Ginger Klein

Summer Sausage Sandwiches - by Adrian

2010-11-06T09:05:00.002-05:00

- biscuits
- summer sausage
- mustard

First slice the biscuits horizontally
Then put the summer sausage on one piece of the biscuit
Then put on the mustard.

2010-07-04T22:56:00.006-05:00

So, time to get somewhat caught up. Two weeks ago, Andy played in a charity golf tournament to raise money and bring awareness to children's neuroblastoma. The tournament was held at Houston Oaks CC again this year. The kids got to swim while dad golfed with Kevin, Jim, and Jim.

We also went to the Downtown Houston Aquarium, the Menil Museum, and Rice U. for a day trip last weekend. Ginger and the kids did the freefall. I held Ginger's purse.

In other news, we adopted 2 kittens from a litter of mangy furballs in Tomball. They're settling in slowly. The whitish one is Sherlock and the orangey one is Delta.

Today is July 4, and we watched the Woodlands fireworks show from the top of the Anadarko parking garage. Given the wind speed and direction, we were in a terrible spot - way too close. We got peppered with flak and paper shrapnel. But the show was impressive. No photos of this - too busy ducking and covering.

Back in Action?

2010-07-02T05:25:00.005-05:00

This blog has been inactive for over a year, thanks to Facebook. It's time to start posting here again. Andy will try to keep current on the major events in the Klein household, even if only a picture and a brief word.

TaeKwonDo Testing and Award

2009-06-03T10:01:00.003-05:00

Adrian with his new yellow belt, certificate, and patch.

Adrian and the other students posing for a group picture.

Last Saturday Adrian tested for his yellow belt in TaeKwonDo. He did really well. Monday evening there was an award ceremony where Adrian received his yellow belt, a certificate, and a patch for his uniform. He also received 3 stars to put on his belt because his teacher at Glen Loch, Mrs. Nusbaum, filled out a form indicating that he was a good student. Congratulations Adrian!

Golf Tournament

2009-06-03T09:53:00.003-05:00

Morgan and Elle kayaking to "Makeout Island".

Adrian kayaking solo.

Andy chillin' by the pool.

Mark, Dana, Greg, Carmen, Jim, and Jim's mom eating crawfish.

Last Saturday Andy, Jim, Kevin, and Mark participated in a fundraising golf tournament at Houston Oaks Golf Course in Hockley, Texas. It was to raise money for CNCF to help with Neuroblastoma research. After the tournament there was a crawfish boil with zydeco music. They had the pool open and an adjacent lake with a small beach with paddle boats, kayaks, and a canoe for playing around. It was a lot of fun!

Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony

2009-06-03T09:46:00.003-05:00

Morgan officially becoming a Junior Girl Scout.

Alexis, Gracen, and Morgan just before the bridging.

Morgan is now a Junior Girl Scout rather than a Brownie. She and two of her friends "bridged" at a ceremony at Creekwood Park. She will now have to work a little harder to earn her patches and they will now wear sashes as opposed to the vests.

TAKS Math Test

2009-06-03T09:40:00.003-05:00

Morgan received a 98 on her TAKS Math Test. She missed just one question and earned a Commended Performance. Way to go Morgan!

Andy's New Car

2009-05-24T15:44:00.002-05:00

This morning we went to Fred Haas Toyota World and Andy bought a 2009 Highlander Limited. It is a pretty sweet ride. It has a navigation system and rearview camera, 3rd row seats, sunroof, etc. Andy is pretty psyched about it and the kids think it is awesome too.

3rd/4th Grade Fun Day

2009-05-24T15:37:00.003-05:00

Andy, Anna, and Morgan at the Huge Disc Throw

Morgan, Anna, and Maddie on the Buddy Walkers

Friday was "Fun Day" for Glen Loch 3rd and 4th graders. Andy and I volunteered to work a couple of stations. Andy was in charge of the Huge Disc Throw and I manned the Buddy Walkers. It was pretty warm but the kids all seemed to have a great time.

Adrian's First Board-breaking at Taekwondo

2009-05-16T15:39:00.003-05:00

Today Adrian attended a board-breaking class at his Taekwondo facility. He was able to break 3 boards using whatever kicks or punches he chose. He broke all of them with the first punch/kick. He was very proud of himself and I was too.

Girl Scout Fishing Derby

2009-05-16T15:31:00.002-05:00

This morning we went to Creekwood Park for a Girl Scout fishing derby. Morgan's first cast she caught a fish! It was about 2 inches long. We were stunned. We thought the morning was going to be like catching fish in a barrel. Unfortunately an hour and a half later, and many, many casts, no other fish were caught. Adrian came very close once but it got away. Fishing was a new experience though and the kids had a good time.

Poor Morgan

2009-05-16T15:28:00.002-05:00

Friday morning I got a call from the school nurse that Morgan had an accident at P.E. She had been running laps when someone stepped on her heel and she went down. She scraped up both knees pretty badly and busted up her mouth. She will have to go to the dentist on Monday to have her top front left tooth repaired. She has had a hard time eating since the incident.

Sweet & Sassy

2009-05-16T15:21:00.002-05:00

On Thursday afternoon Morgan and her Brownie troop were picked up at school by the Sweet & Sassy pink limo. They were so excited and felt like stars. At Sweet & Sassy they learned about business, made lip gloss, ate cupcakes, had their hair styled, and got to walk the runway. It was cute!

Impromptu Vacation

2009-05-05T16:29:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon we received an automated phone call from the school district saying that Glen Loch Elementary would be closed all of this week because of 3 probable cases of swine flu. The kids were of course excited. The bad thing is that the Glen Loch lock in that was to be this Friday night was cancelled. The kids were really looking forward to it and so were Andy and I since we were going to have a date that night. Also we paid in advance and don't know if it will be rescheduled or if the money will be refunded. I guess we'll just wait and see.

Report Cards

2009-04-04T09:51:00.003-05:00

Morgan and Adrian came home with their report cards yesterday. They both did wonderfully so I treated them to Kolache Factory this morning to celebrate.

Morgan
Reading: 96
Writing: 98
Spelling: 97
Math: 97
Social Studies: 91
Science: 97
She came home with 3 ribbons too: Blue for "A Honor Roll", Yellow for "Good Conduct", and Green for "Perfect Attendance".
Comments from the teachers were "Great problem solving skills" from Mrs. Foster and "Puts forth exceptional effort" from Mrs. Boyd.

Adrian
Adrian received all "S's" and "3's" which is the best that you can get in Kindergarten. He also came home with his red ribbon for participating in the science festival. The comment from Mrs. Nusbaum was, "Adrian continues to grow in all academic areas. He shows a great interest in science and social studies activities and is always eager to seek out new information."

As always I am so very proud of my babies!!

GT Presentation

2009-04-04T09:43:00.003-05:00

Morgan and the other GT students gave their Power Point presentations on Thursday. Morgan's presentation was on Susan B. Anthony so she dressed up like her. They presented to the parents of the 4 GT students, their two teachers, and the principal of the school. I was really proud of them for going up there and speaking even though they were visibly nervous. Hurrah to them!

Audrey, Morgan (as Susan B. Anthony), Frank (as Albert Einstein), Joshua

TAKS Reading Test

2009-03-25T14:14:00.002-05:00

I am so incredibly proud of my little girl! She made 100% on the TAKS Reading Test and earned a Commended Performance!! Go Morgan!!!

Bluebonnets

2009-03-25T14:10:00.002-05:00

Here are some obligatory bluebonnet pictures taken at Rob Fleming Park here in The Woodlands.

Spring Break 2009

2009-03-25T14:03:00.004-05:00

The kids and I went to Bham for Spring Break. Unfortunately Andy had to stay back in Texas to work so he could save his vacation time for this summer and Christmas vacations. We got to spend quality time with family and were able to reunite with old friends. The kids enjoyed meeting new friends. They got to play with Mitchell, the son of my old school friend, Amber and also had a playdate with Blair, Trevor, and Wyatt, the sons of college friends Bret and Kristine. I wish that I had gotten to spend time with everyone that I had wanted to see but the time went by so quickly. Hopefully we'll get to see everyone when we are there for Christmas.

TaeKwonDo

2009-03-25T14:00:00.003-05:00

Adrian has started taking TaeKwonDo and is really enjoying it. I bid on a silent auction basket at the school carnival because Adrian wanted the TaeKwonDo robe that was in it. It also included a month of lessons and one private lesson. We won the basket and he is super excited. I asked Morgan if she wanted to take lessons too but so far she isn't interested.

Glen Loch Carnival

2009-03-08T12:01:00.003-05:00

Last night was the Glen Loch Carnival which is the Spring fundraiser for the school. The kids had a blast playing games, eating concession food, getting their hair sprayed with color, and seeing their friends and teachers. The highlight of the evening was the P.E. performances. Each grade level learns a dance that they performance for the parents. Adrian's dance was to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Morgan's was to "Jungle Boogie". Morgan and her friend Emma knew the dance better than the rest of third grade so they were asked by the P.E. teacher to be front and center during the performance. What an honor!

Upward Basketball Party

2009-03-08T11:57:00.003-05:00

This past Thursday was Adrian's last basketball game for this season. He scored another goal! He has really enjoyed playing basketball and says it is his new favorite sport.

Last Wednesday we had an end-of-the-season party rather than having the last practice. We all went to Double Dave's Pizza place. The kids had a blast and were excited to be presented with trophies.

Girl Scout Cookie Booth

2009-03-08T11:54:00.002-05:00

Morgan participated in two cookie booths this past month. She had one two weekends ago and the other one was last Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately both times the weather was pretty foul. Also, next time I'll pick a more frequented store for her to work. She enjoyed the experience nevertheless so that is good.

Science Fair

2009-03-02T13:29:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday morning Adrian participated in the Science Fair at the local community college. Participation was voluntary through Glen Loch. He and Andy worked very hard putting it together. They entitled it "Totally Ironic" and it involved extracting iron from Total cereal. It was a pretty cool and interesting project. Adrian was so happy that his teacher came by to support him. He was going to take the project to school today to show his classmates but he threw up this morning so he stayed home. He will be able to take it tomorrow. Participants were to receive red ribbons on the morning announcements today. Since he was sick today he will probably get his ribbon in his Tuesday folder tomorrow.

Adrian's First Tooth Loss

2009-02-16T15:32:00.003-06:00

Adrian finally lost his first tooth yesterday. He has had a really loose tooth for a few weeks now and I have been trying to get it out with no success. He has the permanent tooth that had gotten tired of waiting for the baby one to fall out and so it had already started to grow in behind the baby tooth. Last night we were at the dinner table and Adrian winced and said that he had bit down wrong on his loose tooth. I looked and there was blood pooling in his mouth. I grabbed a napkin and was going to try to pull it out but he insisted on doing it himself. He reached in with the napkin and managed to pull it out. Yea! He put the tooth in the pocket of his prayer pillow and he was excited this morning to see that the tooth fairy had indeed visited him last night.

2009-02-08T10:15:00.002-06:00

Adrian has been playing basketball with Upward. He is on a team called the Grizzlies. They are really good. Adrian is having a lot of fun at practice and the games. He was excited to find out that his jersey number is "1". There are a few more games before the season ends.

Report Cards

2009-02-08T10:06:00.002-06:00

I haven't been doing a good job of keeping up with the blog. The kids received their second report card of the year a couple of weeks ago.

Adrian received all 3's and S's again which is the highest scores they give in Kindergarten. His teacher commented that "Adrian is excelling in all academic areas. Continue to encourage his love for learning. Keep up the great work!" Adrian also received a green ribbon for Perfect Attendance.

Morgan's grades were:

Reading: 95
Writing: 98
Spelling: 100
Math: 100
Social Studies: 95
Science: 96

Morgan received E's for Excellent in conduct and the special classes. Comments from her teachers were "Puts forth exceptional effort" and "Completes classwork carefully". She received a green ribbon for Perfect Attendance, a blue ribbon for A Honor Roll, and a yellow ribbon for Good Conduct. Morgan also was inducted into the Math Hall of Fame for which she received a red ribbon, a candy bar, and a pencil. She also had her picture taken and it is now mounted on the class window.

I am so proud of my babies! They work so hard!

Merry Christmas 2008

2009-01-02T16:52:00.003-06:00

We had a nice, stress-free Christmas this year at home. The kids slept in until Adrian awoke at 7:30 am so Andy woke Morgan so that they could enter the living room together to see what Santa left for them. Adrian got a new bike with pegs and Morgan got a new comforter, pillows, sheets, and valances for her room. They had some surprises in their stockings too and of course the pile of gifts from us, friends, and family. Morgan was happy to see Felicity, the American Girl doll that Mimi and Papa got for her.

Andy's parents were able to drive over for a visit just after Christmas so we were able to celebrate a "second Christmas". The visit was short but it was good to be able to spend some time with them again.

Class Christmas Parties

2008-12-20T13:27:00.004-06:00

Adrian decorating a Gingerbread cookie

Adrian and his teacher, Mrs. Nusbaum

Morgan and her teacher, Mrs. Boyd

Yesterday afternoon the kids had their class Christmas parties. I was able to go from one class to the other to try to help set up and visit. Adrian's class made ornaments, decorated Gingerbread cookies, and played "tape the button on the Gingerbread Man". Morgan's class had a smorgasbord of food and played "Pictionary". Both classes celebrated birthdays. Adrian's class celebrated Bella's birthday and Morgan's class celebrated Mrs. Boyd's birthday.

Morgan's Induction into Brownie Girl Scouts

2008-12-20T13:12:00.003-06:00

Thursday afternoon Morgan was inducted into the Brownie Girl Scouts. She has been going to meetings and events since the beginning of the school year but the actual pinning ceremony was Thursday. They combined this event with the Christmas party for the troop. Andy was able to leave work early so that he could be there also. Morgan was presented with several patches that she has earned.

Christmas is Coming

2008-12-15T10:18:00.003-06:00

It actually snowed a little bit here last week. I was sitting at the breakfast table with Morgan and Adrian helping with homework after school last Wednesday when Andy called from Anadarko to see if it was snowing at the house because he could see some from his office window. The kids and I went on the back deck and sure enough there were some snowflakes interspersed with the light rain. It did not accumulate or anything but technically it was the first "real" snow either of the kids had ever seen. They had played in manmade snow at ELP and at Market Street but that is really just shaved ice. It would have been nice if there had been a little accumulation so they could have made snowballs or something but maybe next time.

Last Thursday after school I took the kids to the iceskating rink by Market Street so they could skate with Morgan's Brownie troop. It was the first time Adrian had ever been in ice skates. Morgan had gone ice skating once when she was 22 months old but that hardly counts. There were walkers so the kids could practice getting the feel of skating. After going around a couple of time with the walker Adrian was ready to go it alone. Morgan, however, didn't want to try skating without either the walker or the wall to hang on to. She said she enjoyed the experience nonetheless. We got free hot chocolate to sip but I think the highlight of the trip was watching the Zamboni smooth the surface of the ice.

Saturday morning we all went to the Anadarko Children's Christmas party. The kids got their picture taken with Santa, decorated penguin-shaped sugar cookies, got their faces painted, ate goodies, and did a craft. It was fun as usual. That afternoon we headed to Brian and Erika's for their annual "Lights in The Heights" party. It was great to see everyone again. We walked around for a little while to see the lights and decorations and then headed back home where we all turned in rather early for a weekend.

SchoolWalk for Diabetes

2008-11-26T22:27:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Glen Loch Elementary participated in the SchoolWalk for Diabetes. The entire school walked around the soccer field together from 9:30 to 10:00 AM. Mrs. Turner, the P.E. teacher, had a large amp out in the middle of the field that blared Disney soundtracks like Camp Rock and High School Musical. The kids really enjoyed it. They got fresh air, exercise, and a chance to hang out with their friends while earning money for a good cause. Morgan and Adrian together raised $515 for the American Diabetes Association!

Adrian's 6th Birthday and Haircut

2008-11-19T11:49:00.002-06:00

I finally gave in and took Adrian to the barber last week. He was tired of people mistaking him for a girl. The barber actually did a great job, it is just that I miss his long hair. Adrian really likes the cut though so I guess that is what is important.

Adrian turned 6 years old on Sunday. Mom and Dad drove in from Alabama on Friday and had to leave Monday morning but they were able to be here on his birthday to celebrate. Adrian chose to go to Lupe Tortilla for his birthday meal. The servers slapped a sombrero on his head, swiped whipped cream on his nose, and sang to him in Spanish. He took it in stride even though I think he was a little freaked out. Adrian's big birthday gift was a skateboard which he had been wanting for years but Andy didn't think he was old enough for it until now. He has been practicing a lot.

Report Cards

2008-11-07T19:09:00.003-06:00

Adrian received his first report card of his school career this week. He received all "S's" and "3's" which both mean "Meets Expectations". His teacher, Mrs. Nusbaum, commented that "Adrian is an eager learner and is always willing to contribute ideas to class discussions".

Morgan of course received her report card this week too. All "A's" again!!

Reading: 100

Writing: 98

Spelling: 100

Math: 100

Social Studies: 98

Science: 95

She received "E's" for "Excellent" in Art, Music, P.E., and for conduct in all classes.

She also received ribbons for "A" Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, and Good Conduct. Teacher comments included "Interested and Curious Learner" and "Completes Classwork Carefully".

I am so incredibly proud of my babies!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T14:11:00.003-06:00

The kids had a great time on Halloween as usual. Morgan went as a Spanish Princess/Flamenco Dancer and Adrian was an Army soldier. We upheld our usual tradition and went trick-or-treating with the Weberlings and Smileys at Panther Creek Shopping Center. Unfortunately Hans had been downtown at the clinic all day Thursday and wasn't up for trick-or-treating with us. Elle was Elizabeth Swan from Pirates of the Caribbean, Michael was a Ghostbuster, and Ryan was a policeman.

After a truncated journey through the shopping center I took the kids to McDonald's to pick up dinner and take it home to eat. Then we walked over to Hannah and Caleb's house for a Halloween party. There were decorations, games, Halloween-inspired goodies, and friends. We stayed there for awhile and then the whole crew went trick-or-treating around their neighborhood. When we got close to our house we went ahead and made our way home to ring one more doorbell - our's. Andy gave the kids candy and we retired for the evening.

Big Snake

2008-10-20T13:40:00.003-05:00

Adrian and I went to Trenton Smiley's 6th birthday party Friday night. They had a lady come with insects, spiders, lizards, turtles, and snakes. It was really a cool and informative party. The highlight was at the end when they pulled out this HUGE, yellow snake.

Backyard Campout

2008-10-12T16:02:00.004-05:00

(Morgan, Gracen, and Alexis)

Morgan had her first backyard campout with her Brownie Troop last night. They camped in the Luman's backyard and had a blast. They went on a hike in the Nature Preserve, cooked hot dogs, made s'mores, made cinnamon rolls, and had pancakes this morning. The Lumans have a zip line and a play structure in the backyard that were a lot of fun for the girls. Morgan said her favorite part was doing the skits that they made up.

Morgan's Dress-up Sleepover

2008-10-12T15:55:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Morgan went to a sleepover birthday party where they were supposed to dress up. Morgan went as a Spanish Princess. This is the same costume that she is going to wear on Halloween. She was muy bonita!

Summer Explorer 2008

2008-10-03T13:40:00.003-05:00

The presentation for the Summer Explorers T-shirts and certificates was this morning in the school library. Morgan has participated every year since she was eligible in Kindergarten. I am very proud of my overachiever!

Upward

2008-10-01T21:23:00.002-05:00

Morgan cheered for her first game of the new Upward flag football season this past Saturday. Her new squad is the "Gems". Because of Hurricane Ike they only had one practice before their first game. They did wonderfully and had a great time!

FEMA POD

2008-10-01T21:05:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday a few of the girls from Morgan's Brownie troop helped out at the FEMA POD (point of distribution) that was set up in our church's parking lot. They worked really hard sorting and handing out boxes of food. Adrian and I helped too. Morgan said that it felt good to help other people.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-19T07:55:00.004-05:00

It looks like things are starting to get back to normal around here. We got our power back around noon yesterday and it hasn't gone back down again so we are hopeful that this time it will stay on for good.

Last Friday, the night of the storm (which happened to be Andy's birthday) the kids slept in the closet under the stairs and Andy and I slept in the pantry. I slept fairly well until 1:45 AM when a loud noise woke me up. The winds outside were fierce and even from downstairs I could hear things falling on the roof of the house. Some of the "thunks" were so loud that I thought we would wake up to holes in the roof. I thought we would get lucky with the power because even after hours of strong winds we still had power but at 6:15 AM the electricity finally went out. The strong wind and rain continued throughout most of Saturday. The kids stayed downstairs and each time I ventured upstairs I would get spooked when another branch fell on the roof and I would go running to the pantry again. Toward the end of Saturday the rain finally stopped and we walked outside to assess the damage. We were surprised, but incredibly relieved, to see that we had no damage. We just had a yard littered with branches and other debris.

The front yard before the storm.

The kids in their safe zone.

Sunday and Monday were spent cleaning our yard and helping neighbors clean their yards. We transfered the ice that we had bagged and all our refrigerated food into coolers and ate the perishable food first. By Tuesday I had to go in search of ice. It was pretty scary since the traffic lights weren't working and not everyone seemed to understand or care about the 4-way stop principle when lights aren't operational.

The front yard after the storm.

Adrian at the corner of our house with some neighbors.

Morgan and Alyssa playing the in the next-door neighbor's yard.

I made it to HEB by 7:45 AM and there was already a really long line of people waiting for the doors to open. A sheriff came by and announced that they were going to make two lines. One was for ice only, 5 bag maximum, $2 each, cash only. The other line was going to be for non-perishable food only and they were going to allow 20 people at a time into the store. Nearly everyone made a break for the ice only line and I was no exception. I had hoped to get some food too but after I was finished with the ice line the food line was so long that I had to get the ice home so it wouldn't melt. I went to another HEB store later that afternoon and was able to get some bread, pasta, chips, trail mix, apples, and bananas. Most of the store was blocked off and the shelves were pretty bare. They had no perishable food and very little produce. It was surreal to be walking around the dimly lit store with only a limited number of other patrons in there trying to pick through and find food for the next few days. I came very close to packing up the kids and driving to Alabama. I really wanted to take advantage of the schools being closed to make a visit to Mom and Dad but at the same time I wanted to stay put and enjoy the newfound closeness of the neighborhood. Besides, it was kind of nice to not have the kids glued to the TV or computer. We played outside a lot, played card games, and went for walks.

We were incredibly fortunate to have water and natural gas. Luckily our hot water heater is hooked up to natural gas. Also we recently got a new grill with a side burner and had it hooked up to a natural gas line so we cooked all our meals outside. We were also very lucky that the weather cooled off after the first couple of days and we didn't need the air conditioner anyway. If the weather had not cooled off I'm pretty sure we would have all packed up and driven to Alabama.

Banner Making at the Park

2008-09-06T15:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we met Lara, Elle, and Hans; Carmen, Michael, and Ryan; and Charon and Anthony at Falconwing Park to make a banner for the bake sale to be held next week. The proceeds from this sale are going to the families of the six little children who passed away this past year from Neuroblastoma and Ewing's Sarcoma in our area.

Adrian

Morgan

Elle and Hans

Michael and Ryan

Working hard....

Finished!

Back to School

2008-08-28T17:10:00.004-05:00

School started this past Monday and both of the kids are loving it! Morgan has many familiar faces in her third grade class. Adrian loves being in Kindergarten. His little buddy, Hans, is in his class. I have been up at the school pretty much every day this week helping Kindergartners with lunch or making copies for PTO and for teachers.

Morgan has been having a blast wearing new fashions that were handed down by her friend, Elle. She also has been enjoying her new "Mitchie" boots that she bought at The Disney Store with some of her birthday money.

Adrian and his daddy had fun playing their electric guitars together the other day.

I have included a few pictures that we took at the pool before school started. Adrian and Morgan have only recently been confident enough to go off the diving board and slide at the pool.

Morgan's 8th Birthday

2008-08-17T16:09:00.003-05:00

Morgan is 8 years old today! We celebrated her birthday yesterday while Mimi and Papa were in town. She got everything she wanted for her birthday except for a party. We had a nice visit with Mimi and Papa. We went to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Morgan's birthday and Mimi and Papa's 39th wedding anniversary! We rode the water taxi down the waterway to get to the restaurant. It was a new adventure.

Space Center Houston

2008-07-19T11:28:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to Space Center Houston. It was pretty cool and the kids enjoyed it but I'm not so sure for myself that it was entirely worth the expense, travel time, and crowds.

Destin and Helena Vacations

2008-07-13T14:13:00.003-05:00

June 21st we drove from The Woodlands to Destin, Florida to spend the week with Mom, Dad, Jeremy, and Angie at Edgewater Beach Condominiums. Kasey was able to spend one night with us before having to go to yet another cheer camp back home in Georgia. We had a wonderful week playing in the surf (the kids had a blast jumping the waves that came ashore), swimming in the pools, playing shuffleboard, shopping at the outlet mall, playing miniature golf at Big Kahuna, and hanging out in the condo watching TV and playing video games. Overall the weather was great while we were there.

June 28th we said farewell to Jerm and Angie and we followed Mom and Dad up to Helena to stay for a week. Dad and I spent much of the week down in the basement going through Grandma's belongings trying to get ready for the garage sale on July 5th. Andy, Mom, and I took the kids to Joe Tucker Park whenever we could so that they could run around and play. On July 4th we went to the amphitheater in Helena to listen to "Elvis", catch fireflies (the kids' favorite part), eat gelato, and watch fireworks. The fireworks display only lasted 15 minutes but the finale was awesome!

On July 5th we had the garage sale at Mom and Dad's house. Everything was going just fine until the rain came. Unfortunately we lost a lot of great sale time because of the weather and there were still a lot of things left unsold. Hopefully there can be another sale in the near future. Gwen and Chris came by after lunch that day and picked up the kids to take them to see Wall-E. They had a great time!

The next day we had to drive back to The Woodlands and return to our normal life again.

Morgan's report card and GT placement

2008-06-11T07:48:00.002-05:00

Morgan's final report card for second grade arrived in the mail yesterday. All A's again! Way to go Morgan!! Her final averages for each subject are:
Reading: 98
Writing: 97
Spelling: 97
Math: 97
Social Studies: 95
Science: 95
Her home base teacher included the comments: "Grasps concepts quickly" and "Expresses ideas clearly".

Also arriving in the mail yesterday were the results of Morgan's testing for placement into the GT (gifted and talented) program at her school. She made it into the program based on her language arts skills. She was so excited and so was I. I am so proud of my little girl!

Kayaking

2008-06-10T14:57:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday we took the kids and kayaks out on Lake Woodlands. We went down the waterway as far as it goes and then came back and started heading toward the dragon at Southshore Park. Unfortunately we didn't make it that far because Morgan had to go to the restroom. So we paddled back as quickly as we could to Northshore Park and walked to the restrooms. On our journey we saw lots of herons and other birds. We also saw two deer which was really cool. Hopefully we can go back out this weekend and make it to the dragon.

Grandma's Passing

2008-06-05T11:40:00.003-05:00

Grandma Holly (Aneita Elizabeth Holly, Dad's mom) passed away Thursday, May 29th, 2008. She was 84 years old. Adrian and I drove to Birmingham last Saturday. Morgan and Andy stayed in Texas because Morgan still had school this week. The wake was Sunday evening and the funeral was Monday morning. Eight of Dad's cowboy friends were the pall bearers and were dressed in cowboy clothes. Dad wore his Confederate uniform both Sunday and Monday. The mayor of Helena attended the funeral. It was a difficult trip but I am glad that we went to be with Dad.

Adrian's Preschool Graduation

2008-05-11T10:31:00.002-05:00

Adrian had his "Growing Up" ceremony at ELP last Wednesday. He was nervous about getting up in front of all the parents and singing and dancing their songs. His favorite part of the ceremony was getting to pick his prayer pillow. He chose one with a green pouch that he said looked like camo. He was really dressed up compared to most of the kids there but he didn't mind. He wanted to wear his suit and the cufflinks that had been his great-grandfather's. After the ceremony Andy and I took him to eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A in the mall.

Morgan's First Communion

2008-05-11T10:24:00.003-05:00

Morgan had her First Communion last Sunday. Mom and Andy's parents were able to come here for the event. Morgan was really nervous about the ceremony but she did just great. She was able to wear the same dress she wore as a flower girl in Gwen's wedding but we had a white sash and bow and she had a different headpiece that Mom and Dad got for her. Her friends - Weston, Alyssa, Elle, Hans, Michael, and Ryan - were able to come with their parents as well. After the ceremony we had a reception for her at our house. The kids had fun playing and running around.

Gwen's Wedding

2008-05-11T10:12:00.003-05:00

Gwen got married on April 26th so the kids and I flew to Birmingham to be there. It was the first time Adrian had ever flown and Morgan hadn't flown since she was 2 years old. It was an adventure for them and they really enjoyed it. They were squealing and laughing and comparing it to a Walt Disney World ride. I think the businessman in front of Adrian was getting a kick out of their reactions. He was smiling and chuckling a little. We flew on a little jet that was only 3 seats wide and 18 rows long.

Morgan was the flower girl and I was the matron-of-honor. Morgan was so beautiful in her dress with the head wreath that Gwen got for her to wear. Morgan was really nervous but it didn't show when she was out there doing her thing. It was a very nice ceremony and reception. I had a hard time not crying. My eyes welled with tears but luckily I was able to keep them from falling and ruining my make-up.

Petting Zoo

2008-04-16T13:41:00.003-05:00

Marsha's petting zoo came to ELP yesterday. Adrian had a good time as usual petting and talking to the animals which included a cow, a donkey, a llama, an antelope, goats, rabbits, and pot-bellied pigs. The two little pigs were only 3 weeks old and it was the first time they were separated from their mom. So the pigs spent much of the time huddled and shivering in the corner of their pen. One pig kept climbing on the back of the other one. Adrian pointed and said, "Look a piggyback ride - get it?" I thought it was so funny. Later at dinner Adrian was recounting the tale to Morgan and Andy. At the end of the story Adrian said, "That was a good one!"

Hans's Playhouse

2008-04-16T13:37:00.002-05:00

Our friend, Hans, recently received a Rainbow Playstructure from the Make-a-Wish Foundation and invited his friends over for a playdate to break it in. The boys had a great time playing and eating pizza while the moms had an awesome French-inspired lunch provided by Lara, Hans's mom.

Book Fair Poster Contest

2008-04-16T13:31:00.002-05:00

Glen Loch Elementary recently had their book fair in the library. There was a poster contest with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes awarded for each grade level. Morgan spent a few hours on Easter Sunday making a poster. She ended up getting 1st prize for the second grade! She was so excited and we were so proud of her. She got a blue ribbon and a certificate for $8 toward a book from the book fair. She chose the American Girl book "Meet Samantha" as her prize.

Morgan's Report Card

2008-03-28T19:39:00.002-05:00

Morgan has done it again - straight A's!! Her grades were as follows:

Reading: 100
Writing: 96
Spelling: 97
Math: 94
Social Studies: 96
Science: 93

She also received a blue ribbon for "A" Honor Roll, a green ribbon for Perfect Attendance, and a gold ribbon for Good Conduct. Her teacher's comments were "strives for excellence" and "developing writing strategies". Way to go Morgan!!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T11:58:00.002-05:00

This morning the kids woke up and found their Easter baskets on the kitchen table. Adrian got a new Webkinz, an outfit, and candy. Morgan got amethyst drop earrings, a Hannah Montana shirt, and candy. Then they saw that there were some eggs hidden in the living room. They had a hunt and then discovered more candy and even some quarters in the hidden eggs. They have been having a good morning.

Nature Preserve

2008-03-23T11:52:00.002-05:00

Friday we took the kids for a walk on the new Nature Preserve that they opened up near the house. It has a walk/bike loop that appears to be about a mile that goes through the woods. There is a lake (Bedias Lake) and some wetlands along the way. It was a perfect day to walk the trail. Next time I want to take the bike and check it out.

Adrian's Spring Carnival at ELP

2008-03-23T11:46:00.003-05:00

Adrian's preschool had their Spring Carnival a couple of weeks ago. The kids played games and had an Easter egg hunt. Adrian had fun as usual.

Glen Loch Carnival and SSJ Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-10T16:01:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday was the Glen Loch carnival. The kids had a pretty good time playing the games but their favorite thing was dancing in the gym. All the kids got to run around in the gym prior to the PE grade level performances. Morgan's grade danced to "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys. After all the performances everyone was invited down to the gym floor to dance around to "Wipe Out".

Sunday afternoon was the Saints Simon and Jude Easter egg hunt. The kids enjoyed that too but their favorite part was playing with their friends before and after the hunt. They found a cat that they named "Eggie". The kids got their picture taken with the Easter bunny too. Adrian informed me today that they know it was a "human" in a bunny suit because they saw his neck when he sat down in the rocking chair.

Road Rally and Progress Report

2008-02-20T16:17:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was Road Rally for Adrian's class at ELP. He was really excited to show all his friends that he could ride his bike without training wheels. Last year he learned to ride without training wheels the week after Road Rally. The kids had fun riding around the parking lot. There weren't too many incidents and luckily Adrian wasn't involved in any of them.

Yesterday Morgan came home with her progress report. She currently has straight A's again.

Reading: 99
Writing: 94
Spelling: 96
Math: 95
Social Studies: 97
Science: 93

Go Morgan!

Snow Day 2008

2008-02-02T10:51:00.001-06:00

Although Alabama received snow a couple of weeks ago, we still have not had any snow since we moved to Texas. The kids have never seen real snow before but ELP (the preschool Adrian attends) has a "Snow Day" every year. Adrian's class had their fun the snow this past Wednesday. He had so much fun throwing snowballs at everyone, especially me and his teacher. He also enjoyed riding the sled and making a snow castle. Here are some pictures.

Morgan's Report Card

2008-01-18T15:55:00.000-06:00

Morgan received her report card today. She made "A" honor roll again...YEA!! Reading - 98
Writing - 96
Spelling - 97
Math - 97
Social Studies - 95
Science - 95
Her home base teacher included comments: "shows creativity in writing" and "applies information read". She received a gold ribbon for good conduct and a blue ribbon for "A" honor roll. So proud!

Cat, Tooth, Reconciliation

2008-01-07T14:00:00.000-06:00

First of all we decided to go ahead and bring Blicky inside on Thursday. She tested negative for feline leukemia and feline AIDS so we got her rabies and distemper shots and brought her in the house. She will be spayed in a few weeks. Aiken and Ginseng are not too happy about the new roommate but things haven't been too bad. For the most part they just try to keep a respectable distance between each other.

Thursday night Morgan lost another tooth. Now she has matching windows on the top.

On Saturday Morgan had her First Reconciliation after CCE. She was nervous but did fine. Luckily she didn't have too many sins to confess so it didn't take too long. We took her out for ice cream at TCBY afterward to celebrate her newly cleansed soul.

Camel Ride and Christmas

2008-01-03T19:01:00.000-06:00

This year at ELP they had a camel and donkey for the kids to ride. The camel was really tall and after riding it the first time Adrian said it felt "dangerous". He didn't really want to ride it again unless I rode it with him so I did. It was kind of cool. It is not every day that you get a chance to ride a camel. It was very wobbly. Adrian got to ride a donkey too which he really enjoyed.

Well Christmas has come and gone. We rented a van and drove to Alabama for the holidays. We started out in Helena with the Holly clan. There were lots of people to visit with and parties to go to. It was a whirlwind visit it seems. The kids enjoyed playing with their numerous cousins. An added bonus was that the kids got to see Santa ride by on the Helena Fire Engine on Christmas Eve. He even threw candy to them in Mom and Dad's yard. Christmas morning it took a long time to open all the presents. Santa was good to the kids this year. Morgan received the pink Nintendo DS Lite she had been wanting and Adrian got an electric guitar so that he can jam with his dad.

We stayed in Helena until the day after Christmas at which time we drove to Orange Beach to hang with the Kleins. The weather cooperated enough that we got a few hours on the beach one day. The kids had a great time playing wave tag. We drove back home before New Year's Eve and actually went to the Smileys for a party to ring in the new year. I actually made it until midnight and got to see the ball drop.

Sleepover

2007-12-17T17:17:00.000-06:00

Saturday night was our turn to return the favor the Smileys did for us the previous week when they had Morgan and Adrian over to their house for a sleepover so that we could go to the Anadarko Christmas party for adults. So Michael and Ryan spent the night here last Saturday and the kids all had a great time. They decorated cookies, played games, and watched a movie. They can't wait to do it again.

Anadarko Children's Christmas Party

2007-12-15T22:06:00.001-06:00

This morning we took the kids to the Anadarko Children's Christmas Party. They had their picture taken with Santa, made foam ornaments for the tree, decorated sugar cookies, worked on activity books, watched a juggling show, decorated laminated snowmen, got balloon art, ate yummies, and Morgan had her face painted. They had lots of fun!

Adrian's Haircut

2007-12-12T13:31:00.000-06:00

So we finally went and got Adrian's hair cut. I think the last straw came last week at the bank where there were 3 people within a few minutes of each other who referred to Adrian as a girl. A little while later we went to eat lunch with Morgan at school and a kid was asking if Adrian was a boy or a girl. So we went to Great Clips Monday after lunch. We took in a picture of Zac Efron (from High School Musical) with the hairstyle Adrian wanted. The lady said she could do it, but apparently she was wrong. She cut it too short and it is not very even either. Of course I didn't tell Adrian my true feelings because I didn't want to upset him, but at least he likes it. He has received many slack-jawed stares since the haircut. Morgan didn't recognize him upon exiting the school building Monday afternoon. Even I had a hard time locating him in the crowd at school today. It used to be so easy to find that long-haired golden mane among the boys but not anymore.

Doobie Brothers and golf

2007-12-09T15:21:00.000-06:00

Last night Andy and I went to the Anadarko Christmas party for adults. It was at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston. Our friends Carmen and Jim graciously volunteered to let Morgan and Adrian sleep over with their boys, Michael and Ryan, so that Andy and I could have a night out on the town. The event was very well done. There were open bars everywhere and the buffets were very nice too. We dined in the ballroom which was transformed into an under the sea atmosphere. There was also a woman that came in and did a Cirque du Soleil-type performance on what appeared to be a long drape hanging from the ceiling while we ate. They also had a holiday photo station set up so that we could have a memento of our evening (see photo below).

We enjoyed good conversation and people watching too. Of course the highlight of the affair was the Doobie Brothers performance in a tent set up across from the hotel. They performed from 9:45 pm to 11:00 pm. It was so much fun! I tried to take pictures with my camera but all I got was glare. All in all it was a wonderful evening. The kids got to spend the night with great friends and Andy and I got to get a glimpse of what it will be like when the kids are a few years older and can start to fend for themselves.

This afternoon the kids had golf lessons at the country club here in The Woodlands. They take lessons with Michael and Ryan and another friend. It was Adrian's second lesson and Morgan's first. They both really seem to enjoy it so we will continue to support them as long as their interest persists. I included a couple of pictures of them on the back driving range.

New Doors

2007-12-07T19:27:00.000-06:00

Our new front doors were installed this week. They are beautiful! My favorite part is when the morning sun shines through the prisms on the top of the doors and makes rainbows on the floors and walls. Gorgeous!

Morgan's Progress Report

2007-12-07T19:24:00.000-06:00

Once again Morgan had a great progress report. She received a 98 in Reading; a 97 in Math; a 96 in Spelling; and 95's in Writing, Social Studies, and Science. Way to go Morgan!

Adrian's 5th Birthday

2007-11-22T17:15:00.000-06:00

Well Adrian is 5 years old now. He decided that for his birthday party he wanted to have a pinata. Since pinatas are not allowed at Pump It Up I told him he could have his party at a park but he wanted to have it at the house. He chose an "army" theme. So we had a lot of camouflage things to decorate with and we wore camouflage attire. We ended up having about 22 kids and 20 adults at the house. The weather cooperated enough that much of the party was spent outside. Adrian had a great time and loved being able to "finish off" the pinata.

Morgan's First Report Card for Second Grade

2007-11-03T19:23:00.000-05:00

Once again Morgan received straight A's. The grades are as follows:
Reading: 96
Writing: 96
Spelling: 97
Math: 99
Social Studies: 97
Science: 98
She also received 3 ribbons. She got a gold one for Good Conduct, a green one for Perfect Attendance, and a blue one for "A" Honor Roll. The comments from her teacher were "Conscientious student" and "Strives hard to do their best". We are so proud of her!

Here is her school picture.

I promise that I brushed her hair that morning. It turns out that second graders were the last to be photographed that day, after recess and P.E. At least she has such a pretty face and winning smile.

Home Improvements

2007-11-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

Here are some before and after shots of the improvements we made to the house. I was hoping that we would have the front doors in by now but there were delays with the manufacturer and we probably won't have them for a couple of more weeks. I'll try to remember to update with photos once they are in.

Halloween

2007-11-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

One of Adrian's friends had a costume party for his birthday a couple of weeks ago and Adrian was the blue Power Ranger and Morgan was Hannah Montana.

Morgan decided not to be Hannah Montana on Halloween night because we found out that it was supposedly the hottest costume of the year for girls. So Morgan decided to be a witch instead. It was funny that as we were walking around at the shopping center Morgan turned to me and said, "I didn't realize being a witch was such a popular costume." There were a lot of people dressed as witches but all the costumes were different. Morgan was by far the cutest witch there.

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating with their friends at the Panther Creek Shopping Center last night. Hans was Buzz Lightyear, Elle was Elizabeth Swan, Michael was Mario, Morgan was a witch, Adrian was the blue Power Ranger, and Ryan was "The Boss". They got lots of candy.

Cheer and T-Ball

2007-09-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Morgan's first cheerleading of the season. They are cheering for flag football this season. The games are played outside unlike the basketball games she cheered for last winter. There are only 5 girls on her squad this year but they are having a great time at practices and the game so far. Morgan's friend and neighbor, Alyssa, is on another cheering squad that was cheering for the other game playing on the fields yesterday. Her brother, Weston, was on one of the teams that Morgan was cheering for.

Adrian was supposed to have another T-ball game yesterday but the other team forfeited so we had a practice game where the kids got to play against the parents. It was fun.

Summer Explorers and T-Ball

2007-09-15T19:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning there was a presentation in the Glen Loch library for the students who completed the Summer Explorers program. Only 25 students in the school participated and Morgan was one of them. They earned a certificate, T-shirt, and their names were engraved on a plaque that is displayed in the library. I am so proud of Morgan for doing it.

This afternoon Adrian had his first T-ball game at the YMCA. He had fun and actually did pretty well. It was fun to watch the kids, most of whom were clueless. I looked out at Adrian in the field at one point and realized that he looked like the kid in the 70s version of "Bad News Bears". Cute!

Adrian's First Day of PreK and other stuff

2007-09-04T13:46:00.000-05:00

Adrian started PreK today at ELP. He is in the Cardinal class just like Morgan was. He has a few friends from the previous 2 years at ELP in his class so it should be an easy year for him. He said he had a good day today.

I love this picture of Morgan in her Chinese dress. She is also wearing shimmery pink boots but they didn't make it into the photo. We were getting ready to go to the grocery store and Morgan said, "Mom, what if we put my hair in a bun and stuck chopsticks in there?" So we did it. She is such a fashionista to be so young and worse still to have me as a mother. I don't know where she gets it from. A toddler at the grocery store actually said "Wow!" when she saw Morgan. It was cute!

Here is a picture of "Blicky". She came around our house on the first day of school and was so sweet and pretty skinny so we gave her some attention and some food. Now she won't leave. Anybody want a cat?

Morgan's First Day of Second Grade

2007-08-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

Morgan started second grade this past Monday. When asked how her first day was she replied, "Great!" She really likes her teachers and the other 15 students in her class.

Market Street

2007-08-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I took the kids to Market Street to meet our friends and to see Thumbelina, the world's smallest horse. It was really hot that day and the kids played in the fountain after petting Thumbelina. Then we ate lunch at Johnny Rockets. It was a fun-packed day for the kiddos.

Morgan's 7th Birthday

2007-08-19T15:45:00.000-05:00

Morgan turned 7 years old on Friday. Mom and Dad drove in from Alabama on Thursday (their 38th anniversary) to be at the party at Pump It Up which was yesterday. Morgan had a great time at her party and was really happy to celebrate her birthday with her friends.

Andy surprised Morgan with this cool dog for her birthday. She saw it at Anadarko when she went to "Take Your Kid to Work Day". He sings a Barry White song.

On Friday we all went to Old Town Spring to do some shopping. The kids each picked out a new Oriental outfit and Adrian had to have a funny hat with a fake braid down the back.

2007-07-06T19:56:00.001-05:00

The kids and I drove the Camry to Alabama to visit Mimi and Papa for the 4th of July which has been our tradition for the past few years. Unfortunately we were in a wreck on the way there. It happened just east of Tuscaloosa. We had passed through a really bad downpour and traffic had been crawling. Then the sun came out and the speed of the traffic increased so I was going with the flow. It was still raining lightly and the sun was out and we saw a rainbow on the horizon in front of us. The kids had never seen a "real" rainbow before. They had only seen rainbows from prisms in the past and were excited to see a real one in the sky. I had never seen one on the horizon before. So we were talking about rainbows and just as it seemed like we were passing through the rainbow, brake lights went on in front of us. I applied the brakes but I didn't slow down at all. The brakes were depressed but it was like I was slipping on ice. I knew I wasn't going to be able to stop in time so I tried to steer to the left to avoid the car in front of me but the tires never gripped the pavement so I continued to go straight and smashed into the rear of a 1999 Honda Civic. As soon as the cars collided our car jolted to the left and into the grassy ravine and I was then able to steer it in a better path and come to a stop. I immediately checked on the kids and then dialed 9-1-1. Morgan had a scrape on her upper arm from the seat belt and Adrian's stomach hurt a little from the lap belt. As for myself I had a sore neck for a few days. Luckily the guy and girl in the other car were not injured at all. (It was the guy's 21st birthday.) I am so grateful that everyone was wearing their seatbelts or else the outcome may not have been as good. I wasn't speeding, tailgating, talking on a cell phone, eating, drinking, fiddling with the radio or anything when it happened but I still feel so responsible. I don't know what else I could have done differently. Morgan summed it up by saying, "Well, I guess rainbows aren't lucky after all."

Of course it sucked to start the vacation on that note but we did manage to have a great visit. On Saturday we spent a lot of time in Helena for the 4th of July festivities. They had some inflatable things for the kids to climb and jump on. They also enjoyed listening to and dancing on stage with Elvis. Then we went up the hill to watch the fireworks.

On Sunday some of the family came over for a cookout. Morgan and Adrian got to play with a couple of cousins and had a good time.

Monday we went to Joe Tucker Park and let the kids run around for a while.

We went to the Birmingham Zoo on Tuesday and were surprised to see how much it had changed. The zoo is much better than before.

Wednesday we went to the warehouse and found treasures. There were so many things that I thought had been thrown away long ago. Adrian found what he thought was a popcorn popper but it was really an old hair dryer that you sit under. We finally found my old My Little Pony castle and we brought it back to Texas for Morgan.

On Thursday we drove Mom's XTerra back to Texas. She is using the rental car until the Camry is fixed and then she and Dad will drive it out in August when they come for Morgan's birthday. It is good to be back home with Andy. When we got home he had baked a dish of brownies and topped it with 2 Matchbox cars. He had a blue one ramming into the back of a gray one. He is sooooo funny.

Charitable Acts

2007-06-17T11:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Andy, the kids, and I woke up early to go to a 5K run/walk to benefit a 3 year old boy with lymphoma. We don't know the boy or his family but we were so impressed by how the community came out in November to support Hans at his run that we wanted to be a part of this one as well. The kids did pretty well but Morgan started out too fast for her and got pooped too soon. I ended up piggy-backing her off and on so that we could make the 3 miles in less than an hour. To be fair to Adrian, Andy and I took turns piggy-backing him now and again as well.

At the start of the race a lady was walking around with a plastic box so that people could put their keys in there while they ran. Morgan saw her going through the crowd calling out "keys" and Morgan looked up at us and said, "I want some!" It was cute! She didn't even know what the lady had but she wanted some. In about 9 years it won't be so cute because she will really want some keys that go to a real car.

After that Andy was still in a giving mood so he drove up to Conroe to help with Habitat for Humanity. Anadarko is helping to sponsor a house up there so Andy spent 4 1/2 hours framing windows and doing roofing. As you can imagine he was pooped last night.

While Andy was helping to construct a house, the kids and I were constructing a cake for him for Father's Day. Morgan and Adrian enjoyed putting the ingredients together, decorating it, and licking the frosting off the spatula.

Report Card and Haircut

2007-06-06T16:23:00.000-05:00

Morgan received her final report card for first grade in the mail yesterday. She received a blue ribbon for making the "A" honor roll. She didn't receive ribbons for no absences this time though. She was sick 3 days and we took 5 days off for the trip to Disney. It was worth it though. Her cumulative grades for the year for each subject are as follows: Reading - 99, Writing - 99, Spelling - 99, Math - 96, Social Studies - 98, and Science - 99. She received "E's" for Music, Art, and PE. As always I am very proud of my "little".

Morgan decided that she wanted to have bangs so we took her to Cartoon Cuts this morning and she got bangs and a trim. I wasn't too keen on the idea of bangs because they require maintenance but I have to admit that it is very becoming on her. She can't wait to show everyone her new look.

Morgan and Adrian had their first violin lesson with Leota Boesen Monday afternoon. They were both very well behaved and said that they liked it. They have 3 more lessons during the trial period at the end of which they will decide if they want to continue or not.

Tooth Fairy and Violins

2007-05-26T16:22:00.001-05:00

Well, Morgan lost another tooth the other day. This time it was on the bottom left side second from the center. So at least there is some symmetry to the gap. Adrian says the gap looks like a phone because the opening resembles the handset of a phone.

The kids decided that they both wanted to take violin lessons so I found a lady here in the area who agreed to take them both on a trial period for weekly lessons together. We picked up their violins today and they couldn't wait to start practicing. Their first lesson is the first Monday in June.

Morgan has been wanting to take more cheerleading classes and I finally found a place that offers weekly lessons without having to compete. They are at the Woodlands Gymnastics Academy. She took a trial class this week and loved it. Adrian was bored while waiting for her class to finish and he wanted to get out there and play on the equipment. They have a gymnastics class for his age that meets at the same time as Morgan's class so I signed him up. They are both really excited about all the activities they are going to be starting.

Water Day

2007-05-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was "Water Day" at ELP for Adrian's class. They had ice cream sundaes and then splashed around in wading pools and a slip-n-slide for half an hour. Adrian had fun even though he said it was cold.

Today was Adrian's last day of this school year. He is very excited to be able to stay home with me but he will miss his friends. He received his final progress report yesterday and he couldn't have done any better. The comments written by his teachers were nice to see too. They wrote, "Wow! What a brilliant, sweet little boy you have! We love listening to Adrian explain his ideas and share his thoughts. He learns easily and has so many interesting observations about every subject we discuss. We marvel at his recall ability as well. He continues to interact well with others. He is happy joining in with his classmates or exploring and creating by himself. He is very well-rounded and has such an inquisitive mind. Adrian is a wonderfully bright student. We have enjoyed every moment that he has been in our class. He will be missed." I am so proud of him!

Birthday Parties

2007-05-13T16:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Morgan went to a classmate's birthday party at Libby Lu. Afterward they ate Chick-Fil-A in the food court and then rode the carousel. Andy, Adrian, and I caught up with the party at the food court and we bought Adrian lunch there and let him ride the carousel at the same time. The Libby Lu party was a "Hannah Montana" party and Morgan decided that she thinks she looks better as a blonde.

Later in the afternoon we drove down to the Houston Zoo for Gus Wellner's birthday party. The kids got to ride the carousel there also. It was fun.

Disney World

2007-05-13T15:08:00.000-05:00

I am finally getting around to doing a post of our trip to Disney World a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome! The weather was great and the lines were almost non-existent. We only used Fastpass one time at the Magic Kingdom. We were able to walk right onto a lot of the rides. Mom and Dad met us there and we stayed together at the Wilderness Lodge Villas. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath villa with a washer and dryer and kitchenette. The location, setting, and atmosphere were perfect for us.

The first park day was devoted to Epcot. We went to Future World and World Showcase. We visited all the countries. Morgan loved the boat ride in Mexico so we went on it twice. We ate dinner at the Biergarten which was lots of fun. The food was delicious and all you could eat. There was a bit of dancing with the kids at the end with the oompa band. We did the chicken dance!

The second day we went to Animal Kingdom and Jeremy and Angie met us there. Our favorite ride there was Kilimanjaro Safari. The kids also enjoyed the shady dinosaur dig area.

The third day we visited the Magic Kindgom which was everyone's favorite park. We went on so many rides and did lots of walking. We were there from the park opening until the park closing. Mom and Dad and the kids were such troupers. We saw the afternooon parade and the evening fireworks, both of which were very well done. I particularly enjoyed the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride which was like a video game as well. Morgan's favorite was the Mad Hatter Tea Cup ride. Adrian liked It's a Small World so much that he begged us to ride it a second time, so we did. We had a character dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. The kids were able to get their picture taken with Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, and Dale during dinner.

The fourth day we went to Disney MGM Studios. It was the least favorite of everyone. Morgan did enjoy The Little Mermaid production and Adrian liked the Lights! Motors! Action! stunt show but was a little frightened by the fire which put off a lot of heat into the audience. We left the park about lunch time after the High School Musical Pep Rally and went back to the resort to wind down and let the kids swim. They swam every day except for Wednesday when we went to the Magic Kingdom.

The following day we checked out and went to Jerm's house to swim and hang out. I got to ride in his new Lamborghini. It was an experience. People, especially guys, go crazy over that car. We spent the night at Jerm's and then drove to Mom and Dad's so that we could pick up Dad's Amigo. It is a fun little vehicle which will take the place of the van we are currently leasing. The lease is up next month and we are turning it back in so that we won't have a car payment anymore, yea!! Thanks Dad!

We finally made it back home the following day and it took me nearly a week to get things back to normal after being away for a week. It was so worth it though. It was the best family vacation ever for us. Hopefully my memories of this trip will last longer than the ones from my previous trip there about 22 years ago.

Mother's Day Tea

2007-05-10T07:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Adrian's class hosted a Mother's Day Tea for all the moms of the class. They sang songs, gave us handmade gifts, and served us tea, grapes, cheese, and chocolate chip muffins. Yum! It was very sweet. Adrian was so excited to have me there. I could kick myself for forgetting the camera though. I had charged it and everything. Oh well.

Morgan's progress report and the Tooth Fairy

2007-04-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Morgan came home with a progress report and a tooth that had come out. She had all A's again on her progress report. The tooth that came out was her bottom tooth on the right, second from the center. She woke up this morning to find another gold coin in her tooth pillow. She took it to school to show everyone.

Petting Zoo

2007-04-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

Today the petting zoo came to ELP and Adrian's class got to visit with the animals. There was a fawn, a pig, a llama, a donkey, a calf, goats, sheep, rabbits, ducks, and chickens. Adrian's favorite was the pig that was named "Charlotte". Adrian was very gentle with the animals, even when one of the goats was trying to eat his shirt!

Strawberry Picking and Jumping Rope

2007-04-15T12:08:00.000-05:00

This past Thursday Adrian and I went strawberry picking with Carmen, Ryan, and some women from my aerobics class. It was perfect weather for picking at King's Orchard in Plantersville, Texas. They had rows and rows of beautiful strawberries. It was a first for us and lots of fun. Carmen, the boys, and I had a picnic lunch there under the trees after laboring in the field. Between Adrian and me we picked about 3 pounds of strawberries, not including the ones we taste-tested in the field. After getting home and washing them we ate many of them plain and then I made strawberry shortcake and dipped a couple dozen in melted Nestle morsels, yum! The remainder of the strawberries I put in the freezer to be used in smoothies in the upcoming weeks.

Morgan and Adrian have been jumping rope a lot lately. The other evening they were jumping together and getting quite good actually. It is cute to see them trying so hard together.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-11T14:03:00.000-05:00

The kids slept in on Easter morning. When they awoke they found that the Easter bunny had hidden lots of plastic eggs throughout the downstairs. They also had baskets on the kitchen table with more candy, coins, and presents. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures and some of the ones I took were fuzzy.

Honesty and Spring Fling

2007-04-07T09:51:00.000-05:00

Morgan was chosen by her teacher to eat a Chick-Fil-A lunch with her at school next Friday because Morgan was deemed the most honest in her class by Ms. Guyton. Morgan is really excited to have been chosen and I am very proud of her.

This past week was Spring Fling at Adrian's school. On Tuesday they had fun games to play, they painted eggs, and planted a flower. On Wednesday they had an easter egg hunt. Adrian had a blast!

Report Card

2007-03-23T16:25:00.000-05:00

Morgan got her report card today and 3 ribbons. She received a blue ribbon for "A Honor Roll", a green ribbon for "Perfect Attendance", and a green ribbon for never being late or absent to school. Morgan's grades ranged from 98's to 100's. She received 98's in Reading and Social Studies, 99's in Spelling and Math, and 100's in Writing and Science. She also received E's (Excellent) in Art, Music, and PE. She continues to amaze me!

Sweet Home Alabama

2007-03-17T20:47:00.000-05:00

This past week was Spring Break for the kids so I drove them to Alabama to spend a few days with Mimi and Papa. Andy stayed home and worked and painted the living room, breakfast room, and kitchen. It looks great!

While in Alabama we visited with both Great-grandmas and the kids had a play date with their cousins Kirsten, Griffin, and Skyler. They really enjoyed jumping on the trampoline.

Mom, Dad, and I took the kids to a couple of parks to play. They enjoyed visiting Papa's caboose too.

Mom and I took the annual feet pictures. I still haven't decided which picture I want to print to hang on the wall with the ones from the past 6 years.

Soccer and Cheer

2007-03-05T13:15:00.000-06:00

Adrian had his first soccer game of the season this past Saturday. He is on the team with his buddy, Ryan. Things are very different from last year when he played. At that time he loved practice but as soon as the whistle blew on game day, he would make a bee-line to me. On Saturday he volunteered to be goalie first quarter and actually made a few saves. He also did pretty well when he played offense. He did a pretty good job of focusing on the ball and running after it, trying to get some kicks in. I'm just glad he is enjoying playing this time around. However, on the way to the car after the game he told us that his favorite part was going through the tunnel of parents at the end of the game. Oh well.

We had to hurry from Adrian's soccer game to make it to Morgan's last cheerleading gig. She did great, as usual, and was a little bummed about not being able to cheer anymore. I will have to try to find somewhere else for her to cheer.

Fredericksburg

2007-02-26T14:01:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-02-18T18:12:00.000-06:00

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!