"i'm a big girl mommy!"

i hear this statement from emery all day long. so when the other three were off to school this year emery was devastated. lucia's preschool teacher said we would love for emery to come if she is potty-trained - which of course she is, since she is the most independent child alive - she potty trained herself right before her second birthday.

we were torn about the decision to let her join lucia at preschool, mainly because she is our baby and has the rest of her life to go to school. we also feel strongly that lucia needs to have big girl activities of her own. so we compromised and said she could go on friday mornings with lucia since she is so ready.

i love this first picture of the pigtails and backpacks from emery's first friday of spanish preschool. she was exhausted when i picked the girls up but loved it. i am excited for emery to be hearing spanish at such a young age. she talks about the singing, dancing and "the park" (she calls all playgrounds parks.)

salt water sandals and sundresses. .. these girls are giving me a run for my money daily with their sassiness and energy but they sure are fun to dress!

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emery we love you so much and hope you love school as much as the rest of your family. i had to make aaron stop getting degrees. . .

we love watching how much you want to be a big girl but you will always be our baby girl!

First Day Spanish Preschool for Lucia!

Lucia is going to Spanish Preschool this year. She will go 3x a week Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. It is complete Spanish Immersion and only 5 minutes from our house! Maestra Fanny is the sweetest woman you will ever meet and speaks the entire day in Spanish. . they sing in Spanish, dance in Spanish and learn in Spanish. Lucia was comfortable day one - in fact she loved it.

I love this picture it just captures her essence. she continues to be filled with JOY, now just with a little four year whining and tattling thrown in:)

No need for a new backpack when you have the cutest owl back pack on the planet.

We love you so much Lucia and pray you have a fabulous year in Spanish Preschool - we are so grateful for this opportunity. Your birth mother had a dream for you that you would get a great education and be able to go to school. .. . we are doing our very best to make her dreams come true for you!

Third Grade Here we come!

Are these boys really in third grade???!?!?! They are so ready and were thrilled to go to school.

We could not be more excited about their teacher Mr. Cong! They sprinted through the door after school saying they might just have the best teacher on the planet. He made the first day a blast including dressing up as Mr. Madsen a mad scientist with a mystery box to introduce the scientific method. He continued through the week to dress up everyday with a new exciting science lesson. . theme song and all. K&K cannot stop talking about their virtual bank accounts and virtual paychecks they earn for responsibility and hard work in the classroom. Teachers that make school FUN in the midst of high expectations and academic rigor deserve many starbucks cards in my book!

of course the sisters had to get in on the first day pics. . . lucia had her first day of tap and ballet and was already to go by 7:30 and class was not until 10:45.

all about NIKE and Shadow soccer gear for the first day outfits. you would think that as twins they would not want to wear the exact same shirt, but what do i know. they loved having the same shadow shirt on with their names on the back.

fist day of school pics are always so smiley and filled with excitement!

always goofing around!

trying to smile like emery:)

have a great year boys we love you so much!!!

goodbye summer

lots of ice-cream bars and Popsicles on the porch swing. . . now that is summer!

we had a such a packed fun filled summer. . we were on the go! the weather is in the 90's this week but school is under way and the fall schedule is in full throttle! first day of school pics to come. . . . always my favorite!

we got all dressed up for the black tie event coaches vs. cancer.

treats galore. . eating brownies naked is always a perfect summer activity!

sprinkler time. emery screams "sprinkler" anytime we see them driving.

good thing she is so cute. . b/c she is such a stinker!

emery keeps murphy's bowls very full.

dot paining on a summer morning.

a little you tube with the armstrong boys.

all ready for church.

has it really been 20 years. . aaron and I both attended our 20 year reunions.. . . are we really that old?

radio and race cars

the boys were asked to help make a radio commercial for the orthodontist kinkade went to for his teeth. it was a great experience. we haven't heard the commercial yet. . .should be interesting.

on the way home mel took them to see a real race car. it has been the summer of cars for them so they were thrilled!

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Shadow Soccer

the boys were invited to play in two shadow tournaments this summer. i love this first picture of keagan and two new teammates after he just scored a goal! they had a blast, in fact they LOVED every minute of it.

real uniforms with their names on the back. . . and first soccer medals for winning the silver division.. . don't ask me what that means. . .because i was not allowed to play soccer growing up - my dad said "soccer" was for all the kids that couldn't catch. we had three rules in my household - no soccer- no cheer leading- no motorcycles!

well, i married a soccer player who is a fanatic for the game. . . and here we are!

this is how i find the boys every night. . in the same bed. . . oh twins! but after three days of lots of soccer in the heat they were exhausted.

more time at the beach with friends!

we had so much fun at the beach with the armstrongs, boles and bryan. the dads are aaron's best friends from college and our families get along great!