Happy Birthday Cadie!

Cadie turned 4 last Friday! She is sweet, funny, precocious, observant, silly, imaginative and just plain adorable!

Flapping her fairy arms in her birthday costume.

With some of the amazing Chihuly art at the Dallas Arboretum.

At the Dallas Arboretum Pumpkin batch - so much fun with mom and Nina.

Our little pumpkin is 4!

Just a few last wedding pics

My brother and Anna visited us this past weekend in Dallas and they brought their wedding photos and I grabbed a few of my favorites!

The Wedding - Most Importantly Cadie the Flower Girl

The day of the wedding was incredibly beautiful. The fog cleared and everyone was recovered from the awesome rehearsal dinner at Silvara Vineyards. The wedding was at Ohme gardens and it was an oasis with an incredible view and beauty everywhere. It was absolutely perfect and so special and memorable. My Dad officiated the ceremony and between his sincere words, letters that the maid of honor and best man read that Anna and Eric had written to each other and Eric and Anna's inspiring personal vows - I am not sure there was a dry eye in the house/garden.

My mom and I decided that Anna reminded us a little of Rapunzel in the Disney movie. So sweet, sincere, spunky, cute, funny - you just can't help but love her. And my brother was handsome and authentic! Eric bawled at my wedding and I bawled at his. I bawled during the wedding and also during their first dance in which they tore it up.

Cadie took her job as flower girl so seriously! I can't wait to get the official photos, but here are a few from my camera and my Aunt Kathy's.

Cutest cousins EVER

Handsome boys

She was perfection

The flower crown was the perfect addition to her outfit.

Making sure her dress didn't get dirty - like I said she took her job very seriously.

Samuel and Cadie walked down the aisle together.

My babies - love you so much it hurts.

I just loved her expressions during the wedding. It was so clear how much she and Eric love each other.

A very long and romatic kiss.

So right together.

Seattle, WA

We took a trip to Seattle, Washington for my brother's Sept. 15 wedding to the lovely Anna and we had the BEST time. Grant and I and the kids left on Monday, Sept. 10 on a 7pm flight and we weren't settled in our hotel room until after midnight local time which meant 2am CT! The kids didn't rest a wink on the flight but fell sound asleep in the car on the way to the hotel. We stayed at the  Silver Cloud Inn Lake Union hotel and we were impressed. Free parking, free breakfast, nice suite with 2 rooms, free shuttle, in-door swimming pool, comfortable beds, etc.

On Tuesday morning we went to visit Eric and Anna in their sweet little guest house. The kids had a great time jumping on their neighbor's trampoline and then Eric took us to a beautiful park near their house. I can understand why they are sad to move! It was great to spent a little time with Eric and Anna before the wedding festivities began.

Due to moving and wedding prep there were lots of boxes at Eric and Anna's house.

On Tuesday evening we enjoyed free happy hour on the balcony at the hotel while friends and family started to collect at the hotel. Courtney and Ryan stayed in our room with us and Eric, Nathan and some of Eric's friends had a boys room. The guys hung out until late Tuesday night, but I was happy to head to bed early with the kiddos. Well, relatively early - we were at a late dinner and the kids and I got our food to go at around 8:30pm local time which felt late to us, especially after our long Monday travel.

 

On Wednesday the guys started bachelor party activities and Courtney and I took the kids to Pike's Market and browsing around town. The kids picked out snakes as their souvenirs and we enjoyed the nice weather and a carousel ride. We got some sourdough rolls and then Grant came and picked us up near the aquarium and gave us a lift back to the hotel.

With Ira the Snake and Blue Snake freshly purchased at Pike's Market.

Carousel ride on the pier with Aunt CJ.

 

The wedding was in a city about 2+ hours outside Seattle called Leavenworth. It was a bit complicated coordinating transportation for everyone to Leavenworth. When we got back to the hotel after our excursion around the city, my parents, grandma Margaret and Uncle Mike and Aunt Teresa had arrived from the airport. Dad and Courtney stayed back in Seattle and rode the train to meet Bethany and Samuel at the airport and ride with her to Leavenworth. Grant and I and the kids went in one car (Grant decided to hang with us instead of do the rest of the bachelor stuff) and Mom, Grandma Margaret and Uncle Mike and Aunt Teresa headed off in their car. Grant and I and the kids took our time and made 3 stops on the way. One included a rest stop with a red, caboose that JR loved.

 

Once we got to Leavenworth we stayed with my folks, the Chapman's and Uncle Mike and Aunt Teresa in a cabin (riversideproperties.org) that overlooked a river and was so beautiful. There were forest fires in the area which was causing some smoke, but it was still beautiful with lush green grass and huge salmon jumping in the river. The cousins loved playing together near the river, in the huge sandpit (aka sand volleyball court) and we also had a fun trip to a strange little fall festival at Smallwood's Fruit Stand. They had craziest kid's train ride ever.

It was so fun to be with family that I don't get to see as frequently as I wish we could! There was lots of hugging, catching up, eating and shopping in Leavenworth.

Cadie convinced Grandma Margaret to brave the stairs down into the basement where the Walsh clan setup camp. Cadie had a fun time showing Grandma all her things including her special little brown and pink blanket.

The cousin catching a flick under a table at the wedding. These boys are the cutest.

Cadie with Eric, Anna and Luna at the Thursday night BBQ.

Aunt Teresa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Kathy, cousin Brad and Uncle Mark.

Me with Dave and Tina who flew in from KC. They are some of my folks BFFs.

Bethany and I with Aunt Kathy.

My cousin Alan and his wife Shanna. He is in nursing school so they were only in town about 30 hours! They wanted to make sure they were there for Eric - so awesome of them.

 

School Firsts

DD once said she is only as happy as her least happy child and I thought it was so poignant and so true! I had a wonderful day today because both of my kids bounced off to school confident and happy.

Cadie started school last Tuesday in 3K at Scofield Christian School. She goes to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:15am-3:30pm. It is a long day for her, but they have a rest time in the afternoon and she seems to be enjoying it so far. This evening she was excited to show me her sticker for good behavior, tell me her Bible verse and the kids names from her class. I go on Thursday for Meet the Teacher Night with Miss Thurman.

Dad has dropped her off at school every day so far and he didn't want to miss today so all 4 of us went together - it was wonderful. Scofield has a dropoff and pickup system where they get the kids from your car and bring them back so you don't have to get out. Grant and I agree that it feels sad to drop her off at the curb and watch her run into school by  herself. How did she get so big? The most difficult part for Cadie so far has been having to wear the uniform which goes against her personal style. She isn't even allowed to wear her colored socks! She is pretty darn cute though in her red and blue.

Scofield is the sweetest small, Christian school and I am so happy to have Cadie learning Bible verses, daily saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and being cared for by people who will point her to our Lord and Savior.

Cadie on Tuesday last week - her first day at Scofield.

Jack Ranger started Mother's Day Out (aka Jack's School) today at Preston Hollow Presbyterian. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursday from 9:15am-2:15pm. Grant and I don't have childcare on Tuesdays and Thursday morning so we are going to share dropoffs and then typically Mary (or Grant when he can) will pick up the kids.

Yesterday Cadie and I did a "dry run" at home with Jack Ranger and we practiced nap time and circle time. Then we collected his backpack, lunch box and all his things and wrote his name on them and showed them how they would go in his backpack. It was all fun and games until Mom wrote "JRW" on the bottom of lovey dog and you would have thought I killed dog! Jack Ranger started screaming "No name, no paint" and wanted me to wash dog to try to get the name off. I felt SOOO bad. He LOVES dog and he obviously thought I had deliberately defaced him. He is still upset by the name written on dog, but at least he still loved his first day of school. He was yelling "Jack's School" as I dropped him off and he ran right into his classroom like he had been doing it his whole life. When Mary picked him up they said, "Is he always this happy?" Mary said pretty much yes.

I wish I had been able to get a picture today of JR in his classroom, but it was crazy at school. This is him on our front porch before we left.

This is the kids as the 4 of us did school dropoffs this morning.

Reading is Magic

The kids and I generally prefer not to do many scheduled activities. I often say things to the kids like, "Let's go get some new books at half-price books!" and they will respond with "Or we could just stay home and play!" But, when I received an email for a "Reading is Magic" camp I knew it would be perfect for Cadie. It was from 9 - noon at the home of a young mom (who I think might be a creative genuis) and every day they read different books with a magic theme and then had crafts, playtime, snack, songs all centered around the theme. They each got a copy of each of the books and we have had so much fun reading Strega Nona, Harold's Fairy Tale and more.

Cadie LOVES to read and she LOVES imagination and magic. She was one of the youngest kids at the camp, but she did great and was so sad when it was over. They did the most creative activities including swimming in noodles (Cadie said it was too noodley), making 9 kinds of pie, painting magic rocks and making magic wands.

I also loved this camp because Miss Lowry wrote a summary email and sent a shutterfly picture album each day which made me feel connected to Cadie's experience even though I couldn't do drop-offs or pick-ups. I will definitely plan to attend again next year! Link to blog Miss Lowry wrote about the camp: Mommy Manders Reading is Magic Camp

Here are some of the pictures I borrowed from the daily albums Miss Lowry sent.

We love DD and Big John!

This blog is in honor of DD's 65th birthday last week. DD and Big John are incredible grandparents and the kids couldn't love them more. Cadie and Jack Ranger partially live at DD and Big John's and they rule the roost over there. DD and Big John have more toys that we do and DD goes to the goodwill every week and gets more! She goes on senior discount day and gets 15% off which I think is so funny.

Cadie and Jack Ranger are their only grandkids (so far) and DD and Big John invest so much love and time in them. They spend the night EVERY Sunday night and often 1 other night of the week. They read books, watch movies, go to Sam's Club, ride the bus, go to the park and basically do whatever adventures DD and Big John dream up. Big John recently fixed up their old conversion van and Cadie and Jack Ranger call it their bus. They both recognize the drive to DD and Big John's and they start to get excited as soon as they realize we are going there.

Here are a few DD and Big John related quotes from Cadie.

Erin: Jack Ranger, stop throwing a fit. You can't watch any more TV.
Cadie: Jack, it's ok. We are going to DD and Big John's tonight and you can watch anything you want.
*****
Big John: Cadie, want to go get donuts?
Cadie: You are the best Grandpa!
Big John: I bet you say that to Papa too.
Cadie: Yes I do.
*****
Cadie: I love my three houses.
Erin: What are your three houses?
Cadie: Nina and Papa's, DD and Big John's and my regular house.
Erin: Why do you think those are your houses?
Cadie: Because that is where everything is that I love.

DD and Big John with the kids at her birthday dinner at Mitzi's house.

DD with her 4 children and 2 grandchildren.

DD and Cadie. Cadie loves that DD plays imagination ALL the time with her.

Jack Ranger sleeps in a "tent bed" at DD and Big John's which is a pack and play with a tent installed over it. They put a blanket on top so it is nice and dark and he sleeps great it in and so did Cadie before him.

On top of the pool table is "Cadie World" and this is where Cadie plays dolls and all sorts of other games when she doesn't want Jack Ranger bothering her.

One corner of DD and Big John's house with the kids play kitchen setup.

DD and Big John keep the kids strollers behind their downstairs sofa.

Uncle Austin (Ace) is living with DD and Big John right now while he finishes college and he plays with the kids all the time.

Whitney (Winky) visits often from Austin, TX and is also so sweet with the kids. She is moving to California in Sept. and we are really going to miss her.