...and the video

Oh baby!

After many years of asking Marlena whether or not she would like to participate in any extracurricular activities, she finally came to me last week and told me decisively that she wanted to take gymnastics. I am not a huge fan of this sport (although I love to watch) but she was quite enthusiastic so we told her she could try it. As you can see by the pics and video, there is no turning back now. She LOVED it!

What to do in Texas in the Springtime

See a rodeo, go to an art fair, let a baby calf suck on your arm, go to the beach, learn to use a backhoe, pet Aunt Linzee's new foal. Whatever you do, get outside because this is one of the few times of the year when the weather is perfect!

Keller ISD Art Exhibit 2008

Ava was chosen to represent her 2nd grade class in the District Art Show. Her entry was a mixed media lizard. Since the show, her interest in sketching has grown resulting in a couple of really nice drawings...a skunk that Pop spent 45 minutes chasing from the hangar and a goose she saw in a book at school.

As promised...other party pics

A celebration at the local pottery store with Naine and my best friend Natalie; a party with my family, culminating in awards for Marlena and me for Chicken Limbo and Pin the Tail on the Donkey, respectively; and a cupcake party at school made my second official birthday the best ever! AJA

Ava's 8th Birthday!

One of three birthday celebrations for me this year! For the first time, I was able to celebrate my birthday with my cousins. That, coupled with the fact that I had a REAL birthday this year (I officially turned 2 on Leap Day), made this a very special birthday indeed. Stay tuned for pics of my other parties.

Happy 1st Birthday Rosey!!!!

Happy Birthday ruff ruff, Happy Birthday ruff ruff, Happy Birthday dear Freckles, Happy Birthday ruff ruff! Our lives have only changed for the better since Rosey came along. We love you soooooo much!

When Daddy is away....

When Daddy is away he does special little things for us so we remember how much he loves us. Sometimes he does special things for Mommy too so she remembers he loves her and, more importantly, so she remembers to laugh. He knows that laughter is the way to her heart. This is what he sent her this week. Smart Daddy!

O sole mio....

How cool is Venice?!?! Stinky - yes. Dirty - yes. So what! Boats for cars? Water for streets? Not much cooler than that. Here we are taking a spin around one incredible city before stopping for the most expensive pizza we have ever eaten. Ciao!

My parents went to Prague and all we got were these lousy babushkas...part 2

My parents went to Prague and all we got were these lousy babushkas

We come all the way to Germany...traveled for a whole day with connections...and what do Mom and Dad do when we get here???? Ditch us and go to Prague. They drove to the Czech Republic on the autobahn (I think Mom may have had a heart attack or two) and then drove back the next day. They stayed in a cool hotel in the middle of old town and walked the city's winding streets across the King Charles bridge to Prague Castle where the President lives. Mom says it is one of the the most incredible cities she has ever seen and next time we will definitely get to go too.

Snow and castles

Hopped in the car today and drove to see Crazy King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein castle near the Alps. It is the castle they modeled Sleeping Beauty's castle after. It was huge and totally cool and he never even lived there. We walked up a lot of stairs and got to see only about 1/3 of the castle. The rest was never finished. We highly recommend seeing a castle at some point of your lives. It is mind boggling. The yellow castle was another one nearby - even older than Neuschwanstein. This was definitely one of the coolest days we have spent in Germany.

Cold as a you-know-whatski!

As you all know, we are in Germany. There are so many things to tell and so many pictures to post. Today, we went ice skating on a little lake by my friend Mara's house in Pocking. I am sure in 20 years or so people won't be able to do this anymore with global warming and all. But for this day... we were good to go...skating that is. We packed up our skates and our cookies and kinderpunch and headed to the lake for some old fashioned sledding and skating. It was so cool. Real cool - as Mom says ever since she got back from Prague - it was cold as a you-know-whatski.

Germany week 1

We tried to post this a week ago but the computer was not cooperating....

We arrived in Germany safely and now we are on day three of jet lag. We were awake from 12am to 3am last night and couldn't peel ourselves out of bed before 11:00 this morning. We are having the best time with our friends Piet and Mara and today they helped us celebrate Marlena's 5th birthday by having a birthday breakfast and walking in the snow at Ilkahohe. Then we had some hot chocolate and apfelstrudel while we warmed our toes. Yesterday we took a train to Munich and walked through the Christmas market at the town center. It was packed with people shopping and drinking something called gluhwein. Tomorrow we are going to attempt to drive ourselves to another little village about 15 minutes away. Hopefully Daddy won't do anything too crazy. We are not sure if her can even read the street signs! More to come later...