"Mom! I need your help!"

Both kids had been put to bed for the night and I was watching tv when I hear Kinsey yell, "Mom! I need your help!" I thought it was a stall tactic, but when I went into her room, this is what I saw:
I would say that she did, indeed, need my help. I could not figure out how she got it tied around the comb in such a way. The hair was not all going the same direction. Needless to say, no hair was harmed in the removing of the comb.

Scooters

We had a garage sale a few weeks ago. In an effort to get the kids to loosen their grasp on some toys, we told them that if they sold some of their 'treasures', we would buy them scooters. When it's time for a garage sale, suddenly the toys that have been at the bottom of the toybox are suddenly their "most favorite toy ever". But, alas, the promise of a scooter won them over.

Trace wanted to practice casting and did so well that his line got stuck in a tree. In this shot, Chad is trying to get the line out of the tree. He was not fishing in the fountain.

Kinsey and the Cows

Kinsey loves to help her Uncle Pecos feed the cows. I am still amazed that she got in the pen with those cows! Last night when we got home she cried because she didn't pet one!!! So Scott, if you're reading this...next time she must pet one!

Kinsey's Performance

Kinsey had her first dance performance at the Texas State Forest Festival. After only 3 classes...She thinks her rightful place is on a stage, so she wasn't at all nervous.

After the performances, the kids ran around and played with friends while the older kids and adults performed. It is so nice to be in a place where we know people when we go somewhere. The kids have some neat friends, and so do the we!

We also saw a Lumberjack show, pig races, a bear show, and a big cat show. We had our picture taken with a tiger.

Twister!!!

The kids played a gut-busting game of Twister tonight. You really had to be here to get the full effect. But take my word for it...it was F U N N Y! Please excuse the underwear.

Right after I took the above picture, Kinsey looked at me with a giant grin, reached up, and pushed Trace right onto his head. Hysterical!!!

We Are Family

Here we are! This was taken when we all got together for my dad's 60th birthday. Clearly, none of my family love me enough to tell me that my hair was a little over the top that day!

Hunee, Pop, Kinsey, Sophie & Trace

Trace & Sophie

Auntie Missy & Sophie

Kinsey & Sophie
Kinsey & Sophie

Happy Birthday Pop

My dad turned 60 a few days ago. I still think of him as the man with dark hair in his thirties running behind my brothers while they learned to ride their bikes without training wheels. It is very odd to think of him as a grandfather, or rather, old enough to be a grandfather.

My whole family got together this weekend to celebrate and watch old home movies. Rope swinging into the Frio river, water skiing in Mathis Lake, cheerleading tryouts, gymnastics, tennis lessons, family vacations, Christmases, etc...It was nice to have everyone together for a stroll down memory lane.

I always tell people that my dad is the biggest kid I know. He has the soul of a child. When one of the grandkids want to do something playful, he's the first one to volunteer. I ran across this quote by Tom Stoppard, and it sums up my dad: “If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.”

Happy Birthday, Pop. Love you!!!

The Dentist

Kinsey had her teeth cleaned today. To say I was a little nervous about the appointment would be an understatement. She has had her teeth cleaned before, even got stickers when she was finished. One proudly proclaiming that she was CAVITY FREE!, the other...I THREW A FIT. Seriously.

The first visit was a colossal nightmare. She was two and a half. Since I was already taking Trace for a cleaning, figured I might as well have hers done too. Big mistake. Enormous mistake. Colossal mistake. 'I threw a fit' put it mildly. She could have cared less about having her teeth counted. But she survived that cleaning and the two subsequent cleanings.

The dentist she saw today is a friend of mine. Kinsey has been to her house so she was much more comfortable. She woke up this morning telling me that she was going to be good at the dentist. She had made up her mind; and so it was! My little planner...

The Gentle Place...with a side of Hannah Montana

Kinsey and I ran an out of town errand today which took me about half an hour away from the last place my maternal grandparents lived together...The Gentle Place. I cannot remember how many acres it was, but I remember thinking it was enormous when I was a kid! I don't remember much about them clearing it and building the house, except that my grandmother got poison ivy during a potty break before the house was built...ouch! I remember driving the riding lawnmower with a little trailer attached all around when I was about 10, brother in tow. That was probably my favorite thing about that place! That and the little gold hatchback I got to drive on occassion.


The house was not visible from the road, so I didn't really think I would be able to find it, but figured that since it was only 30 minutes out of my way, I might as well give it a shot. I was driving up and down the highway talking to my mom, describing houses in hopes of identifying Aunt Atrelle's house which stood next door. I decided to go back to the tiny town's post office hoping there would be someone old enough to remember my grandparents or great, great aunt and could describe Atrelle's house now. That's when I saw it! There was the pond near the road.

The gate was open so I drove down the dirt driveway, hearing my mother and husband in the back of my mind telling me I should not be out in the middle of the woods driving down a dirt driveway alone. At the end of the drive, I found an older man and two women eating lunch from an ice chest on the tailgate of a truck. Turns out he was the person who bought the property from my grandmother after my grandfather passed away in the mid 1980's. The man greeted me and I tried to explain that I thought my grandparents had built this house more than 25 years ago. As soon as I started talking, tears streamed from beneath my sunglasses. I was shocked and embarrassed. He was very sweet and I almost laughed through my tears when he, very politely, said, "Honey, I can't understand you." I was trying to explain my reason for intruding on his picnic lunch but couldn't, for my blubbering. While I was trying to very quickly compose myself he noticed Kinsey in the backseat, glued to The Hannah Montana Movie. He chatted with her for a moment so that I could catch my breath and speak English again. I'm sure he knows more about Hannah Montana than he ever thought he would!

He stood, leaning in the passenger window of my car, eating a purple onion and told me about Aunt Atrelle coming to visit him and tearing up her car after she backed into a tree once and almost doing it a second time. He also told me about some other relatives coming to pick something to eat like broccoli but he couldn't remember the name. Got me... All I know is I smelled that purple onion all the way back home...an hour and 15 minutes back home.

He was very sweet and invited me back anytime. As we were leaving, his wife yelled from her seat on the tailgate, "Y'all want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" I am sure he was willing her to hush so that blubbering lady and her kid would just go on! It was a surprisingly emotional visit for me.

My daughter asked my why I was crying and I honestly did not know. I have a few memories of being at The Gentle Place, but it was not a place I visited too often...it was about 8 hours from home and they didn't live there too long. I could understand the tears had it been my childhood home 25 years after the fact. I talked with my mom about it tonight and she knew. It was the realization of the passing of time and how life is changing and will continue to change for me as an adult. Hit the nail on the head.

So now the memory I will associate with the smell of an onion will be crying in a stranger's driveway while my daughter taught him all about Hannah Montana......and The Gentle Place.

Aunt Atrelle's house

Fun at the Lake

Today we went to the lake for a birthday party. The kids...and dads...had a great time in the water. If I can't see the bottom, I do NOT swim in it!

I think Kinsey thought Trace was going to tump the float. Impressive that she was even out there. Yesterday she informed me that she was NOT swimming in the lake. Abbie told her there were dolphins in the lake and Kins wanted no part of it!

From this...

...to this...Trace freaked when the pink dye lingered on his face after he washed. The kids told him that he would look like Hannah Montana at school on Monday with a pink face. He was NOT a bit happy. Thankfully, it did eventually come off. I really wasn't sure what we were going to do to get rid of it!

first dance class

Kinsey had her first dance class today. She did a great job and LOVED it!!! They started with clogging then moved on to ballet. They clogged to a Hannah Montana song...an instant hit!

Before class, I had to call a friend for some help with the ballet shoes. They have some really long elastic strings and would not stay tied. Turns out I have much to learn about the world of dance and all the things that go with it!!! When we were ending our call, she reminded me that Kinsey was born for dance. She is exactly right!

pig flu

Brook took the girls to school today only to find out that there is a confirmed case of H1N1 flu at the school. She didn't leave them at school, took them to the park and Target!!! She must have really wanted to go to Target to take all 3 kids! They are planning a picnic at Ella's house with their lunches for today. Too cute!

2nd grade

I cannot believe it...2nd grade!!! I guess Trace had a good day. I had to all but tie him down and drag information out of him...interrogation style! He didn't have too much to say about it, but this is not unusual. He got in the car and the first words out of his mouth were, "I ate all my lunch!" This really is a big deal as the kid can go a week without eating, it seems.

I took his picture before we left for school but my memory card has decided it will no longer be accepting or storing any pictures. So I took this picture when he got home from school. It's still his first day of school pic...it'll work!

Thinking back to this time last year, we were in the middle of a move here. We were staying at my mother-in-law's for two weeks waiting to close on our house. I was dreading the eternal pick-up line after school today, but last year I drove an hour to get him, sat in the line, then drove an hour back to Mimi's house. For two weeks!

One could definitely say we are settled at this point. It was nice to know people when we were walking into the school this morning. I feel like we are part of the community. Something I really longed for when we lived in Sugar Land.

We had a summer full of changes in 2008, but moving here has turned out to be a good gamble. Life is good!

gymnastics

Kinsey and Ella had their last gym class of the summer today. Here are a few pics and clips of them in action!

Here is Kinsey doing one of her favorite moves...a penny drop. The next 4 pictures show it step-by-step.

Here she is hanging like a monkey. That's the technical term in a 4 year old class.

Kinsey, Ms. Linsey, and Ella