Just a few moments from this month to share that I don't want to forget...
like slobbery Koko B kisses,
a birthday cake because you claim you never had a cake on your birthday. Poor kid - let's not forget cupcakes at your party and a beach trip. But hey, cake sounds good so why not!
Riding dirt bikes for the first time...
fun at the Fairy Tale Fair...
Auction Time, Auction Time...
twinning with the TNT Cattle crew...
which results in the best purchase EVER, a Go-Kart!
Oh boy!
Lastly, celebrating one of our favorite neighbors birthdays.
Summer 2016 has come to an end - how'd that happen so fast?! We're working on getting back into the school routine around here, which is always hard. Happy Friday regardless - I'm sharing some of my favorite recent moments with my favorite little cowboys!!
Keeler recently had his final vision assessment since completing vision therapythis spring. We were thrilled to hear the doctor say his progress was "off the charts." They expected him to have continued improvements but he reported that normally they do not see as much as he's seeing with Keeler. We're so thankful!
After the assessment we went to lunch to celebrate, pick out school supplies...
and pick up a little froyo treat!
One of my favorite coworkers/friends recently got married and had the sweetest wedding. It was a fun evening with some of my best friends and their little ones.
Before school started on Thursday, we did our best to soak up the last bit of the gorgeous summer evenings playing with our favorite neighbor boys. Lately, we have had even more than the next-door neighbors coming over. The other day we had eight boys in the front yard playing... oh boy!!
And speaking of playing, Kallahan had his very first playdate this past weekend. We asked Liam to come over and play. His mom and I are friends and we discovered that our boys will be in the same preschool class. I thought it would nice if they could play and get to know one another before Kallahan's school starts in a few weeks. They had the best time!
Liam really gravitated more towards Keeler but the three of them played for hours.
Sonic cheers to our new favorite friend!
Two of my favorite farm boys have birthdays coming up, Kallahan and my nephew, Jakob.
My sister and I are planning a combo party for them - it will be fun to do it together and I think it's pretty sweet a 15-year-old is willing to share his big day with a 5-year-old. Samantha, how are our babies this old?!
Keeler had his first day of second grade this week. The kid doesn't like me to take his photo that well anymore so these pictures are certainly some of my new favorites. So far he's loving school :)
Our favorite hired man can't wait to start school in a couple weeks but in the mean time he's been busy working at TNT Cattle Co and in his spare time learning to ride his bike {sans training wheels}.
Today marks Keeler's first day of second grade! Like last year, I opted to take his "first day" pictures earlier in the week to avoid the hassle and struggle on the morning of his actual first day. This seems to be working for us. This morning everything went smoothly - he woke up to his request of cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate.
Last night we attended his "Back to School Social" to meet his teacher and drop off his school supplies. His teacher was very friendly and remembers Keeler from Vacation Bible School. Keeler's Mimi also taught her daughter years ago and said that she was one of her "all time favorite teachers." We're hoping the same goes for Keeler and Mrs. Cavasos. We've been very blessed with wonderful teachers throughout the years.
Keeler said, "it feels like just the other day I was getting out of school." I agreed but encouraged him to think about our great summer and all the memories we have made. I asked him what was his favorite thing we did and he responded with, "ALL of it!" Then we reminisced about all the fun times.
I just love this goofball to pieces.
Such a stud!
We all wanted our picture with our big second grader!
Keeler wanted us to all walk him into his classroom. It was hard to think about it but this will more than likely be the last year that we are able to do this as family. Kal will be attending public school next year and Keeler will be onto the next elementary school.
Keeler walked into his class with great confidence and gave his teacher a little gift. I snapped one picture of them together and we wished them a great day. Another easy back-to-school experience. It's going to be the best year yet!
We are so proud. Proud of the amazing little man is he becoming.
Today, I am linking up with two of my favorite bloggers, Erika & Shay, to talk about the three pairs of shoes I would take if I was stranded on a deserted island. I love to read these posts but rarely participate but since it's shoes it was a MUST!
First I must preface by saying - I would NEVER be able to only pick just three.
But here goes...
1:: a gold sandal
In my world a little gold flat sandal is a summer staple. I wear my Mossimo pair several times a week. Gold is a neutral but gives a fancy and trendy vibe. And a flat would be a must in the sand, right?
2:: riding boots
My Born riding boots are downright the most worn shoe in my closet. They look cute with dresses, skinny jeans and leggings {not necessarily needed on on island but who cares?}. Brown boots paired with black is always one of my favorites too. Leaves changing colors, crisp air, football, etc... on the top of most people's favorite things about fall, not me... it's getting back into my boots! :)
I bought these puppies about a month ago after I hurt my foot running and we had a vacation coming up. They are seriously like walking on clouds - super light weight and cushioned my arch well. I joke and say, "they're so ugly they're cute." but I don't think I have ever received more compliments on a shoe in my life. Like, people have pulled out their phones and purchased while I'm still in conversation this them.
Making them even more impressive, they are one of Oprah's must-haves.
Thank you ladies for such a fun link-up! I can't wait to get "inspired" from other top choices!
The window of opportunity to schedule our summer vacation was relatively small. With trying to plan around farming, two families' schedules, summer activities, etc. it was almost impossible. We hated to be traveling home on Keeler's actual birthday but we didn't have many options and of course we made up for it with a fun birthday party prior. July 23, 2008 will always be one of the best days of my life. I became a mother. Nothing will ever be more special.
July 23, 2016: not quite as momentous but still pretty memorable.
We started the day traveling from Gulf Shores back to Pensacola for our flight home. We let Keeler decide on lunch. He requested sushi and Japanese. We settled on a restaurant near the airport. We were seated with another birthday group and had fun cutting up with the a group of older ladies and their son. We'll never forget Nigeria!
Leaving the restaurant Keeler was playing with my phone and started playing the sound to this video through the car's Bluetooth. He'll probably kill me someday for posting but I never want to forget my baby on his 8th birthday "loving life"... and his mommy ;)
We had some time to kill so we stopped at a local mall.
The boys played some laser tag...
got a massage and I got a really cute pair of Lilly Pulitzer shorts...
I might have a slight obsession.
Then it was on to the airport. We were told that we couldn't check in at the front but to get our tickets at the gate counter. We checked our bags, went through security and waited. At the gate counter Tyler was told we might not fit on the plane. What?! They proceeded to board OUR plane. What?! Tyler went back to the counter and they told him that we got bumped but they were working on alternate arrangements for us and assured him that we'd be compensated for the inconvenience.
Bummer... more waiting. Finally they called him up the counter and told him that we would have to take a taxi to a neighboring airport (one hour away) and we had two options:
a) 4 airline vouchers - a very nice value
b) 4 inconvenience checks - also a very nice value, like enough to almost pay for our entire vacation...
We'll take the checks please. One might say we quickly turned our frowns upside down.
While Tyler worked out the details with the airlines I took the little cowboys out to explore the airport.
Then we all loaded up in a taxi {paid in full by the airlines}.
This was the little cowboys first taxi ride! Keeler and I took the very back. The music was blaring so we decided a good nap was in order. Kallahan also fell asleep while Tyler chatted up the driver.
We ended up arriving at the neighboring airport just in time to grab a few of our favorite snacks and get on our flight to Dallas. We ended up arriving at my parents about 3 hours later than originally scheduled. But who cares? We felt like we had won the lottery!
