Back to Seaworld

Matt and I took the kids to Seaworld again as a little celebration for Asher's birthday (although she has no idea it is almost her birthday!) It was a lot of fun. We didn't feel like we had to see everything this time. Instead, we went back and visited our favorites. The sharks are always so cool to watch. Aidan was asking why they didn't just eat the fish in the tank with them and I told them because the fish that were in there with them were too big.... I don't know why! He thought that was a good answer though. We also visited the penguins which are super cute. Both of the kids were big fans of the penguins. I think it is neat to see the snow in the exhibit. We definitely had to feed the dolphins which were really playful this time and splashed the camera and me pretty good! The Shamu show was pretty interesting. About halfway through the show the whales stopped doing any tricks and the show stopped. They were just swimming around the pool. Then a trainer came out and talked to us for about 5 minutes and explained that the whales weren't listening to the trainers, so they were not going to get any reinforcement for a little bit (no fish or treats) and the trainers were going to just ignore their behavior. We told Aidan the whales had a time out for not listening which he thought was pretty cool. Then they began the show again, but it was much shorter, and there was no audience member participation which there was last time. Interesting.... We also fed the sea lions which is always fun. Aidan loved to do that! Asher was really cute because she wanted to feed them but didn't want to touch the slimy fish.... Aidan wondered why there were no squid to feed the sea lions this time and just fish and we decided maybe the sea lions were on a diet and were only eating fish now... We had lunch at a different place and it was pretty good and were able to listen to a girl singing and playing guitar while we ate. She was really good too! After making it through the first part of the day with no blow out diapers (like last time), no toys to buy (Aidan tried but we said no this time), and no extreme heat, we went to Aidan's favorite part, the wave pool and water park. It was definitely not as hot so there was some teeth chattering and lips were a little blue, but this time we could walk on the cement without getting burns on our feet! We had a lot of fun, and Aidan is pretty independent with his life jacket on. He even floated down the lazy river several times without a tube just hanging out next to us. That was really cool to see how he is growing up! He also loved the splashy area and made me go all over in there with him and get soaked. He used to hate splashes on his face especially and this time he was having a blast and loving it! Aidan and Ashy were also cracking up on the teeter totter in the water. Super cute! Aidan and I went down the slide together while Daddy and Asher hung out on the big lobster in the pool. She was all smiles on that thing. We got out of the water when Aidan started shivering a lot, and then headed to the treat store near the exit. Candy for the kids and a piece of cheesecake for Matt and I. Yummy! Kaleb, we missed you this time buddy, and look forward to next summer with you. I LOVE Seaworld and look forward to many years of fun there, especially when Aidan and Ashy are old enough to swim with the beluga whales like Zach and Kaleb did when they were younger. Matt, Aidan, and I even may even go back in October during their fright fest... sounds fun...

If you look closely you can spot a big shark behind us.

Asher clapping at the Shamu show.Super playful and splashy dolphins.

One of the rare times that Ashy actually picked up the fish. She immediately threw it in the water instead of waiting for a dolphin to come near, but it was still quickly eaten.

Aidan LOVED feeding the sea lions. He happily fed them all of Sissy's food too since she didn't want to pick up the fish.

A look back in time - bye bye Old Town

What a different start to the school year for our family! It is quite a change from last year when Aidan was going to Together We Can at my school, I was teaching 3rd grade, and Asher was going to Miss Claudia's.

I am so proud of Aidan for finishing up his first year at a big boy school. He just loved it and learned so much! I know it is a little backwards because I would consider that his preschool and this year he will not go to school and I will be teaching him and helping him get ready for kinder. He had amazing teachers. I will always cherish being able to see his class when I took my class outside for recess, being able to visit him at lunch during my planning time, and him being able to play in my room with my kiddos before school. My kids loved him and he loved them and above all it was so wonderful to know that I could stop in for a kiss anytime I wanted! I loved being at the same place as him, and in turn missed Asher a ton every day. I'm sure both the kids miss their friends and awesome teachers, but they have been having a blast playing together. Today they were wrestling around for hours it seems.

How did Matt and I win the childcare lottery by first having Miss Claudia, Miss Elaine, and Miss Mariana at Casa Sesamo and then having 3 awesome teachers for Aidan - Miss Coker, Miss A, and Miss Mackie? Our kids have learned so much and have been so loved by these ladies and I am so grateful as a mommy for all you have done for my kiddos!

It is sinking in now that I literally get to play with my kids each day and I am still figuring out how to get any cleaning done with a 2 year old and a 4 year old wanting to play play all day! We are having a great time, especially now that we can play outside some in the mornings before it gets to hot. Fall weather, we are ready for you!

I am so glad to have a calmer school year this year, but love the wonderful memories from my time with Aidan at Old Town...

Aidan ready for his first day ever of big kid school. Man, he's a cutie!

This is what Asher looked like a year ago. It blows my mind to see how much she has grown in a year! She is now talking up a storm asking us lots of questions and telling us about everything! She is such a big girl now!

We were walking in on our first day together at Old Town Elementary.

Aidan was pretty nervous his first day. Daddy and I were there for him and I checked in on him several times.

When we first got to school I sat down with Aidan in my classroom and we read some books.

This was towards the end of the school year when Aidan and I wore matching Madagascar Rain Forest t-shirts.

During the school carnival, one of my students won the prize of bowling with Mrs. Buss. It was a lot of fun for the kids and we all had a great time. Aidan loved picking up the bowling ball and throwing it himself which made me a little nervous. He did great though!

I was able to visit Aidan at lunch almost every day. This picture tells a lot about Aidan: he is putting something small in his pocket which he has literally done his entire life, he is eating yogurt which I think he would eat for all 3 meals if I let him, and he didn't eat any of his sandwich which was pretty much the case every day.

Me visiting with Aidan on the playground.

My class went out to recess first, but if I let them stay out a little later, Aidan's class came out and they were able to play together.

Aidan and his best friend Elena on the playground.

Field Day 2009. This tattoo alone shows how much my little man grew during the year. Before he wanted nothing to do with temporary tattoos and he was really excited about this one!

Daddy walked around with Aidan's class for Field Day and was able to take a picture of Aidan winning a game of tic-tac-toe.

Aidan and some of his friends waiting in line for a water game.

He was playing a game where some of the kids had to turn the cups over, and some had to put them back the right way. I know I loved riding on those things when I was in school!

My class waiting to play tic-tac-toe on field day.

Some of my sweet girls.

And hilarious boys who chose to put the temporary tattoo on their biceps to show off their muscles...

Us before we headed out on the last day of school. Aidan and I went back up there a couple more days to finish packing up, but this was the last day with students.

This is Aidan's little area that I set up under my computer. We had all sorts of little things for him to play with, many of which were given to Aidan by my class. He played here with some of my students before school. The kids would literally ask me as soon as they saw us, "Can I play with Aidan today?"

Aidan, Ashely, Kara, Elena, and Kaden (Madi had already left)- they were Aidan's TWC classmates.
Bye Bye Miss Coker!

This is my awesome class on the last day of school, which is why my room is so bare. I had awesome kiddos and I loved teaching them!

Finally finished packing up! This was our last day of school standing on Texas. Aidan really learned a lot about the United States from the huge map painted in the parking lot.

He also liked to stand on Illinois where Meme lives.
I came outside to pick up Asher for the last time at Casa Sesamo. She had so many sweet playmates. Miss Mariana was so wonderful and I could always tell how much she loved Asher.
Miss Elaine was also wonderful. Asher was very blessed to have her for a teacher and we appreciated her so so much!

This was a picture of Asher with Miss Claudia, our childcare angel. This picture was taken before my tears started to fall. I cannot say how important Miss Claudia is to our family. She loved our children like her own and taught them so much. We will be forever grateful for the part she played in raising our children. You are greatly missed Miss Claudia but never forgotten!Playing in Daddy's shoes when we got home.

Before I know it I will be blogging about Aidan's first day of kindergarten! Ahhhhhh!!!!!

The Circus

We had a wonderful time at the Ringling Brothers Circus at the Frank Erwin Center. We wanted to go to the circus last year but Asher was too little. This year the kids were the perfect age! I was pleasantly amazed that both kids were wonderful the entire time. Aidan did have to go to the bathroom once but made me run there and said "Hurry up mom, let's get back to the circus!" and wanted to get back asap. We had a great time and the circus was AWESOME! The hardest part of the night was deciding what toy Aidan wanted - I have trouble making decisions and so does our son, and thankfully Matt was the voice of reason and did not let us buy him the $18 spinning toy that would be broken in a day or two. Hopefully we will be able to go to the circus again next year.

We're ready to go to the circus! Aidan wanted to wear his animal shirt since there was going to be animals at the circus.

Me and the pretty circus lady before the show. Aidan did not want to be in the picture so he is hiding behind me.

This was Aidan's favorite part - the elephant painting a picture. We were able to go down on the floor before the circus began and this was one of the cool things we saw. Ashy, Mommy, and Aidan watching the clowns perform an act before the circus began.
Asher sat on Daddy's lap almost the entire time!


Ashy clapping at the animals.


The clowns were great! They kept the kids entertained between acts.This guy was one of my favorites. Not only was he on stilts, but he could really dance too! Man, I wonder if he has ever fallen.... ouch.

One of the elephant processionals.... the kids loved this.


Before the show they gave out plastic clown noses. This is Aidan taking a picture of me. He did pretty good!

The tigers were really neat to watch.


The elephants were awesome too. This picture is of the elephants sitting on each other which the kids thought was pretty funny. This was incredible. At one point there were 7 motorcycles spinning around at one time. It was amazing! Then at the end one of them took off their helmets and it was a girl which I just thought was pretty cool. I guess not all girls are just the pretty circus girls like in the above picture.

The lights and sound were awesome!


This was at the end of the circus when everyone came onto the stage for one last dance. We had an amazing time!!!