September September

The weather stayed warm in September like expected but instead of going to the pool everyday, we filled our days with school and sports and fun. Soccer started back up again as well as ballet for both girls. We snuck in time to see tiny baby June grow and loved seeing her in her blessing dress that we ALL wore as well. We danced in our only rain storm and honored the police/fire on Patriot Day. We cheered on our favorite football teams and both TAMU and BYU started out strong before falling apart by the end of the month. "Fall" is always sort of a myth in Texas but we did our best to ring in the changing season. Happy September Y'all.

A funeral in the fall

I have entered into a sad phase of life I am afraid. The seniors in my life are getting old and seem to be passing on quicker than anyone would like. Although Aunt Janice had been ill for sometime, it is always shocking and emotional when you learn that someone has died.

Janice died at the beginning of September and Ben and I both knew as soon as we heard that we both wanted to attend the funeral. We quickly booked flights and pulled the girls out of school and flew to Salt Lake City on a late weeknight flight. Janice was my dad's last living immediate family member, so her death seemed even sadder than normal. It is hard to be the last one living of a generation and my heart is heavy for my dad. Janice and Hal had flown to Texas and celebrated Isabelle's first birthday with us in San Antonio and had played a big role in our college years at BYU. Janice was always happy to see or talk to us and we always felt loved in her presence.


The funeral was nice and simple and we were glad to be there with my parents and Tara. The girls had fun seeing some of their 2nd cousins and we all enjoyed being back in the beautiful Wasatch Front. We knew that Janice would have wanted us to go, so after the emotionally draining funeral we put on our jeans and cheered for BYU at LaVelle Edwards Stadium. The cougars lost and we were cold, but it was fun to rise and shout and show the girls where we once had fun. Fortunately, we found a few more moments while in Utah to have a little joy, visiting with Grandpa Neal, visiting Temple Square and visiting Grandma Joan at the cemetery. And of course, we snuck in a trip for treats at Fast Gas.


It was a quick trip filled with lots of sadness and emotions but we returned with stronger family ties and a deeper testimony of forever families. Someday we will see our loved ones again and it is that knowledge that makes moments like these bearable.

Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Father's plan. I always want to be with my own family and the Lord has shown me how I can. The Lord has shown me how I can.

Kids of the Kingdom Preschool

The day after Labor Day, Olivia started PreK back at Kids of the Kingdom. She was not overly excited but liked seeing her friends Olivia Kneller and Emery again. This year she is in the oldest class in the school and she goes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday every week. It is A LOT for our little 4 year old and she comes home exhausted but sadly she will be a Kindergartner before we know it so this schedule is good for both of us. She has two sweet and loving teachers, Mrs Christina and Mrs Vicki and they are warm and help make the transition easier. Olivia still resists going every single day but comes out happy and smiley at the end of the day. And Mrs Christina has already told us that Livi is on her way to setting the Star Student record. Keep up the good work little Olivia.

Lazy on Labor Day

The Martin family was one of our first friends when we moved to The Woodlands. We have girls just months apart and they are kind, well behaved and smart...just like ours. We decided to spend Labor Day at the beach together this year and we all had a last week of summer blast. The girls played and played and the adults chatted and chatted. We walked to The Rainforest Cafe before the trek home and the fun continued. It was a great day spent with good friends and the girls had the sunburns to prove it. (We sun screened multiple times.)

August wrapped up!

We crammed as much fun as we could into the month of August since school was knocking at the door. We missed Grandma Joan on her birthday and started a new tradition with the extended family and all had a Diet Coke toast and sent her notes on balloons together all across the country. It was a bittersweet moment and the girls were sure she got our balloons as soon as they were out of sight. We swam some more, shopped, built lots of Lego Friends, scootered and loved being together. We ended our summer with a trip downtown to the Natural Science Museum where the girls loved seeing all of the cool exhibits and learning all about sharks, Egypt and gems. I have to admit I was so sad to see the summer come to an end. I love seeing my girls learn and grow and play side by side and it makes my heart ache to think the next time they will be really free to spend all their time together again, they will be another year older. I miss the lazy days of summer.

Back to School - 3rd Grade

Our summer vacation flew by at a rapid speed this year. Maybe we were too busy having fun or something, but whatever the case it was back to school time before we knew it. Isabelle wasn't overly excited for school to start again but she is getting more grown up nowadays and put on her happy face and headed back to Creekside Forest Elementary School. Third grade is the first year that Isabelle will switch classes during the day but she starts her day in Mrs. Arnold's homeroom class each morning. Her B.F.F. Abby is lucky enough to have Mrs. Arnold as well which took away a lot of first day nerves for both her and me. This will be a busy year for our little Jelly. She will switch to Mrs Reid's class for language arts and social studies and will spend time daily in Mrs. Karamath's GT classroom. Third grade already seems "harder" with tough homework and projects but Isabelle is blessed to be smart and kind and we know that she will thrive again this year. Olivia and I however sure do miss her during the day and we now look forward to weekends and Family Dates each week. We are proud of you Isabelle!