Christmas Traveling

Rod and I just got back from quite a bit of traveling around Texas. Nana and Pops came to our house on Christmas Eve for a fabulous dinner and celebration. We had smoked turkey from Pok-E-Jos, and I made the side dishes: Mushrooms Florentine, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Salad, and a really yummy new recipe that involved sauteing garlic, thyme, olive oil, and shallots, then mixing that with sliced-in-half cherry tomatoes. We spent Christmas morning at our house then took off for Kerrville to see Linda and Merle, as well as Gwen's Family. Linda prepared a fabulous breakfast and dinner every day. I don't know what she'll do with all the leftovers...but I bet Merle will make sure they're put to good use. Tatum is currently obsessed with anything Wall-E, and promptly curled up with his Wall-E pillow and blanket that we gave him as soon as he opened it. After a couple of days there, we drove to Houston to see Rod's Mom. We visited with Aixa, Tracy, and Vida and played our new Price Is Right Wii game, which was really (surprisingly) fun. Both Rod and I visited with some old friends from high school while we were in the Houston area, as well. We also visited the Downtown Houston Aquarium. On the way back home we drove through College Station since Rod had to check on something for his work. We stopped off at Elizabeth's house and the kids didn't want to leave, so they stayed while we came home! It feels odd to be separated from them, but they will be back on Wednesday. Rod has to go back to College Station on Tuesday for work, and he will bring them back Wednesday morning. We are going to go to Chez Zee for dinner tonight, then out to a movie afterwards. Normally I would have a workout class tonight but they have closed for the whole week. I made it up (sort of) by helping rake the massive amount of leaves that abdicated their home on our tree in the front yard. Several pictures from the last few days are posted for your enjoyment. I will take some of the Kurusz side of the family on New Years, when Elizabeth and fam come up to Austin. (Check out Great-Grandma Vida's dog Jacky--this is a very docile dog but the picture makes it look like he's really mad. Maybe he was just licking his lips. Made me laugh...)

Christmas Festivities

A couple of weekends ago, I was invited to attend an Ornament Exchange party with some neighbors. The trading of the ornaments got very enthusiastic--the wine and guacamole (gotta love Texas) was the best part!

Rod's sister's family stopped in last night on their way to Kerrville. We will see them again when we visit Merle and Linda in a couple of days. Gwen and Jeff's son, Tatum, is smart as a whip and very patient.

Pitch White

On the way to school this morning, Evelyn was amazed at the thick fog that didn't allow us to see very far at all. "It's pitch white, Mom," she said.

Last Sunday, the kids went to an indoor skateboard park and rode their scooters for about 2.5 hours without tiring out. I love that Evelyn 'hung' with the big kids (and all boys) in her pink dress, white tights, and Hello Kitty scooter. I made a couple of photo compilations. Ken is in the air in one of the shots. There was one point where Evelyn got stuck in a concave skating section and you can only see her head peeping out. She's industrious though, and made her way out eventually.

Evelyn's 2nd Grade Holiday Concert

Evelyn participated in her Second Grade Holiday concert this evening. She had a small speaking role and did a great job with it. She was easy to understand and had feeling behind her words. The school celebrates multiple holidays, so we had Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and at least one other whose name escapes me, but it has to do with the Hispanic culture. Here are a few pictures from the event:

No Hands

We've had a busy weekend. Friday night was my work party downtown at restaurant/club called Copa. This is the same place where Rod and I have taken salsa lessons a couple of times. The kids stayed with our neighbors while we were out. I'll babysit for them sometime over the next couple of weeks.

Saturday, we watched the movie "Willow," a (favorite) Lucas/Howard film from the 80s. It took some convincing to get the kids to agree that it would be worth their time to watch it. At the end, they loved it despite a few 'scary' scenes. During the movie, there was one scene with a bunch of fighting going on (among trolls, elwins, and daikimis--character types in the film) and Val Kilmer's character had accidentally gotten some love potion dust sprinkled on him. He stopped amidst the fighting to kiss the daughter of the evil queen Bavmorda. Evelyn is watching this and practically declares, "There's no time for kissing when there's fighting to be done!"

Kenneth has mastered the art of riding his bike with no hands (for short distances), much to my chagrin. I am in the background of that picture, anxiously looking on.

80s Party

Rod and I went to an 80s party on Saturday night. We both tried our best to get decked out in high fashion style from that time period. I picked out my dress from a vintage store called "Cream Vintage." It was fun looking through everything they had in the store. Sadly, Rod actually had all of those clothing items in his closet already *except* the purple t-shirt.

The other picture is with our friend Hope, who included a scrunchie in her hair and fan earrings. She is due with her first baby any day now, so she couldn't do too much with the clothing.

Picking Out the Christmas Tree

The local Pflugerville Optimist's Club set up a Christmas tree lot for the season, so we stopped by on Saturday afternoon to pick one out. Before Rod and I had even gotten out of the car, Kenneth and Evelyn had picked out the one they wanted. As you can see, it was quite the pleasant day--no jackets required.

We are about 90% done decorating it and I will post pictures of that soon.

Rod and I purchased a new mattress and headboard last week and we've been enjoying the nice, soft, FLAT mattress instead of the old mattress with ridiculously large people-divots that occurred after years of use. The next step is to go to IKEA and get coordinating nightstands and a bench for the foot of the bed. I've always wanted one of those. Maybe in January...

Dress Up

Somehow everyone forgot to take photos at Thanksgiving when we were all together. I am sorry we forgot because I put together photo books at the end of the year, and now there will be no record of Thanksgiving! Oh well. We did get a funny photo of Kyle and Caleb in Evelyn's dress up clothes.

I've Turned Into ...

One of those people who sing along to the music in the grocery store. To be fair, it was later in the evening and there were not many people around but I got through a Grease song and a Journey song before I saw 2 other people singing and realized what I had become.

They say the first step to recovery is acknowledging the problem.
:)

Long Weekend

We had a long weekend because the kids were out of school on Monday due to a teacher inservice day. Besides relaxing around the house, we took a walk down the Pfluger park trail, something which we had not done before. We have been to Pfluger Park many times, but have never taken the trail beyond the park perimeters. The trail extends throughout a small portion of town, running alongside a creek that changes in width as you progress along it. The kids rode their scooters and I walked. We stopped numerous times; at just about every trail opening that led down close to the creek. Each opening had surprisingly different terrain, ranging from a (miniature) waterfall, a (miniature) cliff, and banks that you can tell had once been underwater, and perhaps would soon be again if the water levels rose. At each spot, Kenneth and Evelyn looked for fish and found fish of all sizes, from fish tank size to catfish about the size of my extended hand. We collected and brought home some clams that Evelyn captured for the fish tank, though Kenneth's thigh-deep attempt to catch a catfish was in vain.

Recent Pictures of Kids

Thought I'd include a couple of cute pictures of the kids that were taken recently. This is Evelyn with her friend Edie on the Zilker park train. We may have to try to get Elizabeth's kiddos out there for the train ride--they would love it. The other picture is from Kenneth's friend's (Mason) birthday party. Mason's Mom, Lisa, took the picture.

Triplets?

Now that Ann Marie is bigger, it is easy to see the family resemblance between Evelyn (she was 2 in this picture), Elizabeth (probably 2 in the picture), and Ann Marie.

It's hard to know if Evelyn will eventually get my straight, brown hair, or whether she'll keep the sandy blond that she has (and Elizabeth has)...

Halloween 2008

We had a great, little culdesac party on Halloween. It was just the right amount of kids and food and games....

Evelyn's costume cracked me up because the mask she chose (to go with her robe from Taiwan, fingerless lace gloves, and gold belt) made her look like a little old man. She had hand-made her wand and hat for her wizard costume.

Tomorrow is voting day! I fortunately voted early (and even then had to wait 45 min in line). Rod plans to get to the polls about an hour early in the morning--I'll bet there are people in line before him.

I'm Out of Breath

The kids and I worked very hard tonight getting things ready for tomorrow's neighborhood Halloween party that we'll host at our house. One of our neighbors had bought a few things from Oriental Trading Company and brought them over for us to use. What I did not expect was the size of the Halloween limbo pumpkins that needed to be blown up--by mouth because I do not have any sort of pumper. These guys are probably about 6'5" and now that I think about it, probably intended for adults instead of kids based on the height of the limbo bar shelves. Oh well. They can be decorations too and maybe the adults can limbo for the kids' amusement!

Things that Make You Go Hmmmm...Part 1

I frequently have moments that make me question my immediate surroundings...am I dreaming, did that just really happen, etc. I will share the most interesting Hmmm moments as they occur.

At the Grocery Store: I don't know if you're like me--I think most people are when it comes to grocery shopping--but I put everything in my cart mixed together. Yes, what is on the bottom or top depends on which side of the store I enter, but there is not particular care taken in arrangement within the cart unless there's something that can be crushed. While checking out on a recent trip, I was helping the bagger load groceries and he incredulously asked me "You're going to mix your chemicals?" I didn't know what he meant until I realized he was questioning the placement of the Dove hair mousse with the cereal boxes and pickle jar. I just told him that it didn't matter to me and that the mousse was mixed in with everything in the cart before it got to the bagging process.

In the Kitchen: Today was a busy day. Rod was working late and I had to get the kids and get Evelyn to soccer by 5:15 which meant dinner was after soccer, which ended at 7:00. While at soccer, I worked on a set of feedback for a work colleague based out of Taiwan which I had to get out in an email by 7:15 so that they would have time to review it before our conference call at 9:00. Mix in the fact that I had Krav Maga class from 7:30-8:15 and things get complicated. Rod pulls in right at 7:15 and I suggest a simple dinner that involves noodles and hotdogs. Most people cook those two items separately. I was absolutely aghast when Rod suggested just boiling the hotdogs and noodles in the same pot. It actually made me feel ill. He postulated that the hot dog fat "just boils to the top" and that "it's the same process, why not combine it and dirty one pot?" I still don't know how he actually cooked them since I had to leave, and I don't want to ask.

The Brooklyn Bridge

This is the photo I described in the post about our trip to New York. Rod decided to set up (photo) shop in a deserted area that randomly had a recliner present. He wanted a unique shot of the Brooklyn Bridge--and he got it!

Super Fam

OK, I borrowed the idea from Elizabeth's blog, but I had to do it to make the kids laugh:

Super Mom
http://www.makemesuper.com/r.php?i=3_d8240-212955-f-Mom

Super Rodney
http://www.makemesuper.com/r.php?i=3_d8240-213429-m-Rodney

Super Kenneth:
http://www.makemesuper.com/r.php?i=3_d8240-213817-m-Kenneth

Super Evelyn:
http://www.makemesuper.com/r.php?i=3_d8240-214255-f-Evelyn

Mighty Fine ... Whaaaat?

We visited a new restaurant this weekend because Kenneth's soccer game was at a field in a part of Austin that we don't get to visit too much. It is called "Mighty Fine Burgers," owned by the same company that created Rudy's Barbecue. For those who are unaware of the sheer genius of Rudy's, it is the ideal restaurant for kids (well-behaved or otherwise). The atmosphere at Mighty Fine Burgers was similar: large fold-out tables laid out cafeteria-style, food on butcher paper, etc. They pride themselves on shoestring-size crinkle fries, which were highly addictive. Anyhow, we were all having a grand time talking about who knows what when Evelyn says "These burgers really are mighty fine, and ... (jaw drops) ... that is NOT mighty fine!" As we turned to look at what she was referring to, we were greeted with the unpleasant sight in the picture. Rod surreptitiously took this photo from his camera phone while pretending to be vastly interested in the television set. Kenneth suggested that we call the restaurant "Mighty Fine Boody" from now on!

Visit to the Ontiveros Family

Last weekend we took a trip to see April, Cesar, Noah, and the newest Ontiveros addition, Seth. He is about a month and a half old and is very sweet. He looks a lot like Cesar.

Hopefully we'll get a chance to catch up again before the end of the year. Now that October is halfway done, the holidays will make the rest of 2008 fly by...

No Training Wheels!

My sweet Evelyn decided that she was going to remove the training wheels from her bike and ride it. She did so quite successfully. Please keep in mind that she got this bike when she was 5 and has chosen to ride it probably less than five times in the two-year interim. That is so Evelyn: make a decision and get it right the first time. No accidents so far...

Good Timing

I was just catching up on a blog that I read that keeps me up to date on the goings-on in the theater world (among other things) and it was posted that the 2 shows I picked to see on Broadway are closing and going on national tour.

Xanadu was supposed to close in mid-October, but it was pulled in to the end of this week. Too bad, but I am so glad I saw those...

New York Trip

The trip to New York was fabulous. If the trip had been purely for fun it would have been even better, though the conference I attended was informative and good for networking. The conference hotel was in the Times Square area, which is the best place to be if you are visiting NY--you can walk to anything you need and catch a subway to anywhere else. Rod came with me since the hotel was free (to us anyhow; my company paid for the stay because of the conference). We flew over together on Saturday afternoon and split up to do our own thing Saturday night. Rod went out to the Brooklyn Bridge area because he wanted to take a photo of the bridge from a particular view and at a particular time of day (night). In typical (awesome) Rod fashion, he crawled through a fence and had to get past a Bollywood movie set to get to the angle he wanted. He said he may end up as an unedited extra in the film. When he arrived at the spot of interest apparently someone else thought it was interesting too because a RECLINER was there. If this was me (and it wouldn't be because you wouldn't have caught me wandering into a sparsely habited section of Brooklyn, crawling through a fence, or assuming the Bollywood people wouldn't mind me stepping through their photo shoot), I would not have sat in the chair because I would assume that someone had left it there for a reason to get rid of it, such as the scene of a murder. Anyhow, he's got a great shot of the bridge and a great shot of him in the recliner with the bridge as the background. I will post one as soon as I can get it from him.

On Sunday, we took the subway over to my cousin Kristin's apartment to see her, Chris, and their new baby, Jenny. Jenny is about 4 months old and is very cute. She hung out with both Rod and I and eventually fell asleep on her Dad's chest. Kristin took some photos--they might end up on her blog. Sunday afternoon I had to spend at a conference meeting until 5:00. While I was there, Rod took a taxi out to see his house and school from the time period that he lived in Long Island. We went to see Legally Blonde on Broadway on Sunday evening. It was awesome and I rank it up there with my top 3 favorite Broadway musicals (other 2 are Rent and Cats). The part of Elle Woods was played by an understudy who had great charisma; the whole ensemble was engaging and I would see it again in an instant.

I spent all day Monday at the conference, but in the evening I synced up with a high school friend for chocolate cake and reminiscing. Tuesday evening I went to see Xanadu on Broadway with two work colleagues. I may post some more photos if I can get my colleagues to send a couple that they took. The show is based on a really cheesy Olivia Newton John movie (of the same title) from the early 80s. The actors specifically channeled some of the nuances of the movie characters, particularly the way ONJ pronounced her character's name, "Kira," in a breathy voice. It was a funny show and I was surprised how much of the music I already knew. I guess more than one song from the movie was a pop hit. At some point during the trip Rod went out to Central Park to see David Blaine in the middle of his latest stunt--hanging upside down for 48 hours.

Headed to New York

Rod and I are headed up to New York City this Saturday. I will be attending a conference from Sunday through Wednesday, and Rod is tagging along because the hotel room is already paid for, so why not?!

Plans include (in pseudo chronological order):
* Shopping on Saturday! (I want to visit Uniqlo, among other stores.)
* Visit my cousin Kristin and her new baby, Jenny
* See Legally Blonde on Broadway with Rod
* Visit an old high school friend on Monday
* See Xanadu on Broadway with a couple of work colleagues

It's going to be a blast. I will take photos and post soon...

Yendor and Kram

We made it to Schlitterbahn on Sunday and it was the perfect day to go. The weather was not too hot and the lines were short, if there were any at all. I managed to get sunburned on my back, even though I put sunscreen on twice. It must be the fact that my back rarely sees the light of day combined with being rubbed along the Schlitterbahn slides. I'll recover. To top off the fabulous Sunday, the kids had their first soccer games of the season on Saturday and Evelyn went to a party "with a magician that made a BUNNY appear out of a PICTURE OF A BUNNY!" Evelyn summed it up best when she said as she drifted off to sleep Sunday night, "I'm going to have a lot to write about in my journal on Monday!"

I'm going to spend some time making a new exercise playlist tonight. I bought the song Push It by Salt-N-Pepa, which I love for the beat and for some reason it's been in my head. It was at the height of its popularity in '88, which was 8th grade for me. For those readers that had the joy of being part of Central Middle School in Galveston, you will surely recall the lyrics: "Now, now, now wait a minute ya'll...this dance ain't for everybody...only the sexy people. So all you fly brothers, get on out there and dance." I still use the word Fly to describe something fabulous.

Tonight I amused Kenneth and Evelyn by telling them what their names would be backwards. We ran through every extended family member and some friends too. They were on the floor laughing with some of them. The best of the bunch: Yendor, Kram, Htebazile, Belac, & Mutat.

Schlitterbahn Attempt #2

We're going to try to hit Schlitterbahn again this weekend before the park closes for the season. Crossing fingers...

Hopefully we will also be able to stop in and see our friends April and Cesar in San Antonio. They just had a new baby boy and we are all excited to meet him.

The picture is of the kids on the first day of school (a bit delayed in posting it). Both kids like their teachers a lot, (and I do too), so that is a good thing.

San Antonio

The week before school we had plans that included a trip to Schlitterbahn but we picked the one day it rained all August. Half the park was closed and we decided that half the park wasn't worth the full ticket cost, so we headed to San Antonio instead. For anyone who's spent any amount of time as a tourist in SA, you are aware of the strip of activities near the Riverwalk: we filled a day at the Riverwalk Mall, the Alamo, Ripley's Believe It or Not museum, Guinness Book of World Records museum, and two attractions that were more amusement park-like. We will try to make up the Schlitterbahn trip next weekend before it closes for the season. In the wax museum, we met Oprah, George Bush, and several bad replications of other famous people. That particular museum needs a major facelift--they drop in a couple of currently famous people like Sarah Jessica Parker and Britney Spears, but they're right next to the huge "Driving Miss Daisy" display, which I'm pretty sure was there when I visited this area in high school with my friends. The visit also included a stay in a B&B in New Braunfels which was conveniently located near Gruene, TX. Gruene hosts a Market Day every 1st and 3rd weekend during certain months of the year. We found a couple of Austin-based craftspeople there, one of which is a jewelry-maker who does beautiful work. I will probably re-visit her in Austin.