Houston, We Have a Kindergartener!

My how time flies! It feels like only yesterday we were oohing and aahing over our sweet little baby girl. Now, she's almost 6 years old and in Kindergarten!

The morning went smoothly, and though Emerson was excited for school, I could sense she was a bit apprehensive of her new surroundings. We had our orientation last week, and were able to check out her new classroom and meet her teacher. It's a pretty fancy room with lots of "equipment" that none of my classrooms ever had, and her teacher seems very nice. I'm sure she's going to transition nicely and have a fun time. There are only 3 kindergarten classes and we know 4 other little girls and 2 little boys, so she has lots of familiar faces around her. It's also nice that we live close enough to the school to be able to walk with our neighbors.

Believe it or not, I didn't cry when we dropped her off! However, our church had it's annual Back to School Prayer Service this morning and I bawled like a baby during personal prayer time at the altar railing. I'm really not that sad...it's just a life transition, I suppose. I'm eager to go pick her up and hear all about her day. Knowing my Emerson, our walk home will give me an earful and will be filled with a million famous Emerson "Guess What" statements. Man, I love that girl!

Good Eats!

After the zoo, we took the girls to Kim Son downtown for an early dinner. Cultured kids, huh? They've been before and really enjoy the Vietnamese eggrolls and rice. The waiters are always so friendly and gracious with the kids. Kim Son is one of my favorite Houston restaurants and one of my old haunts. I remember eating in the original building back in college, before this new one was built. It was also a regular stop of mine and Scott's back when we were dating...oh how I never wanted those lunches to end! Being a stay-at-home mom, you really start to miss "lunch"...the ones in a restaurant, with nice clothes on and an adult or two sitting across from you, eating good food...prepared and served by others.

It did me good to have an order of shrimp and pork spring rolls and a big bowl of lemongrass beef vermicelli with fish sauce. Kim Son, Van Loc, Mo Mongs....I MISS YOU!

Greetings from the Houston Zoo!

Who in their right mind would decide on a whim to go to the Houston Zoo on a Saturday in August? Well...the Forbes Clan...that's who! We doused on the sunblock, packed a lunch and plenty of water and headed out. It actually wasn't bad at all. Sure, it was hot, but the zoo wasn't crowded at all and we took our time and made sure to get in some shade every now and then.

What made the day even more special and fun was that this is the FIRST time we have been to the zoo as a family of four. Can you believe that? Scott and I took Emerson several times before Kirby came along. Once I started staying home though, the zoo somehow became something done with other stay at home mom friends during the week. We had such a great time together, that I know Daddy will be making more zoo trips with us more often! Of course, we managed to not get one single picture of Daddy at the zoo, so here's one of Mommy...

One should always save time for a little goat grooming...
And be sure to get behind the ears...


Of course, no trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the Hermann Park train. That little train has been around as long as Scott and I can both remember and we love that our girls will have memories of it too!

A Day at the Museum

The girls and I spent the afternoon at the Woodlands Mall one day last week. We ate lunch in the food court, rode the carousel, walked the mall, and went to the Woodlands Children's Museum. It's not your typical, fancy children's museum...but it's really an awesome little place for the girls to run around and play.

You may notice that Kirby is wearing three different outfits in the following pictures....she's *almost* potty-trained and this was our first big test outside the house. Obviously, Mommy was smart enough to pack extra clothes. And obviously, Kirby wasn't too successful...but it's all good...we'll try again another time!

Here the girls are playing in the hospital section. Dr. Kirby taking good care of her little patient, and Dr. Emerson performing brain surgery. Scott couldn't be more proud!

Like Mother, Like Daughter...aka...Daddy's Worst Nightmare

Emerson LOVED drawing on the chalk Cadillac!

This room was a big hit...sand, sand, and more sand!

The girls had a blast in the dinosaur dig area. Digging around in finely diced up rubber tires is so much fun!

Bowling, Anyone?

We took the girls bowling one recent rainy Saturday afternoon.

Who knew bowling with a toddler and pre-schooler could be so much fun? It was Emerson's second time, Kirby's first time, and the first in a long, long time for me and Scott. Of course, we bowled with the gutter bumpers up (something Mommy took EVERY advantage of!). It was so cute to see how encouraging the girls were of each other. We really had such a great time!

Emerson proved to be quite the little bowler. She has a wicked "wind-up" (which I'm not quite sure is proper bowling technique) and gets the ball down the lane swiftly. She's also got a nice little victory dance going on as well. The amazing (sad?) thing is, she almost beat me!

Kirby did great too. She needed a little help with the roll, but picked up the concept pretty fast. I think she was most excited though about the ball coming up from the ball return! It was like a little surprise bursting out each time!

Emerson and I, of course, rocked the latest in bowling shoe fashion.

Welcome to our Family Blog!

My dear friend Lisa has finally worn me down...I'm starting a family brag...oops!, I mean a family BLOG! Lisa has had one for a while now, and she's done a great job with it. I suppose I was reluctant for several reasons: does anyone really care that much to look up a blog, do we really do anything that interesting to warrant posting it on a blog, and do I really need yet another thing to do and keep up with? I decided though that with Emerson starting Kindergarten this Fall, it would be a great way to keep you updated on her...and Kirby too, of course! Because really: some of you do care, we have a very blessed (and interesting!) life, and at this point...what's another thing to do anyway, right?

I hope you will enjoy keeping up with our little "clan" and I hope you'll visit often and let me know what you think!