Cibolo Nature Center

One Saturday we hopped in the car and headed north to Boerne. Our car window was broken and wouldn't go back up and just our luck, it started to rain. More like it started to pour.

But Alaskans are NOT scared of rain!

So we kept going and got to the Cibolo Nature Center for craft day. They had moved most of the activities under gazebos to protect them from the down pour

Even though it was raining it was still nice and warm. Here's Ethan just when we arrived.

Ethan got to make his own bracelet!

He did really well putting on the pony beads!

Samuel made one too!

Lots of sidewalk chalk

Ethan did his first painting!

All by himself.
Check out his look of concentration.

I painted his name and wa-la!
What masterpieces!

Samuel has a very steady hand.

Lovin the sidewalk chalk...again.

Trying to share

The rain kept coming so they put away all of the crafts.
But that didn't stop us!
So we hit the trail!

We were the only ones out there because of the rain and we loved it.
Living in such a big city, it's been a long time since
we've felt that kind of peace.

Ethan took off and was King of the Trail, and Samuel found a great walking stick.

Ethan likes to hold hands now.

Pictures on the bridge. Poor Samuel is getting his hair pulled.

Ethan had a messy diaper and we had to change his outfit when we got back to the car.

We felt a breeze and busted out the kites.

We found a deserted field and got some pretty good runs,
besides the kite getting caught in a tree.

So Daniel shimmied up there to get it.

He got a little beat up in the process.

Samuel was a pro!

Heading back to the car...

Ethan konked out on the ride home with my jacket to keep him protected from the rain.
What an adventure!

A few months ago...

Ethan is getting bigger. He knows what is "HoT" now. He likes to turn on the oven light and peek in when I'm baking.


He grabbed the empty pop can out of the garbage. He looks so cute palming it with one hand like that.

Samuel got honored at an academic awards ceremony and got a medal and everything. He's in line along the wall waiting to be recognized.

And here I am, in the back behind the rows of seats, with Ethan literally running circles around me.

Helping Momma with laundry.

Then crashing in my arms. Love it.

Lesson learned

A few weeks ago Samuel was bored on a Sunday. We believe in keeping the sabbath day holy, so we try to focus our activaties on things that will help us to grow spiritually. So I asked Samuel what he could do that would help him to grow spiritually. He decided he wanted to build something. I said that he could as long as he could connect it to a spiritual principle.

So he decided to build a catapult.

Daniel and Ethan even joined him out in the driveway, lashing branches together.
It stood about 3 feet tall!


I told him (jokingly) that he had to draw me a diagram and make a presentation. He got really into it and drew me a number of ways to figuratively use a catapult in a spiritual sense. This is one of the many uses. "HF" being Heavenly Father, "s" being satan, and our more powerful weapon against the small stone of money troubles, being tithing.

Love it!

Solo Competition

Samuel took part in a solo competition at his school.
He got all dressed up one Saturday morning and we piled into the family vehicle
(only with a bike rack on the trunk).

He had been practicing the piece for months, with an accompanist and everything! but he was still a little nervous.

This was his first time in front of a judge by himself!

We knew he would do well. He got in line and tapped his leg nervously as he waited for the flutist to finish. I was so proud of the way he sucked it up as he entered the room, looked the judge in the eye, introduced himself, and counted off with the accompanist. It wasn't flawless, he's only in 7th grade, but it was awesome!
He got a ONE!
(That's good in band-speak) and he was so proud!

He did so well we went to celebrate, at his favorite restaurant - HuHot.

Ethan loved it too! He sat the whole time in his seat, never crying to get down.

He even wiped up his mess!

After that I took him outside to burn off the extra energy.

Here he is, doing what he loves to do - run. Up and down the corridor. Back and forth. There and back. Endlessly. Much like the adorable Lilly, he's an "Energizer Bunny".

Da Park!

Ethan-ator loves the park! He could swing 24-7!

Here he is in his new basketball outfit.

"Are ya comin' Mom?"

Me, and me and me and the other me

Daily wrestling match
Take Downs: D-0, E-52

It's getting hot in texas...

so we are bustin' out the swim gear!

and the shades and fancy t-shirt hats!

D and his mini-me

D in his shrunken state

I remember being so excited about having a baby because
I knew it would remind me of it's daddy
and he does,
I love it.

No pressure son, I just thought I'd document your early obsession with the pig skin.

There you go again, you All-American. No pressure. :)
But seriously, you should see him tackle all the other little kids.
(He's really trying to cuddle with them and give them hugs, but he takes em down!)

No excitement here, none at all.

Samuel turned 13. I made Heidi's TX Sheet cake with sparkly candles.

He got presents and cards and had all girls at his birthday party. (Watch out!) Our family friends just happen to have mostly girls. So they had a water balloon fight all over the yard, tons of pizza and pop, cake and ice cream and presents. It was fun!

Ethan is learning to eat with a fork.

or maybe not

but he's exploring his options

Doesn't he look good in a tux!
Such a stud.
Going to his band competition. He's awesome at the clarinet.

Ethan has a sand box now.

and he loves it.

After biking 20 miles a day to work and back,
D is now skinny enough to fit in the sand box too!


I get online to blog it up, with pictures ready to download, but I can't help but read all the stuff you guys have to say and I love it. I love reading and feeling like I'm not the only one.

So an hour later I'm just getting around to posting, feeling like my wit or life experience just won't compare to the goods I've just browsed.

But I'll tell ya anyways...

Life with a teenager and a toddler can make you a little schizo. You have to balance between boogies and patty cake; and homework and endless questions; between making sure he doesn't get too close to the road and keeping track of his friends; between worrying about his health and worrying about his spirit. LOTS of things are different, and sometimes I worry that I won't be able to keep going back and forth.

But alot of things are the same too...Are they both getting what they need and a little extra? Do they understand why they shouldn't do that, or why they should stay away from that? Am I motivating them to do good, Am I praising and encouraging them? Am I teaching them boundaries and respect? Am I loving them, but more importantly do they see my love for them in some shape or form? Do they know that I am here and that I will always be here for them? Lots of things are the same.

I'm still getting used to saying "My children" outloud.

...my children. :)

Over the past few weeks D has been working a second job in the evening and I've had to shake myself out of a dream-like state. I was one of the lucky wives who had her husband with her most of the time, literally he was with me more than anywhere else. That hasn't been the case over the past couple weeks and it won't be for a while (there's a summer job to replace this part time job next month, then in the fall he begins his Master's).

In the wake of it all, of the loneliness and missing him, I feel like I've found a part of me that I put away when I got married. I put her away on purpose, so D wouldn't have to compete with anyone, even myself, for my attention. But with him gone alot, I've had to dust her off and make use of her again. I guess you could call her the part of me that was my best friend before I got married. That part of ourselvse, ladies, that loves us, that knows us, that can make a decision with confidence - how to arrange the bookshelf, motivating myself to water the lawn or go out and garden, to clean the fridge or do some laundry.

I can take her with me, she likes what I like, we get excited over the same things: shopping, books, new recipies, funny stories, beauty in art and music. We love all those things. I don't want my husband to feel left out, but in the last couple of days I've been having fun. And perhaps the secret of independent women is that they love themselves and for the most part can motivate from within because of that best friend inside of them.

You might be wondering if the best friend inside of you is on a shelf somewhere, and you might be wondering how to find her. For me it was the time to myself, from 9 pm to 11pm, after Samuel has gone to bed and before D comes when I am forced to be by myself. There is no one to worry about or to "mother" and it's just me. I have more than mere moments to sit, and to sense myself and the things around me - very much like yoga - with all those other noises and worries just not there you can't help but really look at what's going on.

You have the mental break and emotional calm to actually ponder and envision how you would fix the problems you see. I find myself constantly running from one thing to the next, never really taking the pause I need to understand what's going on around me. And seeing the piles of dishes, the endless laundry and poopy diapers re-appearing every-day, can take the wind out of any sails.

I don't suggest ditching your husband and kids for hours everyday and leaving them to fend for themselves, but if a time comes when everyone has to be somewhere, or the kids are tucked safe in their beds, or your husband has to work late or go on a trip, take the chance and embrace it. Find that best friend inside of you and begin to make decisions with her in mind, rather than doing what you think others expect of you.

...my loves. :)