Preschool Orientation (August 13)

Still catching up....

Ella had her preschool orientation last week and she will have her first day of school this Monday. She's only going 3 mornings a week for 3 hours so I'm not sad because it doesn't feel like "school". Though, we'll see on Monday morning when I drop her off. :)

So last Friday, all 3 of headed to the preschool to meet her teacher, Ms. Valerie.  Ella's going to the preschool at the local Lutheran church. It's sort of associated with the church, but not religious, if that makes any sense, or at least that's what I gather. On Fridays, the kids attend chapel for 15 minutes in the morning so that should be interesting for her. (We've been talking about going to Temple possibly so it'll be nice to expose Ella to a little church too. - more on this if we actually get around to going. Ron and I are open and want to explore a lot of avenues in the hopes that Ella too has an interest in other cultures, countries and religions)... anyway, I digress...

Ella will be in the same class as Mia, a friend from ballet, and, if you can't tell from the photos, is super excited to start school.  She couldn't stop grinning and I hope come Monday I'm at least able to get in a few photos and even a goodbye hug before she bolts for the playground... it's Ella so I'm betting she'll bolt with a wave of her hand and an almost forgotten, "bye!"    Yeah, maybe not so ready for this school thing....

Canada - Part Two

Ella and Oscar were in love for the majority of the visit but towards the end they became too comfortable with each other and began to act more like siblings. These are a couple of my favorites photos of them, when they still liked each other... the last few days were a bit more trying: they wanted to sit next to each other but would then bicker; they wanted what the other was playing with but didn't want to share; and constantly played a game of opposties... siblings indeed :)

Canada - Part One

Ella and I arrived in Ottawa safely last Thursday and have spent a wonderful first 6 days with Stephanie, Matthew, Oscar and Alice. The weather has been unusually cold for this time of year and Ella and I have actually borrowed fleece sweaters to keep warm.
Friday, we took the kids to the Children's Museum across the river to Hull, Quebec...
On Sunday we went to Hog's Back Park on the Rideau Canal and the kids chased the geese and Ella rolled down her first hill...
Monday, Ella and I headed back to the canal at Hog's Back Park and walked along the waterfalls. We met a British couple feeding the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and a groundhog. They were kind enough to give Ella handfuls of peanuts and she too fed the 'wildlife'...
Today, we took the bus downtown to Parliament Hill. We did a tour of Center Block and saw the House, the library and the Senate. We saw the war memorial and the tomb of the unknown soldier, watched the changing of the guard, had lunch at an Irish pub, toured the grounds and at the end of a 5 hour day, Ella met a Royal Canadian Mounted Police horse named Ike....

Be Back Soon

Ella and I are off to Canada for 3 weeks... not sure if I'll be blogging at all. Wow! This will be the first time in over 4 years I've not blogged for more than a week.

Have a great few weeks! See you when we get back in mid-August :)

Another Sunday Drive in Texas

We headed out to Lost Maples State Park in the Hill Country and just enjoyed the afternoon looking at all the sites.....Ella climbed her first tree...While wading in the creek, she lost her balance and fell in... it was funny and we're happy she thought so too :)

SAMA

We went to the San Antonio Museum of Art on Tuesday. Ella loved it and after overhearing a lady use the word 'amazing', proceeded to exclaim that everything was 'amazing'!

Paint Playdate

Yesterday we had all the girls over from ballet class to paint and play in the sprinkler. It was so nice to get together and watch the kids enjoy their friends. I bought a toddler pool and we put it at the bottom of Ella's slide - big hit! They also decided to cool off by placing the sprinkler close enough to the playground so that they got wet while playing on the swings.

It was so nice, I got to hang out with friends while the kids were occupied with each other... it was a great, great day!

Here are the girls painting...
When asked, Ella declared she was painting "New York City!"
That's my girl! :)

Sunday Drive

We headed out for a drive to Guadalupe State Park but ended up just driving around and enjoying the countryside...

Guadalupe River....Alpaca Farm?....Sign at the park we stopped at to play in the playground...At home, view from our front porch....

Ella's New Friend

Catching up....

Last week, Ella found this little guy and declared him her pet. She REALLY needs a pet and we plan on getting a puppy when we get home from Canada in August :)...