weekend with grandpa!

My dad came to visit this last weekend and we had a fun filled weekend. We did a lot, ate great food, and had a really good time. We were all sad to see him go. Here's a bit of our weekend...

a little soccer in the front yard (with Syd's new soccer ball from grandpa :)

hanging out in the kitchen while grandpa fried up some fish

a trip to the zoo....

dinosaur island at the zoo

boat ride at dinosaur island

can't go to the zoo without riding the carousel

all tuckered out from the long day

Sydney went to Build-a-Bear as her reward for getting Honor Squad!

a great visit with Grandpa!

Sydney got Honor Squad!!!

Today Sydney was honored for being chosen to be on Honor Squad!! They choose one student from each class each month who have shown the following qualities: be Honest, be Organized, have No excuses, show Outstanding effort, and being Respectful. When they explained this at Open House I was sure Sydney would get this at some point because, let's face it, she's great ;) BUT, to be the very first one chosen from her class is just awesome! Today as a reward she got to have lunch with all the Honor Squad nominees and the principal, received a certificate, and got to put her painted hand prints on the "wall of honor"!!We could not be more proud of her or more excited for her. What a blessing to know that not only is she enjoying school but she is doing well AND getting recognized for that! I am one proud and happy mama!

and some more pics of the kiddos...

latest soccer game...

brave girl

Sydney is getting more confident and brave as each day passes. It's a fun process to watch. Here is our brave girl holding a rather large chicken at her cousin's house...

soccer!!

Sydney had her first game this Saturday and it was so fun to watch. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of the game yet, but she had a blast :)

getting her picture taken

team picture, she was excited that she got to hold the ball :)

waiting for her turn to play

go Sydney!

watching his big sis

her favorite part, go team! :)

she wanted to show off her number :)

too busy.

We're too busy right now. Seriously, I'm exhausted. School and soccer are now in full force and each day has some sort of agenda. Long gone are the lazy, laid back, summer days.  And the downfall is lack of picture taking (hence lack of blogging). Most of what we have going on is good...just busy :) Sydney has her first game this weekend so I WILL take some pictures there! Until then....

ready for football season!!

fun times on a hot day :)

Sydney's FIRST DAY of Kindergarten!!!!!

Well, it finally arrived. I have been dreading this day for a while now...and it's here. The day that my baby girl starts school :( Although I was sad to see this day come (and seriously terrified, if we're being honest), it has been such a special day and Sydney was thrilled to go! We practiced eating out of the lunchbox yesterday, had her choice for dinner last night, laid out her clothes before bed, had a special breakfast, and of course picture time :) I have been amazed at how easy this has been for her. She has been so ready to go and was even pushing us out the door this morning. When we got to her classroom and she sat at her desk, the little girl next to her said "Are you nervous to go to school?" and Sydney confidently said "No :)" I was able to hold back the tears until we got home, but leaving her...looking so itty bitty sitting at her desk... was absolutely gut wrenching. I know she'll do well. I know she'll love it. I just can't believe it's here already...because even though we see this....

I still see this....   


Here's her first day of kindergarten......

she requested blueberry muffins for her first day of school breakfast :)

getting ready!

Miles is going to miss his playmate on school days!

with daddy :)

with  mommy :)

we're here!!

at her desk

Sydney, I could not be more proud of you or more proud to be your mommy. You are so special, so kind and tender hearted, so funny, so awesome. This is the beginning of an adventure and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for you at school! I love you more than you know!!!

where have we been?

So you're probably wondering if all we do is go the zoo....well, we actually live there now. Just kidding :) But we have been super busy lately and somehow the zoo is the only place I remember to actually take pictures. I mean, we had a great trip to PA a couple weeks ago and I took NO pictures...how did that happen? Anyway, I'll work on that :) For now, here's a bit of where we've been lately...

Sydney made her daddy proud wearing the
new Tampa Bay uniform we found!

Sydney at her open house!! what a big girl!

fun at the playground....

fun at the zoo...

chillin by the bears

these two bears have become my favorite thing at the zoo...so entertaining

watching the bears

yay, train ride!

she planned her whole outfit around this pony ride :)

um...Sydney...you might want to turn around ;)

and then it was off to Dinosaur Island!

Miles on the Dinosaur Island ride...he was in awe

Sydney LOVED the boat ride!

it's not a zoo trip without a carousel ride

then we went to Jack's Landing (a little area with a handful of rides)

a different train ride

Syd held her own on this big kid bumper cars!

it was SUCH a fun day at the zoo!!!!