Fun with the Griffins!

Over Columbus Day Weekend, the Griffins flew to San Antonio to come see us! We were SO excited to have them here + for 3/4 of their crew, this was their very first time in the Alamo City--so we had fun playing tourists with them! We went downtown to see the Alamo, ate dinner on the Riverwalk, and did the riverboat ride. But mostly the kids just had fun being together playing chess & card games, jumping on the trampoline, and swimming! It was such a treat to have so much uninterrupted quality time with them!

We know it's not easy {or cheap!} to carve time out of busy schedules to make the trip to come see us, but we're so grateful they were able to make it happen! We really enjoyed getting to show them our little world out here in Texas & spend so much quality time together. Until next time, Griffins!

Summer Reading

This post is long overdue, but here are a few books I read over the summer & then I'll be back soon with my fall reading list.

So the two books in the top left are both polar opposites in the parenting realm, but I highly recommend them both! ;)  I typically don't enjoy parenting books, but Simplicity Parenting was amazing. And if you're not familiar with I Mom So Hard {I saw them live in Las Vegas with my friends, but they have tons of viral YouTube videos}, you're missing out! They are hilarious!

Kristan Higgins is a chick-lit/rom-com type of writer, and I have adored all of her books...Good Luck With That was no different! If you love The Nightingale or other WWII novels, you'll love The Girl They Left Behind & The Things We Cannot Say. Kelly Rimmer is the author of The Things We Cannot Say, and I enjoyed it so much I decided to try another of her books--Before I Let You Go. I loved this one, too!

We have gotten a few chapter book read aloud recommendations from Read Aloud Revival recently that we've enjoyed--The Prairie Thief & Tuesdays at the Castle. We also recently finished the 3rd book in the Harry Potter series. I never read the Harry Potter books before reading them aloud to the girls, and all three of us have really enjoyed them! I think we're going to stop at Book #3 for awhile since the books have gotten increasingly more mature/intense. The girls are also very into Dog Man & the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series right now when they read independently.

Life Lately

We have finally settled into our fall groove, and life has been good! But I realized I've been doing a terrible job taking pictures! ;)

The girls are busy with school, soccer, and piano in full swing. We had the girls' fall Parent-Teacher conferences this past week & we got the most amazing reports from their teachers. 

Shelby performed in her fall piano recital a few weeks ago, and that will be her last solo recital before Hadley joins in the fun! Shelby did a phenomenal job, and we are eager to watch them both perform in the winter recital in just a couple months!

Shelby started Chess Club at her school this past week, which she is super excited about! Shelby learned the basics of chess from Granddad this past Christmas & then received her first chess set for her birthday last month from Grandma & Granddad. Shelby's teacher this year is actually one of the Chess Club coaches, so it's a perfect fit! Her teacher sent me this picture from her first afternoon at Chess Club, and I think her smile says it all.

Brady is loving going to his school on Tuesday & Thursday mornings, and I am the Parent Volunteer for his class on Tuesdays. We are both ready for lunch & a nap when we get home on Tuesdays! ;)  I'm on the Parent Council Board for Marvelously Made & teaching the 3-5 year old class at church twice/month. I even got to be the "Beyond Homeroom Mom" one Thursday morning at the girls' school while Brady was at his school. It's so weird & fun (!!!) to be in this new season where I can volunteer and get more involved now that Brady is in school. 

Derek is busy at work & busy at home tackling our seemingly never-ending house projects. Our most recent big project is taking down the current window treatments throughout the house & replacing them with plantation shutters. The picture below isn't the best b/c I took it late at night, so we'll have to get better before & after shots next time...but it makes such a huge difference!! We're so pleased with how they came out. The next room on the docket is the living room windows! 

{before}

Derek & I escaped for a little date night this past Friday. We drove up to Austin to see John Crist perform for the second time, and we had such a good time!

We're eagerly awaiting a long weekend coming up, and we've got two sets of visitors lined up later this month--so lots of fun ahead!!