Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Great day at the Dallas Zoo!

Gypsy, the elephant
Cheetah resting

Lemur summoning the sun gods

Wow! We had the zoo entirely to ourselves! I guess everyone was at the malls, doing Xmas shopping! Mima joined us for her last day in Dallas. We got to feed Katie, the giraffe, and saw a couple of "Animal Encounters" which was pretty cool. All the animals were extremely photogenic.

Monkeys in a Wheelbarrow!

The backyard renovation has begun-- yipppeee!!! The Dust Bowl shall be no more!

In an attempt to get everything ready for the workers, we had to move a lot of things... one of the things being our children...

Princess Paws...

I'm not sure what possessed Carly to get on top of the table on the patio... or how she climbed up there... but all of a sudden, I saw these puppy-dog eyes staring at me through the window at eye level-- kinda freaked me out-- but had enough time to go get the camera.

Reese had his 10 wk post-op checkup on Friday-- and all looks well! His knee has healed nicely and he is allowed to continue to step-up his exercise routine. Yay! Just in time for all the wintery cold weather!

Popcorn and movie!

Movie time! The rain/threat of rain brought us indoors, which was a good thing-- I was able to get dinner started, get some organizing done, and clean up. Yes, Avery is literally on the edge of his chair-- Bambi II will do that to you!

Look who's front-and-center, waiting for a kernel to drop...

My monkeys...

Such little loves! These guys are always a source of smiles, esp when you're feeling down. So blessed to have these cutie pies!!!

My girls...

... as hard as it is to sleep with babies in the bed, this was definitely worth the picture!

Horses...

How did I end up with 2/3 of my children loving horses?? Aunt T?!?! Ave and Claire just loved riding the ponies at the Fall Festival. Ash was obviously not thrilled to be on a beast like that. :)

Incredible Hail Storm

We were awoken @ am Sunday morning to the most ferocious hail storm I think we have ever seen here in Dallas! It was so intense! Fortunately, the kiddos slept through it and enjoyed playing with it the next morning (Carly too!).

Sick Bay...

Here is a picture of the Infirmary and its patients.

Yes, those are popsicles and yes, they are eating them on my bed...

Happy Birthday, Auntie Meggie!

Auntie Meggie was in Texas for a conference earlier this week and was able to come up to Dallas for the last part of her trip and celebrate her birthday with us! Fun! Despite 3 sick kiddos (croup, fevers) and air transportation issues, we had a nice visit. We made it to Owen's Farm for their pumpkin festival, trekked over to the Dallas Zoo, and made a "horsey" birthday cake.

Things I wish I would've had my camera for...

... but didn't.

Use your imagination and picture these scenarios...

- Monarch butterflies filling the trees @ Huffhines Park on a Friday afternoon en route to Mexico

- Asher locking Avery in Reese's dog crate

- A hawk swooping down and grabbing a blue jay, returning to a limb 5 ft above my head

- Claire, Asher and Avery glowing in the dark in their skeleton pajamas

- Great Twins Panel discussion at our monthly meeting with some terrific speakers and candid advice

Morning @ Chick-fil-a!

Still not fully recovered from a nasty stomach virus that hit me hard Friday morning, I took the kids to play at Chick-fil-a. Our first stop-- McDonald's-- was closed for renovation; fortunately, I found this out before unstrapping 3 busy bodies. Even though the weather was cool and pleasant, I needed a nice contained area meant no chasing down Avery "The Streak" Morrison. We had the place to ourselves which was a treat. The kids chased each other round and round and then dined on mini hash-browns.

It takes a village...

(Slide was attached later by Daddy-o!)
(Cleaning house-- literally!)

... to raise children? Or is it children to raise a village? : )

Anyway! These were my "large objects" that a very very very nice man helped me load into the van in 2 trips.

This makes my heart smile...

The happiest girl in the world.

RIP Big Boy Beds (8/6-9/20)

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Claire is 4 years old!

Who would've thought this little baby girl that I held in my arms 4 years ago would grow up so fast into this creative and cute girl? What a fun adventure this has been!

A week-long birthday celebration! What fun! Gran flew out on Saturday, Balloon Festival on Sunday, pumpkins @ the Arboretum on Monday, playdate @ the park on Tuesday, cupcakes at gymnastics, special treats for school tomorrow-- whew! This little girl is surely loved!

The girls go to K9 Kerplunk!

We finally made it to one of the dog swim days at the end of the swim season! Claire, Carly, and I headed over to a pool in Plano right as it opened for the doggies. (The boys were all at home doing manly things, I'm sure.) Carly swam like a fish and I had several people ask me how old she was-- "Is she 2 years?" "Oh. 8 months... oh 8 years?!" "Wow. She has a lot of energy!" This was Claire's 1st time going, and she had a lot of fun tossing the ball for Carly.

Dallas Zoo!

On a beautifully cool morning... I can accept that we might not break the record of 100+ degree days (only 68), paling to 1980 when there were 69... give me days like today and I won't mind a bit!

Headed out to our fav stomping grounds-- the Dallas Zoo-- with everyone else in Dallas. Made it there, got parking, and even fed the giraffes. Got a sweet peek @ Baby Jamie, 5 wks old, cuddling with its mama.

Feeding the Ducks?

Nope! That would be a soft-shelled turtle that we went down to feed. A couple of weeks ago, we found him cruising the creek, eating bread like a duck. Of course, I did not have my camera, but today was a success! Not only did we find him again, but I braved the wagon and even let my monkeys out to feed! Is this another sign of change and growth? *sigh* My babies...

My babies all went to school today! I can't believe it! The house was strangely quiet when I got home... the dogs looked at me like, "Where is everyone?"

We are so lucky to have such great teachers for the kiddos this year! Miss Kathy (in her 30th year of teaching!) took on the twins and Miss Kim gets to run the room with Claire. Happy faces were on at both departure and arrival. Yeah!

Early Mornings...

For about 3 months of or so, my sweet little boys have been so excited about life that they begin their days @ 4 am. No cuddling, no going back to sleep-- we hit the ground running! Today Asher slept in till 5:15 am, which was a treat, and I was able to sneak him out before he woke up Avery. Claire woke @ 5:30 and then Ave @ 5:45. Trying to be productive @ this hour-- I do have a batch of cookies in the oven followed by some crescent rolls for breakfast (rolls, not cookies!). But it is dark outside... and quiet...

Future NRA member?

I hope she doesn't need a permit! Trying to get creative with our outdoor play as the pools have closed and the oppressive heat continues.

Let's see... some of the "cool" things we've done:

- shaving cream letters and numbers

- ice boats

- Kangaroo Climber on all water surfaces

- Squirting in the Swing

- Aqua sand

- ice cubes in the pool

- sprinklers and slip and slides

- dish soap in water table

- "shooting", catching, and netting bubbles

Anyone have any other ideas???

Update on the Twins in Twin Beds

Asher and his "mine"
Avery doing a little light reading...


It's been almost 2 weeks since the twins took to twin beds. They have done really well going to sleep in them-- it's just staying in them after they wake up that's the hard part. : ) (Yes, Claire, at almost 4 yrs of age, still calls for us to come get her up...) This morning I found the twins covered in books from their little bookshelf... the other day, they were both lying behind the door of their bedroom... who knows where they will be tomorrow?

Cicada Morning!

So glad I looked before putting on my shoe...

Then Claire took her tool box into the backyard and wanted to "fix" something. I suggested our beloved Kangaroo Climber-- she came shrieking back to me that a bug was on it...