AnneMarie's 5th Birthday Party

We had AnneMarie's party a little early since we will be at family camp next weekend. She had a Krypto the Superdog party, although anyone not in the know might have assumed it was Superman. She got to invite 5 friends (and their families) since she is turning 5 this year. We had a great time in the back yard. It was pretty warm, but we had some shade from the trees along the east side of the property. She was absolutely showered with generous gifts and she had a fabulous time.

AnneMarie was not too excited to pose for a picture in the outfit I made her. She did seem to like the outfit, she just didn't want to stop what she was doing to take a picture.

AnneMarie and her cousins Sydney and Julia. All three girls are kindergarteners this year!

Since the party was in the morning, we had muffins & fruit salad instead of cupcakes and ice cream.

Opening presents - these from cousins Garrett, Mason & Noah were some of her faves.

A full house of friends!

Aunt Aleigh & our friend Amanda

Grandma Pam

cousin Sydney

Jack & buddy Tyler are pushed by Tyler's dad

Uncle Ben & Papa Bob

Jack's gift to AnneMarie was a bubble machine - as you can see, it was quite a hit! According to the box, it puts out 4000 bubbles per minute. It blows for nearly 10 minutes before you have to refill the bubble solution.

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the first day of kindergarten, and we had a 2 hour delay! Apparently, 15 school buses were vandalized in the night. So AnneMarie got to sleep until 8 a.m. and school did not start until 10:15. We didn't take the bus today, We will try that out tomorrow. She reported that she had a great day, but didn't give too many details. She said she fell asleep during the rest time, she ate all her lunch, they ate outside, and she colored a giant rainbow with markers. They also had music today and she really loved that. She met up with a friend she had made at the assessment day last week. That was about all we heard. We will find out more at Curriculum Night next week.

AnneMarie picked out her clothes herself. The school has quite a strict dress code, but does allow denim as long as it is not embellished in any way.

Sister got Jack a backpack to drag around so he could be just like her. After we dropped her off, he asked me "Where is Sisser?" I told him she was going to stay all day at kindergarten, and he replied in his scary voice "I want go kindergarten too!" This is kind of a mad growl voice, his favorite way of expressing his displeasure. So he was not too happy about being left behind. He saw Julia at the drop off and knew he was the only one who didn't get to go to kindergarten. He has 3 whole years to wait!

AnneMarie put her backpack on a railroad tie ... soon after, Jack struggled to set his up the same way.

Walking from the parking lot to the campus.

AnneMarie with her teacher, Mrs. Buxman. She wasn't crying, the sun was in her eyes.

Jack was very good while we waited around for school to start. In the afternoon, he slept in his stroller through the whole pickup time.

A hug and a prayer before going inside.

Lining up with classmates to go inside.

Last Day of KidZone

At the end of July, AnneMarie & Julia had their last day of KidZone preschool. At first, AnneMarie did okay. But as you can see, she soon melted into tears into Miss Marie's arms.

By the time she got to Miss Chelsey, she was already quite a wreck.

Julia, on the other hand, was all smiles.

We really enjoyed KidZone and hope to send Jack there next year.

Wildlife in Rio Rancho

We see so many more animals and birds since we've moved 3 miles north! We caught this family of quail running from the backyard to the front, and then across the street to a vacant lot. They are so cute, but they move really fast, we don't ever get to look at them for long.