Whole Lot Of Shakin Goin On...

The Saenz Family has been busy since our return to Brisbane. We had about 10 days to get acclimated before Kenyon started kindergarten (prep as they call it here). We can't believe how big she has gotten...and her attitude lately...5 going on 15! Ashtyn started a new learning center just down the street from our house, and LOVES her new big girl school. She goes on Wednesdays and Fridays. Ashtyn has moved out of pull ups at night time, and has moved onto big girl panties at night time...and her attitude just gets better and better everyday! Kenyon and Ashtyn have grown gills and fins, they spend as much time in the pool as they do on dry land. We celebrated our first Australia day with a bar b que and pool party at our house with friends. Kenyon managed to talk us into letting her get her ears pierced! Much to her disagreement, we informed Ashtyn she had to wait until she was 5 before she could get hers pierced. James and I have started getting ready for a 1/2 marathon on March 20th...at least we are getting our runs and workouts in. Our stomachs on the other hand don't seem to want chicken and tuna and veggies...our stomach's are still craving fried foods, sweet treats, pizza and anything else that is full of calories and not healthy for you. One step at a time...I think that about rounds out our comings and goings, I still have lots of Christmas photos to upload to the blog, I had to change the pace to get in all of our recent activities.

Ashtyn after a bath one night. Fancy Nancy pj's and big girl undies, she is so proud of herself, and mommy and daddy are just as proud.

Kenyon showing off her jumping skills. We took the girls swimming at the Newmarket Pool...2 pools, 2 toddler splash areas, and a playground. The kids were in heaven.

Ashtyn riding the worm...

Sliding all by herself...

I just realized that I have uploaded these pictures backward. Instead of seeing Kenyon from the start of her ear piercing adventure, you get to see her at the end of it.

Kenyon and mommy getting a lesson on how to keep those pretty little ears cleaned. It has been a LOOOng time since I had to remember to twist, and clean little ear studs. Ashtyn in the background still trying to sneak her way into the piercing chair.
Pretty little ears with pretty pink stones. Kenyon picked out her earings. Gold with little pink stones. Have to keep these in for 4-6 weeks.

Getting those little ears punched! At least they do them both at the same time. We were so proud...no tears, no pain, no fears. Kenyon said it did not hurt at all.

Getting those little ears marked and ready to be pierced.

The before picture.

As I said, we celebrated our first Australia Day on Wednesday, January 26th. Yes, a holiday during the middle of the week. James and I learned a good lesson...don't eat or drink to much on those middle of the week holidays... you still have work, school and to do lists to finish the following day. Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. The 26th of January commemorates the arrival of the first fleet at Sydney Cove and the proclamation of British sovereignty. Of course this date is not without controversy...Individuals of indigenous heritage consider this to be invasion day. We opted to celebrate as many Australians do. We had friends over for a bar b que and pool party.

Jen and I watching the Cricket game.

Imojen and Ashtyn running together to score during the game.

James and Kenyon at bat.

Kenyon, Imojen, and Annaka eating cake.

Our attempt at getting all 9 kids to rest for a little while. It kind of worked... :)

Moms and kiddos in the pool. At one point in time we managed to have 10 adults and 9 kids in the pool at the same time. Lots of splashin' going on!

Once again, I have uploaded the pictures backwards. These next set of photos are of Kenyon's first day of kindergarten.

Tired girl. She was in bed fast asleep by 7:30 that night after her first day of school.

Coming down the stairs at the end of her first day...ALL smiles!

Even Ashtyn found something to do when we dropped Kenyon off.

Daddy and Kenyon in her class room.

Mommy and Kenyon.

Kenyon found her name tag, and then signed herself into her class.

The family out in front of the school. Yes, I went to the gym after wards. Running kept my mind off the fact that I am now the mother of a kindergartner!

Getting ready for that walk to school. The school is only down hill 1 block, and then up hill about 4 blocks. Not far at all until you realize that you are trying to control a wagon, carry a school bag and hold the hand of a child. Oh...and it also about 90 degrees outside, 87% humidity and sunny the whole way! YAY for sweating profusely before we ever reach school! Yes, that is a school uniform, no I did not pick it out, and yes she has to wear the hat...and no it is not a private school. Here, even public schools have uniforms.

Getting ready to walk out of the door. What attitude???

Our night before school beauty routine!

Ashtyn had to try on the hat and back pack the night before Kenyon started school. She looks pretty cute, but I think we will keep her out of school a little longer. The house seems so quiet during the day with Kenyon gone, can not imagine what it will sound like when they are both in school :(

Holiday Road...

Road Trip'in Cross the USA...

actually it was just Texas, but in case you didn't realize, Texas is one large state. At times it felt like we were driving across the country. After grabbing 6 bags of luggage, 2 kids, 2 adults, and 4 carry on bags, we made our way out of Bush Intercontinental Airport...and 25 minutes down the road stopped at Lupe Tortillas for our fist Mexican food feast. Yes, mexican food was that important to us. We left luggage in the car and devoured fajitas and all the fixings (and I had my margarita fix!) before continuing onto Nannie and Paw Paw's house. From there we hit my dad and Belinda's home, and from there it was onto to Waco to spend time with the Moehnke family!

I am not sure who had a better time in China Spring, the adults or the children, but a good time was had by all. The kids played terrific together, thus allowing time for the adults to catch up with each other.

Brayden, Kenyon and Ashtyn catching a ride on Brayden's John Deere. Huge smiles even though it was about 40 degrees outside.
The kids really could not get enough of the John Deere. I am still waiting for our kids to ask for one...I was afraid we were going t have to ship one over from the States.

Kenyon and Brayden and a little hand holding. Yes, Kenyon is wearing my jacket.

Dave, Craig and James on their way to the ranch. No animals were harmed on their ranch trip, but I do believe they may have done some damage to a Crown Royal bottle...

Dave and James in the "MAN" den at Craig and Marcie's.

Rub a Dub Dub...Three Kids in the Tub.

Once again...NO kids were harmed during this session of bath time. The red you see on the wall is actually red Elmo soap...however it looks like we were filming our own horror movie.

The Three Amigos...on our way to the Children's Museum in Waco.

Dog Pile on Uncle Dave!!!

Thankfully Brayden had 2 of these. I think Brayden was actually napping...like kids are supposed to. Our kids however were up and ready to go, so we turned them loose in Craig and Marcie's yard.

Ashtyn feeding one of the longhorns.

All three kiddos, and part of Biscuts with Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim.

A little bit of morning cuddle time. Our last morning with the Moehnke's!! So sad :( After watching the kids play so well together, I foresee future family vacations with the Moehnke's. I also foresee Kenyon being the ring leader of the group and keeping the inline...well maybe not inline since she introduced the younger ones to jumping off the bed onto the air mattress and climbing on top of Brayden's dresser and pretending it was an attic...oh well it was ALL worth it!!

We'll Be Home For Christmas...

And we did NOT pack lightly!!!

To say that we were excited to be going home for the holidays was an understatement. To say that we had a wonderful and easy travel experience to get home would be a BIG fat lie! We began our travel day at about 5:30 Saturday morning December 11th. Arrived at the airport at 9:00AM for our flight, only to be told that our noon flight was "delayed" until 9:00PM! That's right folks...a 9 hour delay. That is NO delay...that is a whole new flight. Back to our house in Brisbane we went, to wait out the "delay." Back to the aiport around 6:00PM to do the whole thing all over again.
Happy girls waiting for our 9:00PM flight out of Brisbane. Happy because of the new shoes on their feet. If there was any question that our girls have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers...that question was answered when he bought them the UGG's they just HAD to have at the airport. Winter shoes for Texas - check!
Kenyon is queen these days of the "model" pose. Showing off her new UGG's with a runway pose.
Our "home" for the 14 hour flight to LA. A double decker plane. We flew on the bottom deck.
Watching some Dora on the plane. The girls thought having their own TV's with multiple kids movies and tv shows was great! They handled the flight with flying colors. Mommy and daddy thought traveling economy for 14 hours with 2 kids was a BAD idea. Never again. Kenyon and Ashtyn got to lay down and sleep, while mommy and daddy tried to sleep sitting straight up, or leaning over and using our food trays as pillows. I believe it will be premium or business class seats from now on.
At the LA airport. Thanks to Qantas "delaying" our flight for 9 hours, we missed our connecting flight from LA to Houston. We spent the night at the Hilton in LA, and got up the next day to catch another flight from LA to Houston. The time difference was a little tough getting used to. We were all in bed in LA by 8:00 that night, only to be wide awake by 1:00AM. I am pretty sure that the rooms next to ours were wondering what kind of people allowed their kids to be running around the room at that time.
Crashed out for a "nap" at about 5:00AM Sunday morning in LA. Shortly after this photo we had to wake them up to dress them, so we could once again get to the airport for the last leg of our travels home.
Plane art work. There were no kids movies on the plane from LA to Houston. So we did artwork, coloring, reading books and snacking to make the time go by.
James driving our old truck. Yea...we were a little excited to have a truck at our disposal again. Maybe there was a little driving on the wrong side of the road...Had to get used to a different driver's side and a different side of the road again.

More napping. She slept almost the whole 2 hours from Houston to James' parents house.

James and Kenyon driving the golf cart at my dad's house.

MY FAMILY!!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!! I was SO happy to be able to get Cooper. He made the travels around Texas with us. I cried when I picked him up and cried even harder when I had to drop him off again.
Yea...not really sure what I am doing here. I think I am trying to get Cooper to walk with me. However I find it amusing that I am still in my morning workout clothes. Got in a run and a good lift, and then followed that up with some Shiner...pretty sure that workout was pointless, but the Shiner was worth every calorie.
Nothing like playing in the mud by the pond at grandma and grandpa's house. Glad she was wearing black pants.

That's my boy coming out of the pond after a swim.

Ashtyn's turn for a drive with daddy.

No, this is NOT a way to torture your children. Kenyon had a sticker in her foot...daddy was giving her a hand getting it out... and possibly trying to help her out of her pants!! :)

Tradition!!!! Decorating the old Chevy truck. This year it was the guys turn to decorate it. We take turns, girls one year, guys the next...we have made a little competition out of it.

The girls on daddy and grandpa's ALMOST finished creation. Grandpa put the truck up on lifts. James and grandpa then decorated the truck with lights, trees, and a wreath, and "fake" reins. The only thing missing at this time were the reindeer. They arrived a few days later to "pull" the truck. Very cute!

I am going to have to upload pictures of our Christmas travels in segments. We traveled over 2500 miles, and 8 cities in 30 days. Had everything to eat that was greasy, fried and cheesy. Drank more beer and margaritas than should be allowed. Managed to throw in some Texas Country music, a lot of shopping, and a little bit of weight gain! Overall our trip was a success and a happy time. Over 400 pictures taken. One thing we know for sure is that Texas will always be home, and we have the BEST friends and family around!