Conversation of the Week...
On August 25th on our way to dance class, this is the conversation in our car-
Julia:I'm gonna marry Spencer (a boy she has met at the pool 2x). I love him and he loves me.
Dad:Julia, why do you want to marry Spencer?
Julia:He treats me the way I want to be treated.
Dad:Wow. Well, that's important. But you know, when you get married, you and Spencer will have to move out of our house and get your own house.
Julia:But daddy, I'll miss you.
Jacob:And don't be thinkin' you're living with me at my house.

Ha! It was all we could do to keep a straight face. But then Jacob backed off of his strong stance and said maybe he would think about her living with him.

The First Day of School...Well, it's official. Jacob is a third grader and Julia is a kindergartener. They had a wonderful first day of school. Jacob really likes his teacher and all they ways they can earn prizes in his classroom. Julia loved "recess, music class, quiet time, and the cafeterium (as she put it)". She was so excited but also a little nervous when the day actually arrived. John and I walked the kids up and got them settled in. However, when it was time to say goodbye to Julia, I had to make a quick exit since the tears were starting. I didn't want to to get upset. But then I was fine. So glad they are off to a great start!

Lilly's 3rd Birthday...On Saturday, Jacob and Julia got to go to Lilly's 3rd birthday at The Little Gym. Lilly is the little sister of one of Julia's classmates from last year. She and Julia hit it off and Julia likes to "take care" of Lilly. Anyway, it was a fun day and a good way to get out some extra energy.

1st Ballet/Tap Class...Last night was Julia's first night at her ballet/tap class. She has such a GREAT time! And imagine her delight when she walked in and her friend, Olivia, from her old school was in the same class! Oh my...After class, we celebrated by Daddy taking us all out to eat mexican food at Habaneros...yum!

More pics from Gruene...

The picture you see against the skyline is a cactus growing out of the top of the Gristmill Restaurant.

New Braunfels, TX...Last week John and I took the kids for a mini vacation to New Braunfels, TX. We also visited Gruene, TX and Austin, TX along the way. While in NB, we spent a day at the long anticipated Schlitterbahn Water Park. It is something like 15 miles of water slides. We had a ball! We definitely have a family of daredevils! Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the camera this day...ha! The next day we set out after breakfast (at a great restaurant called the Fork and Spoon) with ice chest full of snacks to float the Guadalupe River. Unfortunately, due to an approaching storm we opted to just swim and picnic on the river instead. It would be just our luck to get stuck on the river during a storm...ha! But we had a great time exploring in the rocks and swimming in the river. That night we went to Gruene, TX and had dinner at the Famous Gristmill Restaurant. This beautiful old mill backs up to the Guadalupe River and has a wonderful family oriented outdoor deck to eat on. Not to mention the chicken fried chicken and mashed potatoes were pretty outstanding...yum! After dinner we went to Gruene Hall which was right next door and is the oldest dance hall in TX. It was a ball! Live music, great atmosphere, and families running around dancing and playing everywhere. Can't wait to go back! On the way home the next day, we even stopped off in Austin and took the kids into the State Capitol building. We didn't take the tour because it didn't start for another 2 hours but they got to go in the rotunda and see the pictures and statues of Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, etc. Nice to throw a little state history into such a great trip! Most of my pics are from Gruene. But I still have to develop my film so we'll see what turns out there...ha!

My First Crop...John and I are trying our hand at gardening this summer. So far, we have planted tomatoes, okra, blackeyed peas, basil, cilantro, rosemary, squash. Some critter ate our only tomato but we now have 2 more growing. My basil has done wonderfully and I made my first batch of pesto a few weeks ago. It was great! On Friday, I picked my first 2 okra and 1 blackeyed pea pod. It has been fun to experiment with different plants and different light/plots. We hope to expand our garden area soon to grow more yummy stuff.