San Antonio

This week we spent a couple of days in San Antonio. We left on Wednesday early in the morning. We went to the the Witte Museum, which has a kids' science area. It was ok, but kind of small, and several of the hands-on exhibits were broken. We were disappointed in that, plus we're spoiled by the science museum in Fort Worth. That one is so far superior. The kids still had fun, though. I was a bit whiny, though, thanks to the 100 degree temperatures and the billions of mosquito bites I got by the river.







After the Witte, we went to the Riverwalk to walk around and eat lunch. Every time we go, we get our hopes up about eating really, really good Mexican food. And every time, we're disappointed. The food we ate was fine, but it wasn't nearly as good as our regular Mexican food places at home. It's strange - you'd think they'd have the best in San Antonio! Oh, well...the ambiance at the Riverwalk is 90% of the experience.








After the Riverwalk, we went to our hotel. After we checked in and got settled, we took the kids swimming in the hotel pool. That very well may have been the highlight of the whole trip for them. They're both such fish!




The next morning, we woke up early and went to Sea World for Homeschool Day. This was our third year going. Unlike previous years, it was almost a ghost town! The threat of Hurricane Rita had kept people at home - or changed people's plans from recreation to evacuation. It was nice to have such a small crowd, but all of our friends stayed home to avoid the evacuee traffic. That was a bummer, especially for Avery.

Rhys seemed to enjoy Sea World, even though he was disappointed a few times. He was very excited about feeding the dolphins before we got there, but once it was time, he was too nervous. I could tell he was pretty disappointed with himself. Poor little guy! Then, we went to see the sea lions, and he was very upset to find out that sea lions weren't real lions. I didn't realized he was confused about that, but when we said, "Rhys, look at the sea lions!" he got very upset, and said insistently, "Those aren't lions!!" But, he did have the courage to feed them, so that was a small victory. He really liked seeing the penguins, sharks, and whales.

We actually ended up leaving before the last show. We were just feeling too sorry for Griffin because it was so miserably hot after lunchtime. Plus, Bill, Avery, and I were all sneezing our heads off because of allergies. All that beautiful landscaping was torturing us!

When I read over what I've written, it doesn't sound like a very good trip. But it really was a success! We were just so glad that the night in the hotel went ok with all three kids, that we were thrilled! I think we'll be brave enough to take another trip soon....

From the mouths of babes...

Yesterday, Avery and Rhys were playing, and Rhys turned to me and said, "Avery is very bossy." Truer words were never spoken....

Rhys speaks very well for a 3 year old, but there are a few words that we hope he never learns to say the right way. Our two favorites are "der" and "yours". As in Can I have der yellow crayon? and Daddy, put on yours glasses. (He's obsessed with Bill wearing his glasses.)

Oh, and speaking of obsessions, the boy is infatuated with his tennis shoes. He refuses to wear anything else. Can I express just how sick I am of putting on his socks and shoes 49454982943 times a day?

Queen of books

That's Avery's new title. She's never anywhere without a book now. There seems to be one permanently attached to her arm. I've finally allowed her to read the Harry Potter books (all but the last, because it's too scary), and it's only taken her a matter of weeks to read all five books. The last one was over 800 pages!

We went to Half Price Books this weekend and bought a ton of new chapter books. 17 to be exact. I know because Avery has catalogued them all in a spiral in her room. I'm hoping these will keep her busy enough to stop her from bugging me about reading Harry #6, but I'm not holding my breath....

Griffin, 5.5 months

The Thinker

Nudie boy

Grins

Just a baby now...

Tonight I was rocking and nursing Griffin at bedtime and Rhys was listening to a Joe McDermott CD. For those that aren't up on kids' music, Joe is a goofy, local musician. The song Great, Big World came on. You really don't expect a silly kids' CD to provide any deep, life meaning. But I guess you never know what will remind you of how precious and fleeting these days are....

You’re just a baby now
Sleeping in your mamas arm
Someday you’ll be walking
And talking and running
And wanting to know everything

I know it’s going to happen to you
It happened to me

There are birds in the back yard
A crafty cat, and a friendly dog
So much to learn about
A big blue sky
A garden, trees to climb

So much to learn about
But you wont have to learn alone

CHORUS:
Some day I’m gonna hold your little hand
Walk around this great big world

BRIDGE:
There are bugs that bite, flies that light
Moon at night it’s a great big world
There are rainy days, sunny days,
Snow and wind and clouds in the sky

You’re just a baby now
Swinging from your daddy’s arm
Some day you’ll wear real clothes
We’ll play all day, we’ll walk out our front door
Into the mysterious world
Where everything’s new again

Mmmm...toes!

Body Art

After the Cathedral of Junk, we stopped at the Museum of Art for Family Fun Day. We saw an exhibit of local artists that was really great. Rhys, in particular, was very impressed with a couple of different installations on exhibit there. The kids also got to make their own sculptures out of tennis balls, but that didn't go so well. Not surprisingly, a tennis ball isn't the best medium for adhering things. Tennis balls were chosen for the project to show that art can be made out of anything, but the project really missed its mark. Oh, well. It was still fun to get messy and gluey.

Before we left, we bought some body crayons at the gift shop. I cheaped out and bought the $5 instead of the $15 ones, and I sure regretted it. The kids had a blast decorating themselves, but the crayons were really hard to use and faded quickly. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to splurge next time.

Cathedral of Junk, take two!

Last Saturday we finally got to see the Cathedral of Junk. Boy, was it worth it to drive all the way to St. Elmo's twice! It was absolutely amazing. I never realized junk could be so beautiful.

Bowling

Last week, we took the kids bowling. We hadn't been in ages! I admit to being the world's worst bowler, but it's still fun. The kids bowled with the bumpers up, and I wished they'd let me do the same. ;-) Rhys thought bowling was fabulous. After everyone else's turn, he'd start jumping up and down and saying, "My turn, MY TURN!!!!" He couldn't quite grasp the fact that we each got two tries before it was his turn again.

Mom, the curse worked

So you know the stand-up routine "Bill Cosby: Himself"? (I hope so, as it's the greatest comedic performance ever.) You know the part where he talks about parents cursing their children by saying, "I hope you have children to grow up just like you?" Well...thanks, Mom. I have been cursed.

Tonight, as I was settling Avery into her room for the night, I made the mistake of looking under her bed for a book. Not only could I not see a book, but I couldn't see anything amidst the rubble. It was astounding. Toys, clothes, crumpled paper, dried markers, and empty cups as far as the eye could see. I let out a little gasp, then opened one of her desk drawers. I guess I should say attempted to open. I needed the Jaws of Life to pull those suckers out. They were too crammed full of books, paper, CDs, trash, dolls, and who knows what else. Whimper. Then, a glimpse into her closet revealed a mountain of clothes off their hangers and toys scattered everywhere. Ugh. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....

Signed,
A semi-reformed slob

Ack!

How did I get so far behind?! Things have been insanely busy lately. We've been up to our normal stuff: gymnastics, co-op, playdates, appointments, etc, with some extra commitments thrown in. We finally made it to the Cathedral of Junk last week, and I volunteered at the Humane Society answering phones for the Hurricane Hotline. We've also been getting ready for the Homeschooling Kids Who Care yard sale benefiting Hurricane Katrina victims. Oh, and next week we're planning a little getaway to San Antonio. Whew! No wonder I'm behind with my entries!

Hello, 1st grade!

Today was the first "official" day of first grade for Avery. I changed things up this year, and our new schedule seems to be working well. (Of course, that all might be different in a few weeks!) Avery is able to do more on her own this year, which makes things much easier with the two little ones. I did have to deviate a little from the schedule today, though. Instead of doing a craft like I had planned, we went to HEB to donate diapers, water, granola bars, and peanut butter to the hurricane survivors. Avery was so sweet; she wanted to donate $20 of her own money to the efforts. They weren't taking monetary donations there, so we'll find a place this weekend where she can give them her money. What a generous girl!

Playing ball

Today I helped Griffin play ball with Rhys. Rhys would roll the ball to us, and I'd help Griffin "catch" it. Griffin thought it was the funniest thing ever, and of course the kids thought it was hysterical to hear Griffin laughing so hard.




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World Explorers

On Thursday, we had the first meeting of our World Explorers group. It's a cultural group that gets together once a month to eat food from a particular country and share a project or artifact from the culture. This month, we studied England. We had a feast of bangers and mash, shortbread, sandwiches (a la "The Earl of Sandwich"), summer pudding, scones, and hot tea. We brought scones. Avery did her project on Elizabethan costumes. She drew a picture of Queen Elizabeth (Quen Alzbth in Avery's invented spelling) and a man wearing an Elizabethan costume. I was surprised at how attentively the kids listened to each others' presentations. Next month is China. Avery's excited because she loves learning about Chinese culture. I'm just excited about the food! ;-)