kindergarten journey

I really don't know how my sweet girl is a Kindergartener already, but it happened!  We picked up her teacher assignment on August 1st, then headed to the Kinder Parent meeting on the 14th.  I had to reign in the tears a few times, but I know she will love school and thrive in this new setting.

We visited her classroom, and she was pretty quiet as she took in her new surroundings.  Her teacher, Mrs. Hickerson, was really sweet to her and even asked for a hug as we left the classroom. Brooke wasn't sure about that, haha, but I don't blame her for not wanting to hug a stranger.  I assured Mrs. Hickerson that Brooke was definitely a hugger, it would just be a matter of time :)

After wards, we picked up Colby and headed for some ice cream at a new shop in town.

This whole Kindergarten thing will be a big change for our family with a stricter schedule, but we will adapt :)

softball tuesday

Softball Tuesday started in the Spring when a group of guys in the ward decided to form a team.  They play at the Mansfield Field of Dreams ballpark, which is super nice.  All of the fields are made to look like different Major League fields, and they have batting cages and a park in the center. It's been so good for Kevin to have this outlet, and I've enjoyed watching him play each week.  The kids are only semi-attentive because all their ward friends are there.  When all the families come, it's a little chaotic with all the kids running and playing.  I'm more strict with my kids about where they can and cannot go, which has caused some tears (from Brooke), but I can't let my kids out of my sight! And we were there to watch Kevin, not play with friends, haha.  I didn't expect them to sit and watch the whole game, but I would let them know every time Kevin was up to bat, and they were awesome little cheerleaders.

Did I mention the snack bar? I had to pay $3 every game, but thankfully the kids were free.  You get a $1 token with a paid entry, so every few games we used the tokens to buy either popcorn or an Icee.

Tuesday is church league night, but we soon found out that ALL of the other teams came from Walnut Ridge church, where Brooke plays soccer.  I guess when you belong to a gigantic church, you can basically form an entire softball league, haha. Kevin's team wasn't great at the beginning, but they really made a lot of progress throughout the season and had fun while they were at it :)

summer days

Our family was made for the summer!  The kids love the water, and we spent so much of our summer at the pool, the lake, or at Hawaiian Falls. We're so lucky to have great friends and neighbors that make every activity more fun!

The kids LOVED Carter's cool shark, and he was so kind to share it with all the littles.

More fun with the Sturgills...

It turns out that Brooke and Colby love cotton candy just as much as I do :)  These pictures were taken at Hawaiian Falls.  We met up several times this summer with Brooke's friend Callen and his family. Callen and Brooke were big enough to ride the slides together, and the dads even joined in on the fun for Friday Night Slides.

My kids also love the sand, so we went to Clayton Chandler a few times to play in their nice, soft sand.  They also have a splash pad there, so when I felt like the kids needed to cool down, we transitioned to the water.  (They look so tan in this picture!!  I slathered them with sunscreen, but with how much time we spent outdoors, they definitely got some color.)

Water is always good in our Texas summers, and the kids were BIG fans of playing with the hose on the trampoline.  Our grass is totally ruined underneath, but all for a good cause :). They also loved doing water balloons up there, which made cleanup a breeze!

And last, but not least, was our time at the lake.  We met ward friends there a few times to play in the sand and water, and we of course enjoyed time on the boat.

By the end of the summer I am always sick of washing towels and having swimsuits hanging all over my house, but those summer memories are truly the best!