One year ago today....

A little update...

As usual, I post nothing for weeks, then go on a posting spree. So, here's our most recent update....

Let's see...we spent a week or so recovering from our trip. Can anyone say LAUNDRY?? Other than that, we've been working in the yard a lot. We added a few flower beds in the back and got new sod to replace the grass that was torn up from the Bobcat during playscape construction. We also have our vegetable garden all set up -- we just have to add the plants! We hope to do that in the next couple of days....

We've also been hanging out a lot with friends. This week, we went on a spontaneous outing with some friends to the outlet stores in San Marcos. It was much more successful than you'd imagine, considering between the two families, we had six kids! (two 7 year olds, two 3 year olds, and two babies) I hadn't realized just how many of us there were until we went to eat at a restaurant and required a *huge* booth -- just because of all the kids! We have also been to a birthday party, book club, had a couple of playdates, and had some friends over for dinner. And I've been busy getting ready for Griffin's first birthday!

As far as homeschooling, we've been slow getting back in the swing of things. Avery has been reading a lot, especially biographies. She particularly enjoyed ones she read about Helen Keller and the gymnast Dominique Moceaneau. She also has been reading some books about Australia in preparation for our next World Explorers meeting, and as always, she's reading several novels at a time. Also, our yard and garden work was to get us prepared for our spring focus: gardening. The kids are very excited about the vegetable garden -- even Rhys! (Interesting, since he wouldn't touch a vegetable on his plate with a ten foot pole!)

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Last Saturday, Avery had her first Show Team performance. She got to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade down Congress Ave! It was a rainy day, so the crowd was thin, but Avery still loved performing. The group walked in rows, waving to the crowd and doing cartwheels and roundoffs. Rhys loved the fact that we walked along with the girls, and Griffin did ok too (he eventually fell asleep in the sling). Avery is very much looking forward to the next performance -- and we're all hoping her uniform will be in by then!

Take Apart Day

Today at co-op, we had Take Apart Day. The kids were each given screwdrivers, safety goggles, and an array of broken electronics and appliances to take apart. Avery worked with her friends Maya and Ben to take apart a DVD player. I was suprised at how much Avery was into it! They worked very intently to completely deconstruct the DVD player. Rhys watched them a little, then he and I worked together to take apart a cordless phone. Since we've been home, he's been carrying his tools around in his pockets...hopefully he doesn't get any big ideas and start taking apart our *working* appliances!

Monkey Man!

Griffin is on the move. His specialty is not horizontal motion, it's vertical. The boy is a climber! Yesterday I was folding laundry, and in the minute it took for me to fold two towels, he crawled into the bathroom and attempted to climb up on the bathroom counter! I found him on top of the toilet, with one foot on the tank, and one trying to get balanced on the toilet paper roll. Eeeeek! He also climbs on the train table every chance he gets and has also succeeded in climbing on the couch, the bookcase, and the end table. I have a feeling I'm going to get into very good shape just by chasing him!

Colonial Williamsburg and Washington DC

I'm a little late with this post, but better late than never, right?!

At the beginning of March, we went on vacation to Colonial Williamsburg and Washington DC. We had a fabulous time! The flights went much better than we expected, and Griffin was truly on his best behavior for the whole trip.

We all loved Williamsburg, but Avery found it particularly fascinating. We bought her a colonial dress right off the bat, complete with a sash and bonnet, so she could really feel like a colonial girl. We all loved seeing all the sights, but Griffin's favorite part was seeing some horses pulling a wagon (ruff, ruff!!). We were so lucky to have such beautiful weather in Williamsburg. It was in the low 70s and sunny -- perfect for us cold weather wimps!

We were less lucky with the weather in DC. It was C-O-L-D! And it was a little longer walk from our hotel to the metro than we expected. But, still, we had a great time. (I think the highlight of the entire trip for Rhys was the many forms of public transportation -- planes, trains, cab, AND bus!) We took the Tourmobile to see all the major sites, and we spent a lot of time at the Smithsonian museums. We went to the American History Museum, Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, Hirshorn Art Museum, and the National Gallery. We were lucky enough to be at the National Gallery during a Cezanne exhibit! That was great.

Griffin, 11 months

Griffin has been a busy boy! He got 4 teeth in the past week and learned two new words! In addition to Mama, ruff ruff, and meow, Griffin has started saying, "Biiiii" for Bill (so much for Dada!), and today he pointed at my eye and said, "eye". I was so suprised! As if that wasn't enough, he took a couple of steps! I'm not sure that he really meant to do it, because he seemed surprised when we made a fuss over him. But he'll definitely be walking soon! Why must babies grow so fast?!!

We all live in a....

Girl submarine, a girl submarine, a girl submarine!

--Yellow Submarine song lyrics, according to Rhys