Round Rock Express

Mela

On Saturday, Avery went with a friend to an Indian fest at Barsana Dham. She came home overflowing with stories of all the neat things they saw and experienced. The friend's mom was sweet enough to send some pictures. It looks like something we'll all be going to next year!

Spring Recital

Sunday was Avery's spring violin recital. She played Handel's Bouree. It was amazing to see how much she's improved since her last recital at Halloween. She really loves the violin; it seems that she's found a real passion.

Wildflower Center

Today the kids and I, joined by Aunt Linah, spent a beautiful afternoon at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. We're a couple of weeks later than I would have liked, but the wildflowers are still very much in bloom. We had a lovely time exploring and hiking until everyone was hot and tired and took a break to rest and sketch.

Naptime

The dog is actually not supposed to be on the couch, but who can get mad when he's cuddled up with The Lady? I mean, their legs are actually intertwined.

Sense of smell

Another amusing conversation:

Rhys: I think I know why the dogs bark at the front door when nobody's there.
Me: You do?
Rhys: Yes. It's because they can smell humans from far away. They have a much better sense of smell than humans.
Me: That's true.
Griffin, interjecting: Hey, I smell Wii!

Easter '09

We had a bit of a non-traditional Easter this year. Normally we wake up early in the morning, hunt for eggs outside, then we spend the afternoon with family or friends. This year was different -- but hopefully not the start of a new tradition. Since our family has been plagued with...well...some sort of plague for the past week or so, we have been quarantined. We've been falling like dominoes for 10 days now, and Bill is the only one untouched. Coughing, sneezing, wheezing...that is the sound of our family's Easter. Blech!

We still had an egg hunt for the kids, but because it was storming outside, we had it in the house. The kids still traded and sampled candy, but without the typical fervor.



Although Rhys can always be counted on to lighten the mood.


Bill and I made an Easter lunch, while the kids curled up on the couch with new books. We very much missed visiting with our extended family, but we tried to make the best of it and enjoy our quiet day.

Orange-White Scrimmage

While I was in San Antonio, Bill and the kids had a nice weekend. Avery was sick, so Nonnie provided reinforcement while Bill took Rhys to his t-ball game. Apparently I missed quite a game: Rhys hit his first Grand Slam! He was pretty proud of himself.

On Sunday, Avery was feeling better, so Bill took the kids to UT's Orange and White Scrimmage. They had a fabulous time!

Mighty Madre Getaway

On Saturday morning, I packed my bags, hopped in the car, and headed to San Antonio with a few great mama friends. A friend's mom generously opened her house to us, and we had a great, relaxing time chatting, movie watching, Wii playing, and snacking.

We also spent a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon exploring the King William historical neighborhood in downtown San Antonio. The houses were built in the late 1800s and backed up to the Riverwalk. I had no idea such a lovely, quaint neighborhood existed in the heart of San Antonio!




(Photos courtesy of The Woodland School.)

PSIA

A little over a week ago, Avery competed in the PSIA competition. She participated in three events: Ready Writing, Music Memory, and Spelling. After studying really hard to prepare, she ended up getting first place in both Music Memory and Spelling! She won bids to the state competition in May.

Several of her friends competed too, and everyone did really well! Between the seven of them, they ended up with nine 1st place ribbons, one 2nd, one 3rd, one 4th, and one 6th. Go homeschoolers!

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a picture of the whole group, but here are some of the kids with their ribbons:

Another gem

Today Griffin got in trouble for whining incessantly about playing Wii well before "Wii time" (after 1pm), and he had his Wii privileges revoked. During lunch, we had this conversation:

Griffin: Tomorrow, if I don't cry about the Wii, I can play.
Me: Yes, that's right.
Griffin: Can we skip to tomorrow? Can it be tomorrow now?
Me: No, unfortunately we can't skip ahead like that.
Rhys: Well, we can't...only God can. (pause) I wish God would decide to skip forward four days so we don't have to do school work....

Conversations

Driving in the car, I was telling a story about when my sister was little.
Griffin: How old was I when that happened?
Rhys: Oh, you weren't even born yet. You were just a star in the sky.
Me: A star in the sky?
Rhys: Yeah, that's where you are before you're born.
Me: Really? How do you know?
Rhys: I just know.

Then, the other day, my friend Kelly was pushing Griffin on the swing.
Griffin: We don't have any babies at our house.
Kelly: Yeah, we don't either.
Griffin: My dad is William, and he says we can't have any more babies.

And, on Griffin's birthday, I was reminiscing about when he was born. After answering many questions about his birth, the kids said this:
Avery: I'm NEVER having any children.
Rhys: I'm going to have LOTS of grandbabies for my mama!
Me: Aww, Rhys, that's so sweet!
Rhys: And I'm going to go on trips every week so you can take care of them!