We have a Kindergartener!

Zoe was incredibly excited to go to Kindergarten and has been counting down the days for over a week.  The poor kid has probably been so bored with us at home this past month.  When she went to bed last night she said, "Mommy, I'm lucky."  So, I ask her why.  She replies, "Because I get to go to Kindergarten tomorrow."  Love her!  And, yes!  She is very lucky to be going to such a great school!

I think she was too nervous and excited to eat her breakfast.

 On the way to her first day of school...

...with the whole family.

I thought she was going to be nervous and not want to let me go when I dropped her off at her class...but, no, this amazing little girl couldn't wait to get rid of me.  She had a smile on her face the whole time and was beaming the moment she walked into her classroom.

Putting her backpack away in her cubby. 

Francis and I were so excited about Zoe's first day at school that we literally couldn't wait for her to get off the bus. We are such nerds (obviously) that we were the parents waiting outside for the bus in 100+ degree heat for 15 minutes before it arrived.  But, in my defense, it was 15 minutes late...  ;)

At least we have shade?

The bus drops the kids off across from our house and I have a direct view from my office window which is super convenient.

There it is!

Someone looks like she enjoyed the bus ride!

Her agenda for the week  :)

I feel a bit older knowing that I have a school-aged child on my hands.  Totally normal, right?

Happy 5th Birthday, Zoe!!!

I can't believe what I'm writing...Zoe is...FIVE??  Where did the past 5 years go??

Leading up to her birthday, she kept asking if we were going to have a party and if her friends were going to show up.  It made me so sad.  So I decided to take the day off to celebrate and we packed the day with super fun activities so that Zoe would not miss her SB friends too much.

I decorated the night before and put up banners and balloons all around her door and hallway so it was the first thing she would wake up to.  She was so cute, she opened her door, stopped and was in awe...she said "Whoaaa...."  and had this happy little smile on her tired face.  Too cute.

 We opened up her presents and it was no shocker that her favorite thing was her Elsa dress  :)

Watching Frozen in her Elsa dress - of course.   

We started off the day by heading north to Round Rock Donuts (a famous donut shop approximately 30 minutes north).  This place has been around since the 1920's and is known for their huge donuts. When I say huge,  I mean HUGE.

Next, we headed to Zilker Park (Austin's 350 acre "Central Park") and took the train around. The kids loved it - Maddox was in heaven.

Next we headed to Barton Springs to cool off.  This is probably one of the coolest places in town!  It's a 3 acre pool fed all by an underground spring which keeps the water a cool 68 degrees year round.

 Maddox was super brave and wore his floaties and even tried to swim on his own!

 These two are the cutest !

We had a late sushi lunch - Zoe's favorite!

We came home, took a walk with the dogs and met up with the neighborhood girls and, finally, we wrapped up the day with a mandatory birthday cake!!

Zoe is going to be 15 before I known it, isn't she...?   Sigh...

A few things about Zoe at 5 years old:

• She wants to be an artist, specifically a painter, when she grows up
• She loves princesses
• Sushi is her favorite food, followed by Indian
• She eats all kinds of vegetables
• She prefers skittles over m&m's
• She still needs to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels
• She loves getting her back tickled
• Her favorite color is gold

Staying Cool

The kids discovered one of Austin's many splash pads today.  It's really all about the little things with them :)

5 Year Stats

Zoe was NOT happy to hear that she had to go back to the doctor to get some additional vaccinations in order to start Kindergarten (TX requirements are different than CA's).  She also was not a fan of having a "boy doctor" and made it clear that she would only cooperate with a "girl doctor."  We got her a milkshake afterwards and everything was right in the world again.  5 years olds can be so dramatic!

Here are her latest stats:

• Height:  44 inches (78th percentile) 
• Weight: 45 lbs (79th percentile)  

She is up 3 inches and 5 lbs from her 4 year stats!

Ice Cream

We've been enjoying ice cream on a more regular basis these days.  What can I say, it's hot here in Texas!

New Pre-school

Maddox started at his new preschool this past Monday and so far so good!  Here he is, all proud wearing his new backpack :)

 I was a bit worried about him being without Zoe for the first time and he does cry when we leave him in the mornings but the teachers reassure us that the crying only lasts for a minute or two.  They sent this picture of him on his first day...all sweaty from being outside.

Life in Austin

Austin has been great so far and it has definitely exceeded both of our expectations.  It's incredibly family friendly and we have certainly noticed the southern hospitality.  We've met all our neighbors and it looks like we have doctor, a police officer, a 2nd grade teacher, a professional country singer,  2 Dell execs, a limo driver/DJ, and retired school teacher all on our street.  They've all been incredibly welcoming and the girls on the block have already taken Zoe under their wings.  We haven't seen any little boys Maddox's age yet so it looks like he'll be hanging around a lot of girls here in Austin.

I wonder how long it will take to break something in the house.

We see deer every day in our neighborhood the kids love driving around looking for them.  Zoe keeps calling them reindeer.  Too cute.

Look at all the deer in the top right!

Walking around the neighborhood...

 Testing out the slip and slide -- getting creative with ways on how to stay cool.

 View from my office ... gecko's are a regular sighting.  Better than a scorpion.

 Pooped out from playing in the heat.  Poor Zoe has so many mosquito bites!

Zoe and I tested out our new oven :)

 Big blue skies here.

 Again, getting creative with ways to stay cool.  (Don't worry Mimene, that was an empty bottle).

 Pooped out again.  Love this picture - who actually sleeps like this??  Too funny.

 This dragon fly shows up at the same spot in our backyard every evening.  Jagger now waits for it and chases it around the yard.

 Running around in underwear - too hot for clothes!

Our favorite thing about our property is probably the yard.  We have no back neighbors and instead have a private little creek and access to the Hamilton Greenbelt trails.  Francis has pruned it all up which as really opened up the space.  The kids and dogs love it back there!

View of the greenbelt from our balcony

Finally found a spot for my hammock! 

Another successful day with 2 tired kids who, despite having their own rooms, still prefer to snuggle together.