Fair Park

Our friend Kelly had her niece, Abby, in town this week, and they invited us to the aquarium at Fair Park. Rylee and I went and had lots of fun.

There were some pretty interesting fish there. Although, I don't remember any of the names.
...those are sea horses, those I can remember.

...yep, that is a fish.
Here is Rylee and Abby having fun outside.

After the aquarium we went to the Natural History and Science Museum.

...very large turtle fossil.

mammoth
The museum had an exihibit on gravity. Rylee loved rolling the balls down the ramps.
She really loved the bubbles. She started to get really good at making the big bubbles.

Here is Abby making a really big bubble.
Rylee digging for fossils.
She has her hands under the pins. (I remember my Aunt Gladys had a smaller version when I was little.)
She was touring an Egyptian pyramid.
Her favorite part was the Children's Museum. She loved the farm. She is riding her John Deere "tractor."

Riding a horse...
Milking a cow...

Climbing through a spider web...
Driving a fire truck. The end of the truck was a slide.
This went to the roof of the building.
We had a lot fun, thanks for inviting us Kelly and Abby!!!!

Hailey's Birthday Party

This is Hailey, she is Rylee's best friend. It took the entire party to get a picture of them together then they turned the lights off right when I was taking it. Reese loved the slide.

Face Painted

Rylee got her face painted at school last week.

Sleepover with Jenna

Jenna slept over last weekend. We sent Reese to stay with Jackson. We took the girls to a pizza place with games. They did really well taking turns picking games. Here they are riding a roller coaster.
They were singing in the car on the way to lunch the next day, but when they saw the camera, they got bashful.

Slate Reunion

The first Sunday in August is always the Slate Reunion. We've started a new tradition of taking a picture in Great Granny's tree. Here are the girls this year (Aug 2008) and..... ....here are the girls Aug 2007. How they have changed!!

Rylee's New School

Rylee started at Apex Academy on Monday and hasn't looked back. She seems to really like it and hasn't asked about her old school. (It helps that she has to go with me to pick Reese up in the afternoons.) When I was taking her Tuesday she told me she could sign herself in and that I could just drop her off. What? I don't think so. Part of why I think she likes it is because they have TVs everywhere. She doesn't have to nap and she can watch movies, in the afternoons, they watch cartoons, in the morning before it starts, she watches TV. It has really help me be okay with her changing schools.

Reese's potty training

Here is just an update of Reese's potty training.

Monday: She went to school in panties. Had 4 accidents at school. (One was after nap.) Stayed dry while I quickly shopped at Target, then had an accident at home.

Tuesday: Woke up with a poopy pullup. FUN!! Sat on potty for 2 minutes while I got the wipes and clothes for school. While trying to get her dressed, refused to put panties on and then peed on the floor. ( guess she knew she needed to pee so she didn't want to put the panties on.) After I get her cleaned and dressed for school, I then get the carpet cleaned. Wake Rylee up, get her dressed, and we are off to school. Oh no, Reese isn't finished. She pooped in the panties before I got her in the car. We go inside and get her changed. Poop in panties isn't fun, she wasn't thrilled being cleaned with a wet washrag either. To clean the panties I had to drunk it places that no one wants to touch. Finally, get to school, and she has 2 accidents, one after nap.

Wednesday: Stayed dry at school and had only one accident out on the playground. She woke up dry from nap. Then had an accident while playing outside at Chick-fil-A.

While the Children Are Away, Mommy Will Piant...

The girls went to grandparents for the week and I redecorated their rooms while they were gone. I painted, with the help of Brad and my friend Abigail, the bedrooms and the bathroom.

Bathroom BEFORE...this is where the mirror was
AFTER...replaced the mirror with a smaller one that was framed. The entire bathroom is a little more mature, but still girly. I still need to add a few things to the walls.
(and paint the yellow holes, we found new hardware after we painted.)
Reese's room BEFORE... AFTER...we took down the crib and moved the TV in the room along with Rylee's old bed. We are going to make it a guest/playroom. It is still a HUGE work in progress. Rylee's room BEFORE...
AFTER...no more stripes, and the girls are sharing the room. We got the girls a BUNKBED!!!
(probably the last time the beds will be made. It is really hard to put sheet on that top bunk.) We got a dresser and chest to match the bed, but it is on order. Eventually, Rylee's dresser will be moved in the playroom to be storage and for guests. We also got a trundle bed that goes under the bunks. I got a bright pink rug for the floor that will save the carpet from anymore stains.

Last Day at Sunshine House

A couple of weeks ago Rylee spent her last day at Sunshine House. In a few days, she will start at Apex Academy. It uses the Abeka system, which teaches them phonics. Hopefully, she will be reading by the time she enters kindergarten.

This was her teacher, Ms. Kim. This is one the original crew, Eli.