The Queen of Hearts
Miss Strawberry Shortcake
A Beautiful Butterfly
As always, the girls had a great time trick or treating! I loved the costumes they picked out this year.
Here they are with our neighbor friends ready for the evening to start!
Look at all that candy! So dangerous to have all this chocolate in the house!
An era that has been said to be the most terrifying and turbulent in our nation's history, an era of men who served their country by fighting in and winning the battles of World War II, and of women and men who helped America finance the war with their home front efforts, these are the men and women who are now referred to as 'America's Greatest Generation'. My grandpa, Alex Rodriguez, was one of the men who served in our nation's military during this time. He served in the United States Army and lead a group of solders in the Philippines as a Staff Sergeant. He served proudly. He was a man that took Duty, Honor and Country to heart. And up until his last days, he participated in every local WWII event. He rode in parades, waving his flag proudly, as the crowds honored him and the other veterans. But he was humble and never boasted about his medals. Grandpa could usually be found at one VFW or another. He was selected through a veteran's program to be taken to see the WWII Memorial in Washington DC. Sadly, he will not make his flight, missing it only by three weeks. My grandpa passed away on October 14th. He was a great man. He was loved by so many people. And I am proud to say that I am a Rodriguez and that my oldest daughter is named after her great grandpa.
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Alex Rodgriguez, my grandpa, front and center holding the flag.
In honor of Grandpa, Post 76 conducted a 21-gun salute and flew the flag at half mast.
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I am fascinated with this generation of great men and women - their dedication and patriotism helped shape our nation. Veteran's Day is right around the corner. Don't let this day pass without thanking someone from our Greatest Generation. I wish I would have called my grandpa every Veteran's Day.
Today was a very special day for us! A few months ago, Alli asked Jesus to be the Lord of her life. And today, (on her half birthday), she obediently followed Christ in baptism. WE ARE SO PROUD OF HER! And I am so thankful for her decision and her desire to be obedient! I love that my children are getting to experience Christ at a young age. My prayer is that Tori and Katie will follow in Alli's foot steps and make the decision to follow Christ. And that they would never stray from His path!
In her baptismal outfit
So sweet! I love this picture!
Wow! Time is a flyin'!
September was a busy month for us......well, every month is pretty much a busy month for us! But with the start of school and all the activities that come with the start of school, it seemed to be extra busy for us!
Alli is taking cheer for the first time this year. She is really enjoying being a cheerleader and is already talking about wanting to cheer again next year.
She also got braces! She had the bottom braces put on at the end of August and the top ones a few weeks later.
Here she is with her new braces!
Hopefully these things will make her teeth super straight because they are really a pain in the butt! We were at the orthodontist at least once a week when she first got them. She was always having some thing or another poking, stabbing, or hurting her. She seems to be doing better with them now that they have been on her teeth for awhile.
Tori is loving school. She loves going to art class and loves the new friends she is making. Her favorite day of the week is Tuesday. Tuesday is ballet and tap for her. She loves ballet! She has been saying for at least two years now that she wants to be a ballerina. She is very good at it and practices at home all the time. I will go into the playroom and she will have all the chairs set up ready to give me a show!
Katie is doing well in preschool. She has really developed an interest for words and reading in the last few weeks. She is in gymnastics and is doing very well in it. My favorite days with Katie are Wednesdays and Fridays- these are the two days that she does not have preschool. I love that we get one on one time together! We cuddle, read, clean (she loves to help!) do puzzles or go shopping.
These pictures were taken at one of Alli's games.
My girls are back in school! The summer seems to drag after the first month and then August just flies by! And now we are back to rushing around and having long To Do List's to get through......how does that happen?
Alli is in 3rd grade now! She's getting so old and big too quickly! I am very excited about her teacher this year. She seems like she is going to be great. Alli has a couple of friends in her class, which is always the most important thing to her. She apparently likes school only for the social aspect!
Tori is in kindergarten! Wow- kindergarten! It is crazy how fast time flies! She has adjusted very well to kinder; although, it was a bit tough in the beginning. She was so tired when she got home, she did not like going every day and she definitely did not like that I could not walk her in after the first week. But now she is good! She is very confident in where she is suppose to go, and, of course, her big sis is there to walk in with her. And she really seems to be enjoying her class....I get a full report of everything that happened that day!
Katie is in her last year of preschool! She was so excited to start school, probably because her sisters started two weeks before she did. Her 'best bud' Georgia is in class with her again. Katie already knew who her teacher was going to be because she goes to our church. And she thinks she is the "best teacher in the whole world"!
Another month of summer has gone by!
July was definitely a more relaxing month for us. I have been taking full advantage of the fact that the girls actually sleep past 7:30am! This is the first summer that my girls have slept in and it has been nice! Now I can let them stay up a lot later and not have that dreadful feeling of what the next day will be like because they are so tired. I have had to wake them up several times this summer for piano, swim or whatever else happened to be scheduled before 10am. I can't believe that I have had to wake up my girls at 9:30 in the morning! Who would have thought this day would already be here?!? I have been sleeping-in myself....not waking up until 7, 8, or sometimes 9! I am a little nervous about what the morning of August 23rd will look like. I haven't seen 5:30am since May! And the girls have not woken up before 7am since May....hopefully we will all get back into the swing of things very quickly.
The most important event in July for us is Katie's birthday. She is four years old now! We celebrated her birthday in San Antonio with family. And came back home to celebrate with Grandpa and Linda who came down for a short visit.
FOUR YEARS OLD!
Hitting the pinata at MoMo's and celebrating with swimming, cake and presents with her cousins. (And Paige, but she is kind of like a cousin!)
Katie and Tori showing off her "Ariel Museum". Every gift she opened had some kind of "Ariel" in it. Can you guess who her favorite princess is?
At Build-a-Bear with sisters, her best bud Georgia and Jackson (Georgia's brother).
So, other than Katie's birthday and a few pics of the girls eating watermelon.....that is our July! We were so busy relaxing that we did not even get the camera out!
Enjoy your last few weeks of summer!
Our first month of summer has gone by super fast! Probably because we have been super busy!
Alli's last day of school was June 2nd. As she was leaving school that afternoon, she says, "I can't believe I am a third grader!" So, I guess the minute you walk out the door on the last day of school you are officially out of that grade and in the next!
Alli's last day as a 2nd grader.
Later that same day, we left for Alabama to visit Nana and Papa, Aunt Nikol and Donaven, and Aunt Morgan and Bailey. The girls had tons of fun hanging with their cousins and swimming.
A very intense video game...
The day after we arrived home, the girls started swim lessons. Tori and Katie are now very good swimmers! Tori is a little more cautious than Katie, but they are both swimmers now! I see some pool side reading in my very near future! Alli also took lessons so she could become a more efficient swimmer. She did great and swam up to one-third of a mile at the end of her session.
Our family was also very involved with our church VBS. The girls had a lot of fun and I was glad it was a big success.
The trampoline is really no fun in the hot Texas summer....unless you add the water hose.
And since it is so hot, the girls wanted to get a summer haircut.
Before
After
We just got back from a short trip to San Antonio. We were able to just chill and hang out with family for a few days. It is so nice to go in town and not feel rushed to see everyone. We did get to visit my baby nephew. He is so stinkin' cute...but I did not have the camera so no pics.
I am looking forward to a little slower July and some more fun times with my girlies.
Tori is done with preschool! We are very proud of our sweet girl who will be a KINDERGARTENER next year!! It is so hard to believe! I know I say this all the time, but it is so true- THEY ARE GROWING UP TOO FAST!
Getting her diploma and a hug from her sweet teacher Ms. Tasha.
This is from a slide show they did of all the "graduates".
Ms. Tasha was a great teacher. She loved up on my little girl everyday of school....this is the most important thing for me in a preschool teacher. Ms. Tasha is one of those teachers who greets with hugs and kind words! I love that! I HOPE that Katie has her next year.
One of Tori's favorite friends from her class was Hallie. Hallie is really Tori's first friend. Tori had never really been interested in "friends" until this year.
My Girls- fun, happy, crazy, demanding, sweet, cuddly, loving, lovable, beautiful, smart, can't get enough of them girls! They are growing up too fast right before my eyes.
Alli. She is my complete opposite. She is a social butterfly. Loves her friends. Wants a play date everyday. Thinks school is boring. Loves music. Loves her DSI. Loves to cuddle. Caring. Fun. Funny. Loves animals. Loves her teachers. And is such a good girl. I LOVE to cuddle with her. I love how she is concerned for others. She is such a good friend to her friends. I love the time I get to spend with her at school on field trips or eating lunch with her class. And I love our special alone time together.
Tori. She is something else. She amazes me. She works out with me and by herself. She hits golf balls with her daddy. Loves to read. Makes her bed without being told. Cleans up without being told. Loves school. So sweet. Works hard and tries her best at everything. I love to hear her read. I love that she is always making sure I am watching her at dance and gymnastics. I love that she is pretty much happy all the time. I love how she is so sweet to her sisters...well, she's sweet to them most of time...
Katie. She is our wild child. So funny. So cute. Full of energy. In to everything. Loves Ariel. So strong. Great at gymnastics. Loves her doggies. Loves to jump on the trampoline. Loves to pretend and tell her own fairy tales. She makes me laugh all the time. I love how she'll do something over and over because it makes us laugh. Her voice is so sweet and I dread the day she doesn't say "yiddle" for 'little'. I love that she "reads" to me now. And I love that she still holds on to my leg and doesn't want me to go when I drop her off at school. She is my baby and she is going to be four soon!
Alli turned eight last Saturday on the 10th of April. I am sure I say this every year, but it is so hard to believe she is eight! She is a great eight year old! She is doing so well in school. In fact, last week she was given an award for citizenship!
Here she is getting her award and a big hug from her sweet teacher Mrs. Anderson.
Her friend Alexa also received an award for Citizenship.
Alli has started taking piano again. We had been on a waiting list for a few months now, but found another teacher. One who comes to our house to teach- so much easier for me! She has started taking a tumbling class and is really enjoying it. Alli is also having some orthodontic work done. She has spacers now and will be getting an expander next month. Braces will follow soon after the expander. Between her piano, tumbling and teeth, she is sure costing us a lot of money at just eight years old!
I am so happy that she transitioned so well from our move. She has made a lot of really great friends at school and in our neighborhood. I am so proud of the little girl she has become!
Alli chose to have a slumber party this year. This was our first slumber party! It went really well. We started off the night with pizza. Then we broke up into two teams and went on a scavenger hunt. Who knew that scavenger hunts were so fun! This was our first one and we had a blast! The teams bombed each other with water balloons and silly string afterwards.
The worst part of a slumber party is trying to get them to go to sleep! If Pete and I can forget about how hard it was to get 10 girls to go to sleep, we might allow Tori and Katie to have a slumber party one day!
