My dad

I found a little interview about dads (thanks Pinterest) and knew the kids would love answering the questions.  Here's what they think of their dad.
My dad is ___ years old
     Beth: 35
     Jacob: 24
My dad weighs ___ pounds
     Beth: 127
     Jacob: 35
My dad's favorite color is ___
     B: blue
     J: blue
My dad's favorite super hero is ___
    both: Batman
My dad always says ____
     B: "Go clean your room"
     J: "Be quiet"
My dad's job is ___
     B: to take care of us
     J: working
First thing in the morning, my dad ____
     B: wakes me up
     J: says "good morning"
My dad laughs when I ___
     B: say something weird
     J: do funny things
My dad's favorite food is ___
     B: BBQ
     J: guacamole, and salad with yucky stuff
I love my dad because ___
     B: he loves me
     J: he works and I'm gladful for that

For the most part, they've got a pretty good idea about their daddy.  Without a doubt, they are some lucky kiddos to have a daddy who loves them so much and takes good care of our family.

A birthday to remember

Beth managed to extend her 8th birthday celbration quite a bit.  And loved every minute of it.

1. Popi and Yaya came to visit and took her shopping for gifts.  She got clothes and shoes.  Such a girl!!!

2. Celebrated with lunch at Cinderella Castle on birthday day (more coming on that soon)

3. Presents from Mom and Dad and Jacob- just what she wanted

4. Birthday mini-party.  Just Beth's best friend, Faith, came along for a day of fun- movie, out to dinner, Build A Bear, then a stop for ice cream, followed by a sleepover.  Whew!

5. Grandma and Grandpa came up to celebrate, and even brought a cake!

All this celebrating was about a month long.  What fun!

I can't believe how fast time is going.  It seems just yesterday, she was this little 4 year old, such a sweet little punkin.

Now, here she is, 8.  EIGHT!  She has grown so much, inside and out.  She is as tall as the average 10 year old.  Her hair has turned wavy.  She is compassionate and empathetic.  She is a bossy big sister (and most of the time, he takes it well).  But, she is also a very loving big sister.  She loves to play school, teaching him to read and fun little songs. She loves books, of all kinds.  It's been fun for me to pull out the last tub of books I have from my teacher days, getting a stack out for her that she's big enough to read now.

I have sure enjoyed the blessing God gave us in this sweet girl.  I look forward to seeing how He will use her for his glory!

Ride, Jacob, Ride

Jacob is very much a physically active and adventurous little boy.  We decided to take the training wheels off his bike, to see what he could do.  He was pretty nervous to get on the bike.  It took a little bit before he understood the difference in how it felt without the extra wheels.  Once he was convinced that Kevin wouldn't let him go, he was ready to give it a try.

He alternated between giggles and panic.  If he felt the bike lean a little, he'd let go of the bike and grab Kevin's arm.  He took a couple breaks, learning how to leave his bike since it didn't stand on its own anymore.

Beth was pretty happy to ride around all over the park area.  Hard to believe it was just last summer she was learning this skill just last summer.  Now, she's all over the place and fast!

So, a few attempts, and Kevin managed to briefly let go of the bike.  When we told Jacob he did it, he was pretty proud.  It's a pretty awesome moment to watch!

I bet with a couple more days out there practicing, he'll have it down and be speeding everywhere!

Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.~ John Dewey

After a great report at the dentist office, Jacob and I took advantage of being in Fort Worth and of our new science museum membership.  Lots of kindergarten classes had the same idea for the day, but we made the best of it. 

There was a new exhibit called Grossology. It's about the gross things (though important) about our bodies- like burping, farting, barfing, boogers, body odor, etc.  Lots of activities and fun things to do, including shooting ping pong balls into a nose.  However, Jacob's favorite thing was the "playground".  The kids all seemed oblivious to what they were sliding on- the path of food from the mouth all the way through and out. 

So many areas to explore- building with all kinds of materials, playing music on all sorts of household items, craft projects... One neat area is about cows and ranching kind of things.  Jacob remembered a really cool activity where they can ride a horse and herd cattle on a tv screen.  Since there was half a class waiting in line, we moved on.  Next time, though, we'll check it out.

In the kids area, his favorite part was the outdoor water play.  We found a rare moment when there weren't other kids around, so he actually got to play.  The busy table- the water guns- took a little bit of patience waiting for a spot to open up.

I think the dinosaur dig is one of the best and favorite things at the museum.  It was already pretty warm outside, but Jacob was happy to play for a while.  Once a whole class came outside, he readily agreed to move onto some other activity.

With the membership, we also get entrance into the Cowgirl Museum (right next door).  We popped over since we had a little time before we had to pick up Beth at school.  Ah, it was so calm and quiet.  The kid corral was full of things to try out, then we went through the rest of the exhibits at 4 year old speed.  I'm hoping to actually see the stuff next time.

It was a nice day, just me and Jacob.  We will certainly enjoy many visits to the museum and plan to include Beth and Kevin next time.  Jacob wants them to see the Grossology exhibit.  I'm really looking forward to the Titanic exhibit coming soon!

Art comes to life

Spring Break offered lots of opportunities for fun things to do around Fort Worth. After having the kids' pictures taken, we headed over to Amon Carten American Art museum. That day, they were featuring artist Georgia O'Keefe. There were activities (and refreshments) for the kids. The timing was perfect since Beth and I had just read a library book about that very artist. At the museum, the kids were given cards with specific art to find, along with questions to discuss to notice and take in the art. There were docents available to talk about the art and artist.

Then, the kids had the opportunity to draw like Georgia O'Keefe. One of the painting showed a flower VERY close up. The kids got to pick a flower and were supposed to draw it close up. They were a little timid at first but did a great job!

I love exposing the kids (and us parents) to culture like this. I love that the flexibility of Kevin's schedule and availability of technology allow him to do things like this with us, while still working. We'll definitely need to make more trips to museums.

Spring has arrived!

Ah, Spring!!!!!! Of course, I finally post this, the day after a cold front came through. Well, I'm looking forward to the weather warming up quickly.

We've had so much wonderful time playing outside. Our house has become an active place for lots of neighborhood kids, playing with our kids for hours. Great fun!

The kids and Kevin snagged a bit of time to ride bikes. It was Jacob's first ride down the road, and he was pretty proud. It was great until they had to come back up the hill. It's a tough ride! Once back in the driveway, there was not time to lose- Jacob had to hunt for snails and roly polys and dig in the dirt.

The simple joys of spring! Great memories!

Life

I know, I haven't posted in a long time. Nothing overly exciting has happened lately.

Beth had a field trip, but I forgot my camera. Beth takes gymnastics once a week and is really improving in her skills. Jacob is signed up for a soccer camp twice a week in May, and he can hardly stand the wait. They are both rocking and rolling in their AWANA club for church. I am amazed at how many scriptures they learn and retain. Spring Break is next week, and we'll have some fun stuff to do. Hopefully, I'll remember to take my camera along.

Kevin is busy as usual with work. I completed my participation in the spring Just Between Friends consignment sale. I am getting into spring cleaning- hard work but feels so good to have a major task accomplished, a part at a time (baseboards and fans today, windows and blinds next week). I'm doing some re-organization of closets and toys. I also completed all the digital scrapbook pages for our 2010 Disney World trip. I had a marathon weekend, completing 17 pages. I haven't scrapbooked since- got a bit burned out. I still have to finish ordering the pages, but I'm loving the way it's coming together in the album so far. Here's a peek at a few of the last pages: