Dancing Shoes

Sophia's dance class finally pulled out the tap shoes. So fun! They're also practicing hard for their winter recital.

Happy Birthday Porter!

Porter turned seven!

The older he gets, the faster time seems to be passing.

The birthday celebration included meeting for lunch... where I asked him, "How does it feel to be seven?" He got a very surprised, then thoughtful look on his face, as though it hadn't yet occurred to him that he was no longer six.

I stayed for recess, then helped hand out the doughnuts and juice we brought for his class, to help celebrate his birthday. Sophia and Preston made themselves right at home with the other first graders.

Porter wanted pizza for dinner, and of course, we opened presents. Thanks to all of the grandma's and grandpas and aunts and uncles who remembered and sent happy birthday wishes via presents and/or phone calls. They made Porter feel very special and loved.

We ended the evening with trick or treating. Seriously, what a fun day for a birthday, it's a party all day long.

The party continued the following day, with an end of the season trip to Double Daves with his baseball team, and then a small birthday party. I am getting smarter in my old age, and only allowed him to invite a few friends. He opted for an all male party. The one gender made the guest list a cinch, and the small numbers made the party much more manageable and enjoyable for me. Although, honestly, it doesn't take many boys to create a rowdy bunch!

I did the happy dance when Porter told me what he wanted for his cake. I had imagined some elaborate creation centered around Scooby Doo, the theme of his party. Oh no, he wanted Oreo Cheesecake, you know, the one jello makes in a box. Wahoo!

So, the Internet is a party planning mom's best friend. I googled scooby doo birthday party, and voila, an instant list of ideas. I cut and pasted the best and we had a birthday mystery to solve. The kids had clues that led them to new locations with games ...the mummy wrap is above- the boys had a blast wrapping each other in toilet paper! In the end they found the birthday creeper who had stolen the party goody bags.

Happy Birthday Porter!

I can't believe I have a seven year old...

Church Halloween Carnival

(yes, my other children were there, but they were with their dad, and I was the one with the camera :)

Halloween Night

Glitz and Glam

A patient brother.

Check out the blue nail polish. Her choice.

The finished product.

In preparation for our upcoming family pictures, we all got haircuts last week. I took Sophia to our favorite place, Glitz and Glam. I love the pampering, and on Tuesdays, it's a little cheaper, so it's not much more than a normal haircut anywhere else. Sophia ate it up. She had a big smile on her face the whole time, and so did I, just watching her.

If you can't tell, we've been absolutely swamped the last couple of weeks. Today is the first day I've had to really blog, or read blogs, or do anything on the computer. Our days and nights have been absolutely packed. Last week, we had something, or several things every night. On Saturday, we had something almost every two hours. Whew.... I think things should slow down a little bit, although I hate to even say that, lest I jinx myself!

Children's Museum

Sophia has been asking for weeks to go the Children's Museum. I finally blocked a Friday for her, and away we went. I planned on enjoying the Halloween opportunities at the museum, but the two had so much fun in the tot spot, that we stayed there the whole time. This was Preston's first time to have free reign of the area, and he loved it. I love the car pictures, I have pictures of Porter and Sophia in this car at this same age. They've all loved it so much.

Buddy Bear

Sophia's preschool has a resident bear. Buddy Bear. Each weekend one child gets to take Buddy Bear home for an extended sleep over.

Each week Sophia says to me... "Oh I hope I get to bring Buddy Bear home this weekend."

Her wish finally came true. She was in absolute heaven, and really dug her heels in when it was time to return him the following week.

Buddy went all over with us, baseball, zoo boo, glitz and glam. He would have gone to church too, but we forgot him at home. We love Buddy Bear!

Zoo Boo

We squeezed zoo boo into a busy Saturday.

I decided that I love the idea of zoo boo, dressing up in costumes, perusing the zoo, painting pumpkins, enjoying the season.

I do not love the actual event. I don't remember it being this way in years past... but this year it was way...too... crowded!

However, the kids didn't seem to mind. They loved it. Porter had so much fun, I couldn't get him to slow down for a photo. Sophia talked about Zoo Boo for several days afterwards. And we went for the kids, so I guess it was worth it. But next year, I think I'll let them dress up on a day other than zoo boo, and we'll tour the zoo in peace and quiet.

Annual S* Family Halloween Party

Some friends of ours have an annual, adult only Halloween Party. It's really fun to have a reason to dress up and get into the holiday. This year we went as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo.

Given that we didn't decide what to be until the night of the party, I thought we did a fabulous job pulling off our costumes. Thanks to my vintage dress from Grandma D, I was set and Doug creatively rummaged through the pile of clothes I'd made for Good Will, retrieving the white sweatshirt we thought was past it's prime. Voila... awesome costumes!


Last year, we went as UPS drives to the same party. Eliza sent last years pics our with this years pics. So here they are, to preserve the memory! Preston was our special delivery(observe, he's in a box). Doug used to drive UPS, so we had a nice supply of uniforms to work with. I turned a pair of pants into a skirt. I was too vain to wear such big, baggy work pants!

Go Astros!

Porter, taking his turn at being catcher.

Saturday marked the end of another successful season for our little baseball team.

It's amazing to me that Porter dislikes school and church, but when it's time for baseball he quickly gets ready with no complaining, even on double header days (and yes, we've had many Saturday's full of double headers, after having one or two games during the week).

While I eagerly anticipating some slower paced Saturdays and weeknights, I also worry what I am going to do with my busy boy. Baseball has been a great outlet for him.

We've really enjoyed the league Porter has played on. We like his coach, I enjoy the other moms on the team, and Porter gets along well with his teammates. The season itself went well. The focus was on learning and playing well.

But the tournament at the end kind of scared me. The boys played so well, and won their first two games. And then I could feel the pressure mount. For the subsequent games the coach started only playing the best players. Suddenly it was less about being fair, and more about winning. I understand, but at the same time, these boys are six and seven. I don't know that it's quite time to push the competitive side of sports yet. I don't think the boys even cared. They seriously care more about the gatorade and snacks at the end, then about the outcome of the game. I don't know what we'll do next season.

Luckily we have several months to decide, and until then, I'm going to enjoy a well deserved break!

baby pumpkin

the kids are so proud of this tiny pumpkin growing in our backyard...

1st Grade Field Trip-- Oil Ranch

I had the privilege of accompanying the first graders on their field trip to the Oil Ranch. I love the Oil Ranch, and have gone almost yearly since we moved here six years ago.
Porter really wanted me to accompany his class on the field trip, and I figured as long as he wants me to come, I will do all I can to comply. I am so blessed to have good friends who helped watch Sophia and Preston, and get Sophia to and from school-- thank you!

I rode the bus, something I haven't done since I coached debate ages ago. I forgot how luxurious they are j/k! The first grade took two buses, and the other bus had trouble on the way home, so it was sloooow going.

Porter's teacher put me in charge of four busy, busy little boys. I don't know how his teacher stays sane. Wow...

Porter was so sweet. On the way there, we played the alphabet game. On the way home he put his head in my lap and dozed off, upon wakening he sat in lap for the rest of the ride home. While at the ranch he held my hand. It made me so, so glad that I came, and that I made arrangements for his siblings to not be there, so it could just be mom and son bonding time. We don't have many tender moments like that at home.

The hay ride and feeding the cows.

I think the boys would have played on the tractor the whole time, if I would have let them. I just thought it would be a shame to come all this way and miss out on the unique facets of the Oil Ranch.

Happy Birthday Blog!