3.30.2010

party hat day one.

from the airport to the domain.

outdoor lunch at north.

complete with sun & champagne.

one birthday eve celebration.

chatting & sunglasses.

moving umbrellas because mom was "too hot"

honest!

kate spade bracelets all around.
thanks mom for our matching jewerly.
afternoon unpacking.
laughing about baggage scales & weights.
fridays for dinner.
gotta get our sleep - big birthday day tomorrow!
sweet austin dreams.

3.29.2010

warning!

very scary picture ahead.

yikes!

spring cleaning 2010.

so many attachments for one vacuum.

so many blinds to dust - one by one.

so many windows - so many streaks.

inside. outside.

steve & troy tackled the gardens this weekend.

the boys tackled the garage.

i got windows, blinds & bathrooms.

a good dose of motivation arrives this week.

looking forward to putting the buckets away

and our party hats on.

guess whos coming to texas?

3.24.2010

more dog tag awards today.

more wednesday afternoon chess club.

more memories to document.

(ps. colin and i won today - not an easy task!)

3.22.2010

early morning awards ceremony.

made it just in time to catch this boy

running across the stage.

since when do these things start on time?

since when does ms. zuckmans class go first?

talk about close call.

proudly wearing his 2 new dog tags.

the birthday tag &

perfect attendance for third quarter.

nice job dude.

when i see you in second grade i try to remember

what life was like when i was second grade.

fire drills at st johns when you had to push

a desk against the wall to climb out of the classroom.

peter, paul & mary singing puff the magic dragon.

sister sean was my teacher.

red pullon rubber boots with a plastic bag inside

to make putting them on easier.

my white beaded first communion purse.

i wonder what colin will look back and remember.

3.21.2010

last day of spring break.

no better way to get them back into the groove than

a visit to the childrens museum of houston.

a big dose of hands on learning for a sunday afternoon.

we played with water.
we filled a gallon or two or 250.

we mixed and spun with density.

we played with cornstarch & water.

we pulled ourselves with a simple pulley.

we watched the dads experiment.

we watched the boys work together on the
widget wall.

we folded paper into airplanes and

then launched them in the cage through
rings and hoops.

we built with legos and set them free on a race track.

we created. we played. we experimented. we learned.

we talked. we rebuilt. we questioned. we had fun.

we made more everyday memories to last a

lifetime.

3.14.2010

this is why i keep the camera handy.

this is why i blog.

this is why i scrapbook.

because life is filled with good stuff.

because life is filled with great stories.

because life is filled with everyday memories.

tonight i was greeted at the door with this smiling face.

tonight i was greeted with a 51 point word.

tonight i was greeted by a new personal high.

tonight i was greeted by a snapshot of life.

this is now.

and futz is the word.

3.12.2010

shrinky dink.

super mario.

friday playdates.

daily grill for dinner.

rock wall climbing parties.

cable repair guy.

spring break is officially here.

good things.

3.10.2010

today in a picture.

early release.

afternoon chess club.

at sonic happy hour.

in the minivan.

colin & nathan.

justin & me.

guess who finally won?

i've had great chess teachers.

i've had lots of chess lessons.

its good to have a weekly date with

some boys and a board!

3.9.2010

{colin. today. kitchen table. homework}
notes on now.
notes on colin.
colin loves the magic tree house book series.
colin loves grapes, football cards and being on time.
colin loves math.
colin loves american idol & legos.
colin loves playing words with friends on the itouch.
colin loves life, God and his family.
we love colin!
we love his hugs, smiles and dinnertime prayers.
we love his independence & passion.
we love his emotional moments.
we love his routine nature.

we love his morning ritual looking for the itouch.
we love you now.

3.8.2010

i am here.

now.

tonight.

with sarah.

guess whos on stage.

right now. tonight.

john.

mayer.

awesome performance.

great concert.

love austin crowds

at a john mayer concert.

'its been a long night in austin too.'

3.6.2010

explore UT.

one tradition we love.

first saturday in march.

free family open house.

filled with 100s of demos

throughout the entire campus
hosted by the students.

we learned about computers, how to create a

video game, saw a robot car really drive,

tested a radar gun and munched on popcorn.

off to the capital & a whole foods picnic lunch in

lady bird dog park (minus a dog).

buffalo chicken wings

experiment #1 tonight.

nothing better than chicken wings, oil,

franks & butter!

our new project.

3.5.2010

happy birthday dad!

we can't wait to celebrate with you

at easter.

enjoy.

3.5.2010

{teravista 2nd grade living museum today}

i toured a special museum today.

i walked the aisles and learned about famous people.

as i pushed a button, the character would come to

life and share 3 interesting facts about themselves.

they stood like statues when they weren't talking.

i saw abraham lincoln, michael phelps, audrey hepburn

and brett favre.

i saw 125 famous people today.

all before my second cup of coffee.

this was a fun 2 week project -

the research, the paper, the memorization &

the timeline. i really don't

remember doing anything like

this when i was in second grade.

3.3.2010

chess club continues.

hung out at freebirds today.

one chip, two coke & chess combo please.

wednesdays weekly mail treat accompanied us -

sports illustrated.

today it was nathan vs mom.

colin could help me every other turn.

it was funny to watch his face as i made my moves.

it was great to watch him get out of all the trouble i would get into.

he almost had a heart attack after one of my moves.

he tried to give me secret moans if i was about to make a mistake.

nathan caught on quickly to that &

immediately put that to a stop.

dinner party at work.

american idol at home.

spring is in the air.

nathan still looks for the moon every night.

justin & nathan have switched bedrooms for 2 weeks.

for a change of scenery.

spring is in the air.

you can smell it when you open the door for the morning paper.

you can feel it when you take out the garbage.

you can open all the windows during the day and let it in.

welcome march.

glad to see you arrived!

3.1.2010

special delivery.

sunny day.

new week.

monday meetings.

bachelor finale.

happy week.

2.26.2010

2105 people entered.

6 people won.

i was 1 of them.

thanks ali!

love your blog.

love your giveaways.

2.25.2010

when was the last time your second

grade teacher showed up at your

basketball tournament?

colins smile was from ear to ear!

go lakers !
what a great season!
good bye basketball.
hello football.

2.25.2010

another update.

frosty had a rough night last night.

here he is as we left for school this morning.

the afternoon sun got the best of him.

here he is as i get ready to pick the boys up.
all thats left is his hat and nose.
front yards every where are littered with
coals of charcoal, colorful scarfs and carrot noses!

2.24.2010

chess club continues.

at z pizza.

right from school with our

chess board in hand.

best 5.95 snack -

2 slices of pizza & a soda with 2 straws.

we are regulars.

everyone watches.

everyone stops to share a chess story

or a chess memory

or a chess move.

its our standing date.

its our wednesday afternoon.

its our everyday memory.

for the record:

nathan vs. colin (nate won)

colin vs. mom (colin won)

2.24.2010

the day after.

this morning.

this afternoon.
what a difference a day makes.

2.23.2010

yesterday.

today.
everyday memory.

2.23.2010

snow in texas?

photoshop?

am i in buffalo?

all afternoon school activities are cancelled.

high school kids are being dismissed now.

this is big stuff here.

feels like a snow day.

i'm off to stock up on wood and hot chocolate.

i'm putting away the flip flops at the front door.

i'm off to find my scarf.

73 on sunday & hot.

32 today & snow.

winters in texas!

2.22.2010

weekend update.
dusted off the old fashioned scrabble board.

dusted off the flip-flops and dug out the shorts.

hit the courts, pluckers & nordstroms.

hit randells, church & the vacuum cleaner.

watched the olympics.

sat in the sun.

make an egg bake.

ate homemade peanut butter cookies.

sipped metropolitan at happy hour.

finished homework.

worked on the never ending laundry pile.

celebrated basketball wins.

ice cream sandwich celebrations.

arcade bowling games.

delicious buffalo style wings.

played outside, football & tag.

another wonderful weekend.

2.19.2010

take 1050 elementary students.

give them each a 36 inch piece of duct tape.

and watch them tape their gym teachers,

principal & vice principal to the wall.

it was all for a good cause.

it was all for the american heart association.

it was front page story in the newspaper.

just another everyday memory.

way to go teravista elementary.

2.17.2010

wednesday afternoon chess club

continues.

it would be so easy to come up with

an excuse.

it wouldbe so nice to just come home after

school.

but the boys love our special time.

and guess what -

so do i.

no phone. no tv.

no laundry. no homework.

just 32 pieces & 2 boys.

2.12.2010

happy 8th birthday colin !

i can't believe that you are turning eight today.

i can't believe how big you are getting.

i can't believe that you are in second grade.

i can't believe how funny you are.

it was just yesterday that you arrived.

it was just yesterday that i could see you

sitting in your car seat in the rear view mirror eatting

chocolate tibits from tim hortons.

it was just yesterday that you were watching max & ruby

on vcr tapes from the library.

it was just yesterday that you were getting on the

bus off to kindergarten for your first day of school.

it was just yesterday that you beat me at chess.

happy day dude.

enjoy.

2.12.2010

quote of the day.
colin came down to the breakfast table early this morning
to find it decorated with confetti and balloons hanging from the light.
upon seeing a ton of confetti scattered all over the table,
colin said "it looks like nan was here!"

2.9.2010

4 siblings & 1 celebration.

all together in the same city.

in the same kitchen at one time.

(sounds like a great theme for a movie.)

today was about living & celebrating.

today was about remembering & connecting.

today was about honoring grandma.

today was filled with an eulogy that was perfect.

God rest.

2.8.2010

favorites pictures from today:

famous quotes from today:
"i'm working out today"
"room service - i'd like to order a cup of coffee delivered to the blue room please."
"its a little cold down here in the morning."

-

a day filled with thoughts, memories & catching up.

a day filled with reflection, backwards & forwards.

a day filled with smiles, tears & laughs.

a long day.

a good day.