Thursday, April 15, 2010
A day at the ballpark
On Sunday we went with friends from Rhys's baseball team to Arlington to take in a Rangers game. So much fun!
Baseball players
Since we never have enough to do, we decided to register Griffin for t-ball! No, really, he's been very excited for months to play on his own team. Because he can be a little...ahem...unpredictable, we thought it would be best if Bill was his coach.
Last week was his first game, and I hear that it was a great success! (I was with Rhys at his game.) Griffin played 3rd base and pitcher, and he got some great hits too. He says that he had fun, but that his favorite part was the snack at the end. Whatever -- I'm just glad he's having a good time!
Last week was his first game, and I hear that it was a great success! (I was with Rhys at his game.) Griffin played 3rd base and pitcher, and he got some great hits too. He says that he had fun, but that his favorite part was the snack at the end. Whatever -- I'm just glad he's having a good time!
Performance on the Plaza
Last Friday, Avery's orchestra performed on the plaza at the Long Center before the symphony. Then we were given front row tickets to enjoy the concert. Pretty sweet deal!
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
A nontraditional Easter
Having grown up in the south, Easter is a holiday spent outside. Even when it's wet or cooler than normal, we always venture outside for our egg hunts. So the idea of an indoor hunt -- not to mention one inside a hotel room -- was a little hard for me to get used to.
But this year, we found ourselves in Houston over Easter weekend. We were visiting Houston for a very good reason: my cousin Adam from Atlanta is getting married soon and he brought his fiance to town for an engagement party. We knew we couldn't miss it, so we threw custom out the window and made some new Easter memories.
After hunting for eggs, we took advantage of our time in the city.
We've always loved Houston and all it has to offer, so it was hard to narrow down which activity we were going to do. Since Griffin has been very interested in the human body lately, we decided to spend our afternoon at the Health Museum.
After a really fun afternoon at the museum, we began the trek home. Unfortunately we got stuck in really awful traffic, but at least we had a pretty view out of our windows!
But this year, we found ourselves in Houston over Easter weekend. We were visiting Houston for a very good reason: my cousin Adam from Atlanta is getting married soon and he brought his fiance to town for an engagement party. We knew we couldn't miss it, so we threw custom out the window and made some new Easter memories.
After hunting for eggs, we took advantage of our time in the city.
We've always loved Houston and all it has to offer, so it was hard to narrow down which activity we were going to do. Since Griffin has been very interested in the human body lately, we decided to spend our afternoon at the Health Museum.
After a really fun afternoon at the museum, we began the trek home. Unfortunately we got stuck in really awful traffic, but at least we had a pretty view out of our windows!
Celebrate!
In our family, it seems that just one birthday celebration won't do. Birthdays in our family are long, drawn out affairs that can go on for days. Griffin's fifth birthday was no exception.
Griffin's actual birthday was on a Wednesday, which is always a busy day for us. With Avery's violin lesson, science co-op, and a baseball game in the evening, I was concerned that Griffin's special day would get lost in the shuffle. So we tried to squeeze in special birthday treats wherever we can.
First things first: I was barely out of bed before he was opening his present. He was thrilled to get a new set of Legos, and we spent a couple of hours in the morning putting them together.
After Avery's violin lesson, we headed over to Griffin's best friend Marten's house for science co-op. After learning about Archimedes and doing many experiments with water, Griffin shared birthday cupcakes with friends.
Then we headed home for a quick dinner. Griffin chose his favorite: veggie hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and grapes. And, of course, more candles and singing.
Then, two days after his birthday, we had birthday celebration day #2. We planned to have a casual gathering of friends at the park to play and fly kites, but the weather didn't cooperate, and we ended up scrambling to find an indoor location at the last minute. Texas Jumping Beans came to our rescue, and the kids all had a great time.
The final celebration of Griffin's birthday season came just last night. We met Papa and Ronnie at Austin's Park and Pizza for several hours of great fun and mediocre pizza.
Griffin's actual birthday was on a Wednesday, which is always a busy day for us. With Avery's violin lesson, science co-op, and a baseball game in the evening, I was concerned that Griffin's special day would get lost in the shuffle. So we tried to squeeze in special birthday treats wherever we can.
First things first: I was barely out of bed before he was opening his present. He was thrilled to get a new set of Legos, and we spent a couple of hours in the morning putting them together.
After Avery's violin lesson, we headed over to Griffin's best friend Marten's house for science co-op. After learning about Archimedes and doing many experiments with water, Griffin shared birthday cupcakes with friends.
Then we headed home for a quick dinner. Griffin chose his favorite: veggie hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and grapes. And, of course, more candles and singing.
Then, two days after his birthday, we had birthday celebration day #2. We planned to have a casual gathering of friends at the park to play and fly kites, but the weather didn't cooperate, and we ended up scrambling to find an indoor location at the last minute. Texas Jumping Beans came to our rescue, and the kids all had a great time.
The final celebration of Griffin's birthday season came just last night. We met Papa and Ronnie at Austin's Park and Pizza for several hours of great fun and mediocre pizza.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Five!
Today, my baby turned five. I know it's cliche to talk about how fast they grow, but I can't help myself. My youngest, my sweet little baby, is now school-aged. While I'm having a bit of trouble accepting it, Griffin is just plain thrilled to join the ranks of the five-year-olds.
Really, there's nobody like Griffin. He's bright, clever, creative, mischievous, and determined. He keeps us on our toes, since we never know what to expect from him next! He's such a source of amusement and pride for all four of us...I'm not quite sure how we ever got along without him.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Taylor Tourney
We spent most of this weekend in Taylor, TX, at Rhys's baseball tournament. The Pirates played well, pulling off three wins and a close loss in a nail-biter in the semi-finals. Rhys proved to be a jack-of-all-trades, playing five different positions during the course of the tournament: catcher, second base, third base, and left and right center field.
He had a rough day hitting the first day, but he really got it together for the second day, hitting well into the outfield and driving in and scoring lots of runs.
Besides his supportive dad's coaching, Rhys was cheered on by his usual fan club: his doting mama, loving sister, and admiring brother.
Rhys and his team were very disappointed to lose in such a tight game, but they're a close team and have lots of fun together, so they'll be sure to bounce back quickly.
As always, we're very proud of our Rhyscake!
He had a rough day hitting the first day, but he really got it together for the second day, hitting well into the outfield and driving in and scoring lots of runs.
Besides his supportive dad's coaching, Rhys was cheered on by his usual fan club: his doting mama, loving sister, and admiring brother.
Rhys and his team were very disappointed to lose in such a tight game, but they're a close team and have lots of fun together, so they'll be sure to bounce back quickly.
As always, we're very proud of our Rhyscake!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
More spring break fun!
Although we spent most of our spring break outside, we did make time for some indoor activities: movies and ice skating. We saw Alice and Wonderland (terrific!) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (hilarious!). We have a family rule that we always read the book before we see the movie, so Rhys frantically read the Wimpy Kid book in the hours before the movie. He's hooked. He's since read books two and three, and I've never seen him devour books like this!
And as for the ice skating, it was a great success! Avery is an old pro at skating, but Rhys has only skated once, and Bill and Griffin had never skated before! All three of them ended up having a blast, and we can't wait to go again.
And as for the ice skating, it was a great success! Avery is an old pro at skating, but Rhys has only skated once, and Bill and Griffin had never skated before! All three of them ended up having a blast, and we can't wait to go again.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Spring Break
We don't usually take a "spring break", but this year we felt like the public school's week off came at the perfect time for us to take a break too. Since most of the kids' extra-curriculars will be canceled next week, we're looking forward to a blank calendar. We're planning to enjoy lots of fabulous weather and plan to spend as much time outside as possible.
Today we kicked off our spring break by taking Ollie down to the dog park in the morning, then going to Old Settler's with Bill in the afternoon to fly kites. It was a perfect day: windy, clear, and gorgeous. I can already tell this week of outdoor fun is just what we need!
Today we kicked off our spring break by taking Ollie down to the dog park in the morning, then going to Old Settler's with Bill in the afternoon to fly kites. It was a perfect day: windy, clear, and gorgeous. I can already tell this week of outdoor fun is just what we need!
PSIA
Avery and several of her friends competed in the district PSIA meet yesterday. Avery competed in four events, and we're so proud of how much work she put in to prepare for the competition. It was so nice to see her and her friends cheering, encouraging, supporting, and congratulating each other.
Avery ended up with second place in 5th grade Music Memory, second place overall (combined grades) for Music Memory, second place in 5th grade Listening skills, third place overall in Listening Skills, and fifth place for 5th grade Spelling. She'll be going to the state meet in Forth Worth in May to compete in Music Memory.
Avery ended up with second place in 5th grade Music Memory, second place overall (combined grades) for Music Memory, second place in 5th grade Listening skills, third place overall in Listening Skills, and fifth place for 5th grade Spelling. She'll be going to the state meet in Forth Worth in May to compete in Music Memory.
Explore UT
After the basketball and baseball games, we dropped of Rhys and picked up Griffin, Avery, and her friend Maya and headed down to UT for Explore UT. We were there a little late, but we crammed in as much fun as we could before the event ended!
Griffin was enthralled by all the science activities and would have spent all day examining things under the microscopes.
The girls had fun at the exhibits too, but they really enjoyed talking to the Liberal Arts admission officers and discussing their many options for the future. They are now contemplating quadruple and quintuple majors.
And, of course, you can't go wrong with making ice cream with liquid nitrogen!
Griffin was enthralled by all the science activities and would have spent all day examining things under the microscopes.
The girls had fun at the exhibits too, but they really enjoyed talking to the Liberal Arts admission officers and discussing their many options for the future. They are now contemplating quadruple and quintuple majors.
And, of course, you can't go wrong with making ice cream with liquid nitrogen!
Changing seasons
The cues Mother Nature sends us isn't the only way we know that the seasons are changing. Thanks to Rhys's love of athletics, our family also follows the seasonal rhythm of sports. Last Saturday we ushered out winter with Rhys's last basketball game of the season and welcomed spring with opening ceremonies and the first baseball game of spring.
Rhys's first experience with basketball has been wonderful. We feel very lucky that he was placed on a team with great, encouraging coaches and positive and friendly teammates and parents. Basketball seemed to come naturally to Rhys, and he was known as the defense and rebound king of his team. He really enjoyed his season, and already has big plans to play again this summer!
It looks like we've also been lucky to find a great baseball team for spring. We're back to playing with kids that Rhys has played with before, and we're thrilled to be back with friends.
Rhys's first experience with basketball has been wonderful. We feel very lucky that he was placed on a team with great, encouraging coaches and positive and friendly teammates and parents. Basketball seemed to come naturally to Rhys, and he was known as the defense and rebound king of his team. He really enjoyed his season, and already has big plans to play again this summer!
It looks like we've also been lucky to find a great baseball team for spring. We're back to playing with kids that Rhys has played with before, and we're thrilled to be back with friends.
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