Where's Sally??

Sally has found a hiding place in the alcove, can you find her??? Paul was going to turn on the radio the other day and noticed the picture sticking out further than it should have been, upon closer inspection there was a little kitty behind the picture.

Last Soccer Game

Today was Nathan's last soccer game, it was a tie 0-0. Nathan was sad that the season was over and is anxiously awaiting the start of fall soccer. He has enjoyed playing soccer and is very proud of his trophy. I am amazed at how much he has developed as a player in just 2 months. While Nathan was getting ready to play his game, Kayla was playing in the sand from the volleyball court. Oh, and did I mention it was 42 degrees out there and windy!! While Daddy and Emily watched in anticipation for the game to begin Nathan showed his own excitement of the game to start. The game begins... While Nathan was busy playing soccer Kayla and Emily were busy hopping on the manhole. For their snack after the game they had a cupcake cake, made to look like a soccer ball. The kids loved all of the frosting, there was a lot!! Coach Smith handed out the medals and Trophies

SO Proud!

Charlie Lohse Hellen

Congratulations to Curt and Amy on the arrival of baby Charlie!! We can't wait to meet the little guy and are sure that Avery is loving being a BIG sister!!

Update on Sally

Sally is good, she sleeps during the day and wakes up to play about 7 PM and then I will hear her throughout the night tearing around the house. She is surprisingly VERY patient with the kids, but I can tell she is settling in more because she is fighting harder to escape Kayla's death grip. Kayla LOVES Sally and wants to hold her ALL of the time Sally enjoys to be pet and chase the string, but does not like to be held, and by held I mean forced to stay in one spot for as long as Kayla sees fit. Emily enjoys playing with her as well and wants to do everything her big sister does with Sally, she will pick her up and put her arm under Sally's front paws, kind like what you see in a cartoon and carry her around. Never a dull moment around here. I have found that if I use Sally in the morning to wake up Nathan and Kayla they are much more pleasant to deal with. Nathan has been showing more interest in her lately. He is ready to let her go if she shows signs that she wants to be put down. However this then results in Kayla and Emily chasing her all over the house until she is either caught or escapes into the garage, her safe place.

"hiding" behind the door

I found you!!

You have to imagine Kayla telling Emily to "stop, put her down, she doesn't like that" Not that Emily is listening to her, but if she was and had put the cat down, Kayla would have scooped her up in a matter of milliseconds.

Swimming

Yes it is true the kids have been in the pool already!! We went to the neighbors house for a dip. The temperature outside was about 85, and the pool water was 73. The kids did not minds too much, plus the fact that when the Parkers turned on the hot tub, they really did not mind the temperature of the water. They did swim in the actual pool, not very much, but it was fun for them to just get wet.

Making Butterflies

Kayla had a homework assignment to decorate a paper butterfly, so I made one for Nathan, Emily, and Maddie. We went in the back yard got out the paint, glue, markers, glitter and any other decorating bits I could find. We then spent the next 1 hour decorating butterflies and I spent the next 1 hour cleaning up. It was fun and I think they enjoyed just making a mess.

Houston Rodeo

The kids are home on Spring Break and yesterday we took the kids to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo. This was the first time that any of us had been and by all accounts it was pretty neat. It is like a state fair, but with a rodeo as well. It runs for 3 weeks and they have live concerts, (pretty big names), every night as well as a rodeo. We spent our time in the children's area, which was from 11:00 until 3:00. We saw pig races, acrobatic dogs, and a baby calf only a few hours old, a petting zoo and so many other things. There was an arena that had the pigs, cows, rabbits, and a few other animals. We even spotted a breed of cow that appeared to be hairless (it looked like a LARGE pig), and Kayla loved the bunny rabbits. There was a birthing area that had animals (cows and pigs) about to give birth and ones that had recently given birth. There was an area where the kids could play like they were the farmers and had to go through this maze doing different farmer chores. In one part they were given chicken food to put in the trough for the chickens. After they "fed" the plastic chickens they picked up an egg (wooden) and moved on to the next task. They planted seeds and collected the vegetable that they planted, milked a cow and collected milk, sheared a sheep, and collected wool... I think you get the idea. Once they finished with their chores they took their harvest to the market and sold it (put it in the appropriate basket) and collected their money (toy) . They then took their money to the store where they could pick out one item to "buy". Nathan and Kayla followed the direction of 1item, however Emily made it out of there with 3 items, she is going to be trouble. It was a fun time and I am sure we will go back.

"The Farmers"

Feeding the chickens

Planting the seed time to collect the pepper.. ..or a carrot Shearing the sheep Milking the cow Kayla was not sure about petting the animals at the petting zoo then she warmed up Texas Longhorn Momma and baby piglets

Sleep

I think Emily could sleep anywhere. She has fallen asleep in the car (but what kid hasn't), on the kitchen floor, standing up, on the stairs, and in the swing (sorry no picture of that one). I am waiting for her to fall asleep in her food, enjoy the pics...

In the car

Standing up

In bed On the Stairs

On the sofa

With her sister On the kitchen floor