Enchanted Rock and the Nimitz Museum

On Tuesday of our Spring Break, we ventured to Fredericksburg, Texas. We were hoping to see two attractions in the area - Enchanted Rock and the Pacific War Museum. We were pretty sure all 3 of our boys would enjoy Enchanted Rock, and we were absolutely certain that K would love the museum, as he is still fascinated with any and everything military.

The day began with a little bit of worry. The forecast for our area (including Fredericksburg) was 80% chance of rain. We loaded up our car with all of our rain gear and a picnic lunch...the power of positive thinking. K complained the entire car ride. He couldn't figure out why we were still going. The best part is this...as we arrived at the state park, the rain stopped. It was cool and breezy, but probably the perfect weather for the hike. We were able to climb all the way to the top and back down for our picnic lunch without a drop of rain. As we left the park, raindrops hit the windshield. Hmmm...

On the way up the "rock" I asked J if it might be child abuse to bring a 2 year old all the way to the top. He just laughed, as Mighty was dragging all of us. At one point Mighty even said, "I'm going to ask Gran if she'll grow one of these rocks in her garden." We called her on the way out to let her know she better get busy performing a miracle. How wonderful to have your grandson actually believe you are capable of such things.

J brought the boys to the Nimitz Museum while I did a little shopping with Nan (you can't go to Fredericksburg without doing a little shopping). The museum was a big hit! The boys were very impressed with the real things on display...a submarine, jeeps, tanks, etc.

What a great way to spend a rainy day!

Art Man

J wanted to design his own birthday invitations this year. This was a real stretch for mom. I have an obsession with paper...well, stationery. I was looking for the most adorable "art" party invitations I could possibly find online when he shared this news with me. One look at his face, and I new it was a losing battle. He was going to create the most adorable invitation all on his own.

He began by drawing separate invitations for each of his friends. Finally we were able to convince him that drawing it once really well would suffice. We could scan his picture on to the computer and make as many invitations as we might need. We mentioned this idea to his art teacher, Mr. Joe. He agreed to help J perfect his design. They produced this "art man." He was created with as many art supplies as they could squeeze into the picture.

Mom couldn't be more proud!

Half Marathon Race with a Marathon Weekend

J and I trained for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in New Orleans. We were lucky enough to gather a wonderful group of people to join us. Brooke, Simon, Polly, Matt, and Meche joined us for the run. MJ, Stiel, and Gayle joined us for the marathon "New Orleans finish." Needless to say, a good time was had by all.


J and Simon pulled off the Elvis impersonation. I'm thinking they probably should have run this way.




It was a beautiful day for a run. We spent several hours after the race listening to the music and soaking up the sun with our friends.






The marathon begins... we started with crawfish and some others moved on to cigars in no time at all.

Valentine's Day Cards

For the last 4 years, we have enjoyed making our own special, personality-specific Valentine's Day cards for our friends. It all started with a Family Fun magazine subscription one of my former students gave me as an end of the year gift. Boy, did they get it right! The boys and I have shared many fun crafts, recipes, and books because of the wonderful ideas in that magazine. We look forward to the Valentine's Day issue every year. We can't wait to examine the pages over and over again until we can find the cards that best suit each one of us. This year I even included my new teachers.

K combined two different cards into one that he loved. He liked the camo card with 2nd grade appropriate phrases. J wanted to make heart shaped crayons with a card that said, "You color my world." I love that they were able to find something to fit them perfectly...my camo boy and my little artist.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

On February 23, we had real live snow. In fact, it snowed for most of the day. It was beautiful and really kind of neat...not something we see every day. The only bad part was that the kids were in school for almost all of it. I felt really bad that I was at school enjoying the snow with other people's children while mine were enjoying it with someone else.



According to Nanny, Mighty wasn't very interested in the snow when he was at home without his big brothers. He preferred to watch the snow from the breakfast room window...with Baby George, of course.

When the K and J got home from school, all 3 boys had a chance to play outside together. Mighty didn't hesitate with his big brothers by his side.

The boys made a snowman in the front yard at Nan & Gran's house. As we were eating dinner, K described it to his dad. He said it was "a little hairy...because of the grass and sticks." Only in Texas can you have a hairy snowman and think it's pretty awesome. After dinner, they went outside to make another snowman with their dad.

The most amazing thing happened...the snowman made it until the next day after school.

Airsoft Birthday Party

This year K decided to have another semi-military party. He is WAY into airsoft guns (and still way into anything military). If you aren't familiar with airsoft, it is a cross between paint ball, Nerf, and a BB gun. He wanted to invite his friends over for target practice and an airsoft "war."

Unfortunately, K got Strep on the Friday before the original party. He was devastated, as we had to cancel the party. We rescheduled for last Sunday. It definitely all worked out for the best - he gained 2 friends (but sadly lost 1) and the weather was amazing. We couldn't have ordered better weather. Needless to say, the boys had a blast! I told J that he won "Dad of the Year" for supervising/playing with the boys all afternoon. Secretly, I think he had as much fun as they did.

8 Years Old

K just celebrated his 8th birthday (on Mardi Gras). In some ways he seems to be everything an 8 year old boy should be, and in other ways, we still recognize the baby we've enjoyed for the last 8 years. It's kind of scary as a parent to realize all of the moments that are gone forever. I think I'm supposed to be comforted in knowing that the future holds many more. But wow! It seems like just yesterday we were waiting for his arrival. Now he is already 8. I'm sure we'll blink our eyes and he'll be 18. My goal between now and then is to treasure each moment, as I know they will come and then go... way too fast.

K thought it might be fun to celebrate his birthday with a king cake this year since his birthday fell on Mardi Gras. The cool part was that the class had just completed reading homework about making a king cake and the history of Mardi Gras. His classmates were already familiar and seemed to enjoyed his unusual choice.

I saved the baby for home. I didn't want any of the school children to panic if they found the baby in their piece of cake. K was super surprised to find it in his chocolate cake.