Come into the garden

March 18th was our "come into the garden" day. Kayleigh was ready to go with her little shovel. "Come on, Mommy!"
This is the "Before" picture of half of the garden. It was rather overgrown with weeds... understatement of the year.
This is the after picture of that same side of the garden (facing the other way). So much cleaner! We put in tomatoes (only like 5 this year) and green beans. The knockout roses are encroaching in on the vegetable bed.
This is the other side of the garden (closest to the pool). We put in 11 pepper plants! We LOVE bell peppers! We have green bell, yellow bell, orange bell, red bell, Big Bertha (just the name sounds great), fajita, banana, and mini (snackers) bell peppers. I'm looking forward to Hawai'ian chicken/tofu, bell peppers and ranch w/ Morningstar Farms buffalo wings. Yu-um!Logan helps dig up the garden. Shane tried about 4 iterations of sprinklers before settling on one. But now, it looks beautiful!
We are excited about our garden - and we're looking forward to all the fru-its of our labors!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

March 17 - a Saturday and a beautiful one at that. It's like spring finally decided to stick around for a few days. Nice!
I had almost forgotten that it was St. Patrick's Day, but after nap time, I made shakes for the kids. The usual - vanilla ice cream flavored protein mix, banana, and spinach. So it was nice and green! The kids polished them off!
That evening, we were hanging out in the front yard, and the kids hijacked Shane's creeper. Such fun pushing your sibling all over the cul-de-sac!
A fun day is when Irish eyes are smiling. (we're probably Irish somewhere down the line!)

Bapa and Gram come for a short visit

While they were in Texas, Gram and Bapa stayed at our house for a short two days before heading back to central Texas. But two days or not, we had a great time with them! We got home rather late on Sunday night, but my two little early birds were up by 7am. And since Bapa was here, and the strawberry fields were open, we went to Froberg's. We filled all three buckets in probably 15 minutes - and had a total of almost 15 pounds. These were some crazy sized strawberries - some were almost baseball sized! Here are all the grands with our haul.
It was super muddy due to all the recent rain, and my shoes (tied gym shoes) almost came off. Logan's Cars croccies DID come off in the mud! Squish!While we were at the farm, the railroad was putting in new railroad ties. Pretty neat to watch. This machine also raked the rocks around the railroad.When we got home, it was Puzzle Time! Kayleigh enjoyed working on her new princess puzzle with Gram.Apparently, I caught the boys in the act. Don't know what act it was, but I caught 'em doing it.That night, Shane and I went out for a "date" for our anniversary. Whatever...eight years... we've become so blase about it. We were going to go to the Mosquito Cafe on Galveston, but it was closed on Monday. Then we ended up at Pei Wei and then went to Sports Authority for new shoes. I'm telling you, we know how to go on dates!

The next day, March 13, we went to the Houston Zoo, along with half the city of Houston. This was Spring Break for everyone in Texas, I think. Anyway, the Hermann Park parking was full, so we got to park at one of the nursing schools and walk over. But we did end up making it there!

And we got a real treat when we were there. The bull elephant had been put in the new elephant enclosure where there are usually just females. He was trying to knock over some of the palm trees, and was being tormented by Baylor, the little boy elephant. In fact, they reminded me of my brothers, Doug and Chris when Doug was a little pipsqueak. "Get away from me, you annoying kid." This is the first time I've ever heard a loud sound from and elephant. It wasn't from the big guy, but from Baylor. So funny and entertaining to watch!After the elephants, we headed over to the African Forest. We got to play the drums, eat an apple and almond snack, see the chimps and rhinos, and the giraffes. Then it was on to the kids' favorite place, the merry-go-round! They went on it, TWICE. In fact, Bapa and Gram even got to get on an animal and ride!
Some "cheesy" people around here!
The men who work the carousel wave and say, "HI!" as it turns.
That night, Bapa took us out to Mosquito Cafe, which this time, was open! They had some interesting fusion type dishes. My quesadilla had peanut sauce and curry on it. Yum! And of course, the kids devoured their chocolate chip cookies...not necessarily their dinners. Whatever.

On Wednesday, Gram and Bapa left us to go back to Fort Hood and then on to Fredericksburg with Chris and fam. We had a good time for the short time we got to see Gram and Bapa. Thanks for coming!

The Compass Centre

So from March 9 - March 11, I was sequestered, along with about 20 other women, in the beautiful confines of the Compass Centre in Centerville, TX. No seriously, I don't think I even stepped outside except to unpack my car and then to repack my car! I finally finished most of Kayleigh's baby book - I think I forgot a part about how we found out she was coming (big surprise!). But other than that, done. And she'll be 3 in a few weeks. Heehee.
The Compass Centre was made for quilters, but the lighting and space is also ideal for scrapbooking. We each had a middle table to ourselves, and shared the side tables. And it was so bright, that my flash never went off inside! And the FOOD. Oh my goodness! Melissa is such a great cook, and so accommodating to my vegetarian-ness. She made a special meal for me which was wonderful. And it was good that she did, because Friday, Amy had to eat the veggie meals (it was Lent - no meat on Friday) and then on Saturday, one of the other ladies does not eat pork. But man...yum, yum.
My Aunt Julie is a Creative Memories consultant, and so she puts on this shindig twice a year. I really don't think she got any of her Ireland album done, but I think she did get some of her 1,000+ pictures organised! Here is my cousin Becky, Aunt Julie (middle), and Miss Melba (Becky's mother-in-law, and Aunt Julie's Ireland traveling companion).
Sunday afternoon, we were cleaning up to go, and I had run out of pictures to scrap. But Amy had lots more. So this is her idea of packing up. Pack one thing, cut some paper. Pack another thing, make a layout. Hey, it worked and she got like 4 more pages done! I just thought it was funny!

We had a great time scrapbooking, and I'm so happy to have gotten K-bob's book done (ish).

Grandkid Boot Camp (Blog of Bapa, aka Bob Callicott)

On Wednesday, 07-MAR, Rosie and I left HSV and drove to Ft. Hood. We and Chris kept Adam, Lottie, Logan and Kayleigh while Amy and Karen attended a scrapbooking retreat lead by Julie Stonecipher (Rosie's sister). The kids really enjoyed playing together. Kayleigh had fun using a colored marker as a chapstick - cute lips. Luckily it was washable.

On Friday morning we went to "story time" at the post library. The letter of the day was "O". We learned about owls and the craft was making an owl. Logan is having a good time at story time. Chris and I are helping the kids make their owls.

Friday night was "Movie Night". The kids enjoyed watching "Muppets in Space." On Saturday we headed to Waco, TX, (in a driving rain storm) to visit the Texas Ranger Museum and the Dr. Pepper Museum. The Ranger Museum was having "pioneer days" for the entire weekend. Adam enjoyed seeing a typical Ranger regional set-up. He's shaking the hand of one of the "rangers."

The wooden horses in the museum were the highlight for the kids; they enjoyed riding them. Giddy up horse!

The boys and girls got their picture made with one of the weekend rangers.

After the museum we headed over to Chick-fil-A for lunch and to give the kids time to play. They ate like horses. We then drove to the Dr. Pepper Museum. Since the kids were tired we didn't take the tour, but we did visit the soda fountain and the gift shop. At the soda fountain we got fountain Dr. Peppers and Dr. Pepper floats with vanilla and cherry vanilla Blue Bell ice cream. Everything was great!

We attended the contemporary worship service on post on Sunday morning. We had a great time with the four kids and they enjoyed being with each other. After Amy and Karen returned on Sunday afternoon, we loaded up and headed towards Houston with Karen, Logan and Kayleigh. The kids chose to ride with us giving Karen some "alone time" in her car.

Going to Fort Hood

On March 8, the kids and I started the about 5 hour drive to Fort Hood. The kids were going to spend the weekend with Gram, Bapa, Uncle Chris, Adam, and Lottie. I was going to a scrapbooking retreat in Centerville, TX.

Of course, it was raining pretty much the whole way there. Since we had left pretty much directly after school on Thursday, we stopped in Brenham for some dinner (but alas, no Blue Bell). We found a McDonald's with a playarea - so key when kids have been cooped up in the car for about 2 hours.
The two of them had a great time for the 45 minutes we stopped. They ended up finishing their dinner in the car because they were having so much fun playing in the tubes. I think they're part hamster. And of course, I got dragged in a few times... this mommy is not small enough to comfortably navigate these tubes!
We finally made it to Fort Hood around 9pm. I was so glad we were there, because I had heard the kids' version of "Two Little Blackbirds" (to the tune of "Twinkle, twinkle") a seemingly infinite number of times.

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill,
One named Jack and one named CUCKOO[supposed to be Jill].
Fly away, Jack! Fly away, CUCKOO!
Come back, Jack! Come back, CUCKOO!
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill,
One named Jack and one named CUCKOO.

They thought they were hysterical! They'd sing this song to each other and then giggle and giggle. Then they'd sing it again! Over and over again...at the top of their lungs. Yes, very happy to have gotten to Fort Hood.

Food, Glorious FOOD!

Generally speaking, my kids are pretty good eaters. Especially when I give them interesting food. Like these "rabbit carrots" that they ate on March 6. They really enjoyed them. I think they ate 3 or 4 each. And the next day, after the clarion of "Mom, I'm ready to WIPE" had sounded, I could tell they'd eaten a bunch of carrots.

The next day, we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. The Cow became our family's buddy that night, even sitting down at the table with us. Kayleigh was not as amused by this as the rest of the family was, but she slowly warmed up to him.

Houston Rodeo Carnival

On Monday, March 5, we took the kids to the Houston Rodeo Carnival. Wow, they had a GREAT time, and it was a perfect day for it - not a cloud in the sky. Of course, we spent more money than we anticipated, but it was really worth it.
A "Daddy-plane" flies above the carnival.

The slides were a big hit with the kids. They spent most of their tickets on them, and after we spent about $20 for them to go down the slides, we finally decided to call it quits! I've decided it's sort of like sledding in brightly colored snow - minus the freezing temperatures.
Logan goes down the "Goliath Slide", which, though taller, was not as fast as the "Super Slide". Maybe the "Super Slide" had been waxed...
Kayleigh grins as she gets off the Super Slide. She was a little nervous about going down the slide, but had a great time once she had gone down a couple times.
And of course, everyone wants to see "Mutton Bustin'", where kids ride (hold on for dear life) a sheep from one end of the pen to the other. Funny! Plus, it got us all out of the sun.
After getting out of the sun for a while, we went to some other rides. Kayleigh wanted to ride the pink elephants. I could not go on them - they go in circles, and that just makes me nauseous. But she did great, even when they flew up in the air.
While Kayleigh was riding the pink elephant, Logan and Daddy were waiting in line for the Ferris Wheel.
It took a long time for Daddy and Logan to get off the ride, because this 90 year old man had some difficulty getting into his seat. A woman standing next to me told me that he was here with the nursing home. He was recently widowed, and had met his wife of 60 years on a Ferris Wheel in Germany. So sweet.I also tried Fried Snickers while I was there. Umm, in my opinion, totally miss-able. For the fat and calories you eat, it's totally not worth it. The Snickers is just a sort of melted lump in the middle of the batter. Bummer.On the way out of the carnival, we stopped at the petting zoo. Kayleigh wanted to see the little baby goats, and then when it was "nursing" time, she followed them around. I'm sure the mama-goats appreciated the audience. The one she is standing next to ended up climbing on top of this black mama-goat and falling asleep!
Logan communes with a pig. "Are you achin'? (yup, yup, yup) For some bacon? (yup, yup, yup) He's a big pig! (yup, yup) You can be a big pig, too! Hooo!" ("The Lion King" anyone?)And this is what happens when a little girl goes to the carnival for several hours. She passes out on the way home, and doesn't even wake up when the truck comes to a stop.