End of Summer Family Trip to Concan

Labor Day weekend is the official end of summer in most people's books.  Most kids are back to school and back to the grind of school routines.  We decided at the last minute to go with the family on their last trip to the Frio River and Concan.  We have never taken the girls because they aren't very adventurous and I didn't think they were ready for it, but we took a chance this year.  At this time most of the vacationers are back at home and Concan isn't as crowded as it is during peak times.  Papa and Nonna took their camper and Uncle Garrett took his so we could stay with him.  The trip up there wasn't as bad as I thought and we tried to keep the girls as occupied as possible.  We had a late start and arrived at 8pm as the sun was going down.  Emily asked if we were there constantly the last hour of the trip.  After setting up and eating dinner we all hit the sack to get an early start the next day.

When we awoke the next morning the girls were so excited and were ready to explore.  They walked around the campsite and took in nature.  They had so many questions about all the vegetation and the mountains.  After breakfast we lathered up with sunscreen and headed down to the river which wasn't far from our campsite.  We were on the opposite side of Garner State Park so we went into the river by the park.  The water was cold but not as cold as it usually is which was great in my opinion.  Small rocks by the dam made for some great little falls but were really slippery.  Avery loved watching all the people try to cross over the rocks.  When I asked why she was staring at them she said she liked watching them fall.  Sure enough most of the people who crossed slipped on the same spot on the rocks and Avery would just throw her head back and laugh.  For the first hour or so in the water we dragged the girls around the river and explored the small falls until Emily started getting cranky.  Once she was ready to get out she made you understand she was ready to go.  We all headed back at lunch time and then went back to the river in the afternoon.  It had recently rained a little north of us and the water became murky with the current.  Emily hated that the water was dirty.  Avery could care less, she loved it at the dam.

The next day we went to visit Mrs. Hill at her family place and went to swim at a private section of the river.  That part of the river is spring fed so the water was so cold.  It took a minute or two or three to get used to it.  Both girls loved the water falling over the small dam and Avery loved walking about to find small pools of water.  The water was clear there and there were small fish swimming around us.  Emily loved this area but Avery got tired of the coldness pretty fast.  She became temperamental after about an hour and a half of swimming.  We took out lunch and she got a second burst of energy.  Both girls had a great time.

The next day we packed up and went home.  Overall the girls had a great time and are ready to go camping again next year.  Maybe Papa and Nonna will have a spot of their own up at the river.

First Official School Day 2014-2015

Avery's 4th Birthday Party

When I approached Avery about her theme for her upcoming birthday party, she immediately said she wanted to have a unicorn party.  I wasn't completely surprised because Avery has been interested in horses for a long time and she loves My Little Pony.  I was very inspired and excited to try a theme that wasn't completely characterized.  The website Pinterest is currently all the rage so I took to it for inspiration and I hit the jackpot.  My creative juices never flowed so well before and I was loving it.  I made unicorn party hats and rainbow balloon banners.  I used all my spare time at work to create my own hand made gift bags and even sparked creativity with the baker to make a rainbow cake.  We got a unicorn pinata and I ordered a unicorn cake topper.  After all was said and done I was so proud of myself and my accomplishments creating the best Rainbow Unicorn themed party.  I have the following pictures to prove it.  Oh yeah, and Avery had a great time!  Just a side note, with all the excitement I forgot to get a candle for the cake, so I had to did Avery's memorable #1 candle from her first birthday.

Avery at 4 Years Old

After months of asking, "How old am I today?" Avery is finally 4 years old.  On the day of her birthday I woke Avery up for school and as usual she was not too happy about it until I said those magic words, "Happy Birthday".  Her eyes opened wide and she smiled so big and said, "How old am I today?" which I replied "You are 4!"  She leaped up and gave me a huge hug.  Emily awoke and with such happiness wished her sister a happy birthday.  It was perfect start to Avery's special day.

At 4 years old, Avery is such a character.  She surprises us with the funniest statements at the most unlikely of times and with the silliest of faces.  Although Avery is the youngest she is not a pushover and does not let anyone boss her around, especially her big sister.  She is very stubborn and hates to say she is sorry when the time calls for it.  At this time in her life Avery's imagination is bigger than ever and she loves to come up characters to play and is sometimes the brain behind mischievous situations.  I have always bragged about how great my girls are and how they never get into serious trouble.  Recently that has all changed within a span of a week.  On one occasion while dad was out working nights and after giving the girls dinner I excused myself to change clothing.  I heard too much laughter coming from their bathroom and when I went to investigate I found water flowing out of the door.  It seems as though Avery got some dinner on her face and went with Emily to wash it off.  They began to play and got toilet paper to wet and wipe her face.  The toilet paper got soggy and clogged up the sink which filled up with water and ended up flowing onto the floor.  The girls thought this was hilarious and decided to splash around in it.  By the time I got there Avery was soaking wet, there was water all over the floor and walls, and all the towels in the cabinet under the sink were soaked.  On another occasion someone decided that it was a great idea to play with the salt shaker and pretend it was potion.  Both girls ran around the kitchen table shaking salt all over the floor.  At the end of it all there was a whole salt shaker's worth of salt on the table and floor and Avery got salt in her eye.

Summer school is coming to an end and Avery had to say goodbye to her best friend Michael Cox as his parents registered him in private school.  She was sad to see him go but they will be able to see each other in Religious Education class.  Her teacher Ms. Sami gave me a great report on Avery and said she is one of the brightest kids in her class.  Avery has always been a fast learner and she is very good at her numbers.  She doesn't seem to find writing very interesting and has fallen a little behind on writing her name.  When writing her name she always forgets the "e" and when I let her know it's missing she doesn't seem to want to try and fix it.  I have a feeling she will be great at math and less interested in the arts, although she does like to read and can recall details in stories very well.  At the end of this school year we have decided to let Avery go into Kindergarten with her sister.  If she doesn't do well we can always hold her back but I'm sure she is ready.  

At Avery's 4 year well checkup she did wonderful and passed her vision and eye test.  She did get two shots which she wasn't happy about but was such a trooper.  Her doctor gave her a lollipop and sticker and mommy was so proud of her she even got to pick out a toy at the store.

One development I am sad to report is the learning of how to say Emily's name correctly.  Since the moment she could speak her sister's name, Avery has been pronouncing it Emina, until recently when she started to pronounce the L syllable.  I honestly have to say that I was sad because I realized that Avery was becoming a bright little girl and wasn't a baby anymore.