Soccer!

Cooper has started a new sport - soccer.

He played indoor soccer when he was younger, but now he is playing FULL ON soccer. It was a bit of a hassle and scramble to get placed on a team that did not practice on Wednesday Nights - I had to stand FIRM on my ground.

But, we were blessed with the team

Inter Milan and a great coach - Coach Deborah.

We recently had BAD rain here, in which many of the local fields are under water, so we got to have one practice - which really was more of like a Meet-n-Greet.

That was on Thursday...

First Game was on Saturday...

VERY rough... the team had no idea really what was going on, but their hearts were really into the game and the boys were playing hard!

We lost 7-0 :(

Cooper's shoe fell off during the game... the Assistant Coach came to his rescue!

The second game on Sunday was AMAZING!

We were down 3-0, and Cooper made the first team goal!

He was SO excited and the parents were ALL jumping up and down, I didn't get any pictures... The team morale was back up high and the boys got another wind!

Shortly after, Cooper scored AGAIN!

The another boy, scored 2 more goals!!

Inter Milan WINS 4-3 :)

Cortheye & Cylas Come to Visit

We were in for a treat when my niece and nephew were in town,

and got to come play for a little bit.

These Cousins LOVE each other SO much!!

Really, Really, Really wish they would move closer!

Fingers crossed...

Ohhhh September!

Summer is over and we are in full swing of School!!

Life has changed, and the relaxing days of hanging out at the pool are gone.

New adventures are in our future :)

Here is just a sunset that Lexi took some good pictures of:

We are taking picture and getting our friend to make CD labels for a "goody bag" for Lexi's birthday... We used her new lime green walls as background and Lexi "piknik"-ed the picture.

Cooper's Kindergarten Class has been doing LOTS of fun things.

The did a "Gingerbread" Unit, and they finished it off with a Gingerbread Man Scavenger Hunt. At the end, they found the Parents and Gingerbread Cookies that they got to decorate with icing and sprinkles.

First Day of School!

The First Day of School is always incredibly emotional for me...

It is always the End of a FABULOUS Summer, and the start of something new.

Plus, it is a reminder that my kids are getting older,

and a reminder at how FAST time goes by.

This year, was exceptionally hard because Cooper started Kindergarten!

MY BABY!

Yes... he is out of the house, and I do NOT like it!

But, since I choose to NOT home-school (for the sake of my sanity AND my child's' education)... off to school they will go.

Now, I present to you:

The First Day Of School:

Hand-picked outfits by the kids:

Check out those JEANS! WOOOOO!!!

We are SO blessed to have a school now RIGHT down the street,
so we can ride our bikes and scooters there :)

Cami, Lexi, Bailey (with her broken arm), and Cooper

READY to go to school.

OK - so here's where the pictures stop...

once we got inside the school, it took everything in me to not break down and yell, "I DON'T WANNA!"...

I was NOT ready for the school year to start...

I WANT 2 MORE MONTHS OF SUMMER!

But,... not up to me...

So,... I put my Big Girl Panties on,...

sucked it up...

made NO eye contact with any other moms...

gotten taken to Starbucks by my GREAT neighbor so I could sulk,

and now... just dealing with it.

OH, the kids were FINE... for the most part.

Cooper missed me a LOT,... he cried at the end of the day,

"Momma, I just missed you SO much".

But,... it is time... school is in session.

Shining Star Camp

Shining Stars is a part of my life that I am blessed to be a part of.

Every summer, we have a one week camp, where we bring in our choreographers, and they make some FABULOUS dances to the GREAT music that Jesus gives us!

My Co-Director, CP, and me...

Before we got all sweaty...

Let me just say - I REALLY wish I could do "camp" at least 3 times a week -

it is a GREAT work-out!!

Lexi is on our "Big Girl" Team!

Hard to believe - when she joined Shining Stars, she was 4 years old & Cooper was 5 months old!! Time has FLOWN by!

Here is our Big Girl Team...

Shining Stars Elite

At the Lake with our Friends

Our friends, The Head's, were SO sweet and invited us to the lake for a last minute weekend get-a-way. It was a VERY nice way to spend the weekend before school starting! It was such a GREAT time, filled with craziness :)

The first night, once we got all un-packed and settled in, Shannon & I loaded the kids up on the golf cart, and Shannon gave us a tour of the grounds.

It was SOOOOO neat!

The kids sat in the back of the golf cart and enjoyed the sights.

We got to see the really nice pavilion (which would be PERFECT to have a wedding at)... the kids were dancing and being crazy!

This was part of the putt putt course:

Back on the Cart for more riding:

And then...

... Bailey jumped off and broke her arm!

Yeah... it was gross looking -

After a night in the hospital, we decided to all stay and enjoy the rays.

Even Bailey - she was a little bummed she couldn't partake in the water activities, but she still had fun!

The kids got ready for their first boat ride.

Cooper was not really a "boat" person... he ended up being OK - but he was VERY glad to get to dry land :)

We were laughing out how crazy his hair looks.

He was yelling because of Greg's driving :)

Lexi showed off her true dare-devil colors!

Hanging out on the boat at the house.

Greg driving Lexi on the Sea Doo.

She kept yelling, "Faster! Faster!"

Jumping into the water:

Bailey chillin'

Clarence :)

Now, Lexi is being pulled... she was DARING Greg to try and knock her off.

That girl is CRAZY! She would switch from lying on her stomach to sitting on her knees... while racing in the water!

She hung on really good - only fell once the whole weekend.

Precious Kids!

We got to do some fishing!

Girl Talk - What do you think they're talking about?
Justin Bieber?

Thank you SO much to the Head Family for inviting us! We had a BLAST!

Tour of The New School

We have a BRAND new Elementary school -

1st year to open AND,

it's right around the corner from our house.

When we first bought our home, I was pregnant with Cooper and we were told then, that we would be getting an Elementary School.

6 Years later, it has happened.

We are ecstatic and it is perfect timing - with Cooper starting Kinder!

We got to go tour the school.

Cooper is in class with Brooke & Kate - he also had them in his pre-school class :)

YAY! He already has friends.

Our school also does a "Welcome Walk".

It is where the teachers come to your house to meet you for the first time.

All of the neighbors were hanging in their front yards, anxiously awaiting to find out who their teachers were going to be.

We feel VERY blessed, and got the two teachers that we knew and will be PERFECT for the kids! It was such an exciting day.

The teachers also brought a bag filled with goodies and this note attached to it:

It is going to be such a GREAT year!!

Port Aransas - July

We had the pleasure of going to Port Aransas for 4 days with some good friends of ours.

We all had SO much fun!!

Kendall was SO funny... she started the trip out LOVING on Lexi...

BUT... as the trip went on, she did NOT want Lexi any where NEAR her.

She would get SO angry that Lexi was too close to her.

It was HILARIOUS!

Ashton, Cooper, & Camden really enjoyed getting to spend so much time together.

They enjoyed playing on the beach and playing Wii & Monster Trucks.

They were SO cute!!

Seriously - she is ONLY crying because Lexi is there :)

We got to enjoy the coastal air sitting outside.

We played Board Games!

These were our overnight guests - live sand dollars.

We released them the next day.

That was a little controversial with the kids,... but it was what was best.

The house we were in had a GREAT pool table downstairs so the kids had LOTS of fun playing.

Clarence cooked some HUGE and yummy shrimp!

Lexi eating dessert:

Here's a rainbow before we had to leave:

Good times... I am already ready to go back!