While Eli's Away...

While Eli is at school, I have to think up some fun things to do at home until she gets used to him going everyday. So far, we have done bubbles(as seen in the pictures), Play-Doh, Paint and markers. When I bought the paints, she was so excited that she was busting at the seams with giggles. She wanted to paint so bad that she was ordering Eli to go to school in the evening. Who knew something that only cost two-dollars would be such a hit.
We also are using school to motivate potty training. She can go, but she wont do it alone, no matter what we do. We told her that if she wants to go to school, she will have to learn to do it alone. She responded, that it was okay because she could do bubbles.

Eli's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Eli's first day of Kindergarten.  In El Paso, Kindergarten is not required by law and we put Eli in a private school because they are only half-day and most public schools are full day.  It kind of feels like he is going back to preschool and I wasn't too worried.  The first few weeks took some adjusting, as Eli liked to get up and wander from his seat and he has to do work in school, like coloring, writing and reciting words.  Those aren't really his favorite.  We worked with him to keep him in his seat and he simply told me that I needed to tell the teacher that we need some new rules.  We told him no and he responded "but I am cute and cuddly."
Riley on the other hand, missed Eli terribly and everytime we dropped Eli off, she would cry that she couldn't got to school.  It was ironic that she would run to his classroom and race to his seat and sit down and I had to pull Eli to even get to his classroom.  Next year Riley, we'll get you in school.

Grandma's Birthday

Grandma and Grandpa decided to brave the heat and come and visit El Paso in July.  None of us lasted the heat and we had to break down and buy a window air conditioning unit.  It was worth every penny. 
While they were here, we celebrated Grandma's Birthday.  Since it is El Paso, we don't bake and we decided to buy a cake.  (Fortunately my kids have birthday's in the winter and I will be able to bake theirs.) Here Riley is helping to blow out the sole candle on the cake. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Precious

Riley fell asleep in Daddy's arms while holding his hand.  There isn't much story, but it is so precious, I had to share.

Lubbock

Jared had the opportunity to work in Lubbock and we got to stay in a hotel and swim, order pizza, watch movies, go to parks, museums and eat out.  We loved it.  The next few posts are about our trip. This post is about this really fun park made out of wood and trex.  There were swings, small merry-go-round, and of course, a huge castle to climb through.

My Little Mounds

One of my favorite past times is giving my kids baths and then wrapping them in towels and watch them as they snuggle on the floor.  My little mounds.

Dress Up

One Day, I decided to through the usual routine and allow the children to have some fun with dress ups. I dressed Riley up and started having a tea party with nuts and pink lemonade. Eli saw and wanted to join. At first he was in regular clothes, but then decided he wanted to dress in his knight costume. While in his costume, his imagination was unleashed and he only lasted in the tea party until he ran outside in order to defeat a dinosaur in the back yard. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.