Kyle's Birthday

We visited College Station today to celebrate Kyle's birthday. They're going to have a party next weekend, but we thought it would be nicer to have some cousin-only time this weekend instead. We spent most of the time at the community pool off of Rock Prairie, which brought back lots of memories. That was the pool where I used to take the kids all the time when we lived there. After the swim, we drove over to Freebirds and we ran into Dr. Moore in the parking lot. Steve Moore was my mentor/chair of my dissertation committee. He was with his son Cassidy, who is now a senior in high school. When the Moore family moved to College Station, Cassidy was the age that Kenneth is now. Time moves very quickly.

If They Were Rubber...

Tonight was Spring Fling at the school. Let me boil it down for those unfamiliar with such festivities: parents spend $15 - $20 on tickets that kids can use to buy drinks, food, bouncer time, cake walk turns, etc. It is massive entertainment for the kids and we get to hang out with other parents. Last time the school had something similar, I worked a booth the whole time, but this time I 'just said No.' :)

Evelyn has several loose teeth--she seems to be losing them at a very fast rate. She was telling us that teeth must be bones because "they're definitely not rubber."

Evelyn's class has been learning about conservation (given the recent Earth Day). She brought home some cut-out messages and taped them up in the bathroom all by herself.

Project Night

The kids have been working on their GT projects for a couple of months. This particular project allows children to work on the development of it at school over a period of time, with no parent or teacher assistance (other than providing the supplies). Kenneth chose to do a project on aerodynamics, with details about why certain aspects of a plane design provide better aerodynamics. He also made a game where players are supposed to draw cards to advance along a board, encountering various jet-related issues such as "Lost a Wing: Go Back 2 Spaces" and "You Got a Faster Jet: Move Forward 5 Spaces". He also made each player piece out of tinfoil to represent specific plane designs (ala Freebirds style). Evelyn drew the lifecycle of a flower, complete with labels and a butterfly "just because I wanted a butterfly". She wrote about the lifecycle and sounded out all the words that she wrote on her own (click on the picture to read her lifecycle story in detail). She is learning faster than I could have ever expected. We are so proud of both kids!

So Old

Kenneth was explaining to Evelyn that his blanket that he had when he was a baby was "SO OLD, older than you, 8 YEARS OLD." Fast forward to this morning on our way to a soccer game when he told me that he couldn't believe that I'd lived as long as I had.

Directly after soccer, Evelyn changed into one of her fancy dresses, strapped on her bike helmet and clogs and rode around the circle. Nana spent the night last night so that Rod and I could go to a hospital network gala down in Seguin. Today, Pops came over to help Rod remove a tree stump that we've had in our yard since last summer. (The tree had actually been killed by bees, which had created a hive in such a large portion of the inside that the entire top half of the tree had no nutrients. Bizarre and since bizarre things regularly happen to Rod, it doesn't surprise me all that much.) Evelyn joined in to help with the tree stump removal in her party dress.

Turn A Sharp Corner!

It's been pretty busy lately. Last weekend, Kenneth had a soccer tournament where he scored 7 goals--a record for him. The boys in the picture with him are his closer friends on the team. The longer hairstyle is coming back for little boys, but I can't bring myself to introduce him to it. He can make that choice when he gets older.

Evelyn came up with a phrase and simultaneous strategy for handling the passing of gas. She announces "Turn a sharp corner!" and you know that something might be coming our way.

Austin Fine Arts Festival

Today we visited the Austin Fine Arts Festival with the kids and my Dad (Mom was in College Station helping out Elizabeth). We had a friend who was exhibiting her artwork from her travels to Singapore and at least a dozen other countries. This art festival was very nice--higher end art than what you typically find in street fair environments. I think Kenneth was inspired, because later in the evening he created a very intricate abstract design. Tomorrow he'll color it. I told him we'd buy him a frame for it when he finishes.

Please, No Gorilla Bar

Evelyn and I were coloring this evening and conversation turned to the snack that I put in her backpack that she gets to eat during her class snack time. Believe me, I try my best to provide variety but (silly me) for two days in a row I gave her a granola bar. She asked very politely, "Please, no gorilla bar tomorrow Mom. Can I have some crackers instead?" I told her no problem, but for future reference it's called granola bar, not gorilla bar--she took it in stride and you can bet she won't make that mistake again!

We've also been going over how to write "big" numbers (in the ten-thousands). She calls out a number and we talk through how to write it. One of the numbers she came up with verbally was "fifty-five thousand, fifty-five hundred and five" which is not a number. After I showed her how we couldn't find place values for all of of those numbers, she sang a song about it in a very melodic way, "...and it's NOOOOOOT a real number, it's a FAAAAAAAKE number, and that's OOOOOOKAAAAYY because I'm making it up in my MIIIIINNND."

Rod mowed the lawn (which was in dire straits because of the recent rains) and discovered a pair of butterflies in the grass. He stopped the mower and placed one on Kenneth and one on Evelyn. They thought it was great.

Easter Weekend

Texas was dealt record low temperatures over the Easter weekend, dipping to freezing in the evenings and 40s during the day. Of course, it is only on the two weekend days and weather.com says it'll be back up to the high 80s on Tuesday. I had just packed away the electric blankets too.

We went to see "Meet the Robinsons" with the kids on Saturday. It seems like Disney has taken the attention span issue a step further--there was not one moment in that movie where you could focus and think about it--it was either speedy words, or speedy images, or simply speedy concepts. I have read about the impact of Sesame Street-like format on kids from my generation; educators claimed that as children began watching Sesame Street, their ability to focus for an extended period of time on a task was significantly worse than the previous generation due to the format of the quick mini-episodes within each show. I don't know if I agree, but "Meet the Robinsons" was definitely on another level.

Later that evening the kids dyed eggs, which we used as a temporary centerpiece at Easter dinner the next day. Nana and Pops came over for dinner and we had a great time. I do have a bit of a headache from the 2 glasses of red wine, though.

Opera vs. Oprah

On the way to soccer practice tonight, I had my Phantom of the Opera soundtrack playing, and Kenneth was holding his ears the whole time, making jokes about how bad it was. I agree showtunes are an acquired taste. Part of the soundtrack has a purposely awful-sounding soprano, and it was during one of those moments that Kenneth said "I hate Oprah!" (He meant opera. LOL)

Last weekend we went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to take pictures with the Bryan family, who we have known since Rex and I were in grad school together. It was a really beautiful day, and we went to the Salt Lick afterwards to top it off. Before we left the wildflower park, poor Rod got accosted by a park visitor who was upset that he had reached into a pond and touched the back of a turtle to show the kids. The guy actually got kind of belligerent and Rod had to tell the guy to back off. You never quite know who you'll run into in Austin. :)

"Pfestival" Pfun

Today we met up with some neighborhood friends at a Pflugerville Easter "Pfestival". Businesses and activities in Pflugerville never resist the opportunity to use "Pf" when possible. We've got Pfamily Pfhysicians, etc. Various activities such as a jumping castle, small petting zoo, train rides and the option to sit with the Easter Bunny were set up for the kids. Kenneth is kind of old for most of it (except the jumping castle) but he was patient while Evelyn waited in line for the other activities. The Easter egg hunt consisted of sectioned off areas by age group so that older kids weren't competing with toddlers. Makes sense. What doesn't make sense is the use of the word "hunt". No hunting was involved. The Easter bunny simply dumped an enormous amount of eggs in each age group's section and said "Go!", after which the kids raced to load as many eggs as possible into their baskets. I think we'll do a more traditional egg hunt next weekend. Despite the obviousness of the egg hunt, both kids had a great time and Evelyn drew a picture and wrote a message for the Easter bunny (see picture).

To the Shreds of My Heart

We stayed home from school and work today because Kenneth had a bad night with his asthma. Fortunately, that does not happen very often at all. Most of the time we all forget he even has asthma. He'll take it easy at school tomorrow. I was able to work on email periodically and talk with some colleagues in-between tea party sessions and episodes of Scooby Doo Meets Batman and Robin. Evelyn set up a fancy tea party for 5 guests: (1) Mom, (2) Kenneth, (3) "Pointy the Unicorn", (4) "Hairy", and (5) "Baby Diaperhead". You can see the 3 inanimate guests in the picture. Evelyn lost another tooth yesterday, which you can see in a couple of the pictures. At one point, Kenneth sat on Pointy the Unicorn and pretended to ride it to antagonize his little sister.


Predictably, Evelyn freaked out: "Get off Pointy! He's company! You don't do that to company!" I had them rolling with laughter when I force fed "Hairy" pretend pepper from the pepper shaker.

At the end of the day Evelyn told me that I was the best Mom ever and that she loved me "from the shreds of my heart." My sweetpeas.

Visit from Grandpa Merle and Grandma Linda

Merle and Linda arrived today for a visit as they finalize some financing and other house-building related stuff. Of course, Linda brought 3 containers of cookies and I have had a count of 4 since dinner time, so I very seriously need to be careful while the cookies sit, omnipresent on my kitchen counter. Fortunately, both Rod and Merle will quickly go through the batches. Kenneth and Evelyn like them as well, but they are still at the age where they ask me if they can have one before they just take it!

Over the weekend, I took the kids to see Bridge to Terabithia (the movie) and I had forgotten from when I read the book as a kid that one of the main characters dies. Evelyn was a little teary, but she handled it well compared to the adults behind us, who were sobbing. Goodness. The man who plays the father in the movie looks a lot like Merle and during the movie, both kids looked at me at the same time and said "He looks like Grandpa!". Check out the picture of Merle and Evelyn (from July 2005) and the picture of the guy from the movie website. (Sorry, I didn't feel like learning how to properly crop the picture for posting, so there is a lot of white space.)

Because of the rain and probably because I was being a bit lazy, I didn't go to the grocery store this weekend...so tonight after the kids went to bed, I made it to HEB. $210 later, I feel almost fully stocked. I spent about an hour after I unloaded groceries making the lunch box bags of crackers, pretzels, and carrot/cauliflower/broccoli combos. I can tell you (for any mothers out there that don't already do this on a regular basis) that such preparation is so helpful in the mornings before school and also just to have around for when you're heading out to soccer practice or wherever.

With Life Alert You'll Never Be Alone

This week has flown by and we are all happy the weekend is here. Even though the weekend is busy, it is all fun stuff. Kenneth and Evelyn have the usual soccer games, but they also have soccer pictures. Granted, the act of taking the pictures tends to be on the frantic side, but the end result is irreplaceable. After Evelyn's game, Rod will take her to San Antonio to see one of the NCAA basketball games. She is excited to be doing something with her Dad. I will probably be going to see some live music downtown in the early evening with some work friends. And that's just Saturday...

Evelyn said something so funny this evening. I was taking off my jewelery in my bathroom and I asked her to go get ready for her bath. She said something about not wanting to be alone and I told her that she's not alone, that we're together. Then she says:

"You can live alone without being alone. With Life Alert you'll never be alone. All senior citizens should have Life Alert." I started laughing and she told me that an old lady on TV said that. Well, perhaps television can teach us something.

My Baby Puts Cut Up Pickles On Her Eyes

Although it's been overcast and occasionally rainy, we've still managed to do quite a bit over the last couple of days. Yesterday we started the day at an elementary school playground, where an ad agency was photographing kids for the Seton Hospital annual report. We had been asked to participate via a friend who works at the agency. The kids did great. There were about 5 other children and they placed the kids in various playground poses along with a "grandmother." LOL

After that, we visited The Omlettetry for a brunch and followed up with a trip to Austin's newest outdoor shopping center, The Domain. It is full of high-end stores with a few regular stores mixed in. I bought a John Lennon CD at Borders, which has made me happy since then. :) Kenneth has mentioned that he's interested in comic books as a reading diversion so we visited the comic book store that's been voted "Austin's Best" for several years. I asked the staff to help identify an appropriate series for a 3rd grader, because I know there are some freaky comic book series out there and I didn't want to accidentally buy something completely inappropriate. We found something to his liking and will probably continue with that series.

Today we visited a really awesome park/pond area that is in the nearby municipal district. Evelyn spotted some newborn baby ducks that were truly cute. We found a large patch of clover and the kids started looking for the elusive 4-leaf clover. Evelyn was so excited because she (thought) she found one: "MOM! I found a 4-leaf clover but it's missing a leaf!!!" On our way back from the park, Evelyn said "My baby puts cut up pickles on her eyes. Sometimes she used bread, but most of time it's pickles." It took Kenneth and I a minute before we figured out she meant cucumbers in a spa-like situation (she must have seen a photo somewhere and thought it was pickles, not cucumbers). Too much!

Spring Break Off With A Bang

This week is Spring Break for the kids and I have taken off the whole week so we can hang out and do some of the fun, local stuff that we don't always have a chance to do very often. Saturday, we drove up to Lake Georgetown, which we had heard of, but never visited. It is really pretty and the weather was pleasant enough that it was not too hot. Two treasures that the kids found included a volleyball floating in the water & a heart-shaped stone formation (it really looked like a heart!). We saw a police boat chase down someone who was going too fast, and we also found out that the Lake Georgetown park has ZERO trash cans, even in the restroom facilities. If we go out again, I'll be sure to pack a plastic bag. (For my part, I ended up carrying around empty Capri Sun juice boxes, banana peels, and cracker bags in my purse. Hmmm.)

I've been working hard on the house over the weekend, trying to clean out the loads of junk we have managed to accumulate. Last night, Rod went out with some friends, so I took it upon myself to overhaul our bedroom, moving furniture all over the place and vacuuming under things. I almost ended up moving our king-size bed to the 'small' section of the bedroom, but the bed got caught between the walls in a diagonal position. I had to pull the top mattress off and remove the box springs to undo it without scratching up the wall. Lesson learned. :) At any rate, it is refreshing to walk in to a clean bedroom!

Today, Rod took the kids kayaking, and because it rained off and on, the sun was covered and it was not too hot for them. I went off on my own a bit and we met back up at the house when they were done. Evelyn claims half-ownership of the rowing for the day and I believe her because she crashed on the couch at 7:30, which just yesterday (pre-Daylight Savings) was 6:30. She is still sound asleep.

Popsicle Stick Puppets

Evelyn created miniature versions of various family members on popsicle sticks. Presenting...(from left to right): Kenneth, Evelyn, Dad, Pops, and Nana!

Dad (Rod) went through an unfortunate beard stage for a little while a couple of months ago and I guess she was bothered enough by it to express it in the drawing.

On other family news, we know Elizabeth is having a baby girl! She sounded pretty excited on the phone.

Zilker Kite Festival

Today was such a beautiful day. The weather was perfect for the Zilker Park Kite Festival, which is an annual Spring event in Austin. Nana had just bought the kids kites so we swung by her house to pick her up and drove over to Zilker park.

We spent most of the time watching other people fly kites because the sky was so crowded, but both kids got their kites up for awhile. We were right next to a big sand pit/volleyball court, so they ended up playing there too.

Butt Should Not Be a Sight Word

Today was the first game day of the kids' soccer season. They both had games at 1:30, but unfortunately, the rest of the season game times don't match up quite so nicely (example: next week we've got an 8:30 AM and a 1:00 PM). So until mid-May, we will be spending most of every Saturday preparing for soccer and playing soccer. The kids love it though. I enjoy watching them improve with every game. They've got an enormous amount of team pride. Nana surprised us today by showing up to watch the games. She brought kites for the kids because the weather has been so windy. We'll try to find a field tomorrow to try them out.

After the games we headed down to San Antonio to see the Ontiveros family. Cesar turned 30 so they had a celebration at a Pappasito's. It is always good to see friends who you have known more than 10 years.

We've been working on 'sight words' with Evelyn. She can pretty much sound out most words and is reading very well. Her sight word list for this week had the word "but" on it. She was concentrating on her list and going through her words in a very orderly fashion when all of a sudden she gasped and came over to me. She whispered "Mom...my teacher should not have put the word 'but' on this list." It took me a second until I realized she thought it was the rear end version of butt. I told her how to spell that kind of butt and she seemed relieved that her teacher hadn't committed a breach of modesty.

Visit to College Station

Today we took a spontaneous trip to College Station to visit Elizabeth's family. Rod had a brief meeting with a client and we thought we could tag along to visit while he was busy. We went out to Research Park and then to Hensel Park, where we were pleasantly surprised to see our friend Mary (and family) pull up at the same time. After the park we went to dinner at a new (to College Station) gourmet pizza place. Elizabeth will find out the gender of Baby#3 on Thursday morning. Evelyn really wants it to be a girl and finds reasons to tell lots of people about her dilemma as the "only girl cousin."

Look Out for the Dry Spaghetti

Today was a typical Tuesday. Both kids have overlapping soccer practices, so Rod and I shuffle who goes where and who makes the sandwiches for dinner and who gathers the water bottles, etc. etc. Anyhow, although it is not cold like it was last week, there is a certain chill in the air when you spend 2.5 hours sitting outside in the early evening. I bring an outdoor blanket for such occasions. I was sitting on the grass watching Evelyn's practice when the younger son of the coach (3 yr-old little brother of the kiddo on the team) came over to me with a huge grin. He asked (and I am not re-phrasing) "Would you mind sharing your blanket with me?" Of course I did not mind, and he snuggled next to me under the blanket off and on during the practice. At the end of the practice he said "Next time, I am definitely sitting next to you!" I thought that was very polite and rather verbose for a 3 yr-old.

Later in the evening, Evelyn found a full stick of dry spaghetti on the counter that had rolled under the toaster. She scampered off with it and I didn't think anything of it until I was unceremoniously cleaning the downstairs bathroom. In the only remaining toilet paper roll in the basket, I saw 3 small sticks of spaghetti stuck out of the edges of the roll. That is certainly something to be aware of when mindlessly grabbing toilet paper.

The Chicken and the Road

Evelyn and Kenneth were exchanging jokes back and forth for about 20 minutes in the car today. All of the jokes were variations on the chicken crossing the road. I was about to go crazy. A couple of highlights:

Kenneth: "Why did the owl beat the chicken across the road? Because the owl was an owl and the chicken was chicken."

Evelyn: "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because all of the other animals were dead."

Gotta love it.

Valentine's Day Events

I had a parent/teacher conference with Evelyn's teacher today as a mid-year check in. Of course, Evelyn is doing great. She is the only one in her class who got a 100 on the kindergarten math assessment for mid-year and is well-ahead on her reading skills as well. At home, she is sounding out words like 'marshmallow.' She is also a child that can be trusted by the teacher and is very responsible (paraphrasing her teacher's wording here). Evelyn is the only kid in the class who has been assigned the responsibility of going down the hall to pick up the attendance print out and bring it back to her clasroom without horsing around. No surprise there, as she is a big rule-follower.

Because it was Valentine's Day today, the kids exchanged little valentine cards with each other. Evelyn's teacher told me that she had received a special card from a kid named Sean, who "practically worhsips the ground she walks on." That is so cute. Evelyn had always talked about Sean as being someone who bugged her and once attempted to cut off some of her hair. When I asked her about the card, she said, "Yeah. He's my best friend." Best friends change daily, I guess. Now she has a Sponge Bob Valentine card to show for it.

One other quick note: It is interesting because both kids seem to have turned a corner on the next level of who they will become (personality) as they grow up. Kenneth is quickly picking up the hilarious art of sarcasm and is using "bigger" words than he used to--must be from all the reading.

Because it is Wednesday and a pretty awful day to attempt to go out to eat, we chose to make a spaghetti dinner for the family and eat at the house. Rod visited the Upper Crust Bakery today and picked up cinnamon buns, scones, heart-shaped cookies, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Kid in a candy store all grown up (but the desserts were truly fabulous). I went to my standard Wednesday night workout at 7:30 and there were about 10 people there (usually 25-30). If I wasn't attached, I might have gotten mildly depressed when the instructor yelled "I didn't think any women would show up tonight!" ha ha I am in the lame group. On a positive note, the owners left single roses for all the women who did come to classes on V-Day. One of the guys told me that pink roses represent fertility--I'm not quite sure how to respond to such a random comment. I just smiled and said something insipid like "that's cool."

Have a happy Valentine's Day!!

Evelyn's 6th Birthday Party

Evelyn celebrated her 6th birthday with some friends at a local ceramics shop, where the kids were allowed to pick something to paint. The options included things like little cats, purses, dragons, planes, ice cream cones, etc. Every child was well-behaved and they all did a great job painting their chosen ceramic. They will get to pick their masterpiece up later this week, after it has been fired and glazed. Some of the things Evelyn told us: "I feel bigger today." "I'm SOOOOOO excited!!!" She is such a sweet pea.

Carnaval

Rod and I celebrated his 35th birthday by going out to dinner with a couple of friends and then heading over to Carnaval. Carnaval is supposedly the biggest Brazilian celebration outside of Rio, and it was celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. We had a lot of fun dancing and people-watching. Some of the costumes are an excuse to get a little exhibitionist--but that's all I'll say, given that we've got a family blog happening here. One picture is with us at the house before heading out to dinner (Evelyn wanted to jump into the photo) and the other is at Carnaval. Nana watched the kids for us, so we stayed out late.

Celebrate Your Valentine's Breakfast With Us

Evelyn and Kenneth were having a conversation in the car today based on a song Evelyn was singing that had the phrase "Get that quarter back" in it. I have no idea if this is something she made up or if she heard it somewhere. Kenneth's personality is such that if he feels someone isn't 'getting it' he'll pipe in with clarifications. So we get something like this:

Kenneth: "Evelyn, do you even know what a quarterback is?"

Evelyn: "Yes. It's when you throw a quarter over your back."

Kenneth: "No that's not what that means. A quarterback is a guy in football who has a good hand at throwing."

Evelyn: "Well my song is about throwing a quarter over your back. You know when Mom says Chill Pill? You need to be a chill pill."

On a different note, I went to HEB after the kids went to bed. I am now debating doing all of my grocery shopping at night because it was uber-fast, despite all of the re-stocking boxes everywhere. At the end of one aisle was a display of all of the varieties of Quaker Oatmeal with a big sign that said "Celebrate Your Valentine's Breakfast with Us." Who on earth starts Valentine's Day with oatmeal? And even if they did, who would call it a celebration? Maybe I need a chill pill.

Can You Roll Your Tongue?

This picture is just terribly fuzzy, but it was the best I could do in about 10 attempts. Kenneth has the rare ability to triple roll his tongue! Most people can roll their tongue into a double roll (like a taco shell), but he can do one of those clover-like indentations where two sections indent creating 3 bumps. I am impressed. He is too. It is a trick that has apparently won much favor in the 3rd grade.

c/o 1993

Last Friday night a few of us from the class of 1993 met for a Happy Hour at El Gringo in Austin. Heather recommended it and it was a great spot. I do think we all pretty much look the same. Perhaps it is the blinded lens of my mind despite the undeniable fact that most of us in the picture are twice as old as a high school junior. Anyhow, it was fun, and Amy will try to round us up again in the summer. Go Tors!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

So I was singing loudly along with Arethra Franklin when the song R-E-S-P-E-C-T came on the radio. I looked back at Kenneth and Evelyn, and Kenneth had a look on his face that clearly indicated that he did not appreciate me singing with such abandon. Evelyn was smiling and trying to sing with me. The age of embarrassment starts somewhere in the 8-9 yr range, I guess!

100 Sunflower Seeds

I don't mean to harp on the quick turn-around assignments, but today, Evelyn came home with a note that said Thursday is the 100th day of school, so each Kindergarten student must create a posterboard that has 100 items glued to it. No, I am not kidding. The idea is that you can do something educational with it as well, such as grouping 100 M&Ms by color, or spelling their name with 100 paperclips, etc. We will glue 100 sunflower seeds in patterns that create circles, squares, and other shapes. Sunflower seeds were the item of choice because I found some in my cabinet in large supply.

They've known for 98 days that Thursday will be the 100th day, and they waited till now to inform us of the project.

The Alphabet Parade

Maybe it's just me, but is it a little odd that teachers would continue with their weekly activity plan when there is only one night (because of ice storm days off) to inform parents that their child needed to create a letter "J" posterboard and accompanying starts-with-the-letter-J-items for the Friday morning Kindergarten Alphabet Parade? I would have postponed the parade to the following week. Oh well--Evelyn will bring a jack-in-the-box and wear her poster and we'll all call it successful.

5-Day Vacation?

We are on our 3rd day of being stuck in the house because of the Central Texas ice and snow storm that has hovered around us. No school tomorrow either. The kids are having a good time because we've played a lot of board games: Sorry, Boggle, Labyrinth, Go Fish. Their Nana has been with us this whole time, which has been tremendously helpful for Rod and I as we've navigated conference calls, etc. mixed in with the daily duties of being home.

This afternoon the ice changed to snow and the kids played outside a lot. I included an old picture of Evelyn and I in College Station from January 2002. My cuties.

Just a Figure of Speech

Evelyn has been surprising us more and more lately, as she is developing more grown-up ways of expressing herself. This is true for facial expressions, hand gestures, and verbal expressions. I see myself in her in so many ways. Tonight, Rod and I were talking and he said, in reference to one of my co-workers, "She knows you, but she doesn't know you." About two minutes later, Evelyn pipes in "Anyhow, Mom, it's just a figure of speech. She does know you, but she doesn't know you well."

Maybe it's just me, but that is pretty smart for a 5 year old to (1) know generically what a figure of speech means, then refer to it, and (2) explain what that particular figure of speech means.

Visit from the Ontiveros Family

This weekend flew by. We had a quick visit from Aixa and Tracy on Friday night (they brought something up from Houston for Rod). Then, on Saturday, April, Cesar and Noah visited for about a day and a half. Noah liked being around Kenneth and Evelyn and April says that ours was the first non-home bathtub in which he hadn't freaked out. He must like us! Noah spent an inordinate amount of his play time "slicing" wooden vegetables that were velcroed together. The other major toy adventure was cracking up at the jack-in-the-box and trying to slice the jack's head off with the wooden vegetable knife. LOL. We ended our visit at Hula Hut, where Rod felt discriminated against because of his beard growth. He promptly shaved it later that day.

The rest of Sunday was spent pulling together Kenneth's Science Fair project, which was a take on "will it float?". The hypothesis was that there were age and gender differences in being able to predict whether 3 different things would float. The objects were a bag of frozen peas, a pushpin, and a rubber ball. He did the majority of the thought processes himself, including percentage calculations in his head (e.g. 1 of 4 = 25%, 2 of 6=33%, etc.). We used Excel for the more diffcult ones, like 7 of 9. Anyhow, his project looks great and he'll be turning it in tomorrow. 'm pretty impressed with him.

Serious Face Grown Up

The kids got their own photo albums for Christmas and we've been going through our enormous collection of digital photos so that they can pick some to begin their books. In this process, I ran across a couple of Kenneth that made me smile. When he was 2, we used to ask him to do his "serious face." It always made us laugh and we got a picture of it at that time. Sometime this past summer, we caught another photo of him with a serious face, so I thought I'd post them together.

Happy New Year!

We've had a fun couple of days visting with Rod's Dad and Linda. They have travelled to TX to visit us and Gwen, who is in Dallas visiting Jeff's parents. Then they will go to Kerrville and check on their land--they are building a house out there and are finalizing architectural drawings. They were able to watch the kids last night so Rod and I could go out downtown for New Year's Eve. We first stopped at a place called Cru, where you can get a 'flight' of wine (2 oz. samples in trios) and just people-watched and chatted. We had a fun time. The picture was taken by Rod--I think he did a pretty good job considering he was holding it out in front of us.