TEN!!

I can hardly believe my baby girl turned ten today. Double digits! Wow!

In lieu of a party or big present, Avery and I went with her best friend Maya (whose birthday is the day after Avery's) and Maya's mom to see Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy at the Long Center. The show was fantastic! We were both amazed and a little nauseated by the acrobats. After the show, we took the girls for pizza at Mangia's.





Then last night, we had Papa, Ronnie, Nonnie, Poppie, Maya, and Benjamin come over for pizza and cake.



Maya and Benja stayed for a sleepover, and the kids had great fun watching movies, jumping on the trampoline, and playing. They woke up to Dunkin Donuts this morning, and Avery had a pretty steady stream of calls and visitors all day. She's a pretty lucky girl to have so many people that love her!

Finished!

Almost nine months behind schedule, I finally finished Griffin's 3rd birthday quilt. It has been about an hour of work away from being finished since his birthday, but I just couldn't get motivated to finish it. Part of my procrastination could be traced to Griffin's attitude toward the quilt. "I don't want it" and "I don't like it" has been his mantra since I unveiled it at his birthday. (Aren't three-year-olds adorable?) Well, he doesn't hate the finished product, and even though he'd never admit to it, he seems to enjoy sleeping with it. I'm happy with the way it turned out too and proud that I finally finished my first quilt!

Chuy's Parade

The Chuy's Parade is one of our favorite annual Austin events. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, the we always get up early and head downtown to get a good spot on the parade route. Well, this year, Griffin threw a wrench in the whole plan. We've been having trouble getting him to get dressed to leave the house, and parade day was no exception. He flat-out refused to put on his clothing, even with the parade held as a carrot to encourage him to dress. We lost a lot of time in negotiations with him and, in the end, just threw him in the car in his pajamas and grabbed some extra clothes. Long story short, the sight of the excited children waiting for the parade was enough to entice him to get dressed and leave the car, but by the time we made it down to Congress, the parade was starting. Needless to say, we didn't manage to procure a prime spot. It's hard to see much when you're a kid stuck behind several rows of ADULTS in chairs. So our parade enjoyment was hampered. We watched for a while, then donated our toys and headed out to eat lunch. Too bad, but hopefully Griffin will cooperate a little better next year. That, or we'll start dressing him the night before!

Crazy kids

San Antonio Getaway

We are all very proud of Bill, who got a promotion last month. He is finally, for the first time in almost eight years, working a normal Monday through Friday work week! As if that wasn't enough, he was given a week off before transitioning to the new job. We felt like we'd won the lottery! We took advantage of his free vacation and we spent a couple of days in San Antonio with Mamar and Doc. We played and shopped on the Riverwalk, swam at the indoor pool at the hotel, ate yummy Mexican food, and visited the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch on the way home.

Waco Zoo revisited (again!)

In mid-November, we visited the Waco Zoo again. We love that zoo...it's just the perfect size and it's never crowded. The November afternoon we picked was the perfect time to go -- beautiful weather, gorgeous fall color, and we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves.

The leaves, the leaves! (And the bright blue sky was nice too.)


Admiring the animals...


And playing on the playground.

Study hall

A couple of weeks ago, we took our turn to host a little study hall day here. I have to admit, I was nervous. Some days homeschooling with three kids is trying...the thought of doing it with eight kids was a little unnerving. Well, I needn't be concerned -- it was a terrific day! The kids all studied diligently, finished their work, played, and even had a little impromptu music practice.

Fall Ball Tournament

The weekend after Halloween, Rhys's t-ball team had their end-of-season tournament. The team did really well and ended up winning second place. Go Astros!

And one more...

...for posterity:



I think the kids -- well at least Avery and Rhys -- will remember election night for a long time. We went to watch the returns with friends, and the kids stayed up to watch Obama's acceptance speech. They were very excited, and although I'm not sure they fully grasp the historic nature of this election, I'm glad they got to witness it. Yes, we did!

Halloween

This year, the kids had three different Halloween events. First, we went to the country club with Dad and Ronnie for their Halloween party and hayride through the golf course. Then we had a fabulous party on Halloween morning with friends. The kids ate pizza and goodies and played for hours. Then, that night, we went Trick-or-treating.

Griffin was very excited about Halloween this year. He had very definite ideas about his costume, and requested that I make him an Underdog costume. I got him a cape and made him an Underdog shirt and the cutest doggie ears you've ever seen. I also got some face paint to paint his little nose black. I'm sharing all the details, because I don't have a photo. Why, you ask? Because, after all the effort that went into making the costume, he flat-out refused to wear it. In typical three-year-old fashion, he wouldn't even try it on! So, last minute, we ended up digging through the dress up box and he chose to wear a Native American costume. *sigh*

Joan of Arc, Racer X, and a naughty little Native American:

Hello!

Wow, I've gotten really behind, which Avery has been happy to point that out every day. Life has been very busy lately. Good, but busy. I'll go ahead and post a whirlwind recap of what we've been doing the past month or so....

Avery's Costume Recital

Today was Avery's first recital since starting violin lessons in July. The kids all wore costumes, and Avery dressed as Joan of Arc. Avery had her own cheering section with the four of us plus Papa and Ronnie there to watch. Avery has been working really hard to prepare for the recital, and I think I've heard her practice her recital piece about a billion times in the past few weeks. Her hard work paid off -- she did a wonderful job. We're very proud of her!

Barack the vote!

Avery and Rhys have become very interested in the political process. Even Griffin can recognize and point out Obama yard signs (although he does not fully understand, since he asked me yesterday if "Obama" was a store!). Rhys is very aware of who the different candidates are and who Bill and I are supporting. But Avery has really gotten more involved this election cycle. Not only does she know information about the candidates, but she has started to explore some of the major issues and form her own opinion. (She seems to be a fan of "fair tax", but environmental issues are what seem to resonate most with her.) She watched two of the presidential debates and the vice presidential debate, and she's very serious about her support for Barack Obama.

This week, she and I went with a few friends to put out voting and candidate signs for the Democratic Party. We started at about 8:30pm, and weren't finished until well after midnight. She hung in there the whole time, and she was very excited to be contributing. She and Rhys also went with us to vote, and I know she was sorry she couldn't do that too!

A day at the dump

A couple of weeks ago, Bill took the kids to Homeschool Day at the landfill. I wasn't too distraught that I had to work and miss a trip to the dump, but it turned out to be a fantastic time. Apparently this wasn't just any landfill. This landfill doubles as an exotic game preserve. Yes, that's right. Giraffes, ostriches, and buffalo at the dump. Makes perfect sense, right?

First, the kids listened to presentations about recycling and managing the landfill. Then they took a bus ride around the facility, where they got to see the recycling centers, composting center, huge machinery, and the huge hole they're digging for the new landfill.





On the bus ride they saw tons of different animals. A buffalo even ran right along the bus, next Griffin's window.



But the highlight of the day was feeding and petting a giraffe.





(And I just like this picture....)

What a week!

You know those weeks when you check your calendar on Sunday and you wonder what on earth you were thinking when you made the week's commitments? This week was one of those. After hyperventilating and working out logistics with other mamas that share my compulsion to overschedule, we embarked on a whirlwind week.

Monday was our warm up day. Bill and I dropped the kids off at a friend's house, where they did schoolwork as a group. I was amazed to find that the kids actually got all of their work accomplished and had a blast doing so. And the mom in charge survived the eight children in her care and lived to tell about it! In fact, she even let them bake their own cakes (without a recipe) and have a chocolate fest. During the time that this wonderful friend was sacrificing her sanity (and kitchen), Bill and I were free to go on a date! We started off by going fabric shopping for Halloween costumes, then we went to a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. It was such a lovely day! Then we ended the day with the last of Avery's new member classes for the 4H Dog Club.

On Tuesday, I headed off to work in the morning, leaving Bill to handle school work with the kids. After lunch, I went to a Homeschooling for College seminar, which was both very helpful and very overwhelming. Meanwhile, Bill took the kids to violin. Unfortunately for the disappointed kids, tennis and t-ball were both rained out.

Wednesday began with school work in the morning for the kids and me, while Bill went to the doctor. After lunch, I dropped Avery off at a friend's house for a Mystery Party, in which one overachieving mama plans out a "mystery" for the kids to solve using both logic and science. Since this was an older kid only activity, those of us with youngers met at the discount movie theater to see Wall-E. Afterwards, all the littles (six wild and rowdy boys) came over to play while the mystery was unraveled. Avery spent the night at a friend's house, and Rhys had a friend sleep over here.

On Thursday, Avery went to a water and rafting class with the LCRA at McKinney Roughs. Unfortunately, it was less than successful due to some rowdy kids and blase adults. Meanwhile, Rhys, Griffin, and I played at the park with friends, then took Ollie to the vet and to run some errands. Avery came home late Thursday, and we all piled back in the car to go to the monthly dog club meeting.

Friday began with a flurry of lunch making and readying children (I so would not survive getting my kids off to school every day), then a mad dash to Fencing/Art/Logic classes. After the classes and lunch, we spent the afternoon at park day.

Whew. I'm glad we all survived the week, and I sure hope next week is more sane!

Book Club at the ranch

Last week we had book club out at our friends' ranch in Copeland. The kids did something different this time -- instead of reading fiction and discussing, they each researched an animal, plant, or insect that is native to Texas. When we met, the kids each gave a mini-presentation, then the group went on a search to find the living things they discussed. Avery researched monarch butterflies, and Rhys learned about honeybees.

They all had such a nice time tromping around the fields, but the highlight was visiting with Star, the world's friendliest duck.

Baking pumpkin bread

Overheard...

As we drove by a pumpkin patch, this conversation took place between Rhys and Griffin in the backseat:

Rhys: Look! We need to go there and get a pumpkin!
Griffin: To cut up and put fire in it and put it in the grass?
Rhys: No, to put on our porch.
Griffin: To fight away the ghostses?
Rhys: No, just to look good. Plus, if you punched it in the mouth, you're hand would get fire on it. And you would die.
Griffin: Ooooooh.

Fall Ball

This fall, Rhys is playing t-ball for the Astros. It has been a wonderful experience, mostly thanks to a really organized team and fantastic coach. Rhys is loving it and wants to practice constantly. He's a great little fielder, and I'm amazed that he's really learned where to throw the ball to make plays. He's been playing lots of short stop and second base, as well as spending some time at pitcher and first base. His favorite, though, is batting.

Dinoland

This month, our Nature Club outing was to Dinoland, an exhibit currently on display at the Botanical Gardens. Throughout the gardens, you could find dinosaur models hidden in the greenery. Pretty neat!

The 39 Clues

A few weeks ago, we went with some friends to the release party of Rick Riordan's newest book. The kids are huge fans of his, thanks to his fantastic series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. His new book, The 39 Clues, is the first in a new series of books put out by Scholastic. The kids had a blast at the release party, despite the fact that they weren't already well-versed on the book (or accompanying website/game). Avery devoured the book within the first couple of hours, and Rhys has been enjoying it as a read-aloud.

Published

Avery has been writing reviews for a while for ReaderViews, and one was recently picked up by the Chicago-area paper, The Southtown Star. You can see it here.

Lost tooth!

Also when we were in Florida, Rhys lost his first tooth!