Very first day of preschool and a birthday!

Caraline turned 3 last Thursday.
which also happened to be her first ever day of preschool.
we were all so excited, (and nervous and at the same time a little sad).
tears came for me several times in the days before and of course the day of.
nervous because for the 3 year old class it stated they must be completely potty trained (and well we've got the #1 thing down but the #2 is still not happening).
and super excited because C would just light up when we talked about her starting school.
she was super ready for it! (however, in some of the pics you would think she was terrified:)

she woke up to her favorite...balloons!

 and special mickey mouse pancakes on the birthday plate.

 

 

 little sister was way more into posing for pics than C:)

 

 

 this is what i meant before about looking a little terrified, silly girl.

 

 

 they had to have a standard size backpack for school, it's almost as big as she is, but we love us some 'hello kitty'!

 

 

 super sweet, love those kids!

 

 

 mason's got her back at school this year:)

 

 

 daddy got to come with us for the first day.

 

 

since caraline's birthday was on the very first day of school we were on special snack duty that day!

i was welcome to come back at snack time and join in on the birthday celebration.

they had cookies, juice, sang happy birthday, and c got to pick a special surprise out of the classroom birthday cake.

 

she's not much on being the center of attention, as you can see, pretty sure she gets this from her momma:)  these are 2 of c's teachers for the year, miss katie and miss ellen!

it was a great first day, full of fun!  we are all so in love with this preschool and can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store!
(more posts to come on the big birthday!)

suprise day off

is what i got today.
not very many babies hanging out at the hospital so i got to stay home with my babies!
now that i am not worried about maternity leave time or vacation time, bring these trim days on.
gotta love a 2 day work week!

after squeezing in a doctor's appt this morning for myself (which can be hard to do when i am usually working the days that nana is free to watch the kids) we all got our 'artsy' pants on!
caraline got her paint on with some of her new art supplies from auntie mary.
ellie played with or should i say 'on' the aquadoodle (first time for that)!
and this mommy got a little time to dress up a plain old frame i've had for a while. (also took some time to organize the girls' craft bag, it was getting a little out of control with loose crayons, markers, etc.)

the house was clean.  the laundry was going.  dishes were done.  nothing to do but have time with my girls.  LOVE THESE DAYS!

sure there are a few important blog posts that i need to be working on (first day of preschool, birthday #3) but this is what i felt like posting today.....my heart is full:)

first dance recital...

was a huge success!
and super cute.
7 little 3 year olds in hula skirts....adorable!
it was just the summer recital so it was a 'for parents recital' the last 20 minutes of their class time.
then there was a cookie party to follow.
caraline did wonderful.
it was so fun to get to actually be in the room and watch her! (the parents usually watch from a small window behind the dancers)
we were the first ones to arrive to class this day.  c would just light up each time one of her 'friends' arrived!
i did make the mistake of being a cookie mom this time though.  since we had the cookies, that seemed to be all caraline was concerned about and she didn't want to go into class and leave the cookies.
first time she has ever cried going in, but it didn't last long.

the girls performed their little hula dance 3 times for the parents.
then they all sat down and had 2 big sugar cookies (right before dinner).
it was so much fun!
we don't get to go to dance for a month since the summer session is over.
caraline doesn't quite understand why we don't get to go next week.
can't wait to get back into it and get to have our family come see her at the big spring recital!

here are some pics from our little gals big night!

Destin 2012!

we just got back from a week vacation at the beach!
it was MUCH needed.
i have never appreciated a vacation so much before.
getting away from 'reality' for a week was needed by our whole family, even the girls!
for a week, i could forget about cleaning, running errands around nap time, fixing dinner, and the biggest being not worrying about work, mainly my work schedule (which right now is my biggest headache).

but that's enough about that.

we decided that we would try driving overnight with the girls so that they would sleep most of the way, well not so much.  the drive there was a disaster.
the drive home much better, we didn't wake them up early, we just let them get up on their own, packed up and headed out, stopped 3 times for each meal so that the girls could get out and play a little (plus potty breaks in between). 
it was a bit of a longer drive home but it was a much happier time for all.

the beach was fantastic.
best weather i've ever seen in the past 6 years of going (2 were missed due to having babes over the summer).
it wasn't too hot, nice breeze everyday, and the water/beach were so pretty and clear this year.
we would go out in the morning after breakfast.
during this time, ellie would usually take a little morning nap on my lap (or nana's) and i would read or just relax and listen to the ocean. (papa even got in on the napping:)

caraline was busy playing in the water with her dada or running around on the sand.
she loved the water, i was concerned that she wouldn't be a fan, but she surprised me!
ellie would play in the sand a little and in the water a little but she didn't love it as much as caraline.

after lunch the girls got put down for naps.
they took great afternoon naps everyday we were there but one.
mommy and daddy took advantage of nap time.
we headed out to the beach with a drink in hand (my favorite during vacay was a skinny pina colada)!

we laid in the sun, put our feet in the water, and i got to read a lot, tim even did a little reading himself.
after nap time we had a snack and then headed back out to play through the evening.
when we were done at the beach everyone headed in, showered, dressed for dinner and the kiddos played some more.  caraline and ellie loved vacationing with their cousins!

dinners are always amazing!
tim's dad and bro-in-law do some great grilling while we are there!
we did enjoy a couple of the fantastic seafood restaurants for lunch too.
first day our family was the first to arrive and we couldn't check in to our condo yet so we headed to the outlet mall to shop a little and then to The Backporch for lunch.
it is great! i had the fish and chips while we sat by the ocean and watched the parasailing!
i also had the best fish tacos i've ever eaten at Pompano Joe's!
i definitely recommend these 2 places if y'all are ever visiting Destin, FL.

it was a fantastic time and as much as i was ready to not be covered in sand 24/7 (like even in the bed).  i was not ready to get back to reality.  so glad that i took a full 2 weeks off so that i had time to settle back into 'life' before returning to work.

 we are so thankful for tim's parents taking the whole family on this vacay every year! can't wait to go back!

KC!

this post is super late.
probably bc the day after we got back i ended up in the ER with a super painful kidney stone for a week and then sick for a good week.
but better late than never!

the hubs and i took of to KC for a weekend with my very best friend jenn and her hubby.
it was a blast.
we ate, shopped, ate some more, went to the power and light district, rode a mechanical bull for the first time, and caught a royals game.
it was a great little adult only trip.
and we are already planning the next.  vegas it will be to celebrate the hubs #30 and the iott's 10 year!

here are a few pics of the quick but super fun trip!