Happy 4th of July (in August)

Better late than never......Honestly, time does fly when you are off for the summer! I am so late in posting these, but I love them. We had a wonderful 4th of July in Lufkin. We usually head there since John's birthday is July 5th. We spend that time with his family and he does love his birthday!!!! The girls are not big fans of fireworks, so we had a pretty low key night with swimming and cooking out. John had a great birthday with a fresh Cherry pie from his mom. For John's birthday we heading over to Stephen F. Austin State University. It was great showing the girls around campus and talking about how John and I met almost 12 years ago. Of course, throwing pennies in the fountain was their favorite part. Family photos are getting harder and harder to take. Kennedy has a mind of her own and McKinlea loves to pose or try to pose us. She must get that from her NanNan and PaPaw. Enjoy the pics!

 Riding the "train" at Aunt Cissy's

McKinlea loved all the trees! 

 Mommy's girls

 Speechless about this photo, but it does capture each one of their personalities

 Finally got a photo

The Famous Pies

John even got a sheet cake from his Aunt

First Day of 1st Grade

Well, school is back in full swing. McKinlea started 1st grade and is so excited. She is in my building now and gets to see me more during the day. I love that we are at the same school and I get to spend time with her on our 30 minute ride to and from school. We have had some amazing conversations over the miles! Kennedy starts her last year of Pre-school on Tuesday. I can not believe that this time next year I will have 2 full time in school. Where does the time go? John and I are adjusting to getting up early again and being busy. Dance will soon start up and choir too. John is still coaching golf and teaching and I love being the librarian! I get to see all the  kids and share my love of reading with them.

Dance Time in Texas

May ended with the girls having their dance recital. This year was very unique because we had both girls dancing. They were also in 2 different recitals. We got to see 2 wonderful recitals. The great thing about this dance school is the recitals are only about 45 minutes long and we have reserved seats. Very nice.....beats waiting in line and saving seats hours before the recital. We already have the girls signed up for next year. McKinlea will be taking Ballet and Jazz and Kennedy with continue in her Combo class. Here are the sweet girls in their dance recital pictures.

Mother's Day 2012

I got to go to Kennedy's school this year for the annual Mother's Day Tea. It was so much fun. Below is what Kennedy told her teacher about it. I love how kids think!

 Kennedy's Ready for Summer Photo

My sweet girls ready for church on Mother's Day....I feel so blessed and honored to be their mother. 

Time to catch up: April

Early April started off with our annual trip to the folklife festival in Katy. I went when I was little and now we get to take the girls. Kennedy's favorite part was getting to hold the baby chicks. She loves animals, even the creepy crawly ones! 

Later that month, McKinlea became an official part of the Daisy troop at her school. Meme came in for it. McKinlea was so excited!

Bluebonnet Time in Texas

We made our annual trip to see the bluebonnets. This year was much more exciting than the last. Last year we found only 1 small patch of bluebonnets on our way home and there were a million people there. With all the rain we have had lately, the flowers were in full bloom. We left early on Saturday morning and headed to Independence, Texas. This is just a little past Brenham and we actually got to drive right past the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory. I promised the girls that we could visit again this summer when we had more time. We went to the visitor center and found out where some really good bluebonnet patches were. We were not disappointed this year! Enjoy the pictures!

 Classic Kennedy

 This was one of our last photos :)

 One of my favorites! Kennedy looks just like her Daddy!

 Love this family photo....

All in one day......

We had a very busy St. Patrick's day 2012: 


1. Church Directory Photos: yes, I put the girls in matching dresses. I figure that soon there will come a day when they will no longer allow me to dress them this way, so I am taking advantage of it while I can :)

2. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day: We took it easy the rest of the day. The weather was beautiful and we spent most of it outside. We rode our bikes to the park and ended the day talking about what a wonderful Spring Break we had and how summer would be here soon and all the things we wanted to do.