First Week

Wow! What a busy week. We tried to get a picture of Ava on her first day of 1st Grade, but the memory stick that was in the camera was full. There is still some debate as to which parent is to blame. So, no picture. Sorry!

Well, I was pretty concerned after my first day back. I thought it was going to be a super rough year. However, I'm already starting to get attached to my new class. I think I'm gonna make it!

Ava seems pretty happy, but we'll see where she stands after they really get into the work. Fortunately, she has been separated from some of the girls she had a hard time with last year.

Roman is loving daycare. That baby loves everything! He gets LOTS of attention since he is the cutest baby there. ;-) He's very close to crawling. I personally am okay with him taking his time on that skill! He already gets into everything. We're going to have to put gates and fences up all over the house to keep him safe.

Ava is whining for me to make her another pancake for supper, so that's it for now.

Oh, and Gianni is having lots of fun editing the vacation video and working on a Flash program for work.

Here's a picture that Ava's teacher, Mrs. Lugo, took at Meet the Teacher on the Friday before school started. Ava's face conveys her excitement about starting 1st Grade!

Back to School is around the corner

Well, I went back to school on Monday, August 17th. Roman is going back to daycare tomorrow, August 20th. Ava will start 1st grade on Monday, August 24th. Our wonderful summer break is over, and now we must get adjusted to being away from each other. Gianni will have to get used to having an exhausted, grumpy shrew for a wife; Roman and Ava will have to get used to Mommy being very, very boring and tired.

I'll get Gianni to take some pictures of Ava's first day to post sometime next week or weekend.

Driving Home

The trip back to Austin was rather uneventful and very, very long. After Vegas, we stopped at Hoover Dam, which was very neat. Ava complained the whole time because she was hot, but Gianni and I enjoyed it. Roman was happy to be out of the car.

Our hotel in Phoenix was fine, and we just ordered pizza in. We were tired and didn't want to be in the car for another second!

We stayed at the same hotel in Van Horn, and it served its purpose. We got up the next day and drove straight to Austin. We were glad to be home and to see our kitties. They were fine and didn't seem any worse for wear. Thanks to Jared and our neighbor Bill for checking in on them.

I can't say that we'll do any road trips like that again! However, it was a good experience, and I enjoyed spending so much time with my family.

What happens in Vegas...

Wow! We had lots of fun in Vegas. I can't really recommend it as a place for kids, but Ava did enjoy Siegfreid and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage. She also LOVED the Lion Habitat at the MGM Grand and the fountain show at the Bellagio. She wasn't really phased by the nudie cards that people were handing out left and right, except that she hated that they were littering. She enjoyed New York New York, too. Gianni and I would like to go back sometime to take in a show or two. We would love to see Penn and Teller!

Just a word of caution -- driving down The Strip might lead to your head popping off in frustration. Besides the expected crowds, they were doing construction. Maneuvering, day or night, was very frustrating and tricky. On our last night there, we walked about 3 miles to avoid the traffic. I preferred that, but Gianni and Ava would have rather sat in an air conditioned vehicle. Roman enjoying being out in his stroller, taking in all the sights and sounds. He didn't cry at all, and he was the only baby we saw that was awake!

I'll try to post pics later. Gianni is working on them. He's also putting together a little vacation movie, which we'll be happy to send to anyone who wants to see it. Hopefully, he'll be done before our next vacation!

Arizona!

We made it to Arizona on Wednesday, August 5th. We were so excited to be in a real town (Tucson) and a nice hotel. We love Texas, but Van Horn leaves much to be desired! Ava loves our La Quinta here in Tucson. We went for a swim in the warm pool, but had to leave when it started to thunder. Apparently, this is the rainy season in the desert, so we haven't experienced the heat. Of course, we're not complaining!

We ate at a Vegetarian Hare Krishna buffet last night. It was interesting, and we felt very mellow afterwards. Gianni is shaving his head as I write.

You would think with Ava being a Vegetarian, she would have found something to eat. Well, you would be wrong! We had to take her to Schlotzsky's (which was closed), then Waffle House. She only ate about 3/4 of one waffle. Sigh.

Well, after our clothes have dried in the hotel dryer, we will be on our way to Vegas! Stay tuned...

New Mexico!

After driving for a day and a half, we finally made it out of Texas! Our next stop is Tucson, AZ.

Roly Polies

Ava has decided to keep a few roly polies as pets. She is so very excited! Their names are Thomas, Tiny, Edward, and Girlie. She considers herself to be their mother. She can't stop talking about them! She also won't leave them alone -- she's constantly getting them out of their "habitat" and playing with them. It is cute to hear her theories on what they are doing. Right now, Girlie is practicing walking on Ava's finger in such a way that she won't fall off.

Unfortunately, we'll probably be taking them with us to Las Vegas. Fortunately, they mostly need water and dirt, which can be found in most places (although we are going to the desert...).

Also, I read on Wikipedia that they can live for 1 or 2 years! I'm not going to tell Ava that, in case they die before that (which I expect will happen).

UPDATE! We managed to convince Ava to release her roly polies. Her plan was to just let them die while we were on our trip, then let them go. After much discussion, she agreed to let them go before they died. She plans on collecting more upon our return to Austin.