Fredericksburg

This past weekend we went to Unger Strasse, Mike's parents' ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, to celebrate Kate's first birthday. The Wellners and Hennings were able to make it too. It was wonderful to be able to spend more quality time with our Rice friends again. It was unfortunate that not everyone was able to make it though.



The ranch was positively picturesque! Morgan and Adrian both enjoyed riding in the Gator to feed the llamas and sheep. Morgan fell in love with Samantha, the ranch dog. She took her little McDonald's toy dog that resembles Samantha to school today. Morgan and Adrian also loved the accommodations. Our family slept in a pop-up camper behind the guest house and Morgan told me one day that she loved sleeping in the "cabin". We look forward to more vacations with the gang.

Look Ma! No training wheels!

Well, today was a big day for the Kleins. Adrian and Morgan both learned to ride their bikes without training wheels today. They had both done it before but after a couple of incidents they both reverted back to training wheels. Today was different. They both rode around for about an hour and a half on the street and cul-de-sac. I was a little nervous for them at first but they quickly got the hang of it. Morgan also figured out how to start on her own. Unfortunately Adrian still needs someone to hold the bike while he gets going but I'm sure he will soon be doing that on his own as well.



It was nice that many of the neighbors came out to cheer the kids on and acknowledge their achievements. Some of the neighbor kids got their bikes out too and rode around with Morgan and Adrian. I feel so lucky to finally have the kind of neighborhood and neighbors that I always wanted.




As a side item, Morgan once again received the red, leadership sticker for cheerleading after Saturday's game. She is such a good cheerleader and tries so hard!

Jump Rope for Heart

This past Wednesday, Valentine's Day, was also Jump Rope for Heart day at Morgan's school. During P.E. the kids jumped rope to raise money for the American Heart Association. I am proud to say that with the help of grandparents and Andy's company, we were able to raise $300. Morgan was very enthusiastic about being able to participate. She practiced a lot to become a more proficient jump roper. Thank you to Mimi/Papa and Grandma/Grandpa for your contributions!

Valentine's Day

Morgan and Adrian each had Valentine's Day parties at school on Wednesday. I wasn't able to go to Adrian's party because I was helping out at Morgan's school. Adrian and I were able to go to Morgan's party later in the afternoon though. They both got lots of cookies and candy, and cards of course. Some of Morgan's classmates had tattoos attached to the valentines and I became the tattoo artist for her classroom. I probably put on 20 temporary tattoos. Some of the kids had multiple tattoos on. Morgan ended up with 4 before the party was over.

New Couch

After having the same second-hand couch and chair for over 8 years we finally decided to invest in a nice (think expensive) sectional sofa. Andy was adamant that he wanted a chaise so we looked online, in circulars, catalogs, and finally went to La-Z Boy where we both instantly fell in love with the same couch that was on display by the front doors. We decided to look around the store anyway, just in case, but ended up back at the front door. We sat on it for a long time and imagined it in our living room. When we got home we measured to make sure it would fit and decided that it would.

It is a very soft, brown leather and is so beautiful. We had to draft "new couch" rules at the house. These include no eating or drinking on the couch and no shoes on the couch. With our old couch and chair it didn't really matter but now it does. The kids really love the new couch too. It is nice to be able to have the entire family on the couch together to watch TV and not be squished together.

Anniversary

Since his internship was included in his tenure, this week Andy celebrated his 5th year with Anadarko. He was able to pick a gift from a catalog of pretty cool things. He ultimately chose a Bulova watch with the Anadarko insignia engraved on the back. His boss also took the entire group to Pappasito's for lunch in Andy's honor on Thursday. I'm so proud of him.

Morgan's Progress Report

Morgan came home with another progress report yesterday. Once again she has all A's so far this grading period. She has a 96 in Reading, 99 in Spelling, 97 in Math, 100 in Science, 98 in Social Studies, and 99 in Writing. She is doing so great!