Hiking

We're pretty good about getting the girls out into nature and trying new things. But today I was reminded again about how much fun they have. We decided to go "hiking"on the first day of 2008. The first park we thought of happened to be closed on New Year's Day but luckily there is a very nice nature trail right here in Boerne. The girls had so much fun exploring and Vienne always fills her pockets with "treasures". It was cold though. A frigid 50 degrees. I know, some places are under feets of snow. But that's cold for S. Texas.

My Best Shot

When was the last time you've seen one of these? A couple of days ago we took a short drive out to Fredericksburg for the the morning. Of course, Natalya and her horse radar found this. We didn't have any change to find out if it still worked. But cool anyway.

This is My Best Shot for today. Have a fun New Year's Eve celebration.

Pic of the Day

Daddy is trying to teach Natalya how to ride her brand new skate board. She got one from Santa. I wish there were more gear I could put on her to keep her from getting hurt. She is a complete wimp when she gets banged so I'm not sure why she has been wanting a skate board.

Happy Holidays

Thanks to everyone who visited our "home" this year. Here's to peace in 2008. (Click to enlarge.)

Welcome "home" to Tracey's Best Shot Monday. And our Disney pictures are below.

Pic of the Day

Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday. What's up with that?

'Tis the Season

Can we officially celebrate now without everyone going, "Oh, it's too early." We put our tree up last week. It just goes by way to fast. So, to those of you on on my Christmas card list, this is what you will get in the mail. Hopefully it looks just as great on paper. Lookey what I put together:

We took the girls to a creek and let them play. They had a blast. Here's a behind the scenes shot. I call it "The Croc Hunter":

I think this happened a couple of times. What a sport Daddy was. Oh, that's a pink Croc gettin' away in case you missed that.


And because I just LOVE this shot of some very adorable girls, friends of a friend. If you don't just say "Aw" then you are the Grinch.

Meet the beautiful Avery and Adelyn. Click to truly enjoy their cuteness. You should have seen how they totally destroyed those lollies about 20 minutes after they started them. Slammed them into the sidewalk. Just to see what would happen. A riot.


'Tis the season. Enjoy every moment.

My Best Shot? Hmm, what do you think? Now, off to Picture This while you ponder.

I'm Thankful For...

...This face. And this from Vienne:
(Noticing that Natalya had glitter on her face) Vienne says, "Natalya, why do you have magic on your face?"

Have a wonderful Turkey Day. Count your blessings, not the calories.

This is another shot from our Christmas card session. The Card unveiling on Monday.

Christmas Card Preview

(But that's all I can say because today is Wordless Wednesday.)

Pic of the Day

Check out Wordless Wednesday.

Fun in the Fall Sun

The weather has been glorious! Not a cloud and in the high 70s. Perfect Fall for South Texas. Yesterday, Vienne and I played outside while Natalya was at school. V is so into dressing up while Natalya rarely would. Here she is modeling the tutu that her Aunt Linda gave her early in the year. It one of her favorites. Oh, can't forget the Cinderella shoes. It's never the same without Natalya, though. V can't wait until she gets home from school.

Rockey dog getting in on the action. She had already taken her snake in and put it in her bowl. (Click to make them bigger.)

Imagination

They were pretending to be fairies. This is My Best Shot for today. Fly on over to Picture This for more.

These Boots Are Made for Playing

Wordless Wednesday

Brrrrr

Now this is what I call Fall weather. This evening it was about 58 degrees and freezing! We loved it. It will warm up a little for tomorrow and will probably be back up to 80 degrees again real soon. We'll take what we can get.

Like Mother Like Daughter

When I was little I was terrified of pulling my teeth out. When one got loose, I would let it hang there until it almost slid right off. My permanent teeth would grow under the loose teeth every time. I get the creeps just thinking about it. I can't blame the girls if they turn out to be the same way. Natalya's top front tooth has been loose for a long time. If she wanted to, she could probably pull it out today. But she won't. We'll see how long it hangs on.

You can see there's a gap there. That's because the tooth is so loose that it is now sitting a little crooked.

This is My Best Shot for today. Ain't she pretty? Tracy has more at Picture This.

And, I finished Halloween costumes today! What a load off. And sewing fur ain't fun. I just need to gather the accessories this week. Here is just a peek at one of them. You don't get to see the whole thing until I get a pic of the girls wearing them. Just think "Groovy Ghouls". And if anyone knows where I can buy striped tights, please let me know. It's too late to order them online.

Sick Day, Schmick Day

She's supposed to be sick so we've been hanging out at home. It's really more so that she doesn't politely share her tonsillitis with her sweet friends at school. But I'm thinking that if she weren't 3 that she might just be faking it. Playing dress up and kitchen and hide and seek for hours can definitely be mind numbing. She's going back to school tomorrow if for only one day this week.

Pic of the Day

(She's tons cuter bigger. Click to enlarge.)

Pics of the Day

Vienne is doing much better in school. We had a bumpy start but last Monday she just decided that she was going to have fun. She woke up saying, "I'm not going to cry today." Of course I was leary. But drop off was good. Since then it's been great. She is even saying that she wants to go to school. Thank goodness it didn't last as long as I pictured it would.

Happy Monday

This was Natalya's serious face. I just love it. I have been practicing more with Stacey's "eye pop" tutorial. What a difference it makes. This is My Best Shot. Heading over to Picture This.

Pic of the Day

I had already published this post with just this picture but I had to come back and add a note.

Today I had lunch with Natalya at her school. If your child's school offers this, I would definitely take the opportunity to do it. It was very nostalgic. It has been a long time since I've sat in a school cafeteria. Honestly, I was even a little anxious. I don't really know why. Maybe I was just excited.

And I had great reason to be. When Natalya saw me she started jumping and had the biggest smile on her face. She came to me and gave me a humongous hug like she hadn't seen me in days. She had even made me a "Thank You" card for coming to have lunch with her. Ok, I've been crying some these days because of the trouble that I've been having with Vienne. You can't imagine how happy she made me just in this one minute period. I cried again. She'll have no idea how much I needed that.

So we sat and ate our fries and chicken. She told me all about the lunch time routine. The teachers have taught the kids sign language so that they can ask for things with less words. That cracked me up. She told me about some of her friends and then about what they had already done in class today. I saw my baby grow up so many years right before my eyes.

Lunch was over and she joined her class. I thought to myself, "She is my angel. She gives me strength. How lucky I am."

Botanical Gardens

Today we took a trip to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. It really is a lovely place. When it's not in the 90's and humid as h-e-double hockey sticks. The gardens currently have a special exhibit going on called Dora and Diego's Garden Adventure. I debated about whether or not we should go to the gardens during this event because I really want the girls to like it there without all that hoopla. But we went and they enjoyed it. Dora and Diego lead you through some sections of the gardens where the kids can explore gardening, sand play, musical instruments.