First day of Escuela!

Aren't these pictures the best?? There is nothing like a blurred out picture to make it look like your children are apparitions.
Yesterday was the first day of school, and boy were my kids excited!! ALL of my kids- the only sad thing was that Ethan didn't get to go. Preschool doesn't start until Sept. 2nd( if he gets in)-- so he was bummed.

My kids had a hard time going to sleep because they were so excited, especially little Erin beginning Kindergarten. Every time she would come out of her room, she would say... "but MOM! I'm too excited, I CAN'T sleep." To which I would so awesomely reply, "Erin, if you don't fall asleep, then when it is time for me to wake you up for school, I won't be able to because you would have stayed up ALL night long." She finally fell asleep and actually was able to get out of bed at 6:45.

She was also so excited to walk to school, that when I said I was going to walk with them... she very quickly interrupted me to let me know she will be just walking with Dante, my assistance is NOT needed. I had to carry her school supplies, so I had to go with them, but today- was a different story, she rode her bike and Dante rode his scooter and I didn't go any further then my front porch to make sure they got to the end of the street ok.

Dante and Erin are 2 very different students! I can already tell. Dante loves school- but doesn't take it too seriously-- Erin is going to be the one that is very serious, every task done IMMEDIATELY, and NO MISTAKES. I'm a tad bit worried about this one... here is why!

She takes her teacher very seriously, and that what applies in the classroom also applies at home. I was giving them an after school snack, when Erin was like, "MOM! My teacher said I can only have ONE snack per day, and I already had one today, so I can't have that." I then told her that it was ok, and that her teacher was just talking about during the school day.

She also believes she has to keep EVERY piece of paper! Today she brought home a piece of paper for me saying there will be a VIPS coffee that I'm invited to. I crumpled it up, and she immediately is like MOM! Where is my pink paper. And I was like- it is right here, but you don't need it, it is a piece of paper for me. Then she started to cry and was like MOM! I needed that, my teacher gave it to me. I then gave her Dante's fresh one, because I got one from his teacher too. She was all smiles again.

I also set her daily folder aside where she couldn't see it. And she was like MOM!! Where is my folder?? I said, that there were some papers I need to fill out before having her put it back in her backpack, and she was like MOM!! I need it, I can NOT go to school with out! I'm not allowed. This was on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Hopefully she'll ease up a little bit, but if she is anything like Aunt Emily or my Dad or Aunt Christie- things won't change! :)

Ethan got to walk with us on the first day of school, because I wasn't going to leave him home by himself, and he had his backpack on right along with the rest of them. He was just as excited as Dante and Erin and then the tears came when I had to bring him back home. However today when I asked him if we should go swimming, he was like, " YEAH! Let's go swimming and not go to school right now." He sure does miss not having anyone here to play with. But he has been keeping himself busy-- apparently he would like to smell good, and decided to spray my perfume in HIS EYES?? My poor sister Amy was watching him while I was running Dante to soccer. According to him, IT BURNED! Just in case you were wondering!:)

I'm sad to see the summer go, but excited to see what the new school year brings!

Discovering Discovery Green Park

On Chet's day off this week we decided to try out a new park in downtown Houston. It recently opened in April and if I knew how much fun it was, I would have gone a while ago. The kids LOVED it! It is called "Discover Green Park". There are about a bazillion parks in Downtown Houston alone... and I forget how fun it is to go out there. Here are some fun pics from the day.

There was this really cool water fountain section with about 100 holes that shoot water up into arcs and they are big, then little, then medium, then go off completely. There is even a "life guard" at the station. It is pretty funny- and he blows his whistle a lot with "no running" and "don't stand over the water holes" I feel for the poor guy! Chet had fun playing tag with the kids in the water.

This is what happens when the water turns off- I'm not kidding you, but like EVERY child kneels down by the water holes and looks into it to see what happened. It is soo funny, because you would look up and there would be 100 kids like this:

Like it was planned or something. I wanted to get a bigger picture with more kids- but it didn't quite work out.
Here is Dante having fun in the water! He liked to try to drink the water.

Right next to the water spouts was a cool play ground and you could go back and forth in between them. The kids loved getting all wet, because then when they went down the slide- they would literally shoot off the slide! It was so funny.
There was also these climbing ropes that the kids loved. I called a race and who do you think is our future Olympian??


Yes- Ethan won by a LANDSLIDE! Dante came in a "close" second and Erin... well- she's a girlie girl- who tries to keep up with the boys.

I definitely recommend this park for anyone who is looking for a new fun park to go to in Houston! If you want to go-- I'm more then happy to go with you:)

I'm BAAACCCKKKK from SAN DIEGO!

And I loved every minute of my trip!! EVERY MINUTE!:) It was pure bliss- and WE WILL BE MOVING THERE SOON! Here is a recap of my trip- I forgot my camera because sometimes I'm dumb like that- so I've had to steal pictures from other people who went with my dad's company.

Feel free to live vicariously through me as you read about my wonderful trip!

July 29 (Tuesday): My dad and Emily picked me up from my house to go to the airport around
8 AM. Our flight left at about 10:45 and we got into San Diego at 11:45 because of the 2 hour time difference. Flying without kids is a vacation in itself! It was soooo nice!:)

We got to our beautiful hotel, The Manchester Hyatt in the heart of downtown about 12:30 or so.
Both of those big building were the Hyatt and the pool was in the middle of both buildings. Once we get there, we check in and get settled. We were in a very nice suite- and we all had our own bed!! It was heaven to sleep by myself- I LOVE me some space!:) After getting settle my dad and I hit the hotel gym, because not much is better then taking the elevator downstairs and walking into what seems like your own mini private gym. I ran while over looking the marina.

After working out- I got a massage! OH YEAH!!! Pure heaven! It was so nice-- and it was for an hour at a RIDICULOUS price- but worth it. My dad got a massage to and Emily got a facial. They Hyatt has 2 pools. One is for all hotel guests and the other one is exclusive for anyone who used the spa that day. So, after our massages we headed out to the pool and hottubbed and then had dinner served to us by the pool (which was also overlooking the marina) The weather there is soooo perfect! And my 17 dollar burger was totally worth every penny! It was sooo good!

After we wrapped up dinner we went back to our rooms to change and to get ready for a night on the town. We had to get dessert and where else but the famous:


It was sooo delicious! I had their famous ice-cream hot fudge sundae. Do they have one of these in Houston?? Ghirardelli is located in the Gas Lamp District which was right across the street from our hotel. It was really cool- but Emily and I only counted 2 gas lamps-- so either we are blind, or they are short on gas lamps. While we ate our ice-cream we kept walking through the district and ended up walking to Horton Plaza which is a great outdoor mall! I LOVE outdoor malls and I wish we had the weather down here for one! We ended up going to see Batman at the theater at the mall. My Dad and I hadn't seen it yet. It was soooo good! Really lived up to the hype. Then we went back to the hotel and crashed(about 12:30- so 2:30 AM Houston time)!! Longer days are so easy to handle when you aren't running around after kids:)

July 30 (Wed.): We got up early to head out to La Jolla because it would be the only day we had to stray away from the convention.
La Jolla is BEAUTIFUL!!! We drove around for a bit before actually getting out to the beach. We drove down to the San Diego Temple and walked around.

Then we drove over to Fashion Valley Mall which is another AMAZING outdoor mall and it is more high end like the Galleria.
Then we drove through La Jolla and back down to San Diego- but not without stopping at (what I thought was the Mission boardwalk) but ended up being Belmont Park on the beach. Which is a really cute little amusement park right off the beach. So, you could go swim, then come ride a ride, then go swim again, etc...
Emily and I got day passes, because otherwise each ride was like 6 bucks! And a day pass was 22 bucks. We had SOOO much fun! The back of roller coasters is always the best (in case you haven't figured that out yet!) We had a blast!!

After our day of fun at the park and the beach, we headed back to the hotel because it was opening night of the conference... and GUESS WHO I GOT TO SEE???



BRIAN REGAN!! And to say he is funny is an UNDERSTATEMENT! He is HILARIOUS. My dad and I were in TEARS!! Emily didn't get to go because it was for 21 and up only, because they had an open bar. YOU should have seen the lines for free drinks! CRAZY! (another reason I'm glad I don't drink:)) I got to walk right up to the water table-- NO WAIT! LOL! Anyways, I highly recommend Brian Regan. If he is performing in your town or even NEAR you- GO!! He is completely clean and hilarious! Go watch some of his stuff on youtube-- his facial expressions are a crack up! We also had 3rd row, front and center -- NOT BAD!!

After Brian Regan we went to bed because it was going to be a long day the next day at the trade show... and an early day.

July 31 (Thursday): We had to get up at 7:00 for breakfast, and we walked over to the convention center a few blocks away from the hotel. For anyone who doesn't know-- my Dad owns an office supply company, Liberty Office Products (kind of like Dunder Mifflin from The Office) It was sooo much fun! Emily and I were going crazy!

First off, you get all these cool office supplies, that may seem geeky- but we LOVE it (maybe it is in our blood?!) From highlighters and free sharpies, and free mini staplers with color staples, and free color calculators, and all the newest latest and greatest gadgets coming out in the office supply world! We also entered like 50 different drawings from big screen TVs to trips to Hawaii and Costa Rica, to big fat Harley's. We didn't win ANY!!! I was sooo mad:( Our odds weren't that bad- there were only about 3,000 people at the trade show. Maybe next year!

Here is one of the drawings we were hoping to win.... THE MONEY VAULT!!! They did 3 different drawings for the money vault and while our names were not called out--- TWO of my Dad's employees were. The guy above in the picture is actually one of my Dad's employee's and he walked away with 4 grand! Me and Emily wanted to jump him, but he is like 6'6" so it wouldn't have worked too well.

Despite not winning we did have A LOT of fun! In the pictures below we are both doing virtual racing. It was sooo cool! If you ended up being the fastest time for the day, then you won 3 laps around the track with a pro NASCAR driver. We didn't win that either-- but we sure did try like 50 times a piece! Hey it was FREE!:)


Emily fitting the goggles over her eyes.
Me learning how to drive, and adjusting the seat to be closer to the pedals (and there weren't even pedals!) the pedals were levers you pushed with your hands. I felt dumb when I asked the guy how to adjust the seat and then he was like you don't really need to and I was like- YES I DO!! And then me doing it- and him then being like- actually there aren't any pedals. I felt totally cool!
Me in action! I look HAWT with those goggle on!

It was such a fun trade show and I came home with lots and lots of goodies:)

After the trade show we went back to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner, dancing and fireworks on the Inspirational Hornblower!
We ate and then went sailing all around the bay, through a beautiful sunset and then fireworks to top it off! It was a lot of fun! I wish Chet could have been there:) But Emily and I did bang out a pretty nice Cha-Cha slide!!

After we got back, we called it a night and went to bed! ( I did not watch TV once on the trip!... we were so wiped out after each day, I would read a page and be out)

August 1 (Friday): Friday was shopping day! My Dad had seminars to attend all day so Emily and I took advantage and went shopping. We went over to the Gas Lamp district again and went into some boutiques.
There were lots of cute shops but our favorite by far was:

PINK ZONE!! Awesome clothes! I got my new favorite pair of jeans there--

They are Miss Me Jeans. I had never heard of them before- but I LOVE them!! So, if you are ever in San Diego or La Jolla- check out the Pink Zone!

After shopping we headed back over to the hotel to do some relaxing by the pool. It was PACKED! But- we still got 2 chairs and were able to layout and enjoy some sun.


After the pool we went to the San Diego Zoo and talk about AMAZING! I can't wait to take my kids back there- and they have escalators IN the ZOO to take you up to see the Gorillas and monkey, etc... SOO FUN!


Here is one of the Pandas. They even had a little baby panda, who just turned 1, but he was high up in a tree hammock. This is the other smaller panda! Look how cute!This gorilla was amazing!! Just amazing to watch him -- he was HUGE!!!! I guess they have like 8 gorillas, but the rest were already in bed.

There were so many cool animals there and they even have like a sky train that takes you from one end of the park to the other. We even got our own personal unofficial zoo guide. He was hanging out around the gorillas just watching them, and I was asking my dad some questions about the gorilla's and this guy would answer them... and turns out he is there every Friday because he loves the zoo so much and has been there every Friday(give or take a few) for the last 5 years. So, my dad invited him to be our tour guide -- and take us to the coolest animals and then bought him dinner afterwards. The zoo was a lot of fun- and with the cool weather made it that much sweeter!

After the zoo we went back home, because my dad and I had to be back up early again to go to a session where they were giving away cash prizes -- and you had to be present to win. I wasn't going to let them call my name out for the 10,000 dollar or 15,000 dollar cash price- and me NOT be there. They actually called out 2 or 3 people who decided to sleep in-- and I feel for them.

August 2nd (Saturday): So, like I stated before- I had to get up early for breakfast and the prize session with 3 or 4 different speakers who were all really good. I DIDN'T WIN and went out screaming! :) But the biggest event of the day was


Emily and I both got a copy and instead of spending a day inside reading (because who would do that in San Diego??) My dad rented a sailboat and took us sailing around the marina for 3 hours while Emily and I read.... except for the interruptions of my dad yelling "Hard-a-Lee" and it's time to "Come about" and Emily and I would have to either tighten or release the lines (depending on which side of the boat we were on) and then cleat. So- we would both get a couple pages in and really into it.. and then we would hear a command. It was a lot of fun though:) There is nothing like sailing on a perfect day in the bay, reading and relaxing! After sailing we went back to the hotel to shower and my Dad and I were off to have dinner on the USS Midway for the last night of the conference. It was a lot of fun. Another open bar... so Emily couldn't go:( This boat was MASSIVE!!!

I mean LOOK at it! It is HUGE! My dad and I did a flight simulator game, where we actually sat in one of the "real" planes and then my dad was the pilot whilee I tried to shoot down the people next to us (who were also doing the flight simulator). It was a lot of fun- but my missiles didn't really make it to the other planes-- even if they had the red target dot right on them. (mainly becuase their plane kept going down on it's own) But it was still fun!

My dad and I eating dinner on the USS MIDWAY... they had like 15 different buffet lines all with different kinds of food and yes- I'm talking in the middle of the picture in case you couldn't tell. And the green shirt was a company shirt we all wore that night (same with the blue one at the trade show) We had to represent!

August 3: (Sunday): All in all it was an excellent trip! We sure did cram a lot in while we were there and we also had just enough relaxation time to keep us up and running before we had to leave.

Thanks to Chet, my mom and sisters for watching my kids! (They(my kids) didn't even want me to come home they were having so much fun!)

A fun fact-- I got into San Diego right after the Earthquake had hit L.A. and we didn't feel it, but we got calls from everyone and there dog- asking us if we had-- and then we get home Sunday and driving home we see signs on the freeway telling us to fill up our gas tanks because Tropical Storm Eduard is coming in the next couple of days. Talk about out of the loop:)

I hope you enjoyed living vicariously through me and my trip! When we move to La Jolla- ALL of you are welcome to come and visit ANYTIME!!:)

Ps: Breaking Dawn was amazing!!! I'm sad it is over:(