First Day of School

First day of school!!!!!  I don't know who was more nervous, me or the kids.  Lol!!!  Gabe had the morning off so that he could help me take them to school.  I wasn't sure how either of them were going to react and I prayed that everything would go smoothly.

We took Zach to his classroom first.  And to my amazement, he was an old pro!!!!  He was such a big boy!!  He hugged and kissed us goodbye, took the teacher's hand and walked over to the rest of the group where they were sitting on the floor!!  I couldn't believe it was that easy!  I was relieved that it was that simple but I still got teary eyed seeing how big my baby boy has gotten.  :(

Next, was Sophie.  She did really good too!  But I have to admit, it was hard leaving her and I really had to fight back the tears!!!

Gabe and I went to breakfast afterwards, but it was hard to enjoy being by ourselves.  Part of me was feeling guilty, part of me was sad, and I missed the kids already.

As the rest of the day went on, it got easier.  I know this is the right thing to do for them and that they will enjoy going there to learn and have fun.  It's just the initial 'hump' that we have to get over first!

I was anxious to pick them up and see how their day went.  They both had a good day, ate lunch, took a nap, and got to play outside.  They both were a little overwhelmed when they saw me though... they both ran to me with tears in their eyes.  :(  I'm sure it will get better with time...

Here are some more pics from this morning:

Just Another Hard Day At The Office

Doesn't he look so cute?

The kids haven't started at school just yet, so while I am still in "training mode" at work (that's still funny to say), I take them with me for a couple of hours.  They love to go to Daddy's work.  Not sure why, but they always seem to keep themselves entertained and occupied.  I think on this day, they were playing restaurant and taking our orders for lunch.  Lol!

Pretty Toes

This girl is a GIRL-IE GIRL!!!!  She loves anything having to do with make-up, hair bows, painting her toes, purses, baby dolls, barbies, shoes, etc... and I love it!!!  I am so blessed to have a boy and a girl.  I get the best of both worlds!!

The shirt says it all!  :)

Welcome Baby Kaleb!

We drove down to Corpus on Friday to spend the weekend meeting and welcoming Baby Kaleb to the family.  This was the first chance that we got to get away and meet our new, baby nephew/cousin!

Kelly, Gabe & Kaleb

Uncle Gabe & Kaleb

Playing with his new cousin

Ahhhh, sweet cousin love!

Sophie also liked to play momma...she buckled Minnie Mouse up for a ride.

We definitely had a busy weekend full of activities!  Friday night we had some good 'ol Kikos (Gabe's favorite).  The enchiladas there are scrumptious!!!!
On Saturday, we went to the mall to spend some money!  Lol!  Papo and Grandma Bebe treated all of the grandkids to new shoes!!  Sophie and Zach got some new tennis shoes for the new school year.  And since Stride Rite was having a sale, we also got Sophie some brown shoes for the Fall to wear with her jeans.  Cute, cute, cute.  Thank you again Papo and Grandma Bebe!
After leaving the mall, we stopped by and said 'hi' to Grandma Sally.  She was working in her antique store and it's always fun to see what's new!
Later on, we went to a birthday party.  It was the granddaughter of Abel & Esmi's friend.  The birthday girl was only turning 1, but the party was "off the hook!"  It was so neat!  The theme was like a carnival.  So they had carnival games, carnival food and even a dunking booth!  It was too too cute and so creative!
From there, we left and met Gabe's mom, sister, aunt/uncle for dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  It must have been THE night to eat there... we waited over a hour for a table and at that we didn't even get to sit all together at one table!  We had two tables directly across from each other.  But I guess it all worked out okay.  It made splitting the bill easier.  Ha!
After dinner, we went back to Papo's and went to bed.  We were all wore out!
On Sunday, we got up, had breakfast and got ready for Kaleb's 'welcome party' that Celia and John were hosting for Kelly and Kevin.

 

After the party, we had to leave and get back on the road to head home.  It was a great weekend.  Busy, but good.  We got to meet Kaleb, saw a lot of family, ate some good food, and made new friends.

Oh, and early Sunday morning, Allyson (Gabe's cousin) had her second baby girl, Avery!!  So that now makes 8 great grandchildren in the Gonzalez Family!!  :)

Change Is Good, Right??

Moving on to the next chapter... Some of you might know this already, but I have been itching to go back to work, get out of the house again, and just have something to do.  But on the other hand, I've been very nervous about putting both kids in school/daycare.  One, because it is so expensive.  Two, because Sophie hasn't been to any type of school yet.  And three, I don't know how Zach is going to react.  We all know how much he "loved" his last school. 

With that being said, it looks like God has worked his magic for us once again.  Back in mid-July Gabe received a letter stating that he was on probation (at his store) due to decreasing insurance numbers (this is a whole other story) and opening the store late in the month of June (remember, Gabe took summer school in June, so this was from his employee, Charlene).   Our initial reaction was shock.  Then anger.  Then, well if this is what happens, this is what happens. 

After talking to a few other agency operators, Gabe decided to have a meeting about this letter, which by the way, wasn't even signed by the District Manager of the area.  He wanted to be heard and have a few questions answered and "fight" for this store.  Because, in all honesty, this job works for us right now.  It allows Gabe to have the freedom to go to school, do his studies, and isn't too stressful for him to balance everything.  And it's definitely too close to him graduating to stop now!

At the conclusion of the meeting, it was decided that we should run the store as a "family affair," as I like to say it.  Charlene would have to go and I would step in and take over.  Which, why didn't we think of this sooner?  Not only do I get to get out of the house and work again, but we would save money by not paying an employee.  And as far as the kids go, they wouldn't have to go to school/daycare full time.  They would just go on the days that Gabe has school, when I would be needed at the store.

So, I started training today.  I'm back in the game!  Haha!!  There is a lot to learn, that is for sure, but I am slowly getting it.  I also looked at Kids R Kids the other day for Zach and Sophie.  It is really close to home, Sophie would be in the same class as Dane (her boyfriend), and they have a Pre-K class for Zach (in which the teachers are certified).  So it seems that everything is coming together nicely.  Wish us luck on all the upcoming changes!!

A Little Change of Scenery

Summer is winding down and to change things up a bit, we went to The Woodlands today with Aunt Becky, Aunt Sandra, and cousins Cole and Emma.  We ate at The Cheesecake Factory (yum) and I think I saw a movie star there....  :)

Ta-da!!!  Little Miss Diva!!

And then she got shy!

After lunch, we did a little shopping and I scored some polos on sale at GapKids.  Can you believe it is already time for me to start birthday shopping for Zach?  Omg... he's going to be 5!!!!!!  Say it isn't so!  My baby is growing up too fast!

An Unexpected Lunch Date

Ashleigh and Baby Gage came into town for a visit and we went and had lunch with them.  Baby Gage isn't so baby anymore... look how big he his!

And... good thing he is practicing to be so big because he will become a BIG BROTHER next year!!  Ashleigh is expecting!!  Miss Stella should be here mid-February!!  Congratulations Hansberger Family!