1st Day of Pre-K

It's that time again... back to school time.  I love the start of school... school supplies, planning for teachers and kiddos to come back, getting a new group of freshman... good times.

This year was especially fun b/c it was time to get Reese and Tucker ready for school too.  They were both super excited... mostly b/c they wanted to play on the playground, but still.

 They were ready to walk in without me... backpacks, lunch boxes, and nap mats in hand.  No way... I'm one of those annoying moms who had to walk them in, take pictures, etc. 

This was two weeks ago and they still look forward to going to school every day.  They don't look forward to the early mornings (neither do I), but overall they've adjusted pretty quickly.  They're excited to be Coder Cats!   

Beach Bums

The Doyle Women took all the kids to Gulfport Mississippi this summer.  Amber and Nick were staying in a condo on the beach all summer since Nick had to be there for training.  Dana, Mom, me and all the kids loaded up the Burb and took off to the beach for a week.  The kids all did way better than I expected... 12 hours in the car was not at all appealing... but between the movies, kindles, colors, and naps, it all worked out okay. 

We got too much sun and had way too much fun...

We packed a lunch and spent most of each day on the beach... swimming, digging, soaking up the sun.  The kids had a blast!

 Emma was such a huge help with the kids.  I've decided that I want to take her and grandma on all my vacations.  Since the guys didn't come with us, I needed all the help I could get with 3 kids at the beach.

 Caden learned how to boogie board and skim board on the trip. Tucker was tagging along everywhere he went.  He wants to be just like cousin Caden. 

 I wasn't sure how Rylan would do... whether or not she would play and have fun or just fuss, eat the sand and ruin my relaxation time on the beach.  She was a rock star!  She hung with the big kids, and just played and splashed. 

 It amazes me... sometimes Reese is so uncooperative and other times, she's like "okay, I'll hold the fish."  What??  Couldn't get her to take a picture with us, but she jumped right in to hold a squirmy little fish.

 

We walked out on the pier one afternoon to learn from the fishermen (and woman... at least we think she was a woman).  They were so nice to talk to the kids and let them hold the fish they caught.

 Finally... after 3 days, we managed to complete one sand castle. 

Grandma with all her Grand babies! They adore her!  What a great summer trip with all the cousins... hope we can it an annual thing!