Hangin' with their cuz

We saved Central park and the Natural History Museum for the last day.
Pizza, of course.

Girls and Art

So on our 2nd day in the Big Apple we started out at the American Girl store where we spent most of the day. Olivia brought 'Emma' with her. While we were there, Claire picked out her very own American doll 'Eva' as an early birthday gift.

Their daddy was such a good sport about lunch with the 'girls', he took this picture of us having lunch with the dolls at the cafe.

The 2nd part of the day was devoted to art. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I tried to show the girls some culture. I have to say, they were the only kids there and they were so well behaved. Olivia seemed to enjoy looking at the paintings.
This was Olivia's favorite work of art at the museum which was on the roof.

Travelin' Texans head to the East Coast

First stop: New York City!




Exhausted!

Our road trip...the beginning

We left home on July 3rd and made it to Texas on July 4th.

We met up with good friends to celebrate the 4th of July.

Meeting friends in New Orleans!

Bon Bon

Last week, Olivia tried out for the Nutcracker. When she was 4 1/2, I took her to see the Nutcracker here. She absolutely loved it and sat on the edge of her seat the entire time. It was then that she decided she wanted to be in the Nutcracker. I told her she would have to take ballet and practice alot. So she took ballet last year and really paid attention and worked at learning her steps. It is a huge deal to be in the Nutcracker here, the dancers have lots of practices to go to and it is performed at the convention center with the Symphony Orchestra. I wasn't sure if she would get a part since she has only danced for 1 year but they do have parts for the younger dancers such as Bon Bons, Angels, and Soldiers.

Here is an article about a previous performance of the Nutcracker.

And here are pictures of Olivia opening her letter:

She will be a bon bon in the Nutcracker this year. She was so excited!

The Lone Star state

Another first day...

Today was Claire's first day back at preschool. She was excited, until this morning. Then all morning she kept saying, 'I don't want to go to school'. Once she was there and settled in, she was just fine. She did this all last year too, I can't figure it out. Maybe because she is the 'baby'.

Olivia's first day of school

I can't believe my 'baby' is starting first grade today! She seems to be in a good class and there are 4 other students from her Kindergarten class. I tried to get her to eat a big breakfast, but she was pretty excited. It's a big transition to 1st grade...no more play time in the classroom, no more snack time, and it's all day.

On the Road Again

We just made it to El Paso from Houston last night. It took us almost 11 hours. We thought it would be more like 12, but after San Antonio, the speed limit is 80, so we made great time.

This morning we will drive to Blythe, CA, it should take us about 8 hours. Then on Sunday, we will head home to Bakersfield, CA.

We had such a great time on our vacation, but it will be good to be home and sleep in our own beds. After my trip in New Orleans, we drove down to the Austin area to spend several days with friends. The landscape is so pretty and it immediately brings back memories of my days spent at summer camp in the hill country.

After Austin, we headed down to Houston to spend time with friends. We had a great time with friends, eating out, swimming at the pools, going to the Children's museum...it's an awesome museum. And now we are headed home...bye bye Texas!