1st day of school! 2 out of 3...

I can't believe it's finally here! The first day of school...so exciting.  Bella and Cam headed off to their new adventure today as Texas students. Logan starts later in September, I'm kind of glad. I have always loved having alone time with the youngest.

 We finally live close enough "with no hills I might add" to walk to school. I think I still have Seattle on the brain, putting Bella in a sweater was a mistake. We were HOT when we arrived :-)

Look at my big kids! I can't wait to see what the school year brings for us...

A"maze"ing

We found this really cool maze in the shape of Texas! Who thinks this stuff up? The kids we entertained for far longer than I expected.

Can you spot the little hands??

We found a lake...we'll stick to the pool.

Because we are the Leonardsons, an adventure to find the ever elusive water in Texas was on the agenda. I'm going to say it again because it's all that's on my mind, IT WAS HOT! After some serious googling, we found a "lake" that was less than an hour away. Sounds like a good idea, right? Wrong. There is a reason all the neighborhoods have pools. The lakes in the Dallas area are man made and nothing like what we are used to in Washington. After a little bit of a drive, through an industrial park I might add, we found this beauty. The pictures actually make it look good, don't be fooled by the kids happy faces. They'd be happy to play in a puddle.

 Notice the color of the water? Ya, Logan picked up a handful of the "sand" and said "look mama! peanut butter!". yuck. The water was bath warm, not as refreshing as we'd hoped.

 And yes the kids are fully clothed. I distinctly remember saying "just get your feet wet!" At least I think I said that. Don't ask me about the car ride home....with no towels. This was meant to be a "check it out" trip.

On a side note, Logan tried to use the public restroom there as well. Apparently it had a wasp nest and lots of spiders. When Logan came out Darin asked him "Buddy, I thought you had to go?" Logan: "It's so weird, it went back up".
 Oh, and we paid $5 for this lovely trip. It would have been $10 if not for mom's senior discount. Thank God for her age!

Bella turns 9!

Our favorite girl turned 9 years old! I can't believe how the time has flown by, she was just a baby yesterday. We are so lucky to have such a smart, beautiful, talented daughter that has the kindest heart imaginable. Her capacity to love, and care for others is only something we can all learn from. I feel blessed that God gave me her.

 Since we had a big party back in Seattle for all the kids combined, this special day was more for the family. She had very specific requests this year. Swimming was a the top of the list, I'll post pics of that once I can figure out how to get them off my phone :-) Dinner HAD to be pizza, and cake HAD to be made by mom. Chocolate to be exact, with pink frosting. We aim to please!

 After the sugar rush was complete, ICE AGE was on the agenda. Off to the movies, not  huge sacrifice by the way, it was over 100 degrees outside!

I'd say it was a pretty perfect day. Big thanks from the big girl were given, and lots of thankful prayers :-)

Well, dang it

I guess I didn't foresee this to be a problem.

Guess who's coming to town...

Turns out we're not meant to be Northwest natives forever. It's been a really interesting 6 months in the Leonardson household! Darin and I returned home from a cruise in January to find a voicemail from a Texas recruiter. Who knew that phone call would change our lives so completely. A ton of phone calls, a few plane rides, quite a few interviews later and you are looking a the newest Texas residents y'all! Yes I said "y'all", it's kind of catchy.

Goodbye Seattle...

 Hello Texas sunshine!!!

This is where the Leonardsons will call home for the next two years!