Luau & Other Weekend Events

We kicked off the weekend with Owen's class luau. It was great entertainment watching a group of 2-3 year olds dance the twist & the swim as well as some other dance moves. We really enjoyed it, especially the luau outfits. My camera battery died while there so I didn't get too many pictures, though I did video the dancing. We spent the weekend pretty much inside except for a trip to the park downtown to go in the water play area since we were at 100 degrees throughout the weekend. We had a ton of rain from Dolly last week, and now it's ridiculously hot again with no rain in sight. Saturday night we had friends over for dinner and we all enjoyed ourselves. We met Karien and Kevin's baby girl, Natalie (not named after our Nats!). She's a cutie! I had a bit of cleanup to do when everyone left after 4 kids (not including Henry & his toys) had the run of the house and all the toys, but it was fun. On Sunday we went to the park downtown and Natalie, Owen, and Henry (and me with Henry) cooled off in the sprinkler park. So now we are packing up to leave on our road trip tomorrow. We are all really excited!

Hanging Out and Keeping Cool

We've been hanging out around here trying to stay cool for the past couple of weeks. Last weekend we were around the house except for getting Owen a much-needed haircut, and we bought Natalie a new bicycle - which Ike put together over the course of the weekend. While staying inside I did craft projects with Natalie and Owen and had them practice their cutting skills. On Sunday we went over to Karien & Kevin's house to grill out and cool off in the pool. It was a nice way to finish off the weekend, and after all the swimming, Natalie & Owen were exhausted. We all came home and napped, and Owen even slept through until Monday morning. On Monday, we took Owen to start soccer. He had a blast. It's indoor (thank goodness with the heat) and they did a lot of running and drills, and practiced dribbling, kicking, and shooting goals. We were really impressed with Owen's physical prowess with the drills. He was great at running and weaving around the cones, and the cone-jumping exercise. On Tuesday, Henry decided that crawling was much more efficient than dragging, and he started really moving. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Natalie is doing great with her swimming at school. She's going under, blowing bubbles from her nose, and swimming across the pool to get toys. She's very excited about this. This past weekend we stayed around here again. Natalie was able to practice her big girl bike riding skills and Owen cruised around behind her on various vehicles - the little bike, his tricycle, and finally his car (which he cruised right off the road and into a rock). We also did some cooling off in the pirate pool - even Henry & I got in! Henry spent a lot of the weekend pulling up on everything, and now nothing is safe! He has figured out how to cruise and he's so excited that he can get in on what Natalie and Owen are doing. Yesterday we took Owen back to soccer, only to find it was cancelled this week. So I took him to the playground instead for some Mom playtime. I guess we'll start packing this weekend to get ready for our departure next week.

The Fourth

We enjoyed the long weekend. We were inside a good part of the day on Friday due to some thunderstorms, but that allowed us all to get in a good nap before heading out to the fireworks. We went to the Freedom Over Texas festival/fireworks show downtown. It was very crowded, but we camped out by the main stage and Natalie and Owen were able to dance to the music while Miranda Lambert and Sara Evans performed. The music went right up until the fireworks start time, so that was good for distraction and to pass the time. Henry was really good, especially since he was out way past his bedtime. He kept putting his head on my shoulder like he was going to sleep, but then he'd pop right up again to look at all the action. He didn't fuss at all, and he actually paid attention to the fireworks. The fireworks were wonderful, and Natalie and Owen couldn't help but have huge smiles on their faces the whole time. On Saturday we cooked out and Mimi, Richard, & Jennifer came for lunch (Paul was in New Orleans working). Natalie really enjoys playing with Jennifer (I think she'd make a great babysitter - she's always willing to play with Natalie) and Owen had fun with Richard. Natalie & Owen also put on a fashion show for us before lunch. I really need to get some pictures of Owen in a pink tutu and pink elbow-high gloves. Saturday night we took it easy. Yesterday we hit the playground for the first time in ages before lunch, then in the afternoon we took Ike to airport. He's in NYC and heading to DC and Baltimore before he comes home on Wednesday. The latest Henry update is that he has been saying ma-ma and da-da to the appropriate parent - we noticed it last weekend, I guess. When he wakes up, he lays in his crib and says ma-ma-ma over and over until I go in to get him (like he's calling me). We're looking forward to doing some things around here this weekend, then we'll start getting ready for our big road trip (we are insane planning a road trip with the current cost of gas, but oh well) at the end of the month.