Ashlyn's Baptism!

Today was a big day for Ashlyn. She was baptized by our new preacher! She was excited, and we were very proud of her on her decision!

First Day of School!!!!!

Wow....where did the summer go? Actually, we had one of the best summers ever as a family of four! I think it went so fast because we stayed so busy. Between Disneyworld and San Antonio, Golf and Tennis camps, VBS and other church activities.....there were very few dull moments for us! Also, going back to teaching meant working in my classroom off and on through out the summer.

Well, today was the big day.............I have to admit I cried a little last night thinking about Hayden starting his kindergarten adventure. We have had lots of special times together and today was the beginning of a new school adventure. Thankfully, I had to go to my own school after dropping him off, so I was distracted right away! He seems to have done well and has told me a lot of information about his day! He says he isn't going back tomorrow......I guess he doesn't realize he doesn't get a choice!

Ash seems to have had a great day as well! She enjoyed her teacher and says the day went by quickly. Third grade is a big jump....she has a binder with dividers and even switches classes for part of the day!

Here are a few pictures from the morning! Don't they look so grown-up....what's a mom to do?

Last Golf Tournament of the Summer!

Ashlyn participated in the last golf tournament of the summer on Monday. I was able to go as her "caddy" again. I don't help much except for giving out a few tips and lots of encouragement. I love watching her play......she does quite well for only taking lessons since January. She came in 2nd place this time..............I was very proud of her. As my memere would say about Ashlyn trying something new, "She has another feather in her cap!"

Here she is with another girl named Ashlyn.....she is super sweet and a very good golfer. The girls have fun playing together!

Oh and you can partially see Ash's new haircut. Her bangs had grown out past her chin, and so we had the rest of her hair cut short to match.

One Word

My friend, Pam, put this in her blog, so I am putting it in mine to see who else will answer and play along. It's easy because it's just one word answers so it doesn't require a lot of time or thought.

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Significant other? Strong
3. Your hair? Highlighted
4. Your mother? Precious
5. Your father? Sentimental
6. Your favorite thing? Starbucks
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your favorite drink? Mocha Frappachino
9. Your dream/goal? Mom
10. Room you're in? Playroom
11. Your hobby? Family
12. Your fear? Illness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ?Happy?
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. What you're not? Relaxed
16. Muffins? Blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? Vacation
18. Where you grew up? San Antonio
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your pets? Dog
21. Your computer? Old
22. Your life? Wonderful
23. Your mood? Happy
24. Missing someone? Grandparents
25. Your car? Toyota
26. Something you're not wearing? Bracelet
27. Favorite store? Loft
28. Your summer? Perfect
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. Last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Often

Happy 5th Birthday Hayden!

Here is Hayden with his cookie cake. I usually enjoy making cakes for the kids; however, this is truly his favorite cake and it is just too easy and yummy!
The theme was Star Wars....so here is Hayden holding the Darth Vader decoration.
The party was at an indoor inflatable place called Jumping Party
Hayden and his friends!
Can't believe my little guy is already 5! He is such a joy and such a handful at the same time!!

Tennis Camp!

Ashlyn is attending tennis camp this week at Ridgewood. She attended this same camp after kindergarten, but last year we couldn't work it out. So far the week has been great. They play tennis during the first part of camp and then eat lunch by the pool and swim.

Two fun teachers from her school teach at the camp as well as one of our babysitters. The girl in the third pic is our babysitter.....she is real sweet and Ash has been glad to be with her. The fourth pic is with Ashlyn and her good friend, Callan......they have been good buddies since kindergarten. We also go to church with his family!

Some how we picked a good week......the temps have been in the lower 90's and more overcast and this camp only has 25 kids instead of the usual 50-60!

It all reminds me of tennis camp when I was kid......loved going with Andrea and my cousins! Oh to be able to go to tennis camp again....I probably didn't even appreciate way back when!

Ashlyn's First Golf Tournament!

Today Ashlyn played in her first golf tournament. All summer long, kids can play in golf tournaments at different courses around Waco. This was the first one we were able to make and Ashlyn had a ball!
Not very many girls participate, so she was in a group of four for her age group. She ended up in 3rd place and even got a trophy. I was her "caddy"....kind of scary but we managed!
I hope to post pictures soon!

Oops...I lied! I have one more story about Hayden the Hero!

I can't believe I have forgotten to tell one of my favorite stories from our vacation.
I took Ashlyn to a medical clinic when her ear was bothering her on Monday afternoon. While we were away, Chris took Hayden to the beach area of our hotel (his favorite place). Hayden built sand castles and waded in the water. When the boys headed back to the room, Hayden told Chris, "Look what I found in the water". It was a diamond engagement ring! Chris said he could hardly believe it, and they took the ring to the front desk. The person working said that he knew who to call right away. Supposedly a young girl had been crying all day because she lost her engagement ring on the beach! Our little treasure hunter found it and probably made that girl's day! Talk about finding a needle in a haystack!!

Some of my favorites!

Here are the last set of pictures from our trip I will put on my blog. I took over 200.....not as many as I thought I would take, but I slowed down as the trip went on because I was tired and so was everyone else.
These pictures are some of my favorites. I love the kids with the characters....especially since I know the next time we go back they might not want anything to do with them.
We are eating at a place called Chef Mickey's...it is a very kid-friendly restaurant inside the Contempory Resort. The food was not my favorite, but still good......you definitely pay for the atmosphere here. It's so hard to get pics/autographs with the characters at the parks because the lines can get so long, so character meals are the perfect way to get pics!!!
The Contempory Resort also holds a special place in my heart because it is the resort we stayed at the first 2 times I came to Disney as a kid. It's not the place I would want to stay now....there are so many other great places here, but as a kid we thought it was so neat to have the monorail run through the hotel!

The pictures just keep coming!!!

Each "longhouse" at the Polynesian has a different name....we stayed in Aotearoa. I still don't know how to pronounce it! Ha!
Ash and Chris at Hollywood Studios!
Just finished a yummy meal at The Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot!
Can't go to Disney without the family pic in front of the castle! Wish we would have thought to take our sunglasses off....oh well, maybe next time!!

Hope I am not boring you!

Boat ride to Ft. Wilderness for the Hoop de doo Review dinner show!
The kids at Epcot....Hayden becoming less cooperative for the camera and Ash with her eyes closed.

Breakfast with the Princesses!

When I was younger and went to Disneyworld, I thought it was so disappointing to only be able to see Cinderella's Castle from the outside. So this year, I think I was as excited as Ashlyn (if not more) to eat breakfast inside the castle with the princesses. We made it a girls only meal! The castle was lovely, the food pretty good, and the princesses were very friendly!

More Pictures!

Here is one view out of our hotel room......we loved watching the monorail zip by through out the day!
Hayden playing in the sand.......the rain on it's way in the background!
Ash on the beach, too!
View from the beach looking back at our resort.....the volcano in the background had a cool waterslide in it!
Another view from our room....I was so impressed with the beauty of all the landscaping!

Animal Kingdom!

Ok...I added this picture and I can't seem to move it. Ash and Hayden with the Everest rollercoaster in the background. We never got to ride it because we thought we would come back to Animal Kingdom but we never did!

Our first trip to a park was Animal Kingdom. It was neat place, but I have to admit it was not my favorite! It seemed more crowded, but we did enjoy a few things. We took the Safari trip and The Lion King performance was incredible! Here is Hayden with my dad on his scooter. The scooter was great for my dad because he was able to stay with us the whole time...plus Hayden got to ride as well which kept him rested! Also, we learned quickly that having my dad on a scooter allowed us to get on many rides without the long waits. My dad was one continuous fast pass for us. We called him V.I.P.!!!

Ash and Hay in the stroller!
The tree of life....very impressive in person!
Ash and Pocahantes (not sure of spelling!)