j low

Yes, we call her J Low... better known as Juliette Gordon Low.

Katie did a wonderful job with her presentation. In addition to her own class, their 1st grade reading buddies come to watch and listen too. Some of the other characters included Helen Keller, David Beckham, Anne Frank, Neil Armstrong, Leif Ericsson, Benjamin Franklin, Mia Hamm, Abe Lincoln, Leonardo da Vinci, and Tim Duncan.

We borrowed this vintage uniform from a friend... circa 1960? I had to do some research to find out how to put it all together. I hope I did it right.

cookies, check

Well, another exhilarating season of Girl Scout cookie sales has ended. Between the two girls, we sold 385 boxes. This didn't include the booth sales they worked, which would put us plenty over the 400 mark we were shooting for. Thanks to all of you who have supported us this year. Katie will be attending horse camp with her troop, and Anna's troop will be attending a garden tea party (both later in the Spring).

We do still have 10+ cases to deliver, but they have a special destination. For the last few years, we have asked for extra donations to give to the soldiers. We do this through the USO in downtown S.A. Thanks to those of you that helped with this cause.

Girl Scouts has become a true passion to me. It offers our girls so many opportunies to learn and grow, and become leaders themselves. I've had my ups and downs as a troop leader, but it's seeing the light within each of these girls that has made me stick with it.

Katie will be doing a biographical presentation on Friday. She selected Juliette Gordon Low as her subject. Once Katie realized that who Mrs. Low was is what Girl Scouting is, the assignment became a breeze. Watch for a post on that later this week...

I AM SO PROUD OF MY GIRLS. MY OWN DAUGHTERS, OF COURSE. BUT ALSO, THE 22 OTHER LITTLE LADIES IN MY LIFE. :)

surprise visitor

busy week, sick kiddos, tired mommy… I settled myself into the upstairs couch, prepared for a long night of croupy coughing. Shayne had gone to the airport to give a co-worker a ride home after a late flight. A little while later, I heard his voice, along with more than one set of footsteps. I thought, "oh my goodness, did he bring this guy back to our house?" I sat up in my grogginess and had to blink twice before I realized it was my brother standing in front of me. My little brother that I hadn't seen in over 2 years!

Normally, I'm pretty hard to surprise. I'm not a sneaky person who snoops around and tries to figure things out, I just pick up on clues fairly easy. I knew that something was brewing, because Oliver had called to talk to Shayne, and there had been several suspicious topics of conversation. But, I wasn't expecting him to show up for another few weeks. I guess you could say they got me!

We already had a full weekend planned, so I did the best I could to squeeze in every minute with him. We stayed up way past my bedtime both nights. It was nice to just hang out, and let the kids interact with him. They always enjoy spending time with their aunts and uncles, because the visits are few and far between. Hopefully our next visit won't be too far off!

truly scrumptious

Through the world of Girl Scouting, we have the opportunity to obtain discounted tickets to numerous events and activities. While browsing the Program Guide last fall, I discovered they were offering a group discount to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (with Broadway Across America). Katie loves the movie, Anna likes most of it (except the part with the Child Catcher), and Bethany enjoys it (but is still working on her ability to sit through a 3 hour movie). When I saw it on the page, I knew I had to make it happen! I made some calls, gathered some friends, and we received the tickets in our stockings on Christmas morning.

The other two moms that went in on the group deal with us both had the same reaction I did… "I loved that movie when I was a kid, and my kids enjoy watching it too!" It was fun to see the girls, all dressed up, with their friends, at the theater. It was at the Majestic, an historic theater where the symphony usually plays. The whole outing was an experience to remember. The song and dance numbers were fabulous, and the actors all played their parts well – Dick Van Dyke leaves pretty big shoes to fill. The young actors that played Jeremy and Jemima were about Katie's age. The scary part with the Child Catcher wasn't too scary, but Anna hid her eyes anyway. And when they made the car fly and sang the theme song, I got goosebumps and almost cried!

I love the fact that my kids love to watch old movies. We usually opt for these selections when we're travelling for extended periods of time in the van. We have plenty of modern flicks in our repertoire, but they just don't make 'em like they used too. Not only to they enjoy the children's classics, like Mary Poppins and the Wizard of Oz, they've also taken a liking to shows like My Fair Lady and Singin' in the Rain. Of course, the musicals numbers are an obvious draw. Shayne's request for family travel is usually the Apple Dumpling Gang. We also have discovered that many of the movies that are re-makes of today were better in their original showing, like the Parent Trap and Yours, Mine and Ours.

night at the ranch

I think it's pretty standard statewide that 4^th graders study Texas History. I didn't move to Texas until I was in high school, so I never had a Texas History class. I was eager to learn along with Katie.

We found out earlier in the year that the group was hoping to do enough fundraising throughout the school year to be able to take a field trip to the State Capitol and Bob Bullock State History museum. One of things they decided to do to help raise these funds was to put on a dinner and a musical. The kids worked hard to learn the songs, which, in the process, helped them learn their history lessons. They were also given the opportunity to have speaking parts – do you have any doubt in your mind that Katie wanted to be first in line to tryout? She was selected for a speaking part and they held rehearsals once a week for about 6 weeks.

Dinner was hot dogs, chips, nachos, sodas, and a large selection of bakery treats. We had several friends join us for the evening. The show was a success, and the 4^th graders met and exceeded their financial goal! Watch out Austin, here we come!

rodeo

O.K., we didn't actually go to the rodeo, but everything we did that evening revolved around the rodeo activities… carnival, pony rides, junk food, animals. It was our first time to go as a family. Shayne had taken the girls to the stock show a time or two, and we've also been to a few concerts in past years. Fridays are 'dollar days', and we were trying to think of a fun family activity for the evening of Bethany's birthday. We pulled the girls out of school a little early, picked up Shayne at his office downtown, and headed that way. We wanted to get there and be on our way out before it got too late.

The carnival rides reminded me of the amusement park we went to when I was a kid. Shayne and the girls even went through a fun house like the one in the final scene of Grease. Katie opted out of the pony rides, not because she didn't want to, but she would have looked like a giant sitting on one of the ponies. (It was definitely geared to younger children). We saw a cutting horse auction, walked through the cow barn, then had to backtrack because the girls wanted to see the cows. (We saw one that had just been brushed – he looked as fuzzy as a teddy bear.)

It was a fun family evening and we hope to do it again next year!

Happy Valentine's Day...

the packaging

do I really need to tell you that sometimes the package is more fun than the gift?

birthday brunch

When the sisters were each 3, we did a similar party at home with playgroup. Bethany is not in a playgroup anymore, so we chose a few of her friends that she spends the most time with. Instead of doing a traditional birthday cake, we (I) decided to do muffins and fruit. (The kids were already riding the roller coaster of sugar highs and lows from all the Valentine's candy.) It was a fun morning for the kiddos, and the moms were even able to get in some chit-chat!

Happy Birthday Bethany!

Yippee!
Bethany Rose is three!

With her middle name being Rose, we've got a running list of the songs we hear that sing about roses. Here are a few of our faves. Can you help us think of more?

(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden
The Yellow Rose of Texas
Cracklin' Rosie
The Rose
Moses Supposes (from Singin' in the Rain)
Rosie (from Bye Bye Birdie)

thanks to the Osborn's...

Today is Asian Festival Day at Steubing Ranch Elementary. The kids get to "dress up" and have a celebration during their normal p.e./music time. The school does this every other month with a different theme.

We were totally drawing a blank on what to wear. Thanks to Lisa, Don, and Lindy, I was able to send them out looking pretty darn cute (if I do say so myself).