These pics about sum it up!

So swim lessons have been going well...for Marshall. He is going under water and enjoying the games they turn everything into, because silly games are his type of humor.

Our other little fish is acting more like a crab...in the sand. Today she literally cried the.whole.time. Like almost hyperventilating at one point. I just don't get it! She loves swimming so why is she acting this way? The only thing I can think of is that she is scared to go under water.

At the suggestion of the lady I'm charge, we have scheduled a one on one "play" time with P and her teacher so hopefully that will help. Miss Presley is the definition of strong-willed though, so we shall see!






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Swim Lessons

Until now, the kids have never had any swim lessons. When they were little, Kyle was traveling all the time so I didn't have a parent for each kid. Then last summer we moved. I didn't want to do the swim lessons during the summer that are a few weeks and then we have no where to practice and they "lose" it all. There is an Emler Swim School near our house that is indoors and has a "free swim" pool that we can use anytime we want as long as they are enrolled. Every Tuesday until January we go for 30 minutes.

This past Tuesday was their first lesson and they were so pumped! Until the teacher got them in the water...crying ensued soon after, which made the other boy in the class start crying as well. Awesome. However there was a huge turn around made when M&M'S were introduced, and by the time they were done (30 minutes goes by fast!), they were crying again because they didn't want to leave. This is the only picture I got, they were "out on the island waiting to get coconuts".



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Last weeks of summer

We spent our last weeks of summer being pretty busy! We headed out to Midland the last weekend in August...our first time out there since Christmas! That's the longest it has ever been since I started dating Kyle 6.5 years ago. Our trip was bittersweet because we were bringing Carter home, but also had to head to Lubbock to attend Kyle's grandfather's funeral. We were all sad that Gramps passed, but we know that he is up in Heaven with Kyle's dad (his son) playing golf and watching down on us. Two days after we returned from Lubbock the kids and I headed back down to my parents' house for one last summer hurrah. We swam, and swam, rode the mule, and swam some more. THe next weekend, Kyle and I went on a double date with Aunt Nikki and Uncle David. We shared a sitter and they just spent the night with us. We went to a yummy tapas restaurant and had a fantastic time. We definitely need to do that more often. The twins are moving up to the 3's class tomorrow and they are very excited. Just about all their friends are moving up as well as one of their teachers, so they are excited to be on the 'big kid" side of their school. I'm gearing up for my first day back with students tomorrow. The kids start swim lessons this week too, so a post on that will be coming!

Costa Rica

We were so thankful to be able to go back to Costa Rica this summer (last summer was just way too busy). We went for a week in July and had a nice, relaxing vacation. This trip was ten times better than the one two years ago, mainly because the twins were older. Our days pretty much went like this: walk on the beach, breakfast, swimming at the condo, lunch, nap, go down to the beach club and swim, dinner, bed. The kids LOVED the beach and swimming. They were in a great mood pretty much the whole time, which made everyone else in a good mood too. :) We (Kyle, twins, Carter, and myself) stayed in my mother-in-law's condo, while she rented another condo across the pool for her, Nikki, David, little Lincoln, and her best friend Vicki stayed. It was really nice having our "own space". One day Kyle, Carter, and David went fishing and David caught a big Wahoo...which we made into fish tacos and fresh ceviche...delicious! Another day we had a "girls trip" (minus Presley) where we went on a catamaran to a remote beach and snorkeled/swam, then came back and watched the sunset as we cruised. It was breathtaking! We saw a group of dolphins and they swam right up next to the boat. Between the endless supply of well-made drinks, the freshly made guacamole, and the wonderful company...it was an amazing time!

A few things I forgot...

In my year wrap-up I completely forgot some important events!

-Last August 28th, Kyle's older sister Nikki and her hubbie David had their baby boy, Lincoln. They live in Flower Mound so we are very lucky we get to see them a lot!
-Last Labor Day weekend we went to our friends' ranch and Marshall rode a tractor for the first time! Note...he was more concerned with people "moving out of the way" than with the tractor itself. He yelled that at our friend Jake the whole time! (Yes there is video)
-The twins turned 3 in May. We had a low-key celebration...my mom came in town and we went to the Dallas Aquarium with Nikki and Lincoln. Then we came home, took naps, and ordered in Mi Cocina. I promise when the twins get older and can remember parties, we'll do something bigger. Until then, I don't really see the point. :)
-At the beginning of this summer we went to the Dallas Zoo for the first time with our surrogate, Sarah and her family. A lot of people say it's not as nice as the FW Zoo, but we thought it was great!
-While at my parents for the Fourth, my mom and I took the kids to their first parade! We had a blast, the kids did great, and are already planning on making the Round Top Fourth of July Parade a tradition!


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I guess I'll try this again...

Yes, it's been 13 months since I last blogged, but life got in the way. I'm going to try and start blogging again, but I'm not promising anything. :) Here is what has gone on in the Nix Family the last year... -Moved to Lake Highlands (we L-O-V-E our neighborhood...think huge trees and people always out and about) -Two days after moving I got a job teaching 6th grade LA at a middle school on the east side of Plano (so far so good!) -Found the twins a school to go to that is pretty much perfect. Wonderful teachers, great hours, and 2.5 miles from my school. We love First Baptist Plano! -Labor Day weekend Kyle's brother Brett and his girlfriend Courtney got engaged...still not sure when/where the wedding will be though. -In October my sweet father-in-law lost his 14 month battle with brain cancer. We miss Popsie dearly. The twins know that Popsie is "with Jesus". -Kyle and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in November. -We spent Thanksgiving with my family at my sister's house in Missouri. -We spent Christmas in Midland with Kyle's family. Unfortunately a few days after Christmas my Chihuahua, Cha Cha (who became my parent's dog 7 years ago) passed away. :( -In January I went to the George Strait concert in Oklahoma CIty with my sister, my mom, and my aunt. We had VIP tickets and it was AWESOME! -In February Kyle and Marshall went to the Monster Truck Jam at Cowboys Stadium with my nephew Grayson who is 3 months older than the twins. Marshall STILL talks about all the monster trucks he saw. -We got a guinea pig named Tex, but after 3 months I found him a new home. -I took the kids to my parents' house for Spring Break. -We spent Easter in Lubbock with Kyle's grandparents and his two sisters and their families. -Memorial Day weekend we went to our good friends' parents' ranch south of Abilene and had a blast! -I took the kids to my parents' house for a week over the Fourth of July. -We just got back from a week in Costa Rica!!!!!!! About the twins...well they are 3 and all over the place!!! Marshall is still into tractors/trucks/construction equipment, but now he has added super heroes to his list of loves. He has a cape and a mask that he loves to put on and run around the house. He is still my sweetheart, but in the past several months he has definitely become more rambunctious, i.e. trying to climb walls like Spiderman and jump off furniture. At his 3 year appt. he was 39.5 inches and 38 lbs...yep he is a big dude. I rarely get asked if they are twins anymore because he is 2 inches taller than Presley. Speaking of Miss Thing...she adores dressing up, playing with her dolls, playing pretend with anything (trucks are not excluded). She is a little sassafras and very stubborn. If she doesn't want to do something she will.not.do.it. Presley is extremely intelligent and numerous people (babysitters, strangers) have told us how smart she is. She loves to show off her knowledge, whereas Marshall could care less. He knows letters and stuff, but does not feel the need to tell you until randomly he will bust something out. They both love to sing (they learn songs at school) and play pretty well with each other (considering they are 3). So that is just a taste of what we have been up to. We are loving life in Dallas and feel blessed that this opportunity came our way! I am really hoping to do a better job blogging/documenting our life. :) Here are some pictures from this past year (not in order), hope you enjoy!