Lucy and Emma's First Day

Today was Lucy and Emma's first day of school at St. Thomas More Preschool--we are beyond excited to see how much they will grow this year!

Since Lucy is beginning Pre K 3, she joins in on the first day of school interview tradition...

How old are you? 3 1/2

What are your favorite foods? peanut butter sandwich

What is your favorite TV show? Mickey and the Roadster Racers

What do you want to be when you grow up? A "Super Charge" which saves the ocean (???)

Who is your best friend? Madeline & Jocelyn

What is your favorite movie? Peter Pan

What is your favorite color? Blue

What is your favorite toy? A violin (???) Might be talking about our guitar...

What is your favorite song? VBS

What is your favorite animal? Elephant

What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play at the playground

What is your favorite place to go? To the Aquarium

What is your favorite thing about school? Playing on the playground

What is your favorite donut? Chocolate

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate

If you could go one place, where would that be? To the park

Summer 2018

Despite my best intentions to have a low-key, unscheduled summer, we ended up being quite active. Here are a few of the highlights...

Our annual Cerny family trip to Schlitterbahn was as fun as ever. Emma and Lucy did a pretty darn good job of keeping up with their older siblings and cousins (with a little help from their floaties). So blessed to have the opportunity to make amazing memories with family each summer!

Cate rocked her Dance Recital jazz routine to "Celebration"

The kids and I set out on a Dallas Adventure to attend Vacation Bible School at St. Patrick. This was Lucy's first year to participate with a crew, and she seemed to have mixed feelings about it. She did however enjoy doing what the big kids were doing! We spent the week hanging with friends, having sleepovers, and swimming at the KayCee pool (after Billy arrived later in the week). Our last morning in town turned out to be a little crazy due to another car crossing Greenville Avenue traffic right in front of us, leaving no time to stop. Thankfully the kids and I were all okay. Will would argue that he was not since he got popped pretty good with the side airbag. Lucy was shaken up for quite a while after the accident and became my official backseat driver (i.e., "See that car Mom? Don't hit it, okay?).

Texas summer heat found us at the Austin Aquarium quite a few times over the summer...

Billy and I got away for four glorious nights in Grand Cayman to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. The island was the epitome of paradise. We mixed it up between swimming with the rays at Stingray City, going down in a submarine, snorkeling, and just relaxing on the beach.

While we were gone, the kiddos got to have their own fun in El Campo. Between grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, they were well-cared for and entertained!

Late in the summer, we headed up to Oklahoma. We were so excited to get all of the cousins together! While we were there, Emmy Lou turned 2, which warranted a trip to the Kiddie Park in Bartlesville. Man oh man, Emma is quite the thrill seeker. We already knew this, but seeing her in action was quite the sight.

This ride, for example, was way too slow for her. Halfway through she was trying to climb out!

Sarah arranged for her dance teacher to hold a private ballet class for the girls. Cate and Lucy absolutely LOVED it! And Emma just mostly ran around in her tutu.

Planting a tree at Aunt Sarah's house--it has become Will and Grandpa's thing! ;-)

First Day of School 2018-2019

Yesterday marked the first day of the school year (and our yearly survey)!

How old are you? 8

What are your favorite foods? Shrimp & Crayfish

What is your favorite TV show? Wild Kratts

What do you want to be when you grow up? Zoologist

Who is your best friend? Chance

What is your favorite movie? Star Wars

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite toy? My stretchy lizard (Kenge)

What is your favorite song? Shake It Off

What is your favorite animal? Tie between every one

What is your favorite cereal? Frosted Flakes

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Bike or swim

What is your favorite place to go? Camping

What is your favorite thing about school? Recess

What is your favorite donut? Plain glazed twist

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Vanilla

If you could go one place, where would that be? Conifer Forest to see black bears

How old are you? 7

What are your favorite foods? Spaghetti & pizza

What is your favorite TV show? Lion Guard

What do you want to be when you grow up? Nurse who helps babies be born

Who is your best friend? Paige & Carly Jane

What is your favorite movie? The Lion King

What is your favorite color? Turquoise & navy blue

What is your favorite toy? books & American Girl doll

What is your favorite song? Can't Stop the Feeling

What is your favorite animal? Cheetah

What is your favorite cereal? Frosted Flakes & Cinnamon Toast Crunch

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play snowcones in the sandbox

What is your favorite place to go? Inflatables at the mall

What is your favorite thing about school? Recess

What is your favorite donut? Plain glazed

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Vanilla

If you could go one place, where would that be? Colorado (for the snow)

May Melting Into Summer

As usual, May was quite busy!

This year for Mother's Day, my one request was to spend one-on-one time with each of my kiddos, something I rarely get to do these days. Emma and I enjoyed an ice cream date, Cate and I went to the ballet (Peter Pan), Will and I hiked the San Gabriel riverbed, and Lucy and I visited a local park and fed the ducks. It truly was such a treat to give each of them my undivided attention and really get to soak up each child's unique self.

May 18th was not only Cate's birthday, it happened to be Field Day as well.

The following weekend Cate had three friends (and their families) join her for a pool party!

Will becomes a Bear!

May brought the start of Will's swim team season with the Brushy Creek Marlins. He had a great season, grew as a swimmer, and improved his time on all four strokes, even butterfly (his least favorite). He has always been strong at freestyle, but this year he came out pretty strong in backstroke at the beginning of the season. He really hit his stride on breaststroke at the very end of the season, missing the invitational time by .07 seconds.

A little lesson in earning what you eat on the farm...

Vocabulary Parade and last day of school