First Day of School

School started today and 3rd and 1st grades are officially underway!  Parker and Eden were both excited for their first day especially after meeting their teachers last Thursday.  Parker has Mrs. Click and Eden will be in Mrs. Brightwell's class this year. 

There were no tears from either one as we dropped them off in their classrooms this morning.  They each sat right down and got to work.  I can't wait to hear about their day when I pick them up this afternoon!  I know they are both going to have a great year with their fantastic teachers!

Back to School Party at Granna's

While we were in New Orleans, the kids were having a great time with their cousins at Granna's Back to School party. 

She had planned lots of school themed activities and had set up stations all around the house for the kids to enjoy.  

Reading station in the bathtub

LEGO station

Painting station

Puzzles and games station

Blocks station

In addition to all of the stations, Granna had lots of other activities for the kids to enjoy throughout the weekend.

 

Twister

Swimming

BINGO (complete with prizes for the winners!)

Crafts- they each made their own "Countdown to the First Day" school bus

Back to School treasure hunt

Cookie painting

I think it's safe to say that the kids were having so much fun at their party that they didn't have time to miss Cory and I while we were gone!  I'm so thankful for the special times the kids have with my mom and their cousins.  I know this is a weekend they will never forget!

 

Cory & Ryan's Birthday Party

After we got back from New Orleans, we rushed home to get ready for Cory and Ryan's birthday dinner with our families.  Since their birthdays are only three days apart, it just makes sense to have a combined celebration.  

 

Ryan could not wait to open his presents but we made him wait until after we swam and ate dinner to open presents. 

He loved his new Legos!

Cory had a lot of helpers when it was time to open his presents!

After presents, we enjoyed Ryan's chocolate cake and Cory's peanut butter ice cream cake- yummy!

It was a great night celebrating two very special guys!  Happy Birthday Ryan and Cory!  We love you both very much!

Celebrating Cory's 40th in New Orleans

Last Friday, I surprised Cory with a weekend getaway in New Orleans to celebrate his 40 birthday.  I started planning this trip back in May and was able to successfully keep it a secret for almost three months!   When he got home from work, I had his suitcase packed and waiting for him with a little note telling him about the surprise.  He was shocked and for once I can honestly say he was speechless!

I did not tell him where we were going until we got to the airport and he was excited when I told him we were going to New Orleans so he could go to the World War II Museum.  Our plane didn't arrive until almost 8pm that night so we didn't have much time to explore but we did take a walk to Bourbon Street.  It was loud and crowded and completely not my scene but I can now say that I have been to Bourbon Street.  

We got up early on Saturday morning ready to start our busy day.  We knew that we only had one full day to explore the city and we had to pack as much as we possibly could into that day!  We started with breakfast at Café du Monde to try their famous beignets and they did not disappoint! 

From there we took a cab to the World War II museum.  Cory and his dad went to the museum over 10 years ago when it opened but they have added three new buildings since then and Cory was excited to see the new additions about the Pacific side of the war. 

He met and visited with a WWII veteran that was in all of the major European theaters of the war.

Museums have never been my favorite things so while Cory explored the museum, I played on my phone and got caught up on some current events!!

After Cory was finished at the museum, we took another taxi to Jackson Square in the French Quarter.  We walked around and enjoyed the New Orleans culture and then found a great restaurant called The Gumbo Shop where we sampled several local cuisines.  The gumbo, shrimp creole, jambalaya. and red beans and rice were all incredibly tasty!

We finished the day with some shopping, a little gambling at the casino and one last birthday treat- white chocolate biscuit pudding!

We had a very busy and fun day in New Orleans!  It was a great way to celebrate Cory and the start of new decade!  Happy 40th Cory!  I'm glad you enjoyed your surprise getaway!

Kids Bowl Free

I wanted to take the kids for one last outing before I start back to school tomorrow so last Friday we decided to go bowling together.  We signed up for the Kids Bowl Free program at the beginning of the summer but never got a chance to take advantage of the two free games of bowling for each kid.   

 

Lily started off using the dinosaur but quickly decided she was big enough to bowl without any assistance.

Parker was much better at bowling this time and even had several spares and strikes.  As usual, he was very competitive and got frustrated any time he didn't knock a lot of pins down.

Eden decided when we got there that she didn't want to bowl despite being very excited on the car ride to the bowling alley.  I let her cry it out and then she finally found her happy heart and joined us for the second game.  She was so excited when she bowled a strike in one of her last frames!

We had a fun time and will definitely be taking advantage of the Kids Bowl Free program again next summer!