The End of Summer

Can you smell it? Freshly sharpened pencils, brand new folders, unopened packs of paper? I love school supplies and thankfully so does Madie. I usually end up over-buying in my exuberance. For example Madie has 2 pencil boxes this year- never mind that she still has 2 perfectly good ones from last year. Ah, well. Perhaps she can share one with me. Every year I marvel at how quickly Madie gets ready on the first day of school. Yesterday (the first day) she was completely dressed, hair fixed, teeth brushed, accessorized, bed made and guinea pigs feed with at least 15 minutes to spare. Today (day 2) not so much. Micah was standing at the door waiting for her and she was going to have to tie her shoes in the car.

She had a fantastic first day at a brand new school. It was a brand new school in two ways- the school opened it's doors for the first time yesterday and it is Madie's new school. I think she has been really anxious for yesterday for a long time. She seemed very determined yesterday to just get it over with. When she got in the car yesterday afternoon she seemed as though a huge weight had been lifted. I think (and hope) that she is going to have a great year.

We moved at the beginning of August to Steiner Ranch and so far we are really loving it. The house is so much bigger than the last one- in fact we have two entire rooms without furniture. We are finally beginning to settle into the house. I am anxious to start enjoying all that Steiner offers- the playgrounds, pools, basketball courts, etc. I signed Grant up to play soccer with the Neighborhood Soccer Association, except that we were put on a waiting list. Until they sent out an email looking for coaches in Grant's age group and I convinced Micah to coach! Grant is excited to play and even more excited that Micah is going to be his coach.

Ahhh, summer....

I can't believe it's nearly July! June just completely snuck by me. Micah and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on the 12th. We went to Houston and stayed at the Houstonian hotel and ate at some fantastic restaurants. We really enjoyed spending the time together without anyone interrupting us and then quickly forgetting why they interrupted us. Although we were both missing the kids by Saturday night. And we were definitely ready to see them on Sunday. The best part was that their aunts and uncles had worn them out completely and they slept on the way home.

The kids are staying busy by playing outside in the mornings and evenings. Grant has really become a confident bike rider (still with training wheels) and Madie is loving making up tricks on her scooter. They've been swimming quite a few times and we are about to join the YMCA so there will be more swimming in our future.

One of the main things we have been doing this summer is reading! Madie and I have been reading the Harry Potter series together. It has really been so much fun. She loves the books as much as Micah and I do and her reward when we finish a book is to watch the movie. So far we've made it through book 2. Yesterday, we started book 3 and read over 100 pages. Not bad for reading aloud! Grant loves books as well. We took him to the library and he checked out 3 new books. Two of the books he had memorized the next day! We need to return those books and get new ones as I am getting a little worn out of the ones we have!

Next up for the summer- swim lessons, VBS, Madie will take a trip to Lake Jackson, and horse camp (for Madie).

The end of 3rd grade!

I can't believe that Madie is nearing the end of her 3rd grade year. It seems absolutely impossible that she could be in the 4th grade. We are definitely moving into a pre-tween era. She's much more easy embarrassed and is definitely not into her little brothers exuberant affections (especially at school)! She is finishing the year with straight A's, which means she gets a trip to Sullivan's steakhouse. I'm not sure who's looking forward to it more, me or her?!? Micah and I are so proud of her, she is such a great student and a thoughtful, loving pre-tween. ;)

Exhaustion

I'm flat out tired. Antique week does that to me. I know, I know, I live an hour and a half away and never go down there (Round Top) during the madness. But Micah has been working there every day since Saturday as well as working his normal job. I worry about him staying awake on the way home, so I try to stay up until he gets home. I usually make it until 12:30 and then I'm toast. I try really hard to get up early so that he can sleep in, but I have to say I'm not doing a good job. Sorry sweetie! The kicker was Aunt Liz came to visit us and she and I always stay way too late chatting. Like 3 am too late. I wonder how long it will take for all of us to catch up on our sleep.

Madie

Madie never ceases to amaze me. Wednesday she got not only her report card, but the results of her reading TAKS test. She had straight A's! Even more incredible, to me, was her TAKS results. Of the 36 questions asked, she answered 35 of them correct! Micah and I were completely blown away.

Academic excellence is amazing and will help take her far. But more than grades and test scores, I want her to be a child of God. She has a sweet heart, that sometimes is overshadowed. There are so many times that all I see is how bossy she is to Grant. But in reality what is there, is an older sister that loves playing with her little brother. What a treasure and gift that is for both of them and their parents. She brought me to tears today. Micah and Madie went down to Round Top to work at the cafe. Micah has told me about what an incredible worker she is- she just never stops and jumps right in and gets the job done. Customers have told me what an incredible job she does. I have yet to witness her in person. However, none of that brought me to tears. She earns quite a bit of money (now calm down, she puts more than half in savings). Well today she was out shopping with Gommy and found something (that cost a considerable amount of money for a 9 year old) that she thought I would like. She then found an old Spiderman comic book for her little brother (he's way into Superheros). She wanted to spend her hard earned money on her mom and little brother before she even thought of buying something for someone else. Micah told me he wasn't sure I would like what she got, but he's wrong, I will treasure it always knowing she was thinking of me.

Antique Week

It's officially Antique Week in Round Top. Which means I lose my husband for a week. Sigh. We went down last night to celebrate Liz's birthday and had a blast. I have forgotten the 'fun' part of the crazyiness. I love seeing all kinds of people that I haven't seen in quite some time. I am pretty sure the last time I went antiquing was when Grant was just a few months old. Last night was fun, but I don't think I would enjoy it more than a night or two. Of course, I do miss the thrill of the hunt of a great piece of furniture, a really great buy, or a super cute outfit. I don't miss the crowds, the weather (could be extremely hot or super cold), or the sore feet! We got home around midnight and Madie and Micah went back this morning to work. Grant took a 4.5 hour nap today, I guess antique week wore him out too!

Ok, I have to admit, this blog is stressing me out. From the title to the font to figuring out what to say! I know once I get into it, I will love it. But geez... the stress.

So, I'll start by giving an update on the fam. Micah is loving his job as a family law attorney. He has always felt called by God to help people. As we discussed tonight in our Bible study class, he is shining his light from God into darkness. At the beginning of his job he came home everyday and would start every sentence with "They are in such a bad place..." I told him after a few weeks of this that if they weren't in a bad place they wouldn't need him. On a lighter note, he loves going into the court room to argue. And no, that doesn't mean that he gets all that out in court and doesn't like to argue at home. He LOVES to argue. He could argue with a box and in his mind he wins every time.

Madie is doing so well in 3rd grade. She is my rule-following child and it reflects in her schoolwork. For the 2nd 9 weeks in a row, she had straight A's. Micah and I are continuing the tradition in my family that if you get straight A's you get to go out to dinner at the restaurant of your choice. She hasn't had her dinner yet because she picked IHOP and Micah wasn't thrilled. ;) Her big goal is to have straight A's the entire year and be rewarded with a dinner at Sullivan's steakhouse. We introduced her to crab legs not too long ago and she is hooked, so steak with crabmeat on top is sounding good to her. Keep in mind, this kid knows a good steak when she sees one. Growing up at the cafe has taught her that. I remember when she was 2 or 3 we tried to give her beef tips and told her it was steak and she looked at us and said "that is NOT steak!" Madie will turn 9 in 3 weeks. I can't believe my little girl will be 9. She is such a strong, sweet, loving child. Oreo is her newest love- he's her pet guinea pig. It is so much fun to watch her with him.

Grant is our laugh a minute. I wish I could remember all the things he says that just cracks me up. I try to run and write it down, but this Mom brain really kicks in and I usually get half of it written and have no idea what the other half was. Not only does he say funny things, but his facial expressions are what put it over the top. He is a charmer and all out sweetheart. He is so thoughtful and thinks of other people. Grant loves the Texas Longhorn football team so much. Colt McCoy is his hero. A few months ago he was having a rough day, just getting hurt at every turn. That afternoon, he smacked the snot out of his knee and couldn't be tough anymore. He was sobbing on the ground and as I tried to console him, through his tears he said "I have to be tough like Colt, Mom!!" And just continued to sob. It broke my heart, I told him that it was ok to cry, Colt gets hurt too! Not sure he believed me. His other love are fast cars- Nascar specifically, but he doesn't discriminate. He loves Corvettes (they are in his blood- his grandparents and great aunt and uncle used to race them), Mustangs, Vipers, if it's fast, he loves it.

I guess that leaves me. I think it's harder to write about me. My day consists of cleaning, playing on the computer, cleaning, playing cars, cleaning, working on writing letters and numbers, cleaning, 3rd grade math (BLECH), cleaning, making dinner and then collapsing. I've been trying lately to do some of the things that make me, me. I've been trying to scrap more, I've been taking more pictures lately. We are getting back into the swing of our church activities- Wednesday night Foundations and Thursday morning Mothers of Young Children. I love both of these groups as they both have added so much to our lives. It's how Micah got his current job! It seems lately I have been planning party after party. First my sis-in-law, Tara, decorated a wedding in November, then Tara's baby shower in January, then my friend, Katy's baby shower last weekend. Madie has opted to forgo a birthday party and go to the American Girl store in Dallas instead. So that has saved me from another party so soon, but there will be Grant's 4th birthday in April. Another sis-in-law's baby shower in early May, followed by birthday party central in June. Don't call in July, I'll be pooped! Ok, I think I've rambled on for long enough! That wore me out!