we're flinging our green and gold again...

yep! baylor football season is underway and we have gone to waco every weekend to watch the baylor bears play. there are so many fun little things that our family does to get ready for the game. we of course get all dressed in our green and gold to show our support for the bears...

we listen to the golden wave marching band as we drive to the stadium and sing all the baylor songs to get us excited for the game. the "fight song" and "baylor line" are our favs... (total nerds, i know!!)

(i am still working on my editing skills and clearly the shooting skills are lacking, but i thought you had to see them in action!)

we go to an amazing tailgate that our friends put on... (so sad i have no pics of them!! i'll get some soon and do a post just about the tailgate.)

olivia finds as many baylor cheerleaders as she can and HAS to get her picture taken with them...

we find pop and the rest of our family...

pop is our family's BIGGEST baylor fan, but he is doing a pretty good job passing his baylor love to his grandkids!!

and finally we make it our seats...

sing the national anthem...

i love the serious expression on o's face and the fact that she uses her left hand for everything!! :)

and finally game begins. and we cheer on the bears!!! (i don't have any pics during the game because i am usually too focused on the game, taking someone to the bathroom, passing out snacks, etc., etc. to even think about getting out my camera.)

the bears have won some and lost one, but we always love the time we spend cheering on the bears and making memories together as a family. sic em' bears!! beat kent state!!

playing in the rain...

we have been enjoying some beautiful weather the last couple of days, but prior to that we had days and days of rain!! i loved the rain, but olivia was so sad to not get to play outside. after day 7 of rain and 7 days of olivia asking if she could play in the rain, i finally said yes! she was thrilled! she ran to her room, changed into her swimsuit, and ran outside to the backyard. she had a HUGE smile on her face the entire time she was playing outside.

she needed her goggles on, of course...

she loved running through the grass and feeling the rain...

her favorite thing was playing in the water running out of the down spout...

and playing with her shovel and bucket..."rain, rain it's so fun to play! stay around another day!"
(this was the song that you could hear olivia singing while she was playing in the rain.)

happy birthday to my little brother!!!

so, i am a little late, but my mom has reminded me time and time again that sean never got his birthday post last year when his birthday came around, so i figured that i need to honor and brag about him just a bit this year...

my little brother is WONDERFUL!! well technically he is not so little, he is 6' 5" ish, i think, he is tall!! just because he physically towers over me, i still like to believe that i can "put him in his place" when necessary and that every once in awhile he "looks up to me." sean has so many qualities about him that admire and make me proud to call him my brother. he is dedicated and driven with his career, can make some delicious food, shows compassion to everyone. he is thoughtful, honest,forgiving and faithful. sean is a super duper uncle...
and the BEST brother ever!! i am so thankful that he is apart of our lives and that my kids have such a sweet relationship with him. happy birthday buddy!! i am so glad i get to be your sister.

i love you!! :)

jack walks...

i guess something in the bowlin/blanchette gene pool prohibits walking around 12 months. looks like our kids are on the 15-16 month track. oh well, better late than never!! :) excuse our annoying cheering and encouragement, but i love jack's laughter and smiles. he is so proud of himself. yay for jack walking and for a fun new video camera!!

my sweet husband gave me a video camera which makes this fun post possible. more on that soon.

so glamorous...

*sorry for the poor quality pics, i was using my phone.*

olivia has been asking me for months if she can go to a real "hair salon" to get her hair cut and styled. we usually go to missy's house for her haircuts, and they are GREAT and much more afforable!!:) we missed her "back to school" session, so it was definitely time for a little trim. i decided to fulfill this dream of olivia's and last week after my haircut i made an appointment for her to go to my FABULOUS hairstylist, pj, for a "real hair salon" haircut.
she was so excited!!! she woke up and immediately asked when it was time for us to go and see pj. after a long morning of waiting it was FINALLY time to go. we got to the mall a few minutes early. walked by the salon and we talked about what was going to happen. even though she was super excited, she still doesn't love new situations, so some preparation was necessary. then i took a BEFORE picture right before we went in...


pj was great with her!! he got right to work...

spraying her hair. the shampoo bowl was a little too intimidating for o, she opted for the spray bottle.

then the cutting began.

some blow drying and styling. (you can tell she didn't love this part!)

and finally, the AFTER!!!

it was a really fun mommy-daughter experience. thanks to pj for making olivia feel so comfortable and for making her look absolutely adorable!!

and their off...

to school that is! today was olivia and jack's first day of school. yesterday we had meet the teacher and that went really well, so i was hopeful that this morning would be tear free and full of smiles. it almost happened that way. :)

olivia was so excited to start school, yet very anxious about all the newness (is that even a word) that a new year brings. olivia is still not a huge fan of change and new things, but she does love new clothes! ha! she was super excited about the outfit she picked out (a NEW apple dress, 2 red bows, and her red shoes). she did great going into her class. i could tell she was a little nervous, but she walked right in and never even looked back. i can't believe she is starting her 4th year at her little school!!
jack didn't really know what was going on or what was about to happen to him. he was all smiles until i passed him off to his teachers. immediately his smile turned to fear and tears. so sad!! i knew that jack's very first day of school ever was going to involve some tears. i also knew that as soon as he found some balls to throw and something to climb on he would be fine. before i left the building he was "all better."
both olivia and jack had a great first day!! their teachers had sweet things to say about each of them and olivia has not stopped talking about all the fun she had since i picked her up (1.5 hours ago). we celebrated by going to sonic for a yummy drink.

jack {hearts} an apple juice slush!

olivia {hearts} a cherry limeade.

i am so thankful that both my kids adjusted well today and have great teachers. i know it is going to be a great year!!
(oh, i have no pictures of them with their teachers because they weren't really in the mood for that! :))