First Day

I gotta give huge kudos to my kids. They did extremely well on their first day of school today. Laina started a new Preschool and Wesley started Kindergarten. Last night, I set Wesley's alarm clock and told him when it goes off, he had to turn it off, brush his teeth, then put on his clothes for school. He did all that AND went to Laina's room to wake her up...which she wasn't too pleased with.

Wesley had "SUPER FUN" at school and got to ride the bus home. Laina didn't want to leave when I picked her up, so all in all, a very good day! Whew! Kinda glad that's over, but also kinda sad. And no, I didn't cry at either of their departing. I guess I knew the inevitable...that they would be coming back home... :)

Parade a la Denton

Saturday morning the Schieggs and Smiths, also known as Schiths, headed up to Denton to enjoy a good ol' fashioned parade where the kids made out with more candy than their little baby teeth are allowed. Unbeknownst to our kids, the candy will mysteriously disappear, just like the Halloween candy, to a land far far away known as the "office", where gremlins and goblins of all shapes and sizes will gobble up these tasty treats.

We also had good ol' fashioned burgers and fries and to top it off, good ol' fashioned ice cream, to add to the sugar high the kids already had!

Being Silly

We had a silly morning playing with the webcam software...

Wesley's Meet The Teacher

Last Thursday was "Meet the Teacher" at Wesley's school. Wesley is very excited about kindergarten and Mrs. Mitchell, who seems very friendly.

Wesley also got to meet the nurse, librarian, cooks, and bus driver. He probably was a bit overwhelmed.

He also has a locker in his classroom which he shares with Lulu. I have a feeling he and Lulu will be good buddies!

Pimp My Ride

Wesley got to ride the "school" bus for the first time last week on a field trip. He was VERY excited about it. It's great to hear how something so trivial to adults is such a huge deal for a 5-year-old. Gotta love it!

Dramatic Dance

A few dance lessons and she's already working it. Here's Laina in a piece I like to call "Dramatic Dance".

Robotic Skills

My talent has finally rubbed off on the kids! Here they are doing the "robot".

Anna Nana

This summer the kids had a nanny whom they referred to as "Anna Nana", not to be confused with their cousin "Anna Banana". I was pretty spoiled for the 2.5 months she was there. I didn't have to worry about waking the kids up early, getting them dressed, fed, packed or listen to them whine, yell, moan, complain, toot...ok, still had to do that. She was well worth the money that we made the kids pay her out of their allowance.

She toted them around to karate, swim lessons, dance, gym, soccer camp, VBS, library, movies, Barnes & Noble, and the weekly Chic-fil-a lunches. Whew! Is that why she couldn't wait to go off to A&M...which I still don't approve, by the way. The kids loved her and still talk about Anna Nana...well, it's only been a week since she's left.

VBS

Having never experienced VBS as a kid, I had to check out what it was really like. Apparently it's a hit with the kids. Wesley loved it and came home talking about faithfulness, self-control and love. Of course, I taught all this at home already...eh hem. OK, who am I kidding? This is why I sent him to VBS. Laina will definitely go next year!

This is Wesley's favorite song at Vacation Bible School..."Round Up".

And here is his good friend, Joshua.

Gangsta Paradise

We probably shouldn't be exposing the kids to gangsta moves just yet, but it's pretty funny. A little bit of breakdancing and the "Cobra"...

Our Own Rock Band

Give your kids a microphone and drums and this is what you get. Just overlook Wesley in his "morning wear".

Our New Pet

Yes, we finally got a pet, but this one will be short-term. A HUGE caterpillar which we hope will turn into a beautiful butterfly...but we'll see. Stay tuned.

Back Finning

New tricks the kids learned at swim lessons.

My Little Swimmers

We knew that Wesley can swim well, but recently Laina has been swimming like a little dolphin. I say that cause she's got a little bit of baby fat still on her. Guess that could be attributed to the cinnamon rolls and ice cream also.

Here she is keeping up with Wesley, swimming the length of the pool...and mad that Wesley beat her.

Happy Birthday to Papa!

The kids sent out a special birthday wish to Papa.

Summer Fun

Sure, it doesn't look like fun to the rest of us, but the kids like it, so it's FUN. We call this our Summer Reading and Learning Program. Remember, you can never be TOO smart.

Mini Dancers

Have you ever seen little people dance? They're so freaking cute...especially when they're your own. Here is Laina in a trial dance class. She's the 2nd from the left...in case you didn't recognize her. After an hour of lessons she was able to perform a mini routine. I'm sure Laina gets her dance moves from me...although she hasn't quite mastered the "robot" yet.

Now the question is...do we spend the money to put her in dance and take the chance that these lessons will be put to good (pro dancer on "Dancing with the Stars") and not evil (on a stripper pole)? Hmmm....

Wesley's goals

Not his goals in life but his goals in soccer. Here's the last game of the White Lightning spring season. Check it out here. He's #6 in white...also the smallest one on the team.

If you're bored, here's another one of his goals.

Fossil Rim

Yesterday, we took a trip down to Glen Rose, Texas to go see the wildlife. Fossil Rim is a 9.5 mile driving tour through the nature center. You get to feed the animals from your car...those that are daring enough to get close. There were a few animals that got up close and personal and sometimes even downright pushy. The zebras refused to leave until they got their fill of food. Here is Scott...and the zebra...posing for a photo.

The kids LOVED it, although Wesley got a bit frightened by the large animals and those that kept wanting to stick their heads in the car window. Laina was a little more brave but still refused to let them feed out of her hand. I didn't blame her...it was slimy!!

Bush whacking

The kids took part in chopping down the big bush. Although they were more of a hindrance than helpers, they at least got to learn that owning a house is not all fun and games. Well, not sure if all that was conveyed in the message but they got to wear cool garden gloves and play with neat tools!

Lickers!

The kids took turns licking off brownie mix...a trick taught by Daddy. No eggs in the brownie mix...special Wesley recipe...so Mommy was somewhat OK with it. It was fun to finally see them SHARING, even if it was a bit messy.

Soccer Party

We had Wesley's White Lightning end-of-season soccer party at our house. Fun in the somewhat chilly pool, grilling out and all the soccer pros received a trophy and T-shirt. No MVP award was given, but Wesley would have definitely been in the running! :)

Why not duke it out?

So Scott thought it would be a brilliant idea to purchase a set of boxing gloves for the kids....until he realized that he probably should have bought 2 sets. The boxing was fun...until the screaming and crying and real fighting over who gets to wear the gloves started. So the compromise...each one gets a glove. When will Daddy learn???

Lien's Birthday at Build-A-Bear

The kids had a blast at their first ever Build-A-Bear experience. Here were born Rexy the Dragon and Jonas the Jonas Dog. Not sure where and how Laina learned about the Jonas Brothers but she was dead set on that darn Jonas dog, also sometimes known as Rocky...in a Buzz Lightyear outfit.

Wesley - the beginning of a hockey career?

Maybe not, but a little better than Laina.

Laina's skating lessons

This is the result of one session of skating lessons for Laina.