Soccer for Small Folks

After four practices and three games, we are finally starting to enjoy three year old soccer. For the first few weeks, Ben told us he was scared to play and sat in my lap. Ace would actually get out there and try, but would eventually cry and say all the other kids were faster than him. They aren't, but when other kids are ahead of him and he can't catch up, he assumes it is because they are faster. We spent much of the first few games and practices trying to convince two buddies to play.

Today's game was much better. Our boys took turns playing, so it was like having one full-time player. Woo! Ben scored two goals and Ace scored one. Best of all, they had FUN! We may just survive the season after all.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Over the weekend, we attended a Chinese New Year festival with some good friends. 2009 is the year of the ox, which symbolizes prosperity through hard work. We're ready to work hard and be prosperous!


At the festival, the buddies and their friends made cool Chinese kites and also enjoyed some time in a bounce house. We ate lots of authentic, tasty Chinese food - Ben and I really liked the green onion pancakes and Ace and Daddy enjoyed the freshly made egg rolls. Yum! We sipped some tea for good luck and headed on our way.

Later that day, inspired by the holiday, we all learned how to write our names in Chinese. Well, we learned how to use an English -to- Chinese tool online and printed our names. The boys pasted theirs on construction paper, added their English names and hung them in their room. I think they look cool!

Today's Historic Events

Today, I watched the first African American president of the United States take his oath, while snuggling on the couch with a slightly feverish and very sleepy Ace. Politics aside, what strikes me most about today's historic events, is how different the world will be for my children and their generation. A black president will just be another part of their landscape and that makes their world a little less racist than the world I grew up in. And that gives me hope.

My favorite quotes from the day:

From Barack Obama's Inaugural Address:
"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed...and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

And from Joseph Lowery's (slightly Seussical) Benediction closing:
"We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around — (laughter) — when yellow will be mellow — (laughter) — when the red man can get ahead, man — (laughter) — and when white will embrace what is right."

Here's to progress and to a new era! Now, if I can just get the buddies to say our new president's name correctly and consistently...

"Barack Obama" is kind of hard to say

MLK's National Day of Service

This morning, the buddies and I decided to take our president-elect up on his call to service by cleaning up one of our favorite local parks. We donned gloves and carried garbage sacks throughout the grounds and cleared out every speck of trash that we could find. It was fun!


Afterward, the buddies rewarded themselves with juice boxes and some fun on the playground. But, I think they enjoyed their service project even more than they enjoyed their reward.

“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Action Painting!

This morning, our play group met at Abrakadoodle for an action painting class. What's action painting? Imagine 20 preschoolers flinging paint from brushes, balls, fly swatters, and big rubber fish. It was awesome! Clearly, this wild boy craft was right up our alley.






It was noisy and messy and loads of fun. Jackson Pollock would have been impressed, I'm sure. And at the end of the play date, each child had a framed masterpiece to take home. We can't wait to find a special spot for them.

A Manly Tea Party

In an effort to get to know the kids the buddies will attend school with in 2010, we have started a small neighborhood play group. This morning was our second play date and we have many more on the schedule in the coming months.

Ben came up with the theme for today's event. He said, "I know! How about we have a tea party with hot chocolate!" I like how he thinks! So, we donned our best tea party clothes, set up a table-clothed kid table, made pipe cleaner flowers, and got to work making dainty food. Ace made the mini blueberry muffins mostly by himself.

And then we discovered that none of our pretty girl neighbors could join us. Four wild boys sat around the table, sipping hot chocolate "tea" and eating finger sandwiches. And then they ran upstairs and happily played with trucks and trains.

The Cameron Park Zoo

The buddies and I needed to get out of the house today so Daddy could paint their bedroom. So, we arranged to meet some of our Dallas friends halfway between our homes, at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. This 52 acre, natural habitat zoo was the perfect spot for our day trip.





We followed the winding paths through the zoo grounds and saw monkeys, lions, tigers, flamingos, giraffes, American buffalo, rhinos and more. Play areas are scattered throughout, including a cool underwater slide through the otter tank. We especially enjoyed the aquariums and their air-conditioned buildings on today's unseasonably warm day!

But most of all, we enjoyed the great company of friends that we just don't get to see often enough. Perhaps another room will need a fresh coat of paint soon and we'll be able to convince them to meet us for another fun outing.

Check out the rest of today's pictures here.

Bowling!

We took the buddies on their first trip to the bowling alley this morning! They were so excited to get there, put on cool bowling shoes, and learn the game. Dart Bowl, an Austin institution, was the perfect place to learn, during a quiet weekday morning. We might as well have had the place to ourselves.



The attendant set up gutter bumpers for the buddies and brought them a 6 pound ball to share. Steve taught them how to roll it with two hands, granny-style. Both boys thoroughly enjoyed the first game. Ben, like his mom, didn't really care much about playing a second game and gave up half his turns to either Daddy or Ace. It was a fun outing!



Our scores:

Game 1:
Daddy: 187
Mommy: 98
Ace: 67
Ben: 49

Game 2:
Daddy: 182
Mommy: 110 (woo hoo! triple digits!)
Ace: 47
Ben: 52

Click here to see the rest of today's pictures.

Happy 2009!

After 10 years, Steve and I traded in our annual New Year's Eve Party for a family-friendly New Year's Day Party. We borrowed a bounce house from a friend, set out juice boxes and beer, bloody mary's and minosas, and served black eyed peas for luck.

Our guests brought contributions for our time capsule, which we'll bury in the back yard, later today. Then, next year, we can dig it up and remember the fun times we had and see how much we've all changed.

Happy New Year to all! Here's to a prosperous 2009!

Hill Country Christmas at Schlitterbahn

This evening, we took the boys to explore the Schlitterbahn Hill Country Christmas. For those that don't know, Schlitterbahn is a huge water park, built on a natural river. It has been voted the best water park in the world and for good reason - the place is amazing. In a few years, we'll likely be frequent visitors during our hot Texas summers, but today we enjoyed the wintertime festivities.


On the advice of friends, we high-tailed it to the Bobsled Racer when we arrived as the park opened, before the lines grew long. Our fearless duo climbed to the top and raced down the 4-story chutes on their mats without skipping a beat. Ben got stuck midway on his first run and then demanded to ride again so he could get it right. Sound like anyone we know? Fearless Ace shot down the hill like a rocket both times.

After that, we explored the rest of the park. We enjoyed bounce houses, a carousel ride, lots of amazing light displays set to music, a festive play area, a merry maze, and real snow blowers. Another highlight was our trip to the miniature train display. The very sweet train engineers would stop Thomas in front of each child and ask the child to tell Thomas to "go!" and then start him up again. Ben had a conversation with one of the engineers about the track set up that I'm sad to say went over my head. After that, the engineer clearly understood Ben's passion for trains and stopped Thomas in front of our sweet boy several more times.

We had a fantastic time tonight and it is thanks to my wonderful grandparents and their Christmas gift to us. Instead of giving us more stuff, which we have too much of to begin with, they gifted us with this awesome event and we'll treasure the memories forever. Thanks, Grands!

Check out the rest of our pictures here.

The Miracle on 37th Street

Last night, we took the buddies to explore what has come to be known as "The Miracle on 37th Street" in Austin. For the past 20 years, residents on this small urban street show their holiday spirit with a level of enthusiasm that would awe and inspire even Clark Griswold.





The creative residents don't hold back with their displays. They adorned their homes, vehicles, trees, shrubs, toilets (yes...toilets), and sidewalks with thousands of lights. There were even a few homes with lights running over to their neighbor's houses. This year, several residents chose to make political statements as well.




Steve and I enjoyed admiring the creativity and community spirit as we strolled the street. The buddies just enjoyed the spectacularness of it all, and quite enthusiastically. One passerby stopped to sarcastically ask if we could please try to get our boys excited about the lights.

View the rest of our pictures here.

The Walkway of Lights

This is our third Christmas in Austin and we still have not explored the famous Trail of Lights at Zilker Park. It runs for just 10 days, right before Christmas every year and we've just never been able to squeeze it in to our busy schedules.






The aforementioned Trail concluded on the 23rd, but today we explored a much smaller version in Marble Falls, Texas, just 40 miles from our home. The small hill country town is also home to our favorite berry farm, so we've come to know it well.






The Walkway of Lights, on the shores of Lake Marble Falls, was perfect for our buddies. We strolled the pathways, enjoying Christmas music and hot chocolate, and took in the 130 sculptures lit with over a million twinkling lights. It was certainly a wondrous site, especially to two 3 1/2 year olds. We had such a good time that we walked through a second time before leaving.




Perhaps next year we'll make it out to Zilker Park for the acclaimed 1.25 mile Trail of Lights. Or, perhaps, we'll avoid the crowds and traffic and just go to this sweet little light display instead.

Either way, "Merry Texmas, Ya'll".

More pictures here.

I clearly have too much time on my hands...

Steve is building a shed and cleaning out the garage and I'm supposed to be tidying up our house, which looks like Toys R Us exploded in it. Instead, I created this. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!!

Santa and a slew of relatives were certainly good to our buddies this year. If we go missing for a few days, call for help - we might be buried underneath all the toys.

Our official Christmas celebration kicked off last night, when 12 of our friends joined us for Wigilia. After sharing the oplatek (thanks, Aunt Maggie!), we feasted on Steve's pierogies and lots of other meatless dishes. Then, the kids decorated gingerbread people and exchanged gifts. It was a late night for the buddies but they still remembered to choose some cookies to leave out for Santa before retiring to their room.

When morning came, we took our time, leisurely opening presents with plenty of breaks for play time. The highlight for the buddies? Big kid bikes from Santa! And they are FAST on them. I thought I was busy chasing two wild boys before the bikes. I'd really better get myself in shape now.

View more pictures here.

Our Early Christmas

Family Photo: we're just missing Uncle Jeff and Dr. Mike.

What fun we are having with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Carlee, and Michael! Our guests arrived yesterday evening and the fun hasn't stopped. This morning was our unofficial Christmas morning and the buddies and Michael could barely contain their excitement. The buddies received some truly awesome "big kid" presents and I'm hopeful that they'll keep their attention for months to come. They are fascinated with Marble Run and Build a Road, and a small trampoline was a huge hit. And as always, they love their annual HESS trucks from Uncle Jeff - monster trucks this year!

Most of all, we are enjoying the extra family time. Grandma is reading lots of books and brought supplies to decorate gingerbread people and make chocolate mice with her grandsons. Plus, we had plenty of time to play games. We discovered that we are smarter than 5th graders. Late in the afternoon, we took advantage of the warm Texas weather and walked to our neighborhood park. A couple of UT lacrosse players happened to be there practicing and of course, Ace was enthralled by their game. He and I wandered over to watch and cheer them on. The guys were really sweet and let Ace (and then Ben too) take some shots at the goal.

Check out today's pictures here.

Spreading a Little Bit of Cheer

Two of our neighbors are serving in Iraq and won't be home for the holidays. So, a bunch of us decided to deliver meals to their families over the month of December to make their lives just a little brighter. Today was our turn, so I enlisted two very busy helpers after I picked them up from school. They donned their Santa hats and carried American flags as they pulled our wagon filled with food to both houses.




Our 32 degree weather made one person in our group a tad grumpy, but we were able to complete our deliveries successfully. And hot chocolate at home made everything better. Here's to the safe return of our brave friends and a happy holiday for their supportive wives and children.

Ho Ho Ho!!

Art Wall

There are few things I love more than a homemade creation, made by someone I love. Over the years, my Gramps has created some pretty amazing things for me and my family, but I think this one tops them all. Check out our new art wall:


I love how these frames turned out, but that's no surprise, given the fine craftsmanship that my Gramps is known for. Each personalized frame has a binder clip hanging from the top so that we can change our artwork displays easily whenever the mood strikes, and I'm sure that will be often.


These frames got me thinking about all the gifts Gramps has made for me, starting when I was just a girl. So, I went through the house today, photographing them. As I sorted them in order, I was surprised to discover that they tell my life story. Take a look here. Then, go hug the important people in your life.

Northpark Trains

Last weekend brought us to Dallas for a flag-football tournament that the buddies' daddy played in. The buddies and I took advantage of the opportunity to check out the Northpark Trains. Grandma and Grandpa joined us, as well as a couple of dear friends from my days as a volunteer at Children's Medical Center. It was great to catch up with them and meet their gorgeous kids.

The trains were awesome! If there was ever a doubt that Ben loves trains, that doubt is gone now. Our party spent 30 minutes taking in the sites and then made our way to the exit. Except for Ben and Grandpa. Grandpa told Ben it was time to go and Ben said, "No!". So they stayed. And stayed. And stayed some more. An hour and a half went by before Grandpa could convince the little guy to leave.

It was such a treat to see a cool train exhibit with such good company.