Fun Day!

This past Saturday was a really fun day! We started out at our local Lowe's Build-and-Grow where the kids got to make a toy fire truck with working siren. Then we headed over to the fire station right down the street that was having an open house. It was great! They had free food, free giveaways, pictures with stuffed characters, a bounce house, lots of cool stuff to look at. They were letting everyone get inside the fire trucks, ambulances, and even their helicopter. There were really cool demonstrations too. As we were leaving we even got to see the helicopter take off to go out on a call.

Then, back at home, while Kat napped the older 2 & I cuddled on the bed & watched a movie together while Joel got some time alone to play a video game. In the evening we got to babysit my nephew, Benjamin, for the first time too. His mom & dad had a date night out at a women's roller derby - fun. Really great day!

Amon Carter

One of the perks of living right outside of Fort Worth is being so close to an amazing cultural district. Joel & I have become very fond of the Amon Carter Museum. They renovated a few years back & have added photography and other exhibits beyond just western art. I found out from a friend that they have a scavenger hunt the kids can do. Once completed they even get a small prize. We decided to go check it out today. The special exhibition was a collection of drawings and watercolors. I pointed out one especially nice pencil drawing of ships at sea & told the kids how amazing it was that someone could create something so great with just pencils. To this Jon said they must have had amazing pencils. ;-)

1 Rocker, 4 Generations

There's a little rocking chair I remember from my childhood. It's still at my parent's house today. It has been in our family for at least four generations. My grandma and siblings sat in it, my mom and cousin Edna sat in it, my sister and I sat in it & now all my kids have sat and rocked in it too. Here are some photos of the rocker with the last 3 generations.

My mom in the rocker at Christmastime.

Me in the rocker with Mom beside.

My sister, Kerry, and me with the rocker. This is one of my favorite photos of us as kids.

A recent photo of Katherine in the newly reupholstered rocker.

Two Tie Jon, a Picture With the Bride, and Utter Cuteness

Jon went through a little phase recently where he liked to wear not one, but 2 ties...at the same time. I just went with it. He really liked the way it looked. He told me he looked awesome like that. Here's a photo of him in one of his day excursions sporting his new style trend.
And, Miss Emily got to attend a wedding recently. She really loves weddings now. She knew her daddy was going to be photographing this one so she personally requested a photo with the bride. She likes to tell me what her wedding will be like sometimes...and so it begins. ;-)
And, finally, a photo of Katherine looking ridiculously cute. This was the first time I put her hair up like this & it made me want to squeeze her repetedly. Enjoy!

Froggy Apple

Jonathan's preschool class has a class mascot. Apparently they picked the name Froggy Apple for it last week (it looks like an apple). Each weekend one child gets to take it home with them & bring it back the following Tuesday with a story about what Froggy Apple did and pictures. Jonathan was the lucky kid who got to bring her home the first weekend of school! He was very excited. He also got to be the line leader and teacher's helper that day. Big day for our little man!

Here's what we came up with for him to take back to class tomorrow. Enjoy!

Froggy Apple came home with Jonathan from school last Thursday. We were very excited to have her as a guest in our home. Here are a few pictures from what Froggy Apple did with us.

After we picked up Jonathan’s sister, Emily, from school we went to Jonathan’s grandma & grandpa’s house for family dinner. Froggy Apple watched the movie ET with Jonathan while dinner was being finished. She really liked the movie. Especially the part where the kids fly on their bicycles. Doesn’t Froggy Apple look cozy in the recliner?
For desert we all got to have a special gingerbread man. Yum!
Froggy Apple told us she loves to hear good books read to her. So Emily read a story to Froggy Apple and Jonathan before bed one night. It was called Franklin Goes to the Hospital.
We made a special place for Froggy Apple to sleep. She slept on a fold out couch that was just her size next to Jonathan’s bed. He shared one of his favorite blankets with her. It has cars all over it and is very cozy.
Froggy Apple ate with us too. She said the food was really good and that Jonathan’s mom is a great cook ;-). Here is a picture of Jonathan and Froggy Apple eating lunch together yesterday. It was leftover pasta. She had great table manners and said “please” and “thank you.” We hope she comes to visit again sometime soon!

First Days

Emily started 2nd grade on Monday & Jonathan started his 2-day a week parent's day out/preschool on Tuesday. They both did amazing. Emily gets so very excited to go back to school each year. It's really cute. She loves school & loves to learn. She's already told me on more than one occasion that she's going to grow up, go to college & then teach school at her elementary school. I gotta say - she's got the teacher thing going on pretty well already! She's not afraid to let ya know who's in charge when she plays teacher at home. ;-)

Jonathan was such a big boy on his first day. As we were walking into his school (he looked so cute with his backpack on & lunch tote in hand) he told me, "mom you and Kat are going to leave me here." I said yes, but we'd be back to pick him up after, to which he said, "I know, I know." He wasn't fazed in the least. When I picked him up he was playing & smiling. He told me he had a great first day. When I asked him what he did & learned he said he didn't learn anything yet. All they did was stand up & sit down, stand up & sit down, stand up & sit down. He also said they learned when to wash their hands. Love the way he describes things. He just sees the world differently & it's great.

Here are pictures from their big days:

Happy Trails

My sister and brother-in-law left the Lone Star State this past Monday & drove their way to their new home state of California. She's the first in generations to leave this area so it's a pretty big deal. I'm so grateful I got the opportunity to see where they will be living this summer. It makes it a little easier. It's been a hard and sad few weeks for our family with a long hospital stay with our baby Kat and now saying good bye to Kerry & Jeff. However, we are excited for them and all the new things that lie ahead. And we look forward to the next chance we get to hang out in person. It will make those opportunities all that much sweeter. So there's just one question left for Jeff: who is going to play mind games with my kids & tell them his favorite color is pizza now? I guess that's what web cams are for. ;-)