Orange Morning

Ack! Almost December already. So, yes...we had a wonderful Halloween...and a wonderful Thanksgiving...moving on.....

Michael and I went to a Kids' Workshop at the Home Depot in Orange. Michael got to make a little tool box.

The finished product was a colorful box. Michael doesn't like getting his hands dirty, but he will...for a minute or so. He had me walk him to the bathroom three times to wash the paint off his hands. 

When we left Home Depot, Michael saw their play equipment displays. He asked, "Can we go to a park?" It was a beautiful day, so I said we could try to find one. As luck would have it, I found a wonderful city park! It looked a lot like Tugboat Island in Port Neches, but it had its own feel. One thing both Michael and I enjoyed was this long slide. Really cool! It reminded me a lot of the tornado slide that my elementary school used to have, but this one was enclosed. 

David in Texas

David spent just over a month working for Cleveland.com in Ohio. He was happy to finally cover a state championship high school team. It wasn't the sport he was expecting--Division II girls golf. (The story can be found here.)

He arrived in Texas on Sunday night (after dealing with car trouble in Baton Rouge), and he begins his new job with the Fort Bend Herald on Wednesday.

PreK & CCD

Michael has been in his PreK program for a couple weeks now. The bus picks him up and drops him off at our house. The first day we waited awhile because we didn't know exactly when the bus would come. (Now we've got the schedule worked out, so we don't have to wait as long in the heat/humidity/mosquito-infested yard.)

While we waited on the first day, Michael wanted to pretend the bus had arrived to take him. So, we pretended the bus was there. Michael walked across the yard, waving goodbye and blowing kisses. 

When the bus actually arrived, however, Michael stepped right on without looking back. (He does wave out the window from his seat.)

He seems to really enjoy school. This week, they are talking about the letter A and the color red. He's making friends and eating lunch in the cafeteria. He's wearing purple on spirit Fridays (the colors of the district's high school). He's chewing out the principal...

Apparently, Michael was in the boys' bathroom at the elementary. He saw a man in there and told him, "You don't belong in here! Hmph." It was the principal. 

Michael also started CCD last week. They told the story of Jesus and the little children (Matthew 19: 13-14).

New Braunfels

Michael, David, Tina, and I went to New Braunfels this year. It's a yearly trip that David's grandparents have been doing with a group of their friends for 35 years. (The original group was once a Bridge Club when they all lived near Port Arthur.)  We haven't gone in two years, so it was great fun to be able to go again!

Unfortunately, our group was a little smaller than expected. Gary and Jill were supposed to go as well, but Gary was in a rehab facility at the time. So, they were unable to go.  Cole went to a church conference, so he wasn't able to go. Ray wasn't feeling well, so he didn't go. Kristen was also hoping to go, but she couldn't make it either.

Michael, Tina, and I went to visit with Gary and Jill the evening before we left.  I think we totally surprised Jill.  We saw her at the nurses' station and let Michael run ahead of us to go see her. He stood behind her smiling.  She turned around, and at first she didn't realize it was Michael. She did a double take before realizing it was him! We went out to dinner with Jill and Cole, which made Michael very happy. Cole was a willing playmate.

David was working the night before we left, so he drove up to the Woodlands with Mary and Leon (who were staying at Tina's with the dogs, including Diego).


Once we reached New Braunfels, we met everyone at Cooper's BBQ before settling into our condo. Tina, David, Michael, and I stayed in a three-bedroom condo that had been meant for us+Ray+Jill+Gary+Kristen. So, the four of us had plenty of room. Michael was excited as he explored the condo. He went into every room, saying "This is nice. This is sooo nice."

I'm not exactly sure just how many were in the group this year.  It's something though because you have the original group, their kids, their kids' kids, and (with Michael) their kids' kids' kids. They've always been a fun and welcoming group when I've gone.  It's always good to see them, and it was good to get some time with Linda and Ken. Michael had a blast playing in the pool with Ken, but he had to declare to Linda that his condo was better than theirs.

David's been going to New Braunfels his entire life, and I have been four or five times. Michael had been to New Braunfels twice before--once when he was a newborn and once when he was one-year-old.

Michael hadn't been tubing the river before. We only got one ride in.  Michael, David, and I went with a number of people from our group. I did the chute, but David and Michael walked around. This was my first time doing it. We all did the "rapids."  But, dark clouds started to loom overhead, and David and I were talking about getting out early because it looked like rain. (Normally we could float right to the condos.) Suddenly, though, it got very windy and rainy. The whole decided to get out at Schlitterbahn (which you can't do anymore without a pass to the water park but they let us in because of the rain). We got to a covered area just before the downpour. Some veteran rapid riders said they had never experienced anything quite like this storm. Once the rain let up a little bit, we were able to walk back to the condos (which were right across the street). Certainly an adventure for Michael's first time on the river!

Ken & Michael are Twinsies

Michael admires the view from the back of our condo

Enjoying the jacuzzi tub

By the river

Michael's first ride on the river

The 4th of July

We spent the 4th of July over at David's grandma's house (and swimming at his aunt's house).  We had extra family in town too. Mary's sister was in from South Carolina, and her brother was in from Oklahoma.

So, before we hit August, here's some pictures of the July holiday!

My contribution to our family dinner.

Playing washers

Washer champions--or at least that's how we felt after some clutch wins!

Sparklers

Galveston

David, Michael, and I took a day trip to Galveston a couple weeks ago. The drive is under two hours, so it's a doable day trip from Port Arthur. 

We got on the ferry around lunch. Michael thought it was pretty cool to park the car on the ferry and then get off to watch for dolphins. We saw five or six jumping around. That was wonderful! 

Once we got off the ferry, we went in search of a lunch place along the seawall. We found a place that advertised po' boys and a kids' menu, so we gave it a try. It was a total disappointment. The bread of the po' boy was hard, they messed up our order, and they messed up our check. I got an order of beignets, and I think that was the part we liked best. Michael's little face was covered with powered sugar! (Side note...Last week, I had a deal for a New Orleans-style place in Beaumont called Zydeco. We ate there, and David and I each got a po' boy. SO MUCH BETTER!)

We took a walk along Galveston's Historic Strand. We stopped at some of the stores along the way, including LaKing's Confectionary. They make old-fashioned malts and had lots of candy to choose. Michael got some fruit gummies, and David and I shared a chocolate malt.

Then we checked out some of the local art scene. After Hurricane Ike, the city of Galveston had a lot of fallen trees. Residents are having some of the fallen trees turned into sculptures. We found a list of the addresses with sculptures and drove around to find some of them. Most of them are in people's yards. While we were looking at one and taking some pics, a gentleman asked if we would like him to take one for us. Turns out, he was the resident of the house. Very friendly. The sculptures don't really have a unified theme, beyond the fact that they are made from trees that fell because of the hurricane. There were instruments, sea creatures, animals, popular characters... 

Michael chose our dinner location (IHOP). Not too fancy...except...looking out the window, we had a fantastic view of the water. We caught a street show outside of the Rainforest Cafe. We kept seeing fire from across the street, and when we went over to check it out, it was a show they put on while people are waiting. We took a walk along the beach before heading home.

On the ferry ride home, it was dark. Michael could see the lights of the island getting further and further away. He put out his hand and had the saddest look on his face. He wasn't ready to leave. 

Car is on the ferry (I think G&G V would've liked that)

Michael took a pic of us sharing our malt

Cute little table...cute little kid!

Tin Man and Toto

Michael will lead the way

Squirrel!

Isn't this great!

Beach

Getting his shoes wet!

Michael's Checkup

Michael had a doctor's appointment today for his four-year checkup.

The basic stats:

Height: 39.5 (He's grown two inches since last year.)
Weight: 35 lbs.

They checked his blood pressure, hearing, and vision. The vision chart is pictures. One of the pictures was a plus sign (+). Michael called it the sign of the cross, and the nurse laughed and said most kids called it a "T." Cute.

He also got his 4-year-old shots. He was not looking forward to them. (Who would?) He held strong for the first one, but the subsequent ones made him cry. He held tight onto the the sucker they gave him before the shots, and he just looked at me with tears in his eyes. He told me afterward, "That made me sad." He got his sucker right away, and we got a smoothie for him on the way home.

Vacation Bible School

Michael went to Vacation Bible School at St. Charles Catholic Church in Nederland last week. (David's aunt Andi and her family attend the church.) David's cousin Emily also attended (with the older kids). Alyssa and Noah volunteered with VBS.

Michael liked seeing his cousins every day during VBS. He learned some songs, played, and learned Bible stories. We think he had fun, but he didn't tell us a whole lot about it. (Although he will sing, "I'm in the Lord's Army...yes sir!" with actions if prompted.

On Friday, they had a program. The older kids--including Emily--MCed the program. Each of the other age groups did a musical number, and for the finale, all the kids took the stage for a song and dance. Can you find Michael? (Up front in red.)

Swim Lessons

Michael completed a sessions of swim lessons at the YMCA in Port Arthur. He's getting more comfortable in the water, although he's still not sure about putting his face in the water!

He really enjoyed the swim lessons. After one session, Michael declared, "That was AWESOME!" He looked forward to going everyday.

He's also been enjoying swimming (and playing) in Marti & Rodney's pool.

Building Something & Monsters University

We've gone to a few of the "Build-and-Grow" sessions at Lowe's. They have little projects for kids to make. The projects in June were based on the movie Monsters University. Last weekend, Michael made a little treasure box.

Michael comes by his woodworking skills honestly. David has made a few projects for our house, including a toy box. David did joke that he made his Dad a box for remote controls when he was older than Michael, but it wasn't as nice as the box Michael made.

As an added bonus, Michael and I also went to see Monsters University with his friend Will and Will's mom. They treated us as part of Michael's birthday present. A fun movie and a fun time!

Michael's FOURTH Birthday

Michael truly enjoyed his birthday celebration! David and I asked Michael where he wanted to have his birthday party. He very enthusiastically said, "Chuck E. Cheese!" So, the Saturday before his birthday,  we went to Chuck E. Cheese in Beaumont--along with Tina, Jill, Cole, Kristen, and Jordan. We also invited Michael's friend Will and his parents. Will and Michael had a great time playing, and Michael racked up a lot of tickets! He had enough to get a decent prize--some super hero toys. He was giddy over his presents, and he enjoyed having cake and pizza.

June 17 was a fun, busy day for us. As we usually do on Monday mornings, we went to the library for summer story time.  Michael was delighted to once again see his good friend Will.

After that, David and I took Michael out to lunch. Once again, we invited Michael to pick the place. He wanted Pancake House (a.k.a. IHOP). This was good news for us because IHOP had sent a free kids' meal coupon for Michael's birthday. The visit got even better when the entire meal was comped because of the coupon. Not sure what happened, but we'll take it!

Such a boy...he thought he was being hilarious

We then went to a new popcorn store to let Michael pick a bag of popcorn (he chose M&M popcorn).

Next, it was off to Beaumont for pick a present at Toys R Us.

The day continued with swim lessons in the afternoon. (Michael has declared swim lessons "awesome." They were part of his birthday present from Nini and Granddadders.)

The day ended with a second cake and more singing over at Mommaw's after dinner.

Andi and the kids were out of town the weekend before Michael's birthday, so they couldn't join the party. We met them for lunch on the Wednesday after MDC3's b-day. Once again, I asked Michael where he wanted to go. He wanted McDonald's. We met 'Grandi' and the kids at the McDonald's in Nederland. They have a playground, which is always a plus in Michael's book.

Hard to believe MDC3 is the big oh-4!

David Won First Place in Sports News!

David won 1st Place in Sports News for "Beard named Seahawks' new coach" at the Press Club of Southeast Texas Awards Banquet.

One of David's co-workers took this pic of the occasion:

Jumping Around

We're enjoying the beautiful weather before 'summer' hits with hot days, humidity, and bugs galore.

Natchez, Mississippi

I went to Natchez, Mississippi last weekend to participate in the Historic Natchez Conference. I presented Friday morning, and I attended some really interesting talks. I stayed at the 'historic' Eola Hotel in downtown Natchez where the conference was held.

There were several receptions held at other historic locations--nineteenth-century homes Bontura and Longwood. Longwood was especially intriguing. It was a plantation home started before the Civil War. Work stopped on the house in 1861 because of the war, and the house was never completed. Only the basement rooms were completed.

I had Sunday brunch at Stanton Hall Carriage House Restaurant. I even did some research for my dissertation.

All in all--a pleasant trip!

A Little Bit More from Omaha...

No matter how long we stay in Omaha, it goes by fast. So good to spend time with family and friends. Plus, I got to go to my sorority reunion in Kirksville, Missouri, which you can read more about on Girl Engulfed.

We also got went to the Legos Exhibit at Lauritzen Gardens with my friend Karen.

We're now safely back in Texas. Diego and the kittehs were so excited to see us. (Oh, I think David was too...)

Happy Easter and April Fool's Day

Easter was a fun day. The Easter Bunny came, and Michael appreciated that! He got some little toys and candy. We had a family lunch, and it was great to see everyone. The Easter Bunny hid eggs in the front yard too.

On April 1, we woke up to a dusting of snow. Michael could not wait to get out and play in it. It wasn't the best snow for building snow men or making snowballs, but we enjoyed it while it lasted. In the evening, I met up with my friend who just bought a house. It may have snowed in the morning, but she was thinking about her garden. We went to Whole Foods, so she could pick out seeds. Then, we caught up over hot tea.

Happy Easter from Omaha

Michael and I left David in Texas, so we could visit my family in Omaha.

There was just enough snow on the ground when we arrived Wednesday morning that Michael could play a little in it. He made a "snow dinosaur" with Uncle Bob.

I think all this snow had melted by the time we finished lunch. But, what fun for a Texas boy to get to play in some snow.

I went to a friend's wedding on Friday evening. I've known this girl for a long time--she used to be my camper when I was a camp counselor! And eventually, she became a counselor too. That was years ago. So glad we've kept in touch and made more memories over the years! And, very glad to be at her wedding!

Happy Easter! We went to the Easter Vigil mass at my parents' church on Saturday evening. And, earlier in the day, we dyed Easter eggs.

This was the third time this year that Michael colored eggs. (The other times were at the library and at Mommaw's before we left.) He loved it!