We love the Cubs!!!

Cub Football.... Game On!!!

Fantasy Football

As I was downloading a few pics for another post, I came across a few pics Wes took at their recent Fantasy Football Draft.  It's an annual event in our garage... guys only, lots of meat on the pit, adult beverages of all varieties and carefully thought out draft choices.  The guys must walk up to to the board with each choice and be subject to any heckling that is involved with that choice.  I must admit I'm ready for fall...and some football!

This guy is lovin' school!

Last Thursday, Caleb walked into my bathroom as I was getting ready for work and asked if he had to go to school (summer care).  He fell to the floor and cried real years when my response was "yes."  This little man was too much into summer mode and grew VERY fond of the days he got to stay home with Kelcie or daddy.  He was a bear when I would have to wake him up on school days and grumbled the first 30 minutes.
Fast forward a week... he is the first one dressed and telling me he's ready to go before A&A are even out of bed.  Tuesday he came home and wanted to read first thing because he wanted to color in a few apples on his reading sheet and he's been sitting at the table and practicing writing his name the last two nights.  Talk about a huge turn around!!!  Love to see him so excited about school and learning.

First Day of School 2012

 Ready for the first day of school 2012!

 Caleb is an Ocean Treasure at St. Paul's CDS. 

 Austin is a Kindergartener at Brenham Elementary School

Avery is a Kindergartener at Brenham Elementary School.

 

 

Well, we have started the school year!!  We were on schedule most of the morning - managed to get in a (somewhat) healthy breakfast, take the 1st day of school pics and make it out the door without having to run back in because someone forgot something.  They told us we could walk A&A in the first day so I took advantage of that.  They showed no hestitation, walked right to their table and started on the planned activity.  When I dropped off Caleb in the carline, he practically jumped out.  Let's hope this enthusiasm continues!!

It's that time again...

... time to fill out classroom forms, deposit lunch money into accounts, label backpacks, search for sold out school supplies and lace up new tennis shoes.  Yes, it is back to school time!  Next Monday is the big day and this is prep week - parent orientations and open house and last minute shopping time.
Avery and Austin are going to be Kindergarteners at Brenham Elementary School.  We are excited and nervous at the same time.  It is going to be a big change from St. Paul's but we know they will breeze through the change much smoother than mommy will.  We were super excited to find out that Ms. Deramus will be their teacher.  Get this, she has a blog that keeps parents up to date with class activities!  Love that.  Biggest challenge this year will be getting to school by 8am.  We've had a few practice runs this week and well, there is still room for improvement.
Caleb is going to be an Ocean Treasue (Pre-K) at St. Pauls.  He has Ms. Winkelmann for a teacher, the same teacher as A&A, so we are excited about what the year has in store for him.  We hope she is ready because Caleb is with his two best buds Jase and Ethan.  They can be a hand full!  Fortunately he doesn't have to be to school until 8:30 am so he and I will have a little one-on-one time to prepare for the day after we stress about getting A&A to school on time.
We are trying to get into a night time routine this week.  Dinner, showers, book time and bed.  It's still a work in progress, but hopefully something we will be ready for next week.  Ready or not, school time here we come.

SPIKE

Meet Spike.  Spike is our new family pet... a gift to Austin from Uncle Jason for his birthday.  It was the only thing Austin consistently said he wanted when asked.  Spike is a 2-month bearded dragon lizard.  He's not the work of a new born puppy yet takes a little more upkeep than a few guppies.  Spike has a unique diet and already we've witnessed his love for tiny baby crickets.  He's got his own heat lamp and so far he prefers lounging just like the pic above.  They say bearded dragons can grow up to 2 feet long and they are tame enough to carry around the house.  For now we'll keep him closed tight and enjoy the view from the glass.

LCRA Family picnic

LCRA hosts a family picnic for their employees every summer.  This year our crew joined in on the fun at T Bar M resort in New Braunfels.  The place is packed with activities for the kids and of course our kiddos loved anything that allowed them to be in the water.

Splashing!

 The Blob!!! 

 Jump in and bounce off the person sitting on the Blob!

 Get bounced off... or slide off.

 A little putt putt action!

In other LCRA news, Wes joined a bbq team that finished 1st place overall which means they will represent LCRA in the Austin Star of Texas Rodeo. BBQing 4 straight days.... could be interesting.

Photo ops

We attended a family wedding this past Friday at Camp Lucy in Dripping Springs and the beautiful surroundings provided for some great photo ops.  The whole Kemper clan was in attendance and it was great spending a little time with the whole fam.

 A&A&C... picture perfect

 Me & Jack... this guy was such a trooper the entire evening.  Love him!

 Love this expression!

 Our best attempt at a cousin photo.  

 Uncle Steve, Jack & Wes... lookin' good.

 Toppe and the people she loves to spoil.

 Sibling love.

 Aunt Candice and Uncle Steve... pretty cute!

 Love them!

Uncle Steve & Toppe... see the resemblance??

Austin's ready to hunt

Austin got his first "big" gun for his birthday.  He got a 410 shot gun and he and dad are hoping he shoots big horns for his first deer this deer season.  After reinforcing a little gun safety they practiced a few shots.

8-15-12

This is how 6 looks on A&A!!!  Think they are pulling it off pretty well!  

Happy Birthday Wes!

Yesterday we celebrated another very special birthday in our party of 5.  We saved the potential smoke alarm by not putting the full 34 candles on the cake.  Happy Brithday, we love you!

S.I.X.

It's just minutes away from midnight and here I sit thinking about being the mom of 6 year olds.  It's a little tough to swallow and crazy to think of how fast the time has flown but it is something we are going to celebrate all day long!
Avery is six going on sixteen.  Just tonight she requested to play dress up out of my closet.  She wishes there were strapless dresses in her size, loves big earrings and thinks heels are the best thing ever.  Then there is the athletic side of her.  Girl can tumble with the best of them and doesn't mind breaking a sweat to have a little fun.  Tonight, she, Caleb and I went for a short walk after dinner and she kept insisting we make our turn around point farther and farther away.  She's usually up for any challenge.  Reading came easy to her this year and she doesn't mind sticking her nose in a book to read through a few chapters.  Can't wait to see what is in store for her this year!
Austin has a heart of gold.  He knows right from wrong and doesn't push buttons to see how much wrong he can get away with.  Fishing and hunting with his daddy are at the top on his priority list and playing baseball isn't far behind.  He's our artist, can draw scenes and details the people in them.  Sleep isn't too important to him as he is usually the first to wake in the morning and always the last to go to bed.  I know this is going to be a great year for him!
Well, I've made it past midnight so I will be the first to say "Happy Birthday Austin & Avery!!!  We love you more than you will ever know!!"

Celebrating 6!

6 years... really?  I can't have 6 year olds!!  They should just be learning how to eat with a fork, but I guess time moves on whether you are ready for it to or not and therefore we celebrated A&A's 6th birthday Friday night with a swimming party at Gun & Rod.

 Diving board time!

 Really, mom?

 Austin and his buddy William.

 Sassy girls:  Waylon, Avery, Sienna, & Emma Kate

 Kade Rau & Austin

This year we opted to focus on the inside of the cake. Oreo & Reeses ice cream cakes... delish and demolished

 Blowing out the candles.  

 See, Caleb thought the cake was pretty good.

 As in years past,  Wes made a video for A&A that put tons of pics from the past year to music.  They love to watch it and we brought out a the flat screen from the garage so that the kids could watch it with their friends at the party.  Could have won an Oscar!

 Avery & Emma Kate.

 Jack was the party VIP.  He got a little love from everyone.

Presents!!!

Swimming pool, hot dogs and burgers, ice cream cake, family, good friends, and a hot summer night... a 6th birthday pool party perfect menu.  We had one unwelcome guest as a rain storm graced the area just minutes before the start of the party.  Fortunately we only had a short shower compared to the buckets of water that were dumped just a few miles away.  It led for a few stressful moments and decorating nightmare, but in the end we were able to enjoy what it was all about... A&A celebrating 6 years on this earth!!!  Their real bday is on Wednesday so we'll make sure to celebrate again!!!