Gone fishin........again!

Labor Day weekend was spent with Brian's family in Arkansas. Unfortunately our trip was way too fast due to Sunday morning commitments. We left TX Friday around 4 and returned to TX on Saturday around 10 pm. The only good thing about that was the fact that we wore the kids out so much they slept nearly the entire trip. This never happens people. Never.

We spent our day at Grandpa's pond letting Natalie fish again. She was so excited about getting to go fishing again! This time she got really brave touching her fish, holding the worms and pinching them into pieces for her hook! I couldn't believe it. A mere 4 months ago she didn't want to touch the fish because it was looking at her! ha!  

As you can see above her first cast yielded a huge catfish! She was giggling so hard as we made such a big deal about it. After that she just kept reeling them in one after another. I think her total was up around 8 or 9 again. I wish the video would work because we captured her casting "style."  She got so confident she wanted to do it herself, and every time she would toss it out her little leg would come up in the air with a little kick. Just like a little girl. Grandpa and I got a good kick out of that! No pun intended.

The other part of our time was spent reading, playing with the new toys Grandma brought the kids, watching the Hogs play and eating fried fish (chicken for me), hush puppies, french fries, cornbread and homemade ice cream with peach cobbler! Mercy! 

Our quick trip was packed full of fun, food and memories!

Sometimes I Blog.....

Well, I didn't realize it had been an entire month since I last updated this silly thing. Sheesh.  Here's what you have missed.....

This summer the kids and I spent a couple of weeks in Arkansas with my folks. There is always plenty to do out there in the "deep dark woods" as Natalie calls it. It's nice to be able to enjoy the outdoors.  Natalie's favorite outdoor activity now is visiting the chicken coop! And this time she got her first egg from the nest. Love these two pics of Joaquin. He's such a mess!

On this visit we decided to take a day to go to the Little Rock Zoo. I hadn't been there in ages. It was a bit hotter than we preferred but the kids did really well.

As soon as we walked in the zoo we could hear these howler monkeys. They were on a roll! I could have listened to them forever but Joaquin didn't share my sentiments.  There was another type of smaller monkey that was just as vocal and responsive to us being there so it was fun to interact with them.

Our other adventure was spent out at my Granny's house for the day.  She saved a big squash for Natalie to pick, but she was a little hesitant to grab it.  So we let wild man do it!  Once she saw him she was ready to pick away. She got a couple squash and tomatoes.  Maybe she will be ready to help me plant a garden next spring.

I had to capture a picture of Granny in the kitchen because that wraps up who she is! Even in her 90s she is frying up some amazing squash. Yum!  I enjoyed spending the day with her and letting her embrace the kiddos.  Good memories are always made at Grannys.

Mother's Day Out

This is Natalie's first year to go to Mother's Day Out. We chose to put her in the FBC here in our town so that hopefully she will meet some sweet friends that she will start kinder with in a couple of years. The other reason we chose it is because it takes a whole 5 minutes to get there! For once something is close and convenient.  JZ will be staying home with me so there won't be a lot of free time that everyone thinks I will be getting. I'm hoping to shop with 1 kid instead of 2, take JZ to storytime like I did with NJ and just spend some quality time with he and I. (Not that he really needs it as he is a total clingy momma's boy right now, but still)

On Tuesday we went to 'Meet the Teacher' to see her room and talk to her teachers.  It went about as we suspected. Natalie shut down, kept her finger in her mouth the whole time and didn't utter a single word for the 20 minutes we were there. This is her typical response to a new situation. She needs time to take it all in and assess what's going on. Here's the picture to prove it.

Yeah that will be in her graduation slideshow for sure!

Thankfully, we had another whole day to talk about what all would happen at school and get her a little excited.  When she woke up the morning of her first day she saw this

and a little smile creeped on her face when she asked what it said.  She was very excited about her lunch box.
She promised me she would smile this time when I took her picture with her teachers.......and she delivered!

Her day went really well. This is a picture they posted on their FB page.

She continued playing with her friends even after she saw me there to get her. Always a good sign!  The teachers, however, did not wear her out enough. She didn't nap at school, didn't nap at home and chattered nonstop most of the afternoon/evening. Whew. I was tired!

So thankful she loved it and shed no tears! She needs this out and so do I. Here's to a fun year full of learning and new experiences!