Aquarium

Last week Mary and I took the boys to the aquarium. This was the first time we've been and it was pretty cool. Waaaay over priced for how small it is, but what is there is very cool. Cole loved it. Everything he saw he got excited about. "A fish!" "A shark!" "A stingray!" "A seahorse!" This is what I heard walking through. We'll definately be going back.


Cole loves maps.

Love this one.

Sand shark.

In the tunnel.

Kindergarten

It's official, we have a Kindergartener! Samantha has now been in Kindergarten for TWO weeks! Can't believe it. She has been so excited all summer long and the night before, she couldn't sleep because she was so excited and nervous. I don't know who was more anxious, her or me! Here's how the night went:
7:15 "Goodnight."
7:25 "I can't sleep, I am too too excited!"
7:40 "Will there be teachers on the playground when I go out to play?"
7:55 "Mommy, what if I don't like Kindergarten?"
I thought it was sweet that it went from sheer excitement, to nerves, to fear. That's kind of the normal way we react to something new.
Well, when I got up in the morning I found her sitting on her bed, dressed for school, reading "Countdown to Kindergarten", a cute book her preschool teachers from last year gave her. It was a sweet moment.
The first day went great. I walked her in and said goodbye. She definately had a deer in the headlights look but didnt' get upset. And I didn't lsoe it either! Although the night before I did get a little choked up thinking back throughout all of the fun she and I have had together for the last five years. Now she's going to have a different kind of fun. When I picked her up the first day she was a little chatterbox telling me EVERY detail about her first day. She liked it all, except lunch. She didn't know that her teacher also went to HER lunch at that time and left them. Day two was easier though. She told me on the car ride to school that morning, "Mommy, now that I know Miss. Klein eats her lunch while we're at lunch I think I'll be ok."
The last two weeks have been great. She loves her teacher, as do I. It's so fun to hear about her days, all of her adventures, her new friends and on and on.
It is so wonderful watching her grow and learn. We're SO proud of you Sammer Jammer!!!

Ready for the first day!

A girl and her lil bro.

Her self portrait. So adorable.

By Thursday she was toast.

Aunt Katie + Uncle Adam

I realize this is a little late, but here's more from our trip back east:)

Our first stop on our trip back east was Katie and Adam's house. This was my second visit and Peter and the kids' first. Samantha brought her key that Aunt Katie mailed her and let us in and that's when the fun began! Samantha and Cole were both really enamored with their pets; Julius the cat, Mia the cat and Nona the dog. They really didn't need tv, toys or activities. All they wanted to do was pet the animals and play angry birds on Adam's IPad. We had such a great time!

Nana's

We loved getting to spend time with Nana and Grandpa Francis on our trip back east. We always have a good time when we're together.
Here are a few highlights....
Thanks Nana and Gpa for your generosity, hospitality, and love. We love you!


Swimming at Nana's friend's house. They have an AWESOME
pool!

Chillin.

He knows how to relax!

Playing Uno...our newest "thing". Wearing her USMC
shirt that Gpa bought her!

Samantha asked Nana if she would teach her how
to knit...:)

Bedtime stories.

Salon day with Nana and Aunt Katie! Hair, nails and makeup.
sometimes it's fun to be a girly girl.

Playing a game of baseball on Nana's hill.

Tobagoning up and down the hill. Thanks Uncle

Adam!

Who neeeds snow?

A visit with the Wests

The last stop on our trip back east was to Catonsville, MD. Our good friends, the Wests, moved to MD last fall. We've missed them so much! I still can't believe that they moved just hours from my mom and sister's houses!
Melissa and the girls picked us up at the airport and took us to my sister's house. It was so cute, the kids were so excited to see eachother and the reunion couldn't have gone better. After a couple days at my sisters and a couple days at my mom's we went to stay with the Wests for a night before heading back to AZ. The kids filled their time with fun, we didn't really have to entertain them much-it was great. They played in the basement/playroom for hours, put on "circus shows", "fashion shows", played in the pool, water ballon fights/toss, played house, colored, played uno and just loved "hanging out" together.
AND we got to meet Libby! Maura and Maggie's new little sister. She is so sweet and just such a sweet baby. I didn't hear 1 fuss come out of her sweet self. And watching the kids adore her was so adorable.
Favorite Memories:
~The sleep over portion! Melissa set up a giant air matress in the front rooma nd ALL four kids slept together. It was Sammie and Cole's first official sleep over! They did great. Then Melissa was so sweet to make Cole a special number three pancake for his birthday! IT was fun celebrating together.
~Going to "Opie's" for ice cream and snowballs. So fun sitting outside with cool treats watching the kids run around and play.
~My mom found these cute Best Friends Forever TShits and we took one with us so the girls could wear them. It was SO adorable!
It was such a great visit. Thanks Melissa and Rob for your hospitality! We miss you!