13 Months Later...

What happened to keep me from blogging for the last 13 months? Good question. As usual, it's probably a combination of a lot of things. For starters I was overwhelmingly occupied with finishing school, passing my state exams, and becoming certified to teach in Texas. I managed to do all that, but oddly enough, it didn't help me get a job. It's a long story, but basically the timing of my graduation and certification made it difficult to get anything before school started this year. Anyway, in about two weeks I should begin subbing and that is probably what I'll be doing for the rest of the year.

The girls have been as busy as ever too. Kelly has been working harder than ever to put food on the table and clothes on our backs, Reagan started first grade this year, and Rylee entered a whole new world with an all day pre-K at the elementary school. I got to do a lot of fun stuff with the girls this summer. Maybe I'll post some pics of our adventures, but don't count on it. I'm probably just going to pickup and start blogging about the here and now. With that being said, they here and now is bedtime for the girls, so... over and out for now!

First Day of Pre-school

Rylee went back to pre-school today, and this year she has Mrs. Pam! She was super excited to be in her class, and she went straight in with not a lot of fuss. She went to the same school last year so she feels right at home. We'll see how she does when she realizes that Reagan isn't there. She's miss independent so I doubt she'll even care.

1st Day of School

Reagan started her first day of Kindergarten today. She was pretty excited about it. Normally I have to drag her out of bed, but not this morning. As soon as she opened her eyes she remembered that today was the day. She got dressed faster than ever, and she was ready to go. She went straight into her class and started making her name tag. She said goodbye to me and Kelly and that was it. We're proud of you Reagan!

Summer Fun

Got some time to kill? No problem. Just grab a swimsuit and go to grandma's house. She's got a couple pools to cool off in, and if you're lucky you can help grandpa wash the car.

The Strep Throat Bandit Strikes Again!

Kelly started feeling bad last night, and was worse this morning. The doctors said she has strep throat, so she's taking it easy for now. On the way home I picked up the girls and told them about it. We talked about how they had to be good tonight, and not jump on Mommy, be loud, etc. Rylee took in the information and said, "Daddy I won't jump on Mommy or sit on her head."

How sweet.

Free Fun = Fort Worth Water Gardens

We were around the house all day saturday, and needed to get out. I have been thinking about taking the girls to the Fort Worth Water Gardens for a while now, so it was a perfect fit. It's a cool place to take almost anyone, and despite the heat, it was fun. I can remember going when I was a kid, and I bet it's been almost 20 years since I've been. Wow, those kind of statements make me feel really old! Anyway if you're looking for a cool place to go that is free, then check it out sometime.

GNO 2K9

Guys night out was last weekend in Granbury. It was the lowest attendance we've ever had, but we still had a good time. There is usually a lot of build up for GNO, but this year was kind of blah. Hopefully next year we'll get back on track and be able to have everyone in attendance. The lake was great though! It was the cleanest I've seen it in a long time, the water was at a decent level, and it was just the right temp for cooling off. Here are some pics of the action.

Uncle James

Ryan

My dad's boat, the "Lolly Gagger".

Show off.

Tonsillectomy Time.

After battling strep throat once every six weeks or so, and sinus infections galore, Reagan had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. She was not looking forward to it, and it sucks to see your five year old worried about things like surgery. She did a great job though, and after a few days of a sore throat she is back to normal. It's helped her snoring tremendously too. I have got to figure out a way to upload the video from Kelly's cell phone. We got some pretty funny footage of Reagan after she had the giggle juice to take the edge off. She was in la-la land for sure! In the meantime, here's a disgusting photo of her throat sans tonsils.

Happy birthday Rylee!

Rylee turned three on May 31st, and it only took me about a month to write about it and post some pics. That's pretty good for me. This year we had her party at Glenview Baptist Church's indoor tree house. It's the same place that Reagan had her 3rd birthday. It's a cool place and very fun for the kids. It's cliche, but I can't believe she is already three. She is definitely our social butterfly. She is pretty much starring in her own movie most of the time. Everyone else (us included) is just an extra. We love you Rylee!

Congrats Ryan!

My brother served his time in the public education system and is now officially done (yeah, I know the post is a little late). Anyway, we're all proud of him and we had a great time at his graduation party. I'm not sure if he's going to college right now or waiting a while. He's got a full time job doing body work at Charlie Cooper Restorations in Euless. Ryan is a super talented painter and body man, and they work on some pretty neat projects over there. Anyway, good job Ryan!

The word "recital" scares me!

Reagan took tap and ballet through the city of Hurst and last Thursday we had the recital. I thought it was a recital for her class, but I was VERY wrong. It was a recital for the entire tap and ballet program for the city, including classes for all age groups... including adults! It was over two hours long and Reagan was only two songs. The first was only seven songs in, but the last was only seven songs from the end! So needless to say there was some downtime in between. Kelly was a "stage mom" so she got to spend her time backstage entertaining five year olds for two hours. I was Mr. Mom, so I got to wrangle Rylee between numbers. Here some pics of the show, and some of Rylee while we were killing time.

Preschool Grad

Reagan graduated from preschool last week. We got to do the big graduation ceremony thing which is kind of cool I guess. Sometimes I think it's a bit much to celebrate every little thing, but I know the kids look forward to it. It does however mark the end of having two preschoolers. We're officially parents of a school aged child.

As if I needed another reason to feel old.

Preaster

Spent some time at Aunt Marilyn's today hunting eggs and eating food. I did a really good job on the eating food part. We're in good with the Easter Bunny so he stopped by to hide some eggs before his big day tomorrow. It has snowed the last couple of Easters so it was nice to have temps in the 70's today. Did you know the first edible Easter Bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar?

True story.

Great Wolf Lodge

This weekend we went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. The girls had a great time playing at the water park. There is lots of stuff for them to do, but their favorite by far was the water slides. They liked the log cabin theme in the room too. Kelly and I went down the "Howlin' Tornado" slide and it was great! It's nice to have a cool place so close to home.

Call 1-800-NEW-RIDE

We change cars more often than anyone I know. Is it a problem? Yes. Will it stop? I hope so. Kelly loves her Saturn Outlook so hopefully she's set for a while. I love my Mustang too, but it does not hold the kids well. I knew this when I got it, but I thought I could tough it out. Now that I'm taking them to school and picking up most days, I had to find something else.

So... without further ado I give you the Ford SVT Focus!