First Day of School!

This is a first for all of us! This year, the kids will be going to the public schools in our neighborhood for the first time ever! I'm a little leery of public schools, probably since I was raised in private schools, but with Riley wanting to go to the Naval Academy, he is really going to need all the options that a big, public school can provide.

So, here they are, off to their first day of 4th and 8th grade. Regan is riding her bike with friends, they were going to meet up at the corner (and they were all supposed to wear ALL purple!), so she was anxious to get the photos over and meet up. We met her teacher yesterday, she seems really nice, and one of her best friends from the neighborhood, Piper, is in her class, she was very happy about that! She is going from a class of 12 to a class of 22! Big change for her, but I know since she made all A's and B's last year, she will do great this year.

Riley will be riding the bus to school, and the bus stops right in front of our house, so that's nice! His bag was so heavy with all his books and supplies, we had to leave the supplies at home to bring tomorrow, and he still had to carry one of the books. I really hope they don't have to carry those around every day. He's not as excited about heading back to school as Regan is, but I know he's looking forward to getting involved in some of the school's activities.

Navy Sea Cadets

Riley had Sea Cadets this weekend, they have drills once a month, and we had to finish getting all his gear. David took off early and we got his bags packed (what an ordeal!) and they headed up to Ft. Hood early to meet with one of his Commanding Officers to get what he needed, belt, socks, all the little things that have to match everyone else just so. David met up with an old friend who is on base and got a good deal on some Army cots, and then he dropped him off for the weekend.

Riley was so tired and sweaty when we picked him up, and you can tell by the pictures, he wasn't in the mood for a photo shoot! But he looks so stinking cute in his uniform, or BDU's, that I couldn't resist! The drills this month included (I don't have all the technical military terms for this stuff) breach and they had to clear the room, and sleep with their guns (fake guns) and they had people come in the middle of the night to try to steal their guns, and Riley's got stolen, he was asleep hard he said! But he really enjoyed it, and he was exhausted!

We had a parent's meeting on Sunday to go over next month's drill, which sounds like it is going to be awesome! There will be a camp out at a lake, and they have a helicopter coming, and Vietnam reenactors, and they will be ambushing the cadets! They will have target practice with at least 5 different weapons, they will get to eat an MRE, learn basic survival skills, and learn how to make a tent out of their pancho, and a floatation device out of their "blouse". Sounds like it's going to be a blast. David is going, Regan and I have a Girl Scout campout the weekend before, so I'm not sure if we will go or not, but it is a family thing and it sounds like fun! Also, I know if I don't go, there will be no pictures!

So here's just a few pictures from the day, Riley in formation with his group, a couple of new people came to check it out too, that's why they aren't in uniform.

New Hair and Skinny Jeans!

Regan and I went to get hair cuts, and of course, since it was with our friend Sonia, she fixed us up! I got a pink hair extension with purple glitter, and Regan got pink, purple and blue, with glitter! Here's a picture of Regan looking way too grown up with super cute hair!

And Riley wanted some bright blue skinny jeans for school, and we got them on the way to the skating rink to meet up with our girl scout friends, but he wanted to wear them immediately! He's getting so tall, I know he's on skates, but he's taller than me now! (I know that's not very tall either, but he is getting tall, just trust me!)

Cousin Camp!

Some of my favorite memories as a kid were times spent with my cousins! We would go to our Nanny and Paw Paw's and play in the mud and fish in the pond and swing on the porch swings. I sure miss those days, but I'm so glad that my cousin and I do what we can to keep our kids close! We try to get together as often as possible, and I know that's not that often with them in Houston and us here, but the kids have so much fun when we do!

This time, we met them in San Antonio and surprised the kids with a day at Six Flags! They had no idea we were going to Six Flags or that we were meeting the cousins. We got there, and they were all so surprised! We spent the morning in the water park, the boys off on their own, the girls with their daddy's, and me and Tina relaxing in the lazy river!

Then we rode some rides, the kids are so adventurous, they rode almost everything, and then Tina and Bennie headed home to work, and we brought all the kids home with us for the week! I kept them busy :)

On Tuesday, we went to Austin's Park and Pizza, we were there from open to close! On Tuesday, Gattiland, where the boys spent most of their extra money, and got a ton of tickets, and then bought the girls prizes with all their tickets, how sweet! On Thursday we went to Rockin' River water park and then to Kawaii Ice for snow cones. On Friday, we packed for the trip to Houston, and Regan packed her own suitcase (full of stuffed animals, I had to repack!)

Saturday, we left one set of cousins for another set! We headed up to Tomball for David's side of the family's reunion. Uncle James and Tia Lola were in from Brazil, so we all got together at David's cousin Jimmy's house and had a great time! The kids swam, played pool, and got to know another side of the family. It was a good time with family we don't get to see nearly often enough!

Cousin Camp

Camp Buckner!

I think church camp is just about the best thing ever! I loved it when I first brought kids to Camp Dry Gulch WAY back in the day, and I loved it even more when I could bring my own kids and drop them off, and see them come home changed, but this year, I was honored to be the 3rd grade girls camp counselor at Camp Buckner!

Riley left for camp on Sunday and came home Wednesday afternoon, and he really didn't want to go. He thinks he is too old and he's gone every year, but I have my spies out and they all said he had a great time and was a big help, so I know he enjoyed it!

Regan and I left Wednesday morning and came home on Saturday afternoon. This is Regan's last year for Kid's Camp, she was a "Purple Peep" and I was with the "Pink Polkadots!" It was so much fun. We had night services with games and contests, and we learned all about the armor of God, what each item was, the sign language for it, what it meant, etc. Worship was awesome, and I just love seeing all those little 2nd through 5th graders jumping up and down with their hands in the air praising God!

We would get up in the morning, head to breakfast, then chapel (after a little game of Ga Ga Ball) and then we had activities like swimming, water slides, crafts, concessions and movie, the kids were worn out by the time it was light's out at 10:30! The camp is really nice and peaceful and the cabins were clean (and cold!) and it was a blast.

I have to say though, the absolute best part of camp for me was when a little girl in our cabin, 8 years old, tells me she heard God speak to her for the first time, we had 5 girls give their lives to Jesus for the first time. We had awesome prayer time, praying for parents who are Muslim to get saved, and questions about why parents have to get divorced, and why did Jesus have to die on the cross. 8 year olds! I was amazed at their faith, and some of the things that they are going through at only 8 years old and I know that these kids are gonna be great leaders for Jesus, really, they already are! I just stood in worship at nights and cried watching these girls with their hands up, tears running down their little faces as they praised Jesus. What a sight! I know some people don't understand why I would want to go to camp or work with kids but when you see that, how can you not want to be a part of that?

And then, the next day at church, we had a baptism day, and I got to watch one of my little Pink Polkadots get baptized! I took pictures and cried, again. Another life changed by something as seemingly inconsequential as church camp.

Camp Buckner

Elise Brielle Aldridge

Kenzie was scheduled to have a c-section on Monday, July 9th, so Regan and I met Grandpa Don and Cathy (Khaki) at the hospital for the birth. I got to go in with her again, so I had to "scrub in"! Good thing there's that big blue sheet separating me from all the blood! And her doctor was nice and funny, so it was a little weird sitting there making jokes while he was cutting her open. Eeeww. Anyway, Elise Brielle was born at 1:00 in the afternoon, and up until that morning, she didn't have a name! I am proud to say I got to have a little hand in naming her! As we were checking in, I saw the name Elise in a baby book and we were like, hmm, that's it! She's precious, and she was perfect!

Southwest Believer's Convention

David and I decided to attend the Southwest Believer's Convention this year, or as much of it as we could. We had talked about going for years but was never able to make it work but this year, we knew we had to be there. And it was awesome! We heard Jesse Duplantis (one of our personal favorites) Jerry Savelle, Kenneth Coupland, Keith Moore, Bill Winston, and Creflo Dollar. David bought the entire thing on USB and has been listening to it all again, it was that good!

Well, we brought the kids and kind of combined it into a mini-family vacation as well. It was in downtown Ft. Worth, so we got a nice hotel room with a pool so the kids got to swim and we took them on the 4th to the Ft. Worth Stockyards and watched the cattle drive, and let them get lost in the maze! That was fun, but it was so hot that day that Regan started getting a little overheated before she could find her way out of the maze.

We got to have our first (well, first for Regan and me) In and Out Burger! We liked it (but I'm partial to Austin's own P. Terry's). and we got to meet up with my dad and Cathy, and we had dinner with them one night with the kids, and went to Southlake to watch a fireworks display! It was fun, we walked around this little outdoor shopping center, with live bands and games for the kids, we watched the fireworks and listened to the music! Then the next night, we let the kids hang at the hotel and order Disney shows (unbeknown to us, $8 worth of Disney shows they could watch at home for free!) and we went to IHOP with Dad and Cathy and got to spend some time with them. It was a nice trip, and a welcome little mini-vacation!

Fort Worth

Lake Jacksonville

I'm way behind on updating the blog, I know, I've been so busy this summer, and now I'm going to try to catch up and there will be an onslaught of pictures to follow! Sorry! But school starts back in one week, so I should be better about keeping up then. The only problem then is, we aren't doing anything to keep up with!

Well, we decided to go see Nanny, Tang Tang, and Aunt Kathy and everyone in Jacksonville before Kenzie had the baby. She only had a small window where she could get away so we got up and out real early on Friday morning and were able to be in Jacksonville for lunch. It was so good to see everyone, it had been several years since I had seen my Nanny! I don't care how old you get, it's always good to see your Nanny!

We spent some time together and then went back to Trista and Chris's new house on the lake and got out on the boat and Riley got to brush up on his wakeboarding. He had a blast. Regan got to tube, we swam, it was really nice! We went back Saturday for an early lunch and Nanny and Tang Tang had to head back, so we went back to the lake for a while before we had to hit the road for home. It was a nice short weekend away, and nice to be around some water!

Lake Jacksonville

Tammy's Farm!

I usually stop in at Tammy's, or in this case, spend the night at Tammy's, when I have to go get Regan from Camp Texlake. She lives about 5 minutes from Camp, and it's over an hour from my house, and since I had to get Regan at 9am, I spent the night! Kenzie rode with me to drop Regan off at camp, and then we went to check out Tammy's farm, and then I went back Friday night since the guys were out of town on a deep sea fishing trip, so Regan and I spent the day helping her milk the goats and feed the menagerie!

Camp Texlake!

One of the best parts about selling 1117 boxes of cookies is the free camp! Regan earns the money for Camp Texlake every year with her cookie dough, and this year camp was 6 nights away from home! She didn't bat an eye. The Juniors sleep in NON air conditioned cabins, which really should not even be an option in central Texas! We packed a sheet set for her bunk, and when she brought it home I noticed it never even made it out of the bag, she said she slept on the mattress, too hot for even sheets!

But she had a good time, several of her Girl Scout Troop buddies were with her and this time she did a horse camp, so she got to buy cowboy boots and ride horses! She had a good time, and can't wait to go back. I think this was her last year in the NON a/c cabins!

Lake Georgetown

Finally, it's the first day of summer break! Riley got out of school on the 30th, and Regan had to go until the 7th of June! It seemed to drag on forever...and ever...

So to celebrate the first official day of our summer break, I took the kids to Lake Georgetown. Twenty minutes away and they've never been, how bad is that?! But, it was overcast in the morning so the place was practically empty! There were only like, 5 other families there. So, they played in the rocks, buried Riley, had some snacks, got sunburned, overall, a great start to the summer!

Last Blast

The last week of school for Regan was mostly parties! She had a big Ecosystem project due and after that it was party, party, party! But on the last day of school, they had "Last Blast" and it was pretty fun. They had a zip line, hamster wheels, gyro machine, hot dogs, hamburgers, and a dunk tank! Regan even got to be dunked in the tank. Riley and I went up for the last hour or so, so I got a few pictures of her on the gyro, but she had already done most everything else. I was just glad it wasn't too hot that day, and glad that it was the last day of school!

Mrs. Ray! The best teacher ever!

All About Hair!

Regan has been wanting a perm forever, but I got her some of those pink sponge rollers that I used to sleep in when I was a kid to have "Shirley Temple" hair! They now come in different sizes and colors, so we've been playing around with her hair. The first night, we used the smallest size rollers and she ended up with a short, tight, white afro! She hated it. So, as we were rushing out the door for school, I pulled it back into two ponies and said she looked like a curly Princess Leah! As the day wore on, the curls dropped, and it was much cuter. But then we tried the bigger rollers and she liked that much better.

 

And, miracle of all miracles, Riley decided to go for broke and cut all his luscious locks off! I think he thinks he is Sampson and his power is his hair! He hates getting it cut and even though he asked for it, it was pretty traumatic for him to get it cut. There was almost enough hair to donate to Locks Of Love! But, I think he looks much older, and much more military-ready with the short hair!

Sea Cadets

Riley is now an official member of the U.S. Navy Sea Cadets! As soon as I heard about this program, I knew it was for Riley. He got to go spend the weekend at Ft. Hood, and drill, he will do that one weekend a month now. David took him to Ft. Hood and learned all about it, and got him signed up and he is so excited about it. His first step was to take an XDivision test, which he took immediately. While other kids were watching a movie, he was hunkered down studying for his test. They asked David if Riley had 10 more brothers just like him at home, they would take them all! The next step is to take a BMR test, which is like 1,000 questions about Basic Military Regulations (I think) and then in December he will do a 2 week boot camp. There are many summer training programs, where he can go to a Coast Guard ship for 3 weeks, get his pilot's license, STEM programs at Annapolis, and even train with Navy Seals. He's raring to go and wants to do all of it! The good news is he has to keep his grades up to be involved, so now we have some good motivation! And another good thing, he has to have short hair! He came home and wanted his hair cut right away! Here is a picture of him in his BDU's that they gave him, we still have to get him some more uniform stuff. I am totally clueless when it comes to all this military jargon, so I need to study some of that BMR stuff with him!

Regan's 10th Birthday Party

We decided to have a sleepover party for Regan's 10th birthday. You only turn double digits once, right?! So, she invited her Girl Scout friends, a couple of friends from church, school, and the neighborhood, and we had us a shindig! We had about 12 girls for the evening, 7 that slept over. Riley and David took off and spent the night with Mimi and Papa, so we had the house to ourselves. I got white pillowcases for everyone and pink, purple, turquoise, yellow and lime green tie dye, and we dyed the pillowcases. They turned out really cute! Regan wanted ice cream cake, and we got Little Caesar's pizza and they watched Alvin and the Chipmunk's Chipwrecked! They were all very well behaved and we had no melt downs, so all in all, it was a success. She won't be 10 till the 14th, but we wanted to have her party before everyone was gone for the summer.

 

Her gift from us!

Gummy Bear Beach Party cupcakes for school party