And Cue Tears...

Bye Bye "Mommy Guilt".

Natalie started school this week and she loved it!

(there was never a doubt that she would.)

(what IS the deal with this mommy guilt when making the decision about preschool anyway??)

The teacher was impressed with her height so she gave

her the highest slot to put her folder in:)

Natalie felt special.

Her smile showed it.

"Which part did you not understand? The buh or the bye?"

(Nat HAS been talking about school all summer.

She was ready to get started.)

At the end of the day, she loved chapel, eating her Cheetos,

and "just said HOLA in Spanish class".

Meanwhile, Daddy, Mommy, and Lainey

had a nice, quiet lunch date.

(We did go ahead and pour salt all over the table

and run around the restaurant for the heck of it though.)

Natalie, you're such a social bug and

you love to learn new things.

Spread your wings, Sweet Girl.

(just drop me some kleenex every now and then, ok?!)

Five Years and Counting

We just celebrated our five year anniversary

and we had a fun night of dinner and dancing.

Now for a walk down memory lane...

Year 1

Astros Game

One of our favorite things to do while living in Houston

Year 2
Our 1st OU/TX wknd together, right after I got my nose pierced, YEEEOW!

Christmas in Chicago

2 Year Anniversary, prego with Natalie

Year 3

WHOA! One of many wonderful moments together...

Our first Christmas with Natalie

Year 4

Celebrating Kev's 30th in Colorado

And my 30th, pregnant with Lainey

Year 5

(still) prego with Lainey, Albuquerque

Getting ready for Alaina Grace...and an epidural.

Our 1st Christmas with Lainey

Headed to a 60s party...the suit that started it all 6 yrs ago;) Meow!

Starting Year 6
At our 1st of 8 dance lessons, celebrating our 5 yrs

No Spaghetti Arms Here...

Kevin + Angie =
Lots of Love

Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Pavarotti and Papa

I can't help but feel sorrow as the world mourns

the passing of the great tenor, Luciana Pavarotti.

My dad (Papa to the grandkids) was the first to introduce us to the world of opera,

in hopes of cultivating some culture within his "small town" kids.

Opera was a great love of his and I immediately fell in love too.

I remember being moved to tears at the first opera he took me to.

It moved me like nothing else before...it still does.

It was a weird and wonderful experience for me.

From that point on, my dad and I shared so many wonderful date nights at the

Houston Grand Opera.

It was a soul connection for us both.

During the last few months we had together, often times we would just sit,

hold hands and listen to music together.

"Nessun Dorma", our favorite aria, was usually the song of choice.

I'd put the cd player on repeat and we'd just close our eyes and soak it in.

I will never hear this aria without thinking of him and the many loves we shared.

Here is Pavarotti singing "Nessun Dorma" for the last time in public.

(press "pause" and let it load)

The Flying Trapeze Artist

So you know Natalie loves gymnastics...climbing, flipping, flying high in the sky.

Well, she out-did herself today.

The following took place in our garage as I began to load us up in the car for an outing:

As Lainey was hanging in her carseat on my left arm, diaper bag on the other,

I gave a quick jab with the ol' elbow to the garage door opener.

Nat giggled with delight. She loves being right next to the door when it's raised.

I go about my mommy business, buckling Lainey in, etc.

Next thing I see from the corner of my eye is Natalie flying high,

and it's not the usual launch from Daddy's arms.

Up, up, up she went!

Apparently, she grabbed on to the garage door and once it started lifting her up,

she decided to just hang on for dear life!

She rode that sucker all the way to the top.

Then just dangled, swinging from side to side.

She finally caught her breath and screamed,

"SOMEBODY HELLLLP MEEEE!"

After I got her down she laughed and said,

"Mommy, that was FUN!"

It actually did look like fun.

Lil' monkey in strength training for her big

"Swing From the Garage Door" Day

Baby Sis just chillin. She better not be taking notes...

Labor Day and Family Fun

We spent Labor Day this year at the beach.

Lainey started crawling.

Natalie fell in love...with the beach and Allan, Gina's boyfriend.

Daddy's ok with it, Gina's got her dukes up:)

A few of my favorite pictures from the weekend

TROUBLE!

(this subtitle will suffice for any picture with these two)

Discovery

(she was in awe of the sand and starfish)

Daddy's girls

(sigh)