Shoot and Score!

Soccer is in full swing and keeps us entertained on Saturdays. Both kids are loving it. They both scored a goal this weekend. No pic of that because I could stand there all day ready but never happen. Therefore, I sit and snap random shots during the game. M scored the first goal of the game and I missed it trying to fix my chair. Her age plays 4 on 4. She runs and plays so tough. She has really improved since last spring. She is in blue and number 19. She picked that number because it is her number in her class. They can pick any number they want. The whole team can be the same number if they want. Here is A in action. His age plays 2 on 2. He is always laughing about things that happen on the field (that the other players do). He is number 11 on red. He picked this number because his good friend from OK was 11 years old. Not a day goes by that we don't here about the 11 yr old. It was a hot day but they both gave it there all. R told me I was embarrassing with all my cheering/yelling for the kids. That was at A's game so I tried to keep it down at M's game.
Here is what the other part of our weekend involved. Me hard at work.
M also hard at work. R mowed but the grass was damp and so we had clumps of cut grass and M would not rest til all the clumps were out of the yard. She must get the love of yard work form me. Where are those boys?
Oh, here they are goofing off in the garage. NO, he was not riding that bike and he did not fall. R and I were organizing the garage (trying to make space for the top of the Jeep) when we heard A ask "Is this called sideways riding?" Where does he get that stuff? Yes, you are correct- from R. I think we have another future class clown on our hands. He comes up with some funny things for a 4 yr old.
That was all Fri evening and Sat. Sunday involved lots of rain and almost 2 hours of kickball after the rain stopped. It was R and me versus the neighborhood kids. Wish you could have seen my skills! R wasn't too bad either. I'm sure you will see more soccer pics as it does not end til the end of May.

BRI: In Greek mythology, Nike is the goddess of victory.

Shortest verus in the Bible: John 11:35. ("Jesus wept.")

Call of the Not so Wild

Yesterday we drove to Great Wolf Lodge for a little mini-spring break. I figured it is finally feeling like spring (but notice that we are STILL in long sleeves in the photo above!!!) plus R missed spring break and Easter. So off we went. This place is a hotel and indoor water park all in one. The decorations were neat- all log cabinish. We only stayed one night but you can use the water park the day you check in and the day you leave. That amounted to about 10 hours of non-stop fun for us. Being that we went during the week, there were NO waits. Which was great but that meant up the stairs (79 of them to one water slide but who's counting)over and over almost nonstop. R and I were wearing down but the kids never once complained about the number of stairs. In fact, the just kept saying "Can we do it again?" There was also a "lazy river" that most people lay on a float and leisurely float around but not A. He ran around the whole thing every time and only laughed when I told him he must think it is the unlazy river. It was nice to do a water park and still be warm. The water is 84 degrees plus the best part for my family is NO sunscreen! That saved me lots of heartache- no whining about putting it on again and again and no missed spots. M under the bucket that drops 1000 gallons of water down every 5 minutes. A was standing next to her until the warning bell rang but as you can see he quickly deserted his post. We never did get him to stand under it.
A coming down one of the smaller water slides. R was on the orange one on the right but just like he did on the slides in Altus, he got stuck and missed out on getting in on the photo op! They did all the water slides they possibly could (6 big ones and 3 small ones). A was not tall enough to do the "Tornado" but M did and actually enjoyed it once she got over the fear of the ride name.
Playing in the "fort" area. There was also a wave pool that we spent lots of time at. The waves were on a 5 minute on/off cycle. M would have me push her into the waves and she got dumped several times. A opted to dive into the waves or try to ride them. With his goggles in place, he was all action and never stopped. There was more but this is enough to give you the idea of what a great time we had. The kids can't wait to go back.

Welcome Back

R returned home after a 17 day trip to Eastern Europe. This is a photo from where he went. He had a good time but was glad to be home. He had the bonus of being greeted by 4 members of my extended family (aunt, uncle, cousin and cousin's husband). He got home around midnight and might of thought he could sneak in but no, we were all waiting for him (minus the kids-way too late for them). The kids loved showing off any talent any of the 4 adults would watch. M did some Irish dancing and some Hanna Montana singing. A stuck to more things like nerf guns and wii. He is not ready to unleash the rest of his talents at this time.

R was also welcomed by the cherry blossoms on our tree in the front yard. Who needs the Cherry Blossoms Festival when you can walk into your own front yard without any crowds. Sad to say a windy night has emptied the tree for this year.
R was also greeted the next morning by 2 very excited children! Not that they were tired of seeing me but now it meant that mom would do some cooking. But with the kids, come soccer games. They are both playing and really enjoying themselves. Note: We are also finally wearing short sleeves and shorts and smiling. That is true except for the last 2 days which has brought us back to long everything. But I have great faith that these days will quickly pass on to more sunny ones.

M has learned the art of tree climbing and cannot get enough of the neighbor's tree. She gets up and down by herself. I wouldn't let her go any higher that day. Again, warm enough for bare feet. I have worn flip flops 2 days and loved it. I did not however climb any trees.
A did attempt to climb a tree too. You know the saying "monkey see, monkey do" (well, try to do in this case). As you can see, he didn't get far at all. He is all smiles anyway. Maybe by the end of the summer he'll be higher too.

SPRING?

It is just not right! It is not right to have to wear coats and gloves to get to school in the mornings (36 degrees) and some afternoons. It is not right to walk out of gymnastics in April to find it sleeting outside. It is not right to NOT be able to wear flip flops and capris in April. It is not right for the high to be 44 in April. Who says I'm living in the south? This is not the south I know and love. I didn't expect to be wearing shorts yet but this is crazy! I'm to thin skinned for this type of "spring" weather. Oh, I hope our next assignment is not in the north because boy and I in for a rude awakening. (I know we just really got here but always need to be planning the next move.) I'm hoping that come July I'll be loving the weather here and I will have forgotten my lost spring. The neighbors assure me by May it will be warmer. However, most people don't do much swimming til July because the water is too cold. I think swimming should be from May-Oct. Seems like I might have a long 4 years ahead of me. Retiring in TX is sounds better by the day.

From BRI: Snow has fallen in every state including Hawaii.
Based on normal annual temperatures, the coldest states are Alaska, North Dakota, Minnesota, Maine, Montana and Wyoming.(These states won't be making my top 10 list any time soon.)

Let's go fly a kite

This weekend we attended a Kite Festival at Gunston Hall, the home of George Mason. A friend talked me into going and I am so glad because we all had a great time. I know some of you, like me, are curious as to whom George Mason was. He was a neighbor to George Washington and was active in the American Revolution (how I'm not sure -google that part yourself) and wrote the Virginia Declaration of Independence. I'm reading all this from a flyer as we did not tour the actual home. You'll have to come and visit and tour it yourselves. Anyway, it included lots more than just kite flying. There were lots of volunteers dressed Colonial attire and they stayed in character when you spoke to them. M flying a kite. A also flew one and so did I. It was lots of exercise because there wasn't much wind so we had to run the entire time to keep the kite in the air. Thanks to my friend we have pictures because I went off and left my camera at home. This would not have been as cute without the pictures.
We saw a puppet show from that time period and boy was it different from entertainment we have today! The kids all sat and watched it and loved the part where the man got spit on (acting out the water spraying in the ocean). They all yelled "encore" as they had been instructed to do when they wanted a part repeated. The "best" part was that they saw the man play a wooden whistle and loved it. SO we went directly to the gift shop where each kid got their own. Six whistles get really loud even outside! But they sure did (and still are) having fun with them. M can play "Yankee Doodle" on hers so get ready for that to be added to the show for anyone that visits. R even got to hear it over the phone. So I'm sure she'll take more phone requests too.
Me trying to help A weave his piece of the basket. M did a piece on another basket.
A hard at work writing with a quill pen (in the schoolhouse). M wrote her name too but didn't look as serious. I think he is going to be quite the student next yr in Kindergarten.
Wow! This is how they washed their sheets. A couldn't even turn the sheet because it was so tough to do. I asked if they did them very often and the lady said "No, they had a different idea of clean". I think I must have some of that generation left in me.

The kids also rolled and ran down a big hill. They love the simple things! I had some other pics but me and my advanced computer skills could not figure out how to do more than 5 so that will end this post.

Well, except I have left out the Bathroom Reader quotes lately so I am back on track. These both come from the Presidency ed.
George Washington weighed 200 pounds and wore size 13 shoes.
The Easter Egg Roll, held on Easter Monday, has been a White House tradition since 1878. (Didn't make it this year, maybe next. That would make an exciting post but didn't feel like waiting in line 24 plus hours and overnight by myself with 2 kids. Glad the kids didn't know The Jonas Brothers were playing the event this yr).

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a happy Easter! We had a busy week with it being spring break. During the week we had time to dye eggs. Don't seem to know where that pic went exactly but they we used a tye-dye kit. My family is crazy for tye-dye still. Make Easter cookies. Hide and look for many, many eggs. There are still probably some "hiding" in our house. The kids decided they wanted to do the Sat evening church service since they serve pizza afterwards and I didn't mind since it would be less crowded then Sun am. We started our morning off with bunny head pancakes followed by some soccer in the front yard and then a great afternoon/dinner at a friend's house. This was our picture after church. Hard for me to get motivated to buy cute Easter outfits when we still have to wear long sleeves and jackets. The stores don't even sell cute long sleeve outfits for the season. Therefore, we opted to wear outfits we already had.
A's cookies he decorated all on his own. Sprinkles are a necessary item on any cookie he makes!
M's cookies she designed on her own. They still have the sprinkles but in fewer amounts. I think she does a better job than me when coming up with how to decorate them.

I am glad to get back to our normal schedule this week. The kids are glad to be heading back to school. M starts soccer this week and A the next. Soccer should add some excitement to our "normal" schedule. I'm getting lots of practice in the front yard too. Them against me! Hoping I can stay on top.

When Irish Eyes are Smiling

Okay, her hair is not green, it was just the setting on the camera.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! We added a new tradition this year. M has become a "google" master and found out how to make a leprechaun trap. The kids were very excited about maybe catching a leprechaun and M made this picture inside a box to try to trick him into coming in our house to get the gold. She did the whole thing herself.

Here are the boxes aka traps. That pic was this morning but last night they were propped up with a stick and had Lucky Charms cereal in a bowl under them. What else would one leave to catch a leprechaun? Did it work? Well, M wanted to tell you in her own words so this is what she typed in word and I've transferred it here.
"A Leprechaun just left our house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He or she left some type of shoe for A and flip flops for me M! He or she left GOLD!!!"

Okay, I'm not the best at this computer stuff. M had it in several colors and the word gold was in large print. But you get the point. He even left the kids a note. Better luck next year kids!

We skipped any special green food today and just wore green clothes. Just earlier this month we had green eggs and green toast to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. One day of not normal green food per month is about all I can do. We did however all eat Lucky Charms for breakfast so that should could for something. Hope you all had a great day!