Happy Birthday to...

...both of our girls!!! Today is Emma's 6th birthday and tomorrow is Kara's 4th. In honor of their special days we decided to do something we've been wanting to do for a while now...we went to Sea World!

Last Thursday evening, Austin had a football game down in Arlington. We made the trip down to watch and then spent the night there after the game. His team won! They are undefeated for the season with two games left to play. Go Warriors!

Friday morning we headed to San Antonio and arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon. Once we checked into our hotel we were off to the pool...Kara and I preferred the hot tub. Awesome!

That evening we took the girls to PF Changs for dinner. They couldn't have cared less about where we ate but we used their birthdays as an excuse for an awesome dinner. They loved the little desserts that they got for free just because we were celebrating their birthdays. Kara prefers dessert over dinner anyway. In our rush to make our dinner reservation I forgot the camera so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was a great time for all of us.

Saturday morning, after eating breakfast in the hotel we were off to the main event.

It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time. Emma was very excited to ride her first ride with Dad and Austin. Kara wanted to go so badly but wasn't tall enough. She was crushed. When the ride was over, Emma was less than enthusiastic. She thought twice before saying that she wanted to ride anything else.

As it turns out, Kara is our little daredevil. Who would have guessed?! We took her and Emma both on a little kiddie roller coaster and the pictures that the park takes were hilarious. Kara was grinning from ear to ear and Emma had a look of "I'm not so sure about this" on her face. It was a great contrast but the pictures were outrageously priced so we let the park keep them. Here's a picture that Austin took...it's a little blurry but you get the idea.

We took them both on the log ride and Kara loved every minute of that as well although she did say that it scared her "two times". Emma liked that ride too.

Daddy took Kara on another ride that goes around and around...kind of a kiddie version of the "Tilt-a-Whirl" for all you carnival goers. I got nauseous just looking at it and Emma turned it down so SuperDad was the hero. After they got off he commented that he needed to find a bush to barf in. He didn't really but I guess Kara has an iron stomach as well. What a crack up that our little bitty shy bird of a girl would be so adventurous. Here's a couple of shots of the "spin until you puke".

On top of all the rides we got to see our favorite shows.

We saw Shamu...

the dolphins...

and the sea lions and walrus...

It was a full day and when it was over we were all exhausted as you can see.

So, that was our trip to Sea World. We had a great time and I'm so glad that we went. I think the girls will remember it for a long time. I have more to write about their birthdays but that will have to wait for another day. For now, I will leave you with one final picture just because I think it's cute.

19 Years Ago Today...

...my 2nd son was born.

Drew was born on a Friday. The Tuesday before his birth as I was driving to the hospital for a check up, I received a little gift...a speeding ticket. Joy! What nerve that policeman had to give a ticket to a woman 2 1/2 weeks from her due date and on her way to the hospital. Can you imagine?!

Needless to say, by the time I arrived at the hospital my blood pressure was sky high. I had had pre-eclampsia with my first pregnancy so the doctor was pretty concerned. I tried to convince him that it was just stress but he wanted me back that Friday for a recheck. He said if my blood pressure was elevated at all I would be having a baby that day.

I guess you can figure out what happened since Drew was indeed born that Friday evening. The labor and delivery is kind of a funny story in and of itself but I'll spare you the details. He was a beautiful baby that weighed in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 20 inches long. He was born with a head full of brown hair that was as wild as could be. We were thrilled!

Drew's first year was filled with ups and downs. He ended up having two major abdominal surgeries before he was a year old. There were times when we wondered if he would see his first birthday.

At three years old, Drew had to get his first pair of glasses...bifocals. He handled them like a champ other than the first week when he buried them in a snow bank in our front yard. I guess they did take him a little getting used to.

Now, at 19, he has grown into an awesome young man with a bright future. He is in his third year at MSU and has a new job here in town. He has a great cluster of friends and one special one too.

We celebrated Drew's birthday yesterday because he already had big plans for today. As I type this, he is on his way to Dallas with Alicia and her brother Sam to go to a concert featuring one of their favorite musicians.

Wow, where have the last 19 years gone? Sometimes I just wish they were all little again. But, then again, what a joy it is to see them becoming what God has created them to be.

Happy Birthday Drew! We think you're awesome!
But you knew that already, didn't you?!

And since Drew was born on his grandmother's birthday...Happy Birthday Mom! I hope it was wonderful for you. We send lots of hugs and much love your way!

Extra-curricular Activities

I have been on a cleaning frenzy. I intended to give my house a good "spring" cleaning this summer while we were out of school but somehow the summer passed and it never happened. Don't ask me what possessed me to start it the week we started school, but I did. I think maybe it was the need to feel organized that got me motivated.

Anyway, I have dusted, vacuumed, cleaned blinds and windows (inside and out), cleaned ceiling fans and light fixtures, sinks and toilets, walls and floors, refrigerators and ovens, and just about everything else you can name. It feels great...for the 24 hours or so that it lasts.

Seriously though, I do feel better when my house is clean. It may not always be picked up and tidy but when it's clean underneath it all, I feel much better. I still have the girls' room and the laundry room to hit but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I figure by the time I finish the whole house, it will be time to start over. C'est la vie!

In the midst of the frenzy, we continue to have school. It is going great for the most part and we are enjoying it. We have even added in some extracurricular activities that I thought I would share.

In August, I signed the girls up for gymnastics at the local YMCA. They allow the home school group to come in and use their facilities on Fridays. Emma has loved it from day 1. The teacher is a young man and Kara has yet to warm up to him. I keep hoping that as time goes on she will get excited to try more and more. Last week at the end of class, the mom that helps out told me that Emma is fantastic. I had to have her repeat what she said because I misunderstood the first time and thought that Emma was in trouble again. I guess I shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions.

She was impressed with Emma's lack of fear and willingness to really try to do what they want her to do. Here is a shot of her working on a back flip.

And here she is on the balance beam.

On one occasion, Kara's courage was mustered long enough to try a few things. Unfortunately the pictures are not great but you get the idea.
They are having fun and it is a great way for Emma to burn some of her excess energy.

After gymnastics last Friday morning, we headed to the base for a ceramics class. Yes, I know I'm crazy to take a 3 year old and a 5 year old into a room filled with nothing but breakables but in the name of "Art class" I did. They actually did quite well and we had fun too. Here are a few pics of them cleaning their greenware and of the projects they chose.

The bear and the dog are Emma's and the ladybug family is Kara's. Last week they cleaned them and then they were to be fired over the weekend. Tomorrow we go back and they get to paint their goodies. I'll take more pictures of the masterpieces when they are finished.

Emma started piano lessons on Wednesday of this week and our Wednesday night children's activities at church called "Truth Trackers" started this week as well. So, as you can see, the girls are plenty busy and I'm frantic trying to keep up. Not to mention that Austin is playing football with one of the local Christian schools and he has practice every day with games on Thursday evenings and most of those are out of town.

Tyler and Drew are in class at MSU every morning of the week and working most afternoons so life is crazy...but good. To keep up with all of this, I have taken to carrying around a day planner that pretty much never leaves my side now. It is like carrying my brain around in my hand. Somehow I keep up with things better this way. So, if you happen to come across a little brown tapestry binder without an owner, please return my brain...I would be lost without it.

School Day Funnies

The girls and I had a fun day in school today.

At the end of each day, I read a book to Kara entitled Abadaba Alphabet by Sheila Moore. The book is a super fun way to teach the phonetic sounds of the letters if it doesn't drive mom crazy first.

Kara has caught on to most of the sounds and really has learned a lot by just sitting in on school with Emma and I and from listening to me read this book countless times (we've been reading it since May).

Today, as we read the book, Kara was eager to say most of the sounds on her own. She did quite well and I had a fleeting thought that maybe she was ready to start putting those sounds together into very small words.

I turned back in the book to the "d" page and found the word dog. I asked her what sound each letter made individually. With a little help, she got all three. So I said "Kara, If you put those three sounds together, what does "duh... ahh... guh say? She looked at me so enthusiastically like a light bulb had just gone on. She smiled hugely as she said "volcano?".

Okay, okay...so maybe my three year old isn't quite ready to read yet but I think she's brilliant anyway.

Along those same lines, I saw the following quote on our local home school support group's yahoo group and thought that it really summed up what our home schooling adventure is like these days.

"I compare what we do to a hike with puppies rather than a march with an army. We don't march steadily on with prescribed stops. We stroll along, sometimes running ahead, sometimes running behind, then stopping to chase a lizard, smell the flowers - or eat them!"

I'm not sure who the author is but it definitely describes school with Emma and Kara...and I'm happy to say that I'm loving every minute of it - still!

Drama Queen

As I mentioned in a recent post, the new school year has begun in earnest around here.

On the third day of school, Emma was assigned a poem to memorize. Technically, seven school days later, she is still supposed to be working on the same poem.

The poem is fairly short at only eight lines. I, as her teacher, was supposed to read the poem to her three times that morning and three more times in the afternoon. This procedure was to be repeated each day until she learned the poem.

Well, on that first day, I read the poem three times in the morning as instructed. When we came back to it later that day she wanted to read it with me. So we read it together three times and put the book away.

The next morning I pulled the book out, opened it to said poem, and told Emma that I was going to read the poem to her three more times just like yesterday. She said "No...just let me say it!". I thought to myself "Oh, this oughta be good (with a sarcastic tone of course).

Much to my amazement, she said the poem word for word and even added her own drama in the form of hand motions.



Look out HOLLYWOOD...here she comes!

HHH

This last weekend was the annual Hotter Than Hell Hundred bicycle race here in Wichita Falls. It is a one hundred mile race with shorter variations for the not so crazy. Can you imagine riding 100 miles on a bicycle when it is 100+ degrees outside? No thank you, says I.

Actually the temp this year only reached the upper 90's so the riders got a small break there. Our pastor rode the entire 100 mile course in less than 5 hours...Way to go, Lukus!

Two of our sons decided to hit the trail this year as well. Drew rode the 50 mile course with his girlfriend, Alicia. Here they are at the finish line. You two amaze me!

Austin rode the 100K, which amounts to about 62 miles. It makes my back side sore just to type that. He teamed up with a couple of guys from our church for mutual support. Thanks Josh and Scott for letting him tag along.

Anyway, we are very proud of both of our guys for taking part in this event. It even made me consider taking up cycling...but it was a fleeting thought.

Way to go, Guys! You Rock!!!

A New School Year

Today we began another school year. This will be our 16th year of home schooling. Wow! In the beginning I always said that we were taking it just one year at a time. Where did all of those years go?

Now we have graduated 2 sons and our third will graduate at the end of this year. Son #4 is in eighth grade and we are starting over with a 1st grader and a preschooler in the form of 2 very rambunctious little girls. What a blessing!

Austin actually started school last week since he will once again be playing football with a local Christian school this fall. They were starting two-a-day practices today and I didn't want him to get behind on school before we even got started so I had him start last week. He wasn't very happy about it but has since changed his mind and is glad that he started when he did.

Tyler started today with the girls and I. He will be taking a class this fall at MSU but we are still trying to nail down the details of that. He has a slightly lighter academic load at home because of that and his work schedule. He and Drew will start their college classes next week.

The girls and I had a great first day back. Emma has a larger load this year now that she is in first grade. I was a little concerned about that given that her attention span thinks she's still in preschool but she did a wonderful job. I worked up a schedule and went over it with her before we began. We stuck to the plan and even finished 30 minutes ahead of schedule. She was very ready to be finished for the day so she could get back to the "important" things.

Kara, on the other hand, would have sat all day doing her "school". She just keeps asking for more. Sometimes I wish there were two of me so that I could work with them both individually at the same time. Unfortunately, that isn't feasible, but she seems content with whatever I can muster up for her to work on. She will be so easy to teach when it comes time to really get down to the nitty gritty with her.

I didn't get pictures of the boys today. I should have taken one of Austin covered in mud when I picked him up from football practice...that was a sight to see. And maybe I should have taken one of Tyler hunkered over his anatomy books with his IPOD earphones in. Oh, the joys of home schooling. Anyway, here are a couple of the girls...the only ones that cooperate with me anymore.