Flower Hunt

After dinner tonight Lauren and I went outside to water the flower beds.  She did the watering and I did the weed pulling...somehow I think I got the sort end of the stick.  Then she wanted to go on a "flower hunt".  So we put the water on the rose bushes and off we went.  She rode her tricycle so she could put all of her finds in the the bucket in the back.  We didn't even make it half way around the block and she found mushrooms, cosmos, and a fragrant gardenia.  Of course we found lots of acorns which are her favorite.  The best part I like about our walks are just talking about her day at school and getting hear all the great things she says.  Tonight at school she played with Jacquelyn and ate lunch by Keaton.  Her favorite thing in her lunch right now is cantaloupe.  Also Katie is her new best friend and is going to come to our house to watch her play with her Barbies.  She wants to go to Disney World this Friday so we need to start packing our suitcases now and not forget all of her princesses.  Goodness she talked the entire time and I could barely get a word in edgewise.  I am definitely not complaining though.  I could do this everyday with her.

1st Day of PreSchool

Everyone told me that the time will fly and now I believe every bit of it.  I cannot believe that my Lauren is already for Preschool and next year will be Kindergarten.  She is so ready and loves it so much.  A new class, new teachers, new friends, and new memories.  Tonight she was looking at her class picture from last year and remembering friends that have moved.  It is so precious that still at such a young age she develops such bonds with friends and remembers them so fondly.  I am truly blessed that I have such a wonderful daughter.  My hopes and dreams are now hopes and dreams for her.  I want her to experience the world and all the good things that are to come.  Although it is so hard to watch her face the difficulties but such a reward to watch her overcome them.

Zoo Day

It was time for another zoo trip with the McGlones.  It was a late start and a hot July day but everyone had lots of fun.  It started out with lunch at McDonald's and Mom threw away the Happy Meal toy so we got Tiggy Tiggie Cutie at the gift shop.  Mom 0. Lauren 1. 

 We made it to the otters where the slide goes through the exhibit.  So much fun!

Look at that tall giraffe in the background, she is almost as tall as him so she thinks! 

Look at those monkeys, who cares the exhibit was closed we had our own. 

I don't know what they were doing here other than being silly. 

The ride home and she still has a smile!  It was great day and we will have to do it again, minus the speeding ticket...

Liberty!

 

Back in May Lauren got to rider her first horse, Liberty, with Kylee.  At first she was a little nervous and didn't want to get near her, but it didn't take long.  She let Liberty sniff her and she petted her neck.  Then she was up in the saddle and had a fun ride with Ms. Kylee.  Then she got to go by herself.  The smile never came off of her face and her went to sleep so excited.  The next day her imaginary friend DallyAnn had a horse named Gallopy that made rainbows.  A memory she still talks about all the time.  Can't wait to go again!

 

 

Painting with Corn

 

 

Lauren and I had a Mommy Daughter Day today and after a fun day with friends we decided to go get Daddy a surprise for dinner.  We went to Wal-mart and got him chicken.  To go along with the chicken we got some corn on the cob and we got one extra to have some fun.  What kind of fun?  Well we painted with corn.  Yeap we cut off the tops to use the tassels for brushes and stamps.  We rolled the corn and made wallpaper.  It was so much fun and so so messy!  But you know what it was totally worth it!

The Big Slide Day

Year two of swim lessons was lots of fun again this year.  From iceream scoops, floating on her back, and going underwater Lauren has become quit the "Frog".  Monkey, eagle, soldier is still a bit of a struggle but she is getting there.  All this practice has come down to the last day and the big event of going down the slide.  Life jackets were fastened, goggles were secure, and courage was sky high.
 

At the top of the slide she was a brave as could be and excited at the same time.  She was ready to go and waited for the all clear.

By the time she shot out she didn't know what happened.  Once in the water and to the side she was ready to go again and again and again. 

I get to go on the stage day!

Today was finally "stage day", that is Lauren got to go on the stage and dance in front of the audience.  She has been so excited about it for weeks.  She got to dance in her beautiful ballerina costume, have a ballerina bun, and wear makeup.  It all sounds like a fairy tale, to her yes, to Mom a hectic few hours.  Have you ever tried getting tights on a four year old that only wants to jump up and down and practice a tap dance.  How about putting on makeup and not getting on her costume.  Oh well no one noticed and she didn't either.  We want to say thanks to all who came out to watch and Lauren can't wait to dance some more!

Dominoes

Deep Thought...

Smile:)

Who is that giving me bunny ears?

Chicken Foot!

     Last weekend Nick and Dillon came to town for a visit!  The best part of the weekend was when we played dominoes with Nanny and Paw Paw.  We started out with regular dominoes but that didn't pan out to well so it was on to Chicken Foot.  The big decision was where a chicken had two or three toes but we decided on three.  Then it was game on!  Lauren was my partner in crime and she picked up the game pretty quick and it was a blast! Nanny won most of the time and I only one once.
     At first Lauren was counting each dot on the domino to make sure they matched up and thought it was cute that she was learning to count and play.  Then later on Paw Paw was counting the dots to make sure they matched up so he didn't make a mistake.  It doesn't matter how old you are 4 or 85 you still have to count the dots on the domino.  It was a great evening to spend family time together and I just hope we get to do it a lot more.

The Christmas Story

It was the annual Christmas Pageant at the St. Thomas Aquinas Child Development Center this year and it was the story of the birth of Jesus.  Lauren and her class were the shining star of Bethlehem.  At the end of the pageant they all sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".  No wonder she has been wanting this song on repeat in the car.  She had a great time and afterwards she got to take lots of pictures wit her classmates which she enjoyed so much.  She gave each of them a big Christmas hug. 

Christmas in Austin

We went to Austin for our Goddaughters second birthday.  Goodness is she already two already!  After the big party we went with the Figgs to the big Christmas tree in Austin to let the kiddos run around and look at the lights.  Parking was a nightmare but we parked in an electric car spot and then we walked through the dark but we made it was a blast.  We all stood under the tree and turned in circles to get dizzy.  The little girls played ring around the rosie.  Once we were all cold enough it was time to head back to the cars.  Joey, Emmie, and Lauren had races  back to the car.  It only took about five minutes for Lauren to crash one the way home.  Good thing I put her in her pajamas because all I had to do was carry her from the truck to her bed.