Backyard camping

The beautiful weather here lately (sunny days, cool nights) made me want to try out the new family tent (a Wal-Mart special and, in a word, cavernous). Also, it was an experiment. Our kids had never been camping, and I was curious to see how they would take to it. Keep in mind, according to neighborhood covenants, we are not allowed to have outdoor fires. Thus, it's not so much camping as it is simply sleeping outside. And frankly, I forget what the fuss was about.



Maybe I'm getting too old for some things (like all-nighters and South Park), but I always thought I'd be an outdoorsy guy well into my retirement years. It turns out I've become, well, soft. It was a long night. I could blame the traffic noise from the other side of the fence, but that's lame. I was uncomfortable.

The temperature dipped into the low 50's, though it felt much colder. We were well-prepared. Sleeping bags, blankets, mats, pillows, long-sleeved undies. It wasn't enough. Ultimately, the kids wanted to crawl into their own beds; Morgan at 12:30 and Adrian at 2:15. Frankly I was relieved.

Ginger joined us once we were all settled. She lasted maybe an hour. She's the smart one.

-- Andy

Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning we were up before dawn so that we could participate in the Run Thru the Woods at the pavillion. In previous years we all walked/strolled together as a family in the 3-mile walk. This was the first year that the children ran the 1-mile children's race. I ran along with them and then Andy ran the 5-mile race. The kids did really well and were excited to come to the finish line with all the people cheering them on. Also, at the end of the children's run the participants get a medal and a free pass to the local movie theater. Although they seemed to really enjoy it they told us that they don't want to run again next year. Hopefully they will change their minds before then.

Morgan reading

Morgan was just reading Curious George and the Pizza before bedtime. It was so cute because there is a character named Tony who bakes the pizzas and whenever he spoke Morgan used an Italian accent reminiscent of the Saturday Night Live characters who work in the restaurant trying to give everyone pepper. I had to chuckle out loud every time she did the accent in a low pitched voice.



Speaking of Morgan reading, it is time to brag. At the start of the school year the first graders are not expected to read higher than a level 6 but Morgan was already reading at or above a level 10. Her teacher told me that she just quit testing Morgan at level 10. She is now reading level 16 books in class. Only she and one other girl in her class are reading that high and the other girl, Elli, is 1 year and 4 days older than Morgan. Her teacher told me that the vice principal was observing the classroom last week and was very impressed with how well Morgan and Elli were reading. I am so proud of her!

Adrian is 4!

Adrian turned 4 last week on the 16th. Mom and Dad drove in from Helena, Alabama to attend his birthday party at Pump It Up. It was a lot of fun.



Friday night we went out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. After dinner we walked along the lighted Christmas decoration path by the mall. It was dark in the van on the way home and Morgan and Adrian were in the "very back". Adrian wanted the light on so Morgan turned on the reading light. After a couple of minutes I asked Morgan to turn the light off. Adrian started whining that he wanted the light back on. Mom told him that we needed to keep it off and asked if he needed anything. Adrian replied, "I need you to turn the light on!" It was funny.

Introduction

Testing 1...2...3

Here's our family's first attempt at a blog!

We're the Kleins, from The Woodlands, Texas. Parents Ginger & Andy, kids Morgan (F, 6) and Adrian (M, almost 4).

We plan to try to keep this page updated, mainly with pictures of the kids and how they're growing up. Lately, Morgan has been losing teeth so fast that the Tooth Fairy has moved into the spare bedroom! Not quite, but we've put the TF on speed-dial, just in case.

Adrian turns FOUR in 2 weeks! He is in preschool, and this week, he is responsible for a little yellow stuffed duck named Quackers. He needs to get his picture taken with Q in different settings, then add the pics to a class book. I'm thinking of hooking Q up with our other duck, AFLAC, to see if we can get a litter of chicks!

--Andy