feeling this is going to be a great year!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Family Day

Family Day is a day we always look forward to.
It's nice when the railroad acknowledges all of it's hard working employees and invite us all to get together.
My only complaint:
Who the heck plans a family day outside
in Texas
in August?

Given the circumstances, we still wanted to make the most of it.
There was no way we were missing a day on the ranch...
This year is different from those in the past.
This time around, Joe was one step away from being the big boss and everyone we met worked for him.
Kind of crazy being that he is only 35.
But also pretty dang awesome!

We stood in line to get our PTRA Family Day shirts...
Ate some Texas BBQ of brisket, sausage and beans.
This was really the girl's first taste of Texas BBQ.
I wasn't surprised that my meat-eating mamas loved their "steak" (aka brisket).

There was so much for the kiddos to do.
Unfortunately most everything to be done was in the blaring sun...
But like with most outdoor venues in Houston, we knew we would have to come back in October or November to truly enjoy it.
The pool seemed like the perfect place to finish off a fun family day.
Then we saddled up and headed back to our ranch, where the 76 degrees was much more pleasant than the 100 degrees.

Thanks pardners!
We had a swell time.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

I Wear My Sunglasses

Not wanting anyone to notice her...
Lily tried her best to go incognito.
All while staying in style.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Who You Messin' With?

You better be careful of who you mess with...