December Round Up

After returning from Arizona, the hustle and bustle of our normal lives quickly returned. Elizabeth jumped back into school, and Ryan returned to work after almost a month off. The girls finished off their soccer and T-ball seasons. Casey continued to impress his speech therapist and gymnastics teacher. I caught up on work for my regular job, plus work for the BAMC Auxiliary, and threw a "Winter Party" for Elizabeth's Kindergarten class. Ava chickened out of our church's Christmas Pageant, but Elizabeth participated as an angel, waving at us in the audience the whole time she was on stage. Gifts were bought, wrapped, and shipped. Any hopes I had of finishing some sewing projects in time for Christmas quickly went out the window. At least, there is still hope of getting them done in time for birthdays and other holidays. I made a pathetic attempt at decorating the house for Christmas. The kids kept asking where our outside lights were, but at 8 months pregnant I really didn't feel like climbing a ladder to hang them. As part of our yearly tradition, we bought our tree at half off a few days before Christmas. The kids enjoyed doing the decorating this year. However, I wasn't sure if some of the branches were going to support the weight of a dozen ornaments, and nothing was hung above 44".

I think it looked great! No San Antonio tree would be complete without a "Go Spurs" sign. I almost forgot to mention that Elizabeth took Ryan to a Spurs game in December, since she had earned some free tickets for selling cookie dough as part of her school's fundraiser. She still loves the Bengals, but she is now a die hard Spurs fan. At least one team has a winning track record.

Ryan had to work on Christmas Day, so we woke the kids up at 5am to celebrate before he went to work. It didn't take long for the kids to rub the sleep out of their eyes, and behold all the goodies that Santa had brought. Ryan bought the family a video camera for Christmas, so we have lots of video of footage of the kids on Christmas morning, but we forgot to take any regular photos. You will have to take my word for it that there were lots of excited squeals, laughs, happy faces, and joy. Not to mention a mountain of paper and boxes all over the place. The Black Friday Powerwheels was a huge hit. Casey immediately claimed it as "his" and spent all of Christmas day loading and unloading "his" truck with all his new gifts. However, he isn't a very good driver, so at least he will let his sisters help out in that department. Ryan took off the week between Christmas and New Years and I worked half days. He and the kids made it to one of the missions here in San Antonio. Together, we took the kids to Sea World to see the holiday animal shows and the girls were big enough to ride a few rides. We also had a chance to get together with the Crittenden family who made the trek from DC to Austin for the holidays. It was great to hang out with my best friend, Crystal, and I always enjoy seeing our girls play together. New Year's Eve was a quiet celebration with neighbors, however heard it did get rowdier after I went to bed. At least I made it to midnight this year which was better than I did last year. Overall, I think we all survived the month of December without too much stress or strain. It really was a quiet and calm holiday season.

Sedona, AZ

In December after numerous trips where at least one family member was missing, we finally escaped San Antonio for a family vacation. We were invited to join in the celebration of my grandfather's 88th birthday. When you turn 88 you can have your birthday wherever you want, and he chose the beautifully red rocks of Sedona, AZ. Casey was very impressed with the massive rock formations on our drive in and appropriately "oohed and aahed." However, Elizabeth's response was "they are just rocks" along with an eye roll, such attitude from a 5 going on 6 year old. Our week in AZ gave us plenty of time to explore a lot of what Sedona had to offer. Not only are the red rock formations gorgeous, we also enjoyed exploring Sedona's majestic canyons.

The kids even got to experience a little ice and snow. Plus, Ryan managed to dunk Casey's leg in the freezing cold creek. During the week, Elizabeth did learn to appreciate the beauty of nature. While Casey, Ava, and I went with Grandpa and Miss Linda to an old mining town, Ryan took Elizabeth on a hike to the top of Cathedral Rock. It was a long and challenging hike for her, but the views were spectacular.One of the highlights of our time in AZ was visit to the Grand Canyon. I had been there as a teenager, but it was wonderful to return and share it with my own family. Tightly clasping children's hands, we ventured about a mile down into the canyon, but even from that vantage point it tough to grasp the magnitude of this wonder.

Overall, it was a wonderful week that brought together four generations of family for adventure, fellowship, and celebration.

The oldest, Opa (88), and the youngest, Casey (2).

Who am I?

If you guessed Ava, you would be wrong. However, I can't fault you because she looks strikingly similar to my paternal grandmother, Eva.

Thanksgiving

No pictures but lots of memories. My mom, Grammy, joined us for 5 days over the Thanksgiving Holiday. She easily adapted to our crazy life, starting off with picking the kids up early from day care and dragging them to the clinic to get their annual shots. Eight shots between the three kids, however Ava ended up with 5 of them. On Wednesday, I convinced my mom that she would have plenty of time to visit with the kids over the next few days and that we should drop them off at daycare and have a grown-up day. We took a road trip up to the quaint town (and birth place of Admiral Nimitz) of Fredericksburg, TX to pick up some fudge, Christmas wine, and do some window shopping and lunch. I had a really nice time away from work and the kids. I think my mom enjoyed it as well. Thursday was full of feasting. Ryan's stepmother, Gerlyn, hosted the whole family again at her place. I have to say that I have gotten off easy the past few years. I have not made a turkey, ham, pie, or other holiday dish since moving to Texas. The kids kept my mom entertained with "watch this," "come see this," "please, help with this," "read this," "come play," and so on and so forth. We were stuffed and exhausted by the end of the day. For the first time ever, I awoke at 2am on Friday morning to partake in a Black Friday Deal. Leaving the rest of the family in bed, I put on a couple of layers of warm clothes to stand in line at the H-E-B Plus (similar to Walmart) for the next couple of hours. Other than a cold front coming through and it being 44 degrees, it wasn't too bad. I met some nice people, didn't get trampled, got a great deal on a X-mas present for the kids, and was back in bed by 4:30am. After sleeping in for a few extra hours, I rejoined the world of the living and went with my mom and the girls to see the movie Tangled. It was a cute flick, but I was more impressed that Ava sat still for an entire movie. I don't think I have ever seen her sit still for more than 20 minutes prior to this event. Saturday came too soon, and it was time to put my mom back on the plane. The kids were already to go with her, and I would have gladly shipped them off for a week. Perhaps in the future.

Wet and Wild Wedding Weekend

This past weekend, Ava and I had the honor of attending the wedding of one of my oldest and dearest friends. Siusan and Lee got married on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I had never been to those islands before, but I love NC beaches. This one did not disappoint. Since it is off season, it reminded me of our own quiet beach of North Topsail Island, about 200 miles south. Siusan rented a 10 bedroom beach house for friends and family to stay. It was great to have everyone at the same place and allowed for a continuous stream of festivities. Starting with dinner the night before the wedding and then rolling into small ceremony on the beach bright and early in the morning followed a pancake breakfast and BBQ lunch. The weather was great for November, and the bride and groom ended up with a day that was 65 degrees, sunny, and no wind.

Siusan and Lee were the only ones crazy enough to actually go in the water (which was about the same temperature as the air), as they did a "trash the dress" photo shoot later on their wedding day. I am sure there will be some awesome photos. Ava had a blast over the weekend, and I enjoyed her company. She thought it was pretty special to take a trip with just mom. Elizabeth got to do a business/leisure trip with me about 18 months ago, so Ava was excited that it was her turn. Plus, she had been asking about going to the beach since the beginning of summer.

As I mentioned before, it was a bit cool to go in the water but that didn't stop her from making her own fun on the beach. There were a couple of other little girls in her age group for her to play with, and I really didn't see her all weekend other than when she wanted another cupcake.

Note the devilish grin, this girl peppered me with questions non stop while we were traveling. I never knew she had so much to say, but she managed to question me to death through 8 hours of travel time on each end of the trip.

Go Lizzy Go!

Today was the day of the elementary school bike rodeo. This was the day that we have been practicing for these past few months. Today was her big debut of two wheel riding in front of friends, classmates, teachers, and family. It turned out that she was just one of a few kindergartners that had shed their training wheels.

It was a competition of speed and skill. I was so proud to watch her navigate her bike through the course. I am not sure how the scoring worked or how you can score a kid on training wheels higher than a kid without, but Elizabeth won 3rd place overall out of the six or seven Kinder classes. She was just awesome, and was so excited to win a prize. I hope it sinks in that hard work and practice can really pay off.

YEAH FOR FALL!

I am sure I am speaking too soon, but the past week of cooler weather has led me to declare FALL. The acorns are falling off the trees and the kids have needed coat/sweaters a couple of mornings. Ryan is baking pies, and I put all of the kids shorts away. I did leave out their t-shirts, since I have pictures of the kids playing a leaf pile in January, wearing shorts and t-shirts.

Happy Halloween

Well, I let the kids pick out their costumes this year. The only rule was that they had to lock in their choices two weeks out. Still I procrastinated and didn't start sewing until the week of Halloween.

Casey might have gotten a little short changed. All I made him was the vest, everything else was part of is every day wardrobe. Yes, even the hat. He likes to wear it to school daily.

After paging through the Wish Craft catalog, Elizabeth narrowed her choices down to vampire or rock star. I am kind of glad she went with rock star. I enjoyed sewing it, and she completely rocked her costume. However, she keeps asking me when she can wear it to school. I don't think so, honey. Well, maybe just the jacket...it is reversible.

Ava's inspiration was the cupcake costume in the Pottery Barn catalog, but there is no way I am spending $60 on a costume. Materials only ran me a few bucks, but it did cost me three nights of limited sleep. This is my favorite costume this year, and I think Ava looks super sweet.

Pumpkin Patch or Fair Grounds

It is October, so you take your kids to the Pumpkin Patch. Right? However, I am not even sure they grow pumpkins in Texas. Funny thing is that the Pumpkin Patch was at a Christmas Tree farm about an hour outside of San Antonio. We saw no patch, just pre-picked pumpkins set out for sale, but they had lots of activities for the kids to do. Which is good because they charge $8 per person to visit. I am really glad that I had a coupon for half off and two free ice cream cones, otherwise it would have been a very expensive day out for a family of five.

Elizabeth started with "dress a scarecrow."

We moved onto a little fishing. Ava was the only one who caught anything.

The kids also did some bike races, took a tractor ride through the Christmas tree farm, ran throught the hay maze, and checked out the farm animals.

Some relief from the heat. So much for fall weather, I think it was about 90 degrees.

The kids had a blast and wanted to stay twice as long as we did, but it was super hot and we had to get Ryan home to work that night.

P.S. We did get a little family of mini-pumpkins.

Sports Season

Now that it is no longer over 90 degrees everyday, sports are in full swing. Ava opted to play T-ball again, Elizabeth wanted to try soccer, and with Casey in gymnastics, I am a crazy fool. We are on the go 4 days a week for the next couple of months. I will keep you posted on how their seasons go.

Annual Pilgrimage

Some folks go to Disney World, we go to Kiddie Park, a small, local, miniature amusement park filled with rides from the 1920's. We went here last year, and decided it was definitely worth another visit before leaving San Antonio.

The weather was gorgeous and our neighbors with their little girl came with us. It was a great morning, and Kiddie Park probably ranks higher than McDonald's Playland on the kids' list of favorite activities.

Ridden not less than a half dozen time, the school bus remains a favorite.

This ride makes my head spin, but the girls love it.

The funniest thing was hearing all three girls talking about who was going to get to ride in the one and only pink car, and then watching Casey shoot through the open gate, sprint around the track, and jump in the pink car-claiming it for himself.

Government Canyon State Park

I had to work on Columbus Day, but Ryan and the kids had the day off so they decided to explore Government Canyon State Park about a 30-45 minute drive from San Antonio. Ryan tried to take the girls a few weeks ago, only to find out the park is closed mid week. This time they met with success and hike a good six miles through the park. Little Casey even made it the whole way, but I did hear that he was begging to be carried the last mile. Not bad for a little guy. We are officially stroller/back pack free for a few more months.

The adventure begins.

Rest stop.

After some lunch.

Little pet frog. The long walk home. I wish I could have joined them. It looked like a fun day.

After hours

After putting Casey to bed for the evening, I went about putting the girls to bed and cleaning up the house. After about 30 minutes, I went to check on all the kids, and this is what I found. Casey had climbed out bed and onto his dresser. Then, he turned on the lights and opened up a tube of diaper cream which he then proceeded to apply liberally to his legs (and a bit on his face). When I asked him what he was doing, he told me he was fixing his "owies."

Where did he learn this behavior you ask? Bugs love Ava and often leave her with lots of itchy bites all over her legs, for which I will apply Cortisone cream to sooth the itch.

It all makes sense now.

Cortisone cream for bug bites.

Diaper cream for scrapes and bruises.

No one can steal MY Boots!

If I forgot to tell you...

Ryan and I are conducting a little scientific experiment on a person's sanity limits. Baby #4 will be joining our wild crew in February. Casey and the girls will have a new little brother to torture.

We thought it was a better idea than a puppy.

Great day to be a kid

Adventures in Texas

Temperatures were actually moderate on Saturday (mid 80's) and Ryan had some time off, so we decided to venture into the Texas hill country to do some exploring. Our first stop was Hamilton Springs. The kids took off running the moment the car doors opened.

Casey was a wild man, jumping off of rocks and running down steep paths. Luckily, he made it through the day unscathed.

Hamilton Springs has two main attractions. The first is the springs which consists of a waterfall and a swimming hole. The second is the river that the springs feed into about 3/4 of mile away.

After a snack break and some play time at the river it started to rain, so we figured it was a good time to hike back to the car and move onto our next destination. The sky cleared up within the hour, perfect timing as we had just arrived at Pedernales Falls State Park. Here we enjoyed scampering over the rocks and admiring the falls for the next few hours. Unfortunately, it is to dangerous to swim in this section of the river, even during low water conditions.

We even attempted a family photo.

The kids were wiped by the end of the day, but they had a great time. It was pretty cute to hear the girls thank us for taking them on such a fun outing.