Halloween

Izzy wanted make up on her face.

Ollie's pumpkin design had a scary face!

Clara made a nice prop for her costume: "Hogwarts, A History" textbook

Hermione, Spiderman, Belle

Ollie with his friend Gaven

All Day Kindergarten

After waking early Monday morning with great excitement for all day kindergarten, Oliver (and I) realized he needed to stay home due to a case of pink eye.  He was extremely bummed and tears were shed.

With the same enthusiasm upon waking this morning, Oliver headed off to school.  We saw a beautiful double rainbow as we turned the corner to Slate Creek on our bikes.

The first thing Ollie asked me after school today was if sticking up his middle finger was saying a bad word.  My initial thought was "Really?  REALLY???"  Those idiotic parents, poisoning my 5 year old on his first real day of school.  Not only that, but the little boy told Oliver that if he ever did it he would go to a bad place with smoke.  Can you imagine what else these parents tell their children?  Shame on them.

It has bothered Ollie the rest of the day.  He was (tired) crying before bed about how he had a bad day because this boy was bossing him and saying mean things.  Then all of a sudden he stopped, stood up straight and said "I need to draw a picture."  He went to the kitchen floor with a piece of paper and markers and this was the result.

from a sweet, sensative boy

Bath Time

Ever since we got Taddy back the kids have been begging to bathe her.

Oliver in his element!  Seriously, this kid has a spiritual connection to water.

The Story of Taddy

In the spring of 1999, while taking a class at Bethel, Damian brought home an abandoned puppy.  We placed an ad in the newspaper, but nobody claimed her.  We decided to keep this young puppy with floppy ears and name her Taddy. 

When Damian made the decision to go to chiropractic school in Texas, we knew we had to give her up.  She was not an apartment kind of dog.  Luckily, a friend was able to take and care for her.  We were unsure of Taddy's whereabouts after this friend moved out of state.

After I moved back to Kansas, while Damian was still in Texas, I randomly looked on the Caring Hands Humane Society's website.  To my great surprise, there was Taddy.  She had just been there a couple of days.  Of course I immediately contacted Damian.  And the rest is history.  We rescued her once so we figured we could do it again.

Izzy's First Day of Preschool

She was so excited!  She insisted on taking her backpack complete with a hair brush, pencil and piece of paper.  She had a great morning at Bethel College Mennonite Church.  Since Ollie's kindergarten is in the afternoon, we had him to ourselves for 2 whole hours.  That was fun and he enjoyed it.  We made a special trip to the Et Cetera Shop.

Wash Day

Free Admission to Sedgwick County Zoo

baby meerkats and giraffe feeding

Back to School Fashion Show

Thanks to the generosity of Grandma Verna, all three kids have new shoes and clothing for the next school year!  Here is a taste.

Graduation

It's a little hard to believe that Damian has graduated and will soon be a licensed doctor!  Our three years in North Texas, though at times seemed sluggish, did indeed go by rather quickly.

During Damian's graduation weekend, I was so busy hosting and feeding family and friends that I hardly took any pictures.  But I wanted to share the few that I do have.

Damian and I attended his class banquet at the Dallas World Aquarium.  It was fun to have a "date" without children.  We didn't stay out that late, though, as Damian had patients the next morning and the late night entertainment was not to our liking.

We had an "open house" for family and church friends.  We ate Indian food and had a great time.  In this picture are our nephews/cousins Isaac, Moses, Levi and Jesse, along with church friends Rohan, Levi, and Anika Springer.

The cousins are watching The Smurfs, the original cartoon, not the new movie.  They all had a great time swimming in our pool together.  Notice the goggles on Isaac's head.  We went multiple times a day.

Because of all our transitions this summer, I decided to take a break from the blog, etsy, etc.

Now the kids and myself have moved back to Newton.  Damian will join us soon after he wraps up his school requirements.  He is bringing the majority of our household.  Living without things like dressers for clothing or a comfortable chair to sit in has its challenges.

School has started in Kansas.  Clara began 4th grade and Oliver began kindergarten.  Clara soon discovered old and new friends.  It's yet to be determined if Isabel will go to pre-school.

Thanks to a generous father who has rentals, we have a place to live.  It is close enough to ride bikes to school and church and the grocery store.  A large backyard and clothesline are added bonuses.

Finally...School is Out!

Thursday was the last day of school for Clara and Oliver.  When others around us were getting out a week or even 2 weeks earlier, the Lewsiville ISD seems to continue unnecessarily long.


Ollie's teachers Ms. Vargas and  Mrs. Perez



We've signed up for 3 summer reading programs: public library, Half Price Books (our favorite shop!), and Barnes and Noble (Clara only).

We've been swimming nearly everyday for awhile already.

We crossed off another item on the list of places to see.  We went to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Garden.  Izzy acted up quite a bit in the museum.  Oliver was somewhat interested and Clara was enthralled.

At the Nasher Sculpture Garden, downtown Dallas

Long Weekend



At the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, there was a clear slide
through the otter exhibit.  Very cool for the kids!

Friday after school: Kung Fu Panda 2 
Saturday:  Swimming all afternoon with friends and then an evening meal with church friends.

Sunday:  Booked  hotel,  headed to hill country.  Stopped halfway  in Waco and went to the zoo.   Arrived in Burnet, TX, checked into our hotel.  Ate supper at a local restaurant/fishing shop/ taxadermist.  Swam in hotel pool.  Watched the first Kung Fu Panda movie on cable TV.

Monday:  Went to Longhorn Cavern State Park.  Walked around and toured  the cave.  Drove home.

Today:  Kids at home with pink eye and soar throats.



Replica Native American reed/grass huts



Ollie is hitting the gong with the rope

Cold sweet treats

At Longhorn Cavern.  The steps behind lead to the cave entrance.

We have never seen so many prickly pears!!
They were everywhere.
Also, apparently, raising show goats
is a thing in hill country.

These were in the parking lot at the cave.

The guide said this stone was naturally formed by water.   Hmm...

They call this the marble room.

Trinity River Audubon Center



This past Thursday Damian had off
so we took the kids to the
Trinity River Audubon Center.
May is a beautiful time for blooming wildflowers.



Bird watching.

These tiny orange butterflies were everywhere.
Also, large black woolly caterpillars.

We also have these cranes at the water behind our apartments.

I really love the thistles right now!

Ollie spotted this little guy.
He was so much brighter than
the lizards we usually see.
His surroundings were bright as well,
in a marshy area.

A little hawk.

The building and education center on the sight were great.
Here the kids are playing with water that
they could direct to create a river.
There were live turtles in aquariums
and fun animal facts, bones, fur, etc,
not unlike the drawers at Kauffman Museum.

Haircuts

Izzy decided to begin her haircut herself,
 therefore, I was forced to finish it.

I do not claim to be good at cutting hair.
But I was rather pleased the way this turned out.

Now Ollie can swim with goggles without his hair
getting in the way.