Bowlarama

So, my girl is now seven. Amelia was allowed to choose between a small party at home with a nicer gift from Mom & Dad, or a bigger party somewhere else and something small as her gift. She decided that the doing was more important than the having (atta girl!).

Amelia selected a local bowling alley to hold The Event, and Derek and I gave her a new bowling shirt. I labored over a puppy cake (side note: She has decided she wants a dog. We are waiting until everyone in the house can poop independently before I have to clean up poop from another creature). She had a BLAST with her friends. The folks at the bowling alley were great, the pizza was plentiful, and she was happy enough to even be nice to her brother part of the time!

Miss Marvel

Introducing Miss Marvel: the amazing leopard gecko! After determining that Luke is ready for the responsibility, and researching and narrowing down the best fit, we brought home his new companion today. So far, he is doing well at moving slowly and being calm while Miss Marvel acclimates to her new home.

BTW, before anyone comments...I know that the comic character is the more feministic-ly named "Ms. Marvel," but Luke has stated quite clearly that his gecko is MISS Marvel. Let's face it, the avenging Ms. Marvel also has a nifty outfit of a strapless swimsuit and thigh-high boots, so really, who is the feminist?

Little Man Luke

Luke is turning five! We celebrated at the neighborhood pool, and everyone had a fun time. It was great to see some school friends for the first time since May.
My future paleontologist wanted a triceratops cake...not a T. Rex, not a brontosaurus, not an anklosaurus, not a stegosaurus...a triceratops. Not easy to find, so I made one. :)
Good thing that green icing doesn't turn everything that color -- oh, wait. Yes, it does. Everything.

Like Falling Off a Log

So, D had to leave town on a business trip, and quite subtly commandeered my Acura to do so. This is a long-running thing…he is quite a tidy man, but I have never seen messier vehicles than his. See, at home, I am truly the messy one, but I suppose that something about the enclosed space of a car really gets to me. In addition, when I am forced to drive his truck, I invariably run into someone in a parking lot or unexpectedly give someone a ride, so I have taken to cleaning out the clutter into laundry baskets.
Today, I decided that I was really going to do it right. I actually went to AutoZone and got supplies to detail the truck after researching online the best products to use. Three kids in tow, we returned home where cleaning commenced. Amelia was so excited at the prospect! She volunteered to spray the hose and we got the job done.
Really, though, it wasn’t that hard…the stuff sprayed on and hosed off…conditioner for the trim wiped on easy as pie…why doesn’t this happen more often? Sure,

I got a bit sunburned during the brief time I was outside, but that’s a completely separate stupidity. Why do the details and minutia of being clean and organized seem so daunting at the outset? Uh, oh. It seems that I have run out of excuses.

Summer Stick of Yummy Goodness

Oy. April?!? Sarah is right...I am way behind. How do I get back into this? I think I have to start with sticky cuteness. The ice cream truck makes regular runs through our neighborhood, and the Pavlovian begging that immediately follows has made me dread the sound of the tinkling bells.
Sometimes, though, it pays off...although the Texas heat isn't kind to Dora when she's icy cold with gumball eyes. Evie managed to get one gumball partially up her nose while the lovely brown cap of hair melted through her fingers and down her thighs.
Sadly, although her big brother is more than happy to receive doggie kisses, Evie isn't quite there. Savannah the wondermutt was forced to watch with brown-eyed lament as I washed the sticky mess off with the garden hose, nary a canine lick to be known.

Easter

It was so nice to have everyone together for some family time. Derek is grilling out, enjoying some Blue Moon (he gave up beer for lent), and he even got me a DQ cake (I gave up ice cream)! We had a great morning at church, enjoyed the neighborhood egg hunt yesterday, and snuck in some bluebonnet pics as a bonus.

And, uh, if you noticed those couple of flowers the kids are holding? I'm sure that they were already picked when we got there.

Book Reading

This is just a simple moment of the girls reading together. Click on the play button to enjoy!

Toothless Wonder

All Amelia will want for Christmas is her two front teeth. Too funny!

Halloween

If you had told me 20 years ago how much I would enjoy being a mom, I would have laughed. Simple things like carving pumpkins becomes a new exploration with the kids. We made an ooey gooey mess, and we had loads of fun. Life is truly good.

The Truth About Getting Married

So, our family went to my friend Jackie's wedding tonight. What follows is the dialogue between Luke and Derek as they were walking to the car:

"Dad, whose birthday was it?"

"It wasn't a birthday; it was a wedding."

(pause)

"Then why did they get presents?"

"Because you get presents when you get married."
"Why?"

"It's just the way it is."

(pause)
"Why did they get married?"
"Because they love each other."

"Oh."

(pause)

"Do you have to get married when you love each other?"

"No, but it's the only way you get presents."

Boys of Summer

Have I mentioned how much I love living so close to a minor league ball park? This is just the ultimate easy family summer fun. The berm (lawn) seats are almost free, the kids watch or run around or play and climb in the rec area, the grown-ups enjoy a dog and a beer, and everyone enjoys the sunshine.

School has started, and these days are running out. I'm already looking forward to next summer.

Summer Soccer Fun

So, Luke and Amelia went through one more soccer camp before the summer ended. They had a blast, and both of them were sad to see it end. I didn't mind so much, as each day hit triple digits in temperature. Although they played in the morning, it was awfully hot. I did see a big improvement from the first camp in June. We will have to squeak out some time during the school year for them to keep playing.

Beach Blanket Bingo

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a bazillion days. Been pretty busy. Most recently, went to Gulf Shores, AL with my dad, stepmom, Gram, and nephew. It was awesome to see white sand again, instead of the brown we get here in TX. Now I gotta catch up and fill in the rest of my summer . . .

Graduation Ceremony Highlights

I am finally learning how to do this on a machine that isn't a Mac! Yay! These are a few highlights from Amelia's kindergarten graduation. It's really more on Greg Whitfield, her teacher, than on her, because: one, I didn't have a ton of footage that didn't have a bunch of other kids from her class, thus making me skittish about posting it, and two, Greg is quite a character and the best teacher ever according to my daughter.
The T-shirt was a gift from the kids to Mr. Whitfield. The Homeroom Mom, who presented him with the shirt, worked with the kids to make it, and each one signed the back. The song that they sang together was one of a great number of songs, but that one in particular could be heard nearly daily as the class entered the cafeteria for lunch. Greg recorded a CD of children's songs called Alphasongs, and his more adult music can be found on gregwhitfield.net. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind the plug.
Enjoy!

Soccer Week

Welcome to week one of the "Summer Sampler Platter," the set of nine weeks when Luke and Amelia get to try loads of new things a dab at a time to see what they like. This week, the sport of choice is soccer (although Amelia is also getting a sneak peek at gymnastics, but more on that another time).

They are enrolled in soccer camp through Challenger Sports, an organization that imports Brits for the week to impart their wisdom of the craft to our American youths. The coaches stay with host families and teach soccer to various age groups throughout the day. Older kids and teens have the option of half day or full day camps, and the younger kids have shorter lessons. Amelia spends 90 minutes during each of the five days with 4- and 5-year-olds, and Luke gets 60 minutes each day with other 3-year-olds.

Coach Rob and Coach Jenny have been teaching the five and under crowd. Luke's group works on fun games designed to introduce ball control and dribbling. I was surprised to see that this is apparently a tough concept - my own child continued to pick up the ball and run with it the first day. He also falls down a lot (check out those knees!). They do a variation of "Mother, May I?" where the Big Bad Wolf allows the Piggies to take a number of steps (kicking the ball forward and then stepping on it), and then chases them for dinner. They have introduced a number of games such as this, that clearly teach a skill and yet engages the kids. I have been truly impressed with the variety of activities and VERY patient nature of the coaching staff.

Amelia's team plays some of the same games as the younger team, with additional activities that have more difficult and involved criteria. They also tack on a thirty minute scrimmage at the end of practice. Amelia told me after the first day that she didn't think that it would be as much fun as it is. That's a good thing, I think.

The Graduate

Amelia graduated from Kindergarten! After a ceremony in their classroom, the entire grade paraded through the school while the kids in the older grades cheered and clapped - it's an annual tradition at our school. She is quite excited to officially be a first grader.