It's Fascinating.

Payton was playing on the train table the other day, and I loved how the light illuminated her face.

Payton, what are you doing?

Just playing....

Almost....

There.

Balloons on a bridge.

Ah. Okay :)

The paper

It's one of the mornings in which my paper is late. Late being, it is now 6:50 am. The kids are finishing an episode of the Fresh Beat Band. The kids love this show. I don't mind it because there's a lot of music - which is why the kids like it.

Peering out the door for the third time - still no paper. I feel like my day can't get started unless I have a cup of tea and my paper.

I know I could read the news online. But I like the feel of the paper. I like to hold it. I like to be able to move it around. I just really like my paper.

Scott won't speak until he takes a shower. Payton and Ian are not very nice children until they watch a little TV with their milk and half a pop tart.

I'm sure everyone has a morning ritual.

I have a narrow window of opportunity or all is lost.

It's now 7 am.

I hope my paper comes soon.

The Toolboxes

They are finally done.

Scott started a woodworking project before Christmas, in hopes of giving the kids something special made by him.

Well, it's been very cold in the garage (between 38-41 degrees), plus he was really busy at the hospital before and after Christmas.

But, today, they were finally done.

They turned out well, don't you think.

The kids liked them.

They also really liked the tools inside.

NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh

Scott and I wanted to get out of the house and go a on a little day trip. So, we looked up the different museums in the surrounding cities. Daddy, found this one, (admission was FREE!) so we decided to take the hour and a half trek to Raleigh.

We were both pretty impressed with this museum. It's not specifically designed for our kids age group, but a lot of the exhibits were accessible to them and they actually interacted with quite a few exhibits.

Ian was excited about the dinosaurs.

Payton really enjoyed the 'alligator show' as she called it.

Daddy and I were impressed by the whale skeletons suspended from the ceiling.

We had lunch in the cafe there next to the arthropod zoo.

Then we went into their miniature tropical garden to look at the butterflies. When we first got there a little girl had a really big butterfly on her finger. Payton wanted one too. She even asked one of the attendants how to get one. The attendant said that if she stood really still, one might land on her.

Poor girl. No butterfly came.

But, all in all, we had a great time. This place was definitely worth the trip.

Grandma and Grandpa's House

Scott had to go back home on Tues. Dec. 29, so he dropped the kids and I off at Kevin and Dawna's house. Grandma and Grandpa were there and took us to their house, but not before the cousins got to play. There was a lot of dress-up going on.

At Grandpa's house, the kids were drawn to the garden, again. And Grandpa obliged their desires with a garden fort. Grandpa (and grandchildren) got some good old fashioned exercise. Grandpa got some good use out of his shovel. The kids loved to slide down the sides of the fort. They also ran up and down the sides. Dirt? - what's not to love about it!

By the last day, Grandpa had built four forts that all connected - forming an island in the middle.

The second day at the Grandparents' house, we went on a little trip. First, I wanted to see the new windmill farm. Dad said that they have 100 of them up now. You can see them from miles away. They are about 340 ft tall. Evidently some people are not too excited about the change in their skylines, but I thought they were pretty cool. They seemed like something out of a science fiction novel. They are almost graceful to watch.

Then we went out to Rockport's beach. They have several play structures and a beach. The weather was suppose to be sunny and mild. Unfortunately the sea fog wasn't budging. So the kids played in the sand for about an hour and we headed to Dairy Queen.

After a DQ treat,

We set off to Corpus to a play ground right on the ocean front. Basically, it's just a big maze shaped like a castle. The kids really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed walking out on the pier.

The last day of our visit to Texas, we visited Great-grandma Haug. It was very nice to see her.

We had a great trip, but the kids were ready to see Daddy and get back home.

The Next 3 Days

The day after Christmas, I went up to Arkansas with Kevin and his family. It was a 12 hour drive with 3 children under the age of 5! Surprisingly the kids did a fantastic job. We were lucky not to run into any ice on the roads. I went to Grandma Grote's memorial service on Sunday, Dec. 27. I got to visit lots of relatives that I haven't seen in a long time - some over 10 years! It was nice to catch up with them. Then on Monday, we and my parents drove back to Texas.

Scott stayed with the kids at Oma and Opa's house. They found plenty to do.

Payton and Ian helped Oma feed her puppies.

They went to a cool park in Katy, Tx. Evidently it was huge and the kids had a great time. Cousin Kennedy met them there and they were very excited to play with her.

In the video, Payton says, 'I want to play with Kennedy!' and then Ian shouts, 'No! I want to play with Kennedy!'

Timeout.

Of course, there's always something to jump off of. Kennedy and Ian enjoyed this sport.

I would have felt a little sorry for Scott taking care of the kids all by himself, except that he did get to play golf with his dad - twice. Thanks Oma and Aunt Kate for taking care of the kids.