Weekend Fun With the Kids

Friday, the kids and I hit the Science Center. They had a great time in the Discovery Room. It is geared to kids ages 3 and up, but they had plenty for Natalie & Rebecca to do too. Rebecca liked the bells and rang them constantly for 15 minutes or so. Natalie liked the building area and the book corner. John loved everything. He played drums in a teepee, watched fish in the aquarium, played at the water table, worked on "his" computer and even got to pet a big cockroach. Ugh! After the Discovery Room we checked out the dinosaurs, which John actually wasn't scared of this time. We had some lunch and then walked over the bridge that goes over the highway. The bridge has big glass tiles in the floor that you can look through, straight down to the highway. Rebecca did not want to walk on them.

John using the computer

Natalie wants to build a marble track

Rebecca playing bells

John at the water table

petting a cockroach

and playing trains

Rebecca and Natalie are a little confused as to what to do with these balls at the train table

Natalie watching the cars on the highway

Saturday my mom and I took the kids to the Greentree Festival. We spent a little time shopping all the booths, but most of the day was spent on the playground.

John didn't want his picture taken

John on stilts (Maw Maw is actually holding onto them from the top)

Under Water

We experienced the Great Flood of 2008 this morning, otherwise known as the remnants of Hurricane Ike. Luckily the house didn't flood, but the yard was a mess. Cars couldn't pass in the street and we even got a huge piece of our neighbors wood fence in our yard. Here are a few pics of our side and back yard.

the river, coming from the street, between our house and the neighbors

wanna swing?

luckily we have a boat ready?

water rushing through the fence

First Day of School

John has started a new year of preschool. This year he is in the Juniors class. He has a lot of kids in his class from last year, plus some new faces. The first day was just an hour and the parents and siblings got to stay and play to get to know the teachers, kids, and other parents. John played with his friend Nicholas (Neck-a-liss as he says it) most of the time. They put together an elaborate rail system and built trains to run on the tracks. It was a little embarrassing that Nicholas' mom and I couldn't figure out how to put the train pieces together and our 3 year olds had to show us how! The girls had a great time with a huge assortment of baby dolls and a play kitchen. They even drew pictures with Mrs. John, one of the teachers.

This picture was actually taken his 2nd day of school. A rainstorm prevented us from getting one the 1st day.

Must have been a busy day at school for John, and a busy day at the office for Rebecca. Natalie was sleeping too, but since her seat is behind me I couldn't get a picture.

The kids came with me on Sunday to check out the progress on the Extreme Makeover Home Edition house being built here. John got to wear Maw Maw's hard hat.

Fun with hats. John put his baseball cap on Rebecca...

and then wore her sunhat. He kept calling it his Jungle Hat for some unknown reason.

Natalie working on the tool bench...

and saying "CHEESE!"

Fun in the Sun

Playing at home in the pool. Natalie finally got in. She is getting a little more used to the water, just in time for summer to be over. :) Rebecca still loves getting sprayed in the face by the sprinklers, although the picture may not look like she is enjoying it. John likes to take his Little Tykes climber and put by the edge of the pool so he can slide into the water.

The other day, while making dinner, I realized the kids were being a little too quiet so I went to investigate. First I walked into the girls room and saw this...Nice. Thanks girls. Then I went to Johns room and saw this...They had stripped of their clothes, as well as the bedsheet and were having a ball jumping on the bed. I had to get a few pictures before getting them down.Then I found John hiding in his dresser. His response to the whole scene was, "I do nufing Mommy." which seems to be his go-to phrase lately.This past weekend, Mike and I took the kids to the Festival of Nations. It is a celebration in a local park with food, dancing, music, crafts, and demonstrations from all over the world. John liked the African dancing best, but didn't want to participate. The girls seemed to like a calypso sounding band. It was pretty darn hot out, but John was a good sport walking the whole time. Mike did try putting him on his shoulders at one point, but John freaked out. Since Mike is 6'2", John was probably over 7 feet in the air, which I'm sure is scary when you're used to being much closer to the ground. Oh, and we're kind of famous now. :) A group was going around taking pictures of the event, and I found ours on their website. Unfortunately I look a little pregnant in it. Oh well...there goes my modeling contract.The picture that made us famous(with a beautiful port a potty in the background)...doesn't John look happy?

John getting tribal face paint donethe final resultcomplete with a head dress he made (he calls it his dress-head)

Yesterday, GG, MaMaw June, and I took the kids to the Botanical Gardens. We had a beautiful day for it. Thank goodness they both came with me. The girls are so mobile now it was hard keeping them in the same area when they were out of the stroller. It was nice that we could each just take one kid. Their favorite area was the childrens garden. They played in the sprinklers, climbed, ran around, and wore themselves out. So much so that Rebecca fell asleep in GG's arms on the tram ride after lunch. They liked climbing on the Niki Exhibit sculptures, but John was scared of the one that looked like a skull. His favorite was the "agigador" (alligator). Oh, and since I didn't label all the pics, Rebecca is in a cream shirt, and Natalie is in plaid. Hopefully John is easy to identify.

Asleep at last

Last weekend Mike and I took the kids to Grants Farm with his family. We had the most perfect day for it! The kids had a great time with their aunts, grandma, and cousins. We don't all get together very often, so it was extra special having everyone there. John of course loved the tram we took to get to the park. I think I was more afraid of the goats than he was this time. I just hate when they jump up on you! Natalie had a minor meltdown when I tried to help her feed a bottle to a goat. She wanted it for herself. Oh, and on a sad note, Rebecca lost her blankey somewhere in the park. She seems to have adjusted to its replacement though.John and his cousin "posing" so the mommies could get a cute picture

On Tuesdays, G.G. watches the girls for a few hours in the morning, so John and I can have some quality time together. Last week I took him to Monkey Joes. A place filled with huge inflatables that the kids can climb on. The last time we went he was pretty hesitant to go on anything, and since I had the babies with me, I couldn't climb with him. This time, just the two of us, I was pretty excited to get to go on everything too. Unfortunately, I was greeted at the door with a sign saying adults are no longer allowed on anything. Ugh! John had no problem jumping right in alone though. He loved the big slide and the tunnels, but steered clear of the obstacle course for some reason.


I know some of you have heard the stories of the strange things John sleeps with, or does in his room when he is supposed to be "napping", but here is the proof that my son is a little crazy. :) First off, he went to bed in a red shirt and no socks. But when I went to check on him, he had on this green shirt and 2 different socks on upside down. He also added socks on his hands to his ensemble. Then, if you look closely, he has a toy saw in his pocket. To finish off, he is sleeping with his head on a book like a pillow, on top of the covers, facing the end of the bed. But hey, as long as he's sleeping, I'm a happy mom.