Quick Trip to the Parents

Mom's birthday is August 21st. We weren't going to be able to be there then, so we went down to my parents' house a little early to celebrate.

While we were down, we went to the beach. We hadn't had a chance to go all summer, so I was excited to get the chance to. At first, both kids loved the waves and the water. We jumped waves and splashed around.

Then something disturbing must have happened to Ian because he decided he had had enough of the water and wouldn't go back in. So he subjected himself to sand castle building. I helped for a little while.

Then Ian was just done. He was hot (there wasn't much wind). And with him not wanting to go back in the water, we left after being there for about 2 hours. The rest of us really enjoyed the beach.

On the way home, we stopped at a souvenir shop. The kids were in awe of the sand castle sculpture in front of the store - it actually is pretty impressive.

The next day we visited Great Grandma Haug. Grandma Haug was impressed with how the kids are getting bigger and Ian is not so shy anymore. We had a very nice visit.

Grandma Haug's place is surrounded by fields. And one close to her had cotton, almost ready to pick. This is the first time the kids have ever seen a cotton field, or cotton pickers, or anything of the like. So we stopped on the way home from Grandma Haug's to pick some cotton.

At first the kids weren't so sure about stopping to pick some cotton.

And they were a little confused. They thought that people eat cotton. After a while they caught on that we use cotton to make fabric.

I love cotton picking season. I love seeing the sea of while balls in the fields. I think it's cool to watch huge modules of cotton rolling down the freeway. I also love seeing the stray cotton balls that litter the sides of the road. sigh...

Kevin and Dawna Visit! - The week in review....

Kevin's family visit was a whirl-wind of kids - laughing, yelling, playing, running, swimming, and having lots of fun. It was a little crazy at times, but the cousins all enjoyed getting to play with each other.

Spinning is always fun.

On Monday, the crew arrived and ran circles around the house. The Darth Vader mask was a hit with the littlest one.

Kiera was just showing a little sisterly love :)

Tuesday arrived. It was my birthday. (We don't need to talk about how old I am.) We went to the community pool in the morning and then Kevin barbequed ribs and pork chops for my birthday. Aunt Lucy, Becky, Chad and his family came over to partake in the yummy food. I requested an ice cream cake :) 

On Wednesday, we headed to the Heard Natural Science Museum in McKinney for a little education. This was a very small museum - we only stayed there for an hour, but the butterfly exhibit was really nice. Unfortunately, we couldn't linger too long because it was nearing 100 degrees outside.

The Ice Age exhibit was cool, but scared some of the youngest members of the crew.

These animals moved and roared which was why Ian and little Kevin did not appreciate them so much.

Thursday, we went to the Jack Carter city of Plano pool. This is the pool with the water slides and playground for the kids.  Unfortunately I forgot the camera on this outing.

We finished up the day with making pizza and watching Princess and the Frog.

Whew. It was a great week and a great visit!

Where, oh where have our little fish gone?

Oh where, oh where could they be?

Opa warned us there would be an algae bloom in a week or two, but.....

this is crazy.

Besides having to clean this up, I think the worst part of the pond - in this state - is that poor Kiera fell into it yesterday. Dawna had to wash algae slime out of the poor girl's hair. Fortunately she didn't get any around her nose or mouth.

Kevin and Dawna Visit!

My brother's family came on Monday to stay for the week. He has 3 kids, ages 2, 4, and 5. The cousins have been super-excited for this event to finally arrive. I have several stories to share, but for now....until I get some time to myself....and my house gets back to some semblance of order......

May the force be with you.

Pond Revitalization

Last week Opa and Oma came up to turn our green pond into something livable for fish. Opa is a pond expert and led the project. It was nice to have someone who knows what to do, come do it, with expertise and efficiency. 

The kids helped pot some new waterlilies.

And helped by overseeing every step of the process.

We told the kids that they could pick out the fish at the store. We talked about the names that we should give them as well. The conversation turned to names of Star Wars characters, since Star Wars is hot stuff in our house right now. We said we could name a black fish, Darth Vader; a white fish, Princess Leia; and a green fish, Yoda. The kids were super-excited. Well, Opa said that we should probably stick to hardier fish, so the green glow fish was out - no Yoda this time. But we did get two Black Moors, two shabunkin goldfish, and four comet goldfish.

The finished result:

So far, I think all the fish are still alive - I haven't counted them. But, at least I haven't found any floating on the top yet. Of course, that doesn't mean that some other critter around here hasn't taken one.

Hello, little fishies.....

Dallas Museum of Art

Today the DMA was celebrating First Tuesdays which means that the museum was free and it was focused on art for kids. I wanted to go to in July, but we had just moved in and didn't have internet yet. And sad to say, I felt a little lost without google maps and the DMA website to guide me. So today, the whole family went for a couple of hours to get a nice dose of culture.












The art project today was making a puppet and using some piece of art to inspire our creations. We ended up next to some Jackson Pollock paintings.

The current exhibit was called Coastlines. I was really looking forward to this exhibit and it didn't disappoint. There is such a range of feelings and emotions that one feels when you're next to the ocean. And there were all kinds of photographs and paintings to capture them.

We had lunch in the Atrium Cafe and then headed home.

We didn't get to see all the exhibits, but that gives us a good reason to go back.

Potty Training

Ian has had no interest in potty training whatsoever. At his 3 year doctor's appointment, the pediatrician said that at this age, it's all a control issue and not to worry about it. When Ian is ready, he'll let me know.

Well, about two and a half weeks ago, we looked at a preschool for Ian. He was VERY excited about going to school. After the tour, we told Ian that he couldn't go to school until he was potty trained. We asked if he was ready to try and he said 'YES!' So we started the very next day. We put him in big boy underwear and have not looked back. 


As long as we take him regularly, he doesn't have any #1 accidents. Now we just need him to go #2 : (


But I'm very proud of him because he's been much easier than Payton.


ps - picture of the kids playing dress up :)