Growing Up Grace: September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Congratulation Kyle and Kelly!

Last weekend we went down to San Diego to BBQ with the Grace side of the family.
The occasion??? Kelly Grace is getting married!!
We met Kelly's fiance, Kyle, and had lunch with the whole family! We talked a lot about the details of the amazing wedding to be held in New Orleans next year. The girls brought their entire playroom with them basically but didn't need it because Aunt Di got them great toys to play with! They loved it. Here are a few pictures of the fun day!

Thanks for the hospitality Mike and Di!!
We had a great time!

Dinner with the Travers

Whenever Jeff is in town at the Travers, we usually "crash" his mini vacation by visiting! Jeff played in a golf tournament with Joe, so we got a chance to "crash" just last weekend! It's always great fun...Joe and Claudia always treat us by preparing a fantastic meal and there is always good conversation! I didn't get many pictures to show but Liz and Steve were there along with Terry Traver! We did a lot of reminiscing about the boys growing up. It was a great time!

Thanks for having us Travers!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

"Nemo, Dori, and Bruce!"

Gigi and Papa got Aquarium tickets for Charlie for her birthday so we went a couple of weeks ago. The girls had a great time. Charlie was excited about seeing Nemo, and Dori, and Bruce but stayed in the stroller and covered her eyes a lot at first. She continued to be nervous for about the first half of the afternoon but then got really into the fish. Ryan was such a "schoolie" (no pun intended... "school of fish"... haha) - she wanted to learn about everything. She was just a barrel of questions..."What's that mommy? How does it move like that? What does that fish eat? How do they breath in the water?" I loved it!

How cool is this shot???
Ryan was so in awe.

Charlie still wanted to be held by daddy "just a little bit longer."

Family Day at the Aquarium!

Best photo of the day...
In watching the sharks, Charlie was super interested and brave until...
one would pass by the glass and down she went for cover! Seriously, I have never seen her move so fast! And the reason I could capture it on camera is because she did EVERY time, without fail. So darn cute. It must have happened 10 times! The funny thing is that if you asked her about her favorite part, her answer is always, "the se-arks!" We even had to go back outside to see the sharks a second time.

Getting our nerve up to touch the sting rays! Wellllll, Ryan and I getting our nerve up. As you can see, Charlie already has her hand in the water!

Brave Grace Girls!

Thanks for the tickets Gigi and Papa. We had a great time!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Different Day... Different School...

Due to my work schedule and our changing daycare situation, this may prove to be a very complicated year for the Graces! The girls will be attending one school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and a different school or Tuesdays and Thursdays. These pictures show the second "first day of school" for the girls. In addition to doing this 'first day of school" thing the day before AND the fact that they are used to this school...Look how much more confident they look in these pictures???

The Pose!
Ryan says: "I'm one of the oldest kids this year so I'm gonna rule the school!"
Charlie says: "My sister looks cool standing like this, so I'm gonna do it to!"

The Greet
Charlie says: "Hi Claire, how was your summer? Which room are you in?"

The Dance!
Claire says: "Room 1"
Charlie says: "ME TOO! Yippppie!!"

The Reunion
All kids: "Cheeeeeeessssse"

"The Pre K class line up"
Ms. Alllison: "Welcome Ryan Grace!"

The Emotions!
Ryan: "This is the best day of my life!"
Charlie: "I'm not so sure about this anymore."

Calendar time in Pre K
Ryan: "I own this place!"

Charlie navigating her new classroom. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to join the other kids at the play doh station. Shortly after this picture...
Charlie: "Waaaaaa (read - loud cry) !!! Take me home mommy."

First Day of School

On their way to their new school for the first time!
Ryan is an old hat to the first day of school business, but look at Charlie... isn't she the happiest little thing in the whole world to be just like her big sister now????

Stayed tuned for another set of pictures of their "second first day of school" coming to a blog near you!!! Haha

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Summer's Last Hurr-ah!

The girls and I met Cousin Katie and Aunt Nancy at Disney one last time before school started. It was a perfect day because most of the big kids had already started school so the park was fairly easy to navigate. We went on 9 different attractions AND stayed to see a parade! It was the longest time we've ever spent at Disneyland! We got there at 9:30 and stayed until 4:30! Everyone was exhausted!

Charlie and Ryan on the tram ride over (Charlie thinks its one of the "rides"... so cute!)

Waiting in line for Alice in Wonderland. Charlie kept her glasses on for the first half of the day because she was scared and was convinced that though glasses were going to keep her safe!

Thank goodness Aunt Nancy was willing to fly solo with the girls on the teacups
(It makes me way too dizzy and nauseous)

Our first time on the new Finding Nemo ride! There is always such a long line that we avoid it but on this day, the wait was only 30 minutes for we went for it!

We found Nemo! Yeh!

The girls watching the ducks in Critter Country

Posing for a picture

We saw Cinderella on Main Street

Ahhh, what's another 45 minutes?? We decided to prolong naps EVEN longer to watch the parade! It was well worth it!

Goofy came up to talk to lil' Miss Ryan. She was thrilled.

Balboa Island Adventure

Just after Labor Day Weekend, Steve took the girls down to Balboa Island to visit the Carey's vacation beach house! I had to work so I missed all the fun!

The girls first ferry ride! As soon as they drove on, Steve rushed to get them out of their car seats, got out of the car, sat on a bench to watch, and quickly got right back in the car! What a good daddy!

Ginny good friend Kay was there too. She loves to hang out with the little ones!

Just hangin' out on the boardwalk eating lunch!

Aunt Ginny did a great job helping Steve out with the girls! Thanks Ginny!

The girls hardly ever get to see Big Cousin Timmy because of his busy work schedule so this was an extra special day! Steve said they played and played and played!

Ryan stayed busy all day collecting shells
(...and brought them home too! They are decorating our backyard!)

It took awhile to get brave but ... the girls played in the water and had fun doing so.

Thanks for hosting our family Careys!!

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Lazy Day, Labor Day

We had a lazy, lounging Labor Day with some of our friends hanging out by the pool. Nothing fancy... just good friends and good times! Labor Day weekend is somewhat of an anniversary for us in this house. We had this same group over last year and although we had been moved in for 2 weeks, the pool had just been finished and ready to swim in the day before the party! One year later and the group keeps getting bigger... 3 more babies came over the past year (Sydney, Bridgette, and Wyatt)! We are now at a grand total of 10 kids between us! It will be interesting to see the count next year!