Suits that are now REALLY wet

Around here, the kids MUST go swimming before the month of March is finished. It just HAS to happen.

Expecting the chill of the unheated pool, they donned wet suits.

Last time they sported these duds was a warm day in January when they went boating on the lake.

Winters are brutal in Austin, I tell you!

Wearing these suits prevented having four sets of purple lips and lengthened their stay at the pool from 20-30 minutes to a full hour.

I had to pull out the drenched monkeys so we could go home and eat dinner. Otherwise, who knows how long they would have stayed.

'Til next time...

S P L A S H!

The heat is on!

Magnified solar heat, that is.

A very good experiment/project to keep the kids busy while the carpets were being cleaned!

The top of a bug holder provided one magnifier.

Kathleen's 5-in-1 tool provided the other.

Paper carnage

Solar writing

Dodecahedron

First stab at making this toy.

Certainly not perfect, but...


it's mathematically significant
and has jingle bells inside!

Making it was a little addictive.
Good thing I have another skein!

It was hooked (crocheted), and now I'm hooked.
Need to try the knitted version.

The how-to.

Mind & Body Bending :: Spelling Test

This is what Mary Kate might look like when she's taking a spelling test...

given by her little brother...

before having a living room slumber party.

Unconventional.
A little twisted?

The thing of Texas kids' dreams :: snow

A dusting of snow gets everyone excited around here.

This light coating even closed all the schools for a day.

All this snow play can make a kid tired.

Shovels? Who has shovels?

We do, however, have angels.

And fun rides in the yard. And...

Wet gloves in the dryer.
A blaze in the fireplace.
Hot chocolate in our tummies.
Little school work done.

Our sweety pie girl

She's a fun one...


who likes to make things special for others.

MK's Clementine flower snack for her siblings
She'll even forgo doing the fun stuff

MK setting up targets for her sibs
So she can watch the others enjoy themselves.

(Or is it that she just likes to be the one calling, "Ready...aim...FIRE."?)


After the carnage, back she goes to set it all up again while the others reload.


Over and over--never asking to shoot.
That wouldn't be as fun for her.
She told us so.

A big animal lover she is, indeed.

Since the only pets we have in our home are dust bunnies, MK decided to make her own litter of pups.

Bobble head doggies--15 of them--all with names

I believe after Mary Kate's brief training session, each of her friends now has at least one family of bobble head doggies in their homes. ☺

She also likes to make decorations...

and teach her friends how to make them.

Our house may only look seasonally festive because Mary Kate has a hand in it.

Her favorite place for decorations?

Hanging from the chandelier

Greeting her friends at the bus stop when they get home from school is something else she loves to do.

Every.
Single.
Day.

And who is Joe's go-to masseuse for his achy neck and shoulders? Yup--MK, it is!

Being sweet & special just comes naturally for this girl.
A natural talent that her mother greatly appreciates!!

But wait, there's more:
Our younger daughter is Kathleen's #1 choice for her duet fiddle partner, hands down. Whenever Kathleen figures out a new part to a song, she wants MK to be the one to play the other part. Nobody else will do. And she's happy to oblige.

Our sweety pie honey pie is the first one to doctor up her injured siblings and neighbor friends, and even stands by her sister's side and watches her get four teeth pulled.

Sweet, caring, fun...and doesn't mind gore?

She's so complex.
And sweet.
Really sweet!
Our sweety-pie-with-a-y, just like her name.

We've been...

Slumbering in the living room by the Christmas tree...and having sleeping bag wars.

Building outdoor winter forts...minus the snow and Jack Frosty fingers.

Feeding wildebeests, gemsboks, watusis, and kudus as well as petting, feeding, and grooming goats here.

Admiring the wackiness of the 37th street Christmas light display--complete with live music, of course.

...and a sock monkey nativity.

Touring the grounds of our (pink, hehe) capitol.

And--

Spending a lot of family time together.

Welcome 2011!
Welcome back routine.
Welcome to the institution of our new chore chart.
Welcome to a fresh new start!