Joyful June

We started June with Jake losing his first tooth...well, kind of. Last year the dentist took out the two bottom ones because the grown up teeth were coming in so this is the first one he lost on his own. He was SO excited!

We were so excited to finally meet sweet baby Kira, see big sister Mila and mom & dad too! 

Jake and Allie loved hanging with Mila and especially the new trampoline.

Fastest. Year. Ever! 

We loved 1st grade and the Donkey class so much. 

After school ended we headed to Houston to help Ken & Loretta clean and pack up their home after the flooding. It was horrific to see and we were so happy to be able to help and bring Jake & Allie to lighten things up and bring some sunshine. 

After hours of cleaning we all headed to Sharlene and Lawrence's to relax for the night. The kiddos were happy get some pool time and we were all happy to enjoy some down time together. 

Back home and another tooth bites the dust!

So Allie has taken to wearing a crown. She goes between being a princess and a superhero. At least Wonder Woman checks off both boxes.

Now and then she even loans her crown out.

Sweet snuggles with daddy!

Time for some BFF time and a mani/pedi!

We both came home to flowers from daddy and Jake!

We were so excited for Mimi to come for a visit. The kids couldn't wait to wake her up the next morning after she got in late Monday night. That was followed by after school ice cream (a Bubba specialty) and a dance party with Mimi and Bubba that I was lucky enough to witness. 

Who knew the $2 balloon set would be such a huge hit! And the plastic bubbles from my childhood were also a huge hit! 

On the one afternoon that it didn't rain, Mimi and I got to watch Allie at her swim lessons. She loved it!

On Thursday afternoon Auntie Rachel came to join the party! Sitting with Princess Sophia, I mean Allie. 

Auntie Rachel led us in some early morning yoga with the little yogis! 

So happy to celebrate this guy and what a great dad he is to these little monkeys! 

And to my dad who loves his kids and grandkids so very much. Love that smile Jake's Father's Day card got!

So many great dads out there in our lives with special shout-outs to Zayda, Papa, and Pipi! 

We were happy to have another one of those great dads join us for brunch on Father's Day. We were happy that Brian & Lily joined us. After brunch they went with Alex & Jake to see Jurassic World. 

I think we wore out Auntie Rachel. She slept just like this as a little girl!

Trying out our new hammock! If the weather and mosquitoes ever allow we'll actually be able to use it a second time.  

 Great day and great visit!

Happily the summer school teachers are taking pictures as well. 

Everyone still loves Elsa!

I had a great birthday with lots of special love from Alex and the kiddos. Alex and I had a great dinner out with our friends Ash & Anita and then we headed to Dallas for the rest of the weekend to see the Viviers!

After driving through thunderstorms we finally got to Plano. Jake and Allie couldn't wait to get into the pool and play. We were so happy to see Michael after his year abroad in Israel and all over the world. 

One tuckered out little munchkin!

A full house...the happy norm at the Vivier's house! 

Bubba left Austin for the summer on July 1 so we had a farewell dinner and then started to get ready for our upcoming trip to Alaska. I can't wait to share it with you all. 

Our Month of May!

May went so quick I can't believe that the month is already over! 

The month began with teacher appreciation week at school. Allie's school was easy - buy some flowers in the lobby and the room parents take care of the rest. At Jake's school it was something every day. It got old but every ounce of it was worth it because our teachers this year were fantastic and deserve every bit of our appreciation. 

I was so happy to be able to attend the Mother's Day celebration with the Donkey class

I got 2 for the price of one until Penelope's mom arrived!

Allie giving me her Mother's Day present!

We had our front lawn landscaped and it looks so much better! The back is next now that the deck is done!

Saturday morning we had our end of season soccer party for the Human Highlighters. 

That night we met up with the Kennedy Family for dinner at a new spot in the neighborhood called Twisted Root Burger Co. It's a cool place with a full bar and mini-golf with the purchase of a milkshake. Everybody wins!

Allie loves sweet baby Abigail. 

Jake sat at the bar and watched the basketball game. He was happy as can be!

For mother's day we had the Gray's over for brunch and actually sat outside on our new deck. Pictures to come when the backyard is landscaped. 

Just a few pictures from the donkey room. Particularly love Allie multi-tasking some work while getting her hair done. 

Jake's classmate Evan had a birthday party on a Friday afternoon after almost a whole week of rain. Amazingly the rain stopped for the two hours that the party occurred. I've never seen a group of kids who have needed to be outside as this bunch. 

We had a fun impromptu play date with Eli Gray and his lovely mama, Rachel. 

Saturday lunch out with some sunshine and this guy!

Our little Wonder Woman!

Jake's class has been reading the book, "Nathaniel Fludd, BEASTOLOGIST" a series for young readers by R.L LaFevers. It chronicles the adventures of Nate Fudd who travels the world in search of mythical beasts. Jake and his class submitted their artwork to the authors website and he had two pictures featured!

We enjoyed a fairly quiet Memorial Day weekend even with all the rain. Allie's friend Ava was lucky to see a break in the rain just in time for her party. 

Let's eat some cake!

On the (very small) Ferris Wheel!

That evening we had planned for a family night to go to a Round Rock Express baseball game but the weather didn't cooperate. In a moment of crazy we decided to take the kids out to Main Event. Ugh and we did it without any adult beverages either. The kiddos of course had a great time!

Rainy day = Art projects, movies and general silliness! 

The crazy weather that May brought was truly unlike anything else we've seen since living here. Austin had 16.72 inches, beating the previous May record of 14.10 inches in 1895. In many ways we were lucky in that we had been experiencing some water leaking through our backdoor ahead of the storms so we were already in the process of trying to dry out. So at the very least we were prepared and had put some make-shift barriers in place. 

It was shocking how much it rained and how noisy the sky was filled with thunder and lightening. Here's just a snippet of the rain at our house. This video doesn't do it justice at all. 

All that said, what we saw was nothing like what happened South of us in Wimberley and then in Houston. San Antonio and Dallas also had serious flooding too. We're especially sick about the devastation that took place in Houston especially to Ken & Loretta's home in the Meyerland neighborhood. More about this in the June blog. 

Alex was lucky enough to attend the end of year event in Jake's class. Mrs. Clark was so wonderful and Jake learned so much from being in her class!

She put together a wonderful slideshow from the year and I was able to capture a few screen shots to share a look into the first grade with Jake!

Friday I had the chance to have attend Allie's last shabbat of the year and have lunch with Jake at school. It was a great day!

I wish I could have done it more often but was so glad I got to sneak lunch in with this guy before the end of the year. In case you were wondering, it was dress like a superhero day at Hill!

That weekend we got to have breakfast with friends Jason and Leigh Anne before they head back to Dallas after yet attending yet another wedding. In this picture I think that Jason was being a dinosaur but at points during the meal he also wore Allie's tiara so who knows exactly what was happening here. 

After brunch, Jake and I headed over to a birthday party for Benji Frieden. His mind was blown by a cotton candy machine, his most favorite thing! He was a happy boy!

See you next month!