Solar Eclipse

Today I checked Brielle out of school so we could do some solar eclipse watching.  We didnt have the special glasses so we tried a few other methods to see it.  You were not supposed to look directly at the sun without eye protection.  It wasnt a complete eclipse here in Dallas but it was still fun to see.  Our favorite view was looking at the reflection through a ritz cracker.  All the half moons are the eclipsed sun.  Fun times!

First Day of School

1st grade, 4th grade, 8th grade, 10th grade

Back to school clothes fashion show

Waco Weekend

For the last weekend of summer we took a little weekend getaway to Waco.  I had told the girls that this summer I would take them to Magnolia Market because they are fans of the TV show "Fixer Upper".  We enjoyed lunch there from various food trucks, did a little shopping at the store and then grabbed some cupcakes from the bakery.  Then we ventured over to the Dr Pepper Museum where we learned all about the history of Dr Pepper.  After that we checked into our hotel and had some downtime and a little swim.  For dinner we had a fun meal at Cheddars.  The next morning we woke up early and traveled to Lake Whitney where we rented a boat.  We had a blast on the lake, tubing and knee boarding and jumping in. We had so much fun!

The Dr Pepper Museum:

Boating at Lake Whitney:

Braces Off

Today Makenna was surprised by her orthodontist by being told she was getting her braces off.  He had told me it was going to happen but wanted to keep it as a surprise for her.  She thought she wasn't getting them off until October.  Now she has that perfect smile just in time for the start of 8th grade.

Here she is with her orthodontist (and old primary teacher) Dr Corbridge

Summer Snapshots

Here's some of the fun times we had this summer:

This summer we had lots of smores by our new firepit.  This time we had Brielles friends Kylie, Addie and Kenna and Emmitts friend Taeya.

This picture and the one below were from an outdoor concert I took Brielle and Emmitt too while the big kids were away.  It turned out the music was terrible but we tried to have fun anyway.

After a morning movie one day, I took the kids to Pie Five for pizza!

This is from the Discovery Centers bubble exhibit.  We were able to make bubbles big enough to fit each of the kids into.

This is from our visit to the National Video Game Museum

Heres the kids at Lake Ray Roberts.  Julie and I took the kids one hot summer day.

Most of our summer outings ended like this.

The kids earned enough tickets from our Summer Ticket Program to take a trip to Amazing Jakes.  We played video games, ate multiple times, climbed the rockwall, played laser tag and rode the go carts.

We discovered a new pool that we visited several times this summer- the Jack Carter pool.  It had a lazy river, waterslides, diving platforms and the biggest attraction of all- the flow rider.

Our friends the Thomas' came to visit us for a few days.  We went to the drive in movie to see Despicable Me 3.  It was fun but way too HOT!

More Smores!  This time with the Thomases.

Dress like a cow day is always a fun day for our family. We ate their lunch and dinner this year!  Addie joined us for lunch.

One of our super fun summer days was spent at Hawaiian Falls.  Emmitt was just barely the right height to ride ALL the rides so he had a blast.  (They actually measured him when we first got in the park and he had his shoes on- so it may not have been an accurate measurement ;)

Near the end of the summer Grandma and Grandpa were able to come for a visit to attend Sadies baptism and Bens mission farewell.  We had a lovely time swimming with them too.

Splashing around the creek at Arbor hills is always a fun time.

In his hand is a teeny tiny frog.