Farewell, Sister Prestidge!

This is just so awesome!  Recently, Adam's youngest sister, Olivia, put in her mission papers, waited a month or so, and got a mission call to - Chicago!!!  It has been a really exciting time in the older Prestidge family.  Getting ready to go on a mission is such an adventure in itself, and an incredibly busy and stressful time.

So of course, we had to be there.  Actually, we had to be there for Olivia's farewell, which would wouldn't have missed for anything!  Olivia was scheduled to go to into the MTC (and did, quite successfully) on September 4.  Her farewell was scheduled for August 18, so, two weeks after returning from our summer in New York, we packed it up again and headed to Texas for 5 days!

First of all, it was hot!  Thankfully, not as humid as it had been in Virginia, but man, that Texas sun was brutal.  Our poor little (whiny) babies were not made for that kind of heat, and they let us know it.

But aside from that, it was a wonderful trip.  The highlight of the trip, of course, was seeing Olivia before she left and listening to her farewell talk on Sunday in her ward, which was incredible.  She has such an amazing testimony of the church, and a vigorous desire to share it with others.  It is so fun to witness and we are so proud of her.

(At the time that we're finally getting around to posting this, Olivia has been on her mission for almost 6 weeks (!) and has been in Chicago for almost 4!  She is doing an awesome job and loving her life as a missionary!)

During the trip, we also got to spend some time with our dear friends, Matt and Heather Boothe, who we've known forever, and our law school soul mates Dustin and Sabrina Draper.

Some of the fun times:

Little known fact: the oldest children's amusement park in the country is located in San Antonio!  We took a little park train over to the location, where we had tons of fun riding the restored vintage kids carnival rides.  (Just like Fete Paradiso in NYC, we can't get enough of anything vintage-carnivally!)

Somehow, Solana is like a natural airplane gunner.  I have no idea how she knows to look down the barrel and gun down targets as she flies by, but she did it the entire time and loved it.

Super old restored vintage carnival - um, yes please!

Boston had a great time!  (But notice the poor little hot red cheeks!)

(Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train, "All Aboard!")

Boston loves his Grandpa!  They are great buddies.  

Boston and Solana had a great time playing in the pool together.  It's interesting because when Solana was little, she was super hyper except when in the water.  Boston is kind of the opposite.

Solana discovered that a really fun activity is to bury, or be buried, with stuffed animals.  Then you jump out!

We also went bowling and to play some games.  Solana and Sarah racing Adam, and beating him.

At first she was hesitant...

And then she exploded!  Look at that wind-up!  Her face says so much!

Adam and his mom squaring off in an increasingly competitive match of Skee-Ball.

But Adam was no match...

But Adam and Solana won the basketball game together.

Solana became fast friends with Charlie, Sarah's dog.  They would follow each other around the house endlessly, and it was really fun to watch.  Solana loved Charlie, and he was really great with her.

Well, we can't get our own real puppy, but we can get a little battery powered yapping robot puppy, named Baby Charlie.  Let me tell ya, Boston LOVES Baby Charlie!

Boston Prestidge and Grace Boothe, Matt and Heather's precious little one.  Boston is only a couple months older than her, and they really enjoyed getting to know each other.  Adam and Matt have known each other since they were 12.  These guys will have known each other from before they were even 1.

Some serious travel snoozing.  Boston, above, conked out on the plane.  And both kids in the airport coming home, totally passed out in the stroller.  What a nice way to travel!

A couple of 3's

Adam just started his 3rd (and last) year of law school, and Solana just started her first year of school.
Pre-K3!  I can't believe our last year here will be filled with so many firsts and lasts.
She has been excited for months to go to preschool, and we have been excited for her.  We got to go with her on her first day, sort of a transition day for her and probably mainly for the parents.  It was fun to be able to watch her learn and see the environment she would be talking so much about.  When her real first day of school came, she was so excited that Mommy and Daddy would not be going with her. We were only sad for a second and then became just as excited that Miss Independent wanted to take on school all my herself, just as we hoped she would.  She leaped out of car when her teacher came and got her and then she was off to school all by herself.  Then we cried!!  We cried because we missed her, we cried because we were so excited for her, we cried because we couldn't believe we have a school-aged baby, we cried because time is going by too fast, and then we stopped crying when we realized it's just a part of growing up and it's all too exciting to cry about.  We loved picking her up and hearing her tell us all about her day. And even though we miss her each morning she leaves, we are starting to enjoy our quiet time again and realize how easy it is to just have one on those quiet mornings at home.

Adam's last year of law school has also been exciting. Since he already has accepted his job offer in NYC, it makes putting forth effort into daily studies a little more difficult. He is home a lot and it has been an adjustment to have him around so much, but we have enjoyed it so much. Especially knowing that as soon as he passes the bar and starts work, we won't be seeing him for a long time! He has worked so hard his last two years in school, so this last year is like a nice little surprise.  So we have lots planned, but mainly to just sit back and relax and enjoy how easy life is right now, because we know it won't last forever.

This is her school picture.  Cutie!  She is really growing up!

Another school-prep portrait!

Adam and Solana, both on their first day of school!  Adam, holding a 3 for 3L, is in his last year ever, and Solana, holding a 3 for Pre-K3, is on her first day ever!

Outside of the school on her first day!

Drawing a picture of her family on her first day.  Her picture, along with a little questionnaire, gets put into a "time capsule" that we'll compare at the end of the year.

She is excited to have her own cubby!

This is Solana, on her second day of school, but the first day by herself.  She has just found out that Mommy and Daddy will be dropping her off by herself, which she is obviously thrilled about!  And she has loved it and done so great!