A Christmas Story

Once upon a time there was a bald man. This bald man was an early riser and a fan of pre-school musicals. He would attend Thanksgiving and other various holiday performances. One year the bald man was leaving a lovely Christmas sing along performance when he was run over by a fat man in a sleigh. Ho Ho Ho chrome dome...next time find a seat in the back row.

The End.

This Christmas story may or may not have happened and may or may not happen in the future. The names have been changed to protect the bald, but the sing along is true. The next time we video a school performance so help me if Costanza is in the row in front of me...wait...I mean...your honor...I plead the 5th. Merry Christmas :)

Dinner and a movie...

Sometimes I feel like letting the kids watch TV is a bit of a cop out. Sure it's an hour or 2 of silence...but at what price (wait don't answer that...I like my silence)? But tonight was different. For Hanukkah...Sant...errr...Uncle Spencer, Aunt Julie, and Cousin Ethan sent the Toy Story trilogy on DVD (well, DVD, Blu Ray, and Digital CD...quite the package). Anyway...the kids were super excited to watch so we set them up with dinner and a movie. I'm quite certain the last noodle wasn't swallowed until they found out who the Gaffer and Key Grip were. Next week...Toy Story 2!

Happy Hanukkah

Thanksgiving-Back to the Beginning

I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving at my grandparents' house in San Angelo since I was in elementary school. The cast of characters may have changed a little but the happy holiday stayed the same. The kids had fun feeding the ducks, exploring Fort Concho and staying at a hotel. It was great being together.

Not your average Friday lunch

What a treat! I got to have lunch with the whole family on Friday. Not just any lunch. Pre-School Thanksgiving lunch...complete with Pilgrims, Indians, Turkeys...and Chick-Fil-A nuggets (I do believe those were at the original Thanksgiving table). The kids got to perform their Thanksgiving songs, although Ivy informed me that she was "too busy" to sing (you can see from the pictures that she clearly had a lot going on :) ). I did my best to capture the full experience with camcorder in one hand and camera in the other. Unfortunately second row seating meant I got more shots of the chrome dome in front of me than the performance....but I think you'll get the idea. Here are some pictures for the abridged version and below is a 12 minute video if you're looking for the full Abiding Love Thanksgiving Experience. We're sure thankful to have such great kiddos :)

Get out your popcorn :)

The Big Night

After hours of absolute certainty that it was time to Trick or Treat...it was in fact...time to Trick of Treat. Costumes on...candy sacks at the ready...parental beverages poured, shaken, and stirred...we were off! This being the first year of actual door to door, bell ringing, candy grabbing Trick or Treating...the kids were a little unsure of the process. By the end of the night...we were a well oiled machine. Trick or Treat - Grab Candy - Say Thank You - Run to the next house. Bryce was even to the point where just getting candy wasn't enough...he went so far as to reject some Peanut M&M's (much to my dismay) and bargain for a pack of regulars. What a country...Halloween negotiations. One Kit Kat (or Kitty Kat as Ivy calls them), a Peanut Butter Cup, and a Tootsie Pop later...everyone is asleep (we think). What a great weekend...if only there were other holidays during the year that lasted a couple of days, where there was good food, and prizes...I think I'll be ready for one 'round December time if anyone can think of one. Happy Halloween!

Carve Pumpkins - Check!

I hope you bought your three day pass to the Newman Halloween Experience because you didn't want to miss day 2. This year's Halloween Pumpkin Party went off without a hitch. No swine flu to speak of (thanks to the witch's brew in that painful little needle), delicious home made treats (including caramel popcorn...yum), great friends, and fantastic weather. I continue to be amazed at how a 4 inch little saw and a template can create these amazing pumpkins. While we did have a few pumpkins that turned out looking like Sloth from the Goonies...I think anyone who followed the instructions ended up with a front porch decoration sure to scare away even the most aggressive chinese menu delivery guy.

With our costumes ready and pumpkins lit...we're read for tonight's main event. So bring your A game Trick or Treaters cuz WE READY!

Hallow-palooza - Part I

Today was the start of 3 days of fun activities to celebrate Halloween. First the kids had their school Halloween carnival. Bryce donned his pumpkin costume and Ivy debuted her Minnie Mouse gear. Neither lasted very long in full garb since this is a Halloween marathon...not a sprint. There were games, candy, hay rides, and more candy, a clown show (in which Bryce starred), some more candy, and finally candy. It was even a Green festival because we saved gas by feeding Bryce Smarties until he towed the car all the way home. Tomorrow... pumpkin party!

Now this is more like it...

After an executive decision this morning to officially cancel our subscription to the Austin American Statesman - due to poor on time delivery metrics - we felt like rebels. So...to keep our Bonnie and Clyde ways up we went out with the kids to do the craziest thing we could think of...Mini Golf! The kids gobbled up the sharks, knocked down the houses, and wrestled the gators. And...after the US showing at the Ryder Cup today, I'm pretty sure the two kids...green putters, colored balls and all...could have at least lost 2 & 1 instead of 6 & 5 (not mentioning any names...but one might rhyme with Lyger Shoulds).

Really one of the great fall days in Texas....golf, burgers, and splash fountains. If that's not the holy trinity I'm not sure what is. Fall...we knew you existed...now just tell summer to stay away for a few months...thanks.

Silly Ivy

Some people think moses baskets are a waste of money because the baby only uses it for a short period of time. Ivy is making sure we get our money's worth because she still loves to "sleep" in it.

No parents=Lots of fun

Here's what the kids were up to while Nana and Grandpa Bob were in charge.

Labor Day

We went to Napa for the weekend to celebrate my cousin's wedding. It was also our 9th anniversary and Russell's birthday. Napa was beautiful and the perfect place to celebrate all these happy occasions. While we had fun out of town. Nana and Grandpa Bob had fun in Austin taking care of the kids. I'll add some photos of what they were up to soon but here's a few pics from our trip.

Back to School

Both kids went to preschool today and both were excited about it! Drop off was smooth, no tears, just quick hugs and off to play. I can't wait to hear about their day...

Fun day on the links

While yesterday was Bryce's actual birthday...today was the official birthday party for both Bryce and Ivy. This year we celebrated with a golf party at LochNewman...or St. Brivy's Golf Links...or Newmanshire...well you get the idea. We're not Scottish but I think our backyard links could hang with the best of them. A nine hole masterpiece designed to test your mettle with sharp doglegs, treacherous greens, unconventional obstacles, and sweltering heat. No one broke the course record today (which is unofficially 37...set the night before the party), but everyone had a good time. The kids each got to take home a driver and a putter to practice with and most everyone made a very stylish visor to keep the sun out of their eyes.

Most importantly Bryce and Ivy had a great time (as measured in the amount of tea consumed, cake eaten, and snacks pocketed)!!! We can't thank all our friends enough for coming to celebrate with us.

Although Bryce informed me that when he's 5 he'd like a riding mower to cut the grass (which I'm all for)...I think perhaps I'll get him a trowel and a jar of spackle so he can do the repairs after next year's party (I'm not sure shopping carts are meant to go down stairs...at least the wall broke its fall).

Happy birthday kids...love Mom and Dad.

Bryce's Birthday at the Botanical Garden

There was a playhouse exhibit at the San Antonio Botanical Garden so that's what we did on Bryce's birthday. The kids had fun walking around the gardens and climbing in and out of the playhouses.

Some new landscaping

We spend a lot of time in our backyard playing. I think that's why we've spent the most time back there working on our landscape. The trees provide good shade and we've got plenty of little areas for the kids to get muddy, sandy, sweaty, wet, poopy (we do have a dog that plays too), and grassy. But since we moved in 3 years ago, we pretty much Popeil'd the front - set it and forgot it. So...it was time to give the house a little more curb appeal. The process went quite smoothly start to finish...and as far as the kids were concerned, having a giant hole (for our new tree) in the front yard was better than all the new dolls and trains they could have. Did I mention the hole? Right...we spent about an hour climbing in and out. I'm thinking of digging a well in the backyard...those are safe for kids...right?

Before:

After:

The Hole!

Back to reality...

After a fun holiday weekend, it's always hard to snap back to reality.  Here are a couple of pictures to just keep the feeling going a little bit longer.

Beach

We just got back from a trip to Port Aransas with my parents. We had a great time! Ivy didn't love the beach, she kept saying "no like beach" and then quickly followed up with "pool no dirty, pool clean". I took the hint and she spent most of the time at the pool. Either way, there was plenty of fun in the sun.

Trip to New York

We went to NY this weekend to meet Baby Ethan and attend his naming. The kids were excited and the weekend exceeded expectations. I was worried about Ivy on the plane because she has been screaming when she doesn't get her way lately. What do we do when 15 minutes into the flight she decides she wants to go home? Luckily, that issue didn't arise and both children were super fabulous travelers. I flew home with them by myself and it couldn't have been smoother.

It's hot outside but the kids are cool!

Show Day at Little Gym

Ivy has been taking classes at Little Gym for a year now and she loves swinging on the bars.

Peaches and Steam

As summer punches us in the face, it's hard to find outdoor activities that you can do after the sun comes up.  But some days...you have to stick one to the man and say..."HEY!  old man Summer...this one's for you...and the horse you rode in on!"  So...today we headed out to Fredericksburg to pick some peaches.

After last year's drought, we've had enough rain to tick above Sahara on the rainfall map and the peach growers (farmers? cultivators? makers?) are loving it.  So, why not venture out to pick a fruit off a tree that doesn't grow tall enough to provide any real shade?  Well...I guess short trees are good when you've got short kids.

After a short car ride filled with knock knock jokes..."knock knock...who's there?...Gorilla...Gorilla who?...Gorilla me a hamburger I'm hungry"...and some knock knock jokes(??)..."knock knock...who's there?...banana...banana who....banana are you in the house"...and a quick stop at the Dairy Queen (insert DQ ice cream picture to make Mom jealous)

we arrived to pick our peaches.  We bought a 1/4 bushel but I probably should have paid for twice that, because I'm sure Ivy ate no less than 30 peaches.  Well, come to think of it...I'm sure we'll all be paying for that later.  Here's a little of how our day went:




So...now the question of what to do with all of these peaches...well...in Texas...there's only one answer: Cobbler!

And as for Ol' Man Summer....Knock Knock...who's there?...Orange...Orange who?....Orange you glad we don't give a crap how hot it is outside!?

Happy Sunday

San Francisco

Russell was in SF for work and I've never been so I met him out there. We had fun doing all the touristy things. Shopping in Union Square(3 story Anthropologie!), biking across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito (harder than I thought but not as scary), Alcatraz. A BIG thank you to my parents who kept the kids so we could have a few days of fun.

Early birthday gift

Ivy received a package from Spencer and Julie and opened it up before I had a chance to hide it from her. She was so excited about her new summer look that she took off her clothes and put on her new stuff. It was pretty cute.

School's out for summer!

The last day of school was a splash and pizza party. Bryce and Ivy liked the pizza better than the water but overall had a great time. I got a few pictures from things he did during the school year. If I can scan them I'll update this post. There's a great one of Bryce riding a horse.

Mother's Day

My mom, the kids and I went to San Angelo to spend Mother's Day with my grandparents. We had so much fun but I really didn't take the camera around. The big excitement was the train museum. Aunt Judy and Uncle Mark suggested it and off we went. Dear old Mr. Mathis showed us around. He was an engineer on the trains for 30 years and now volunteers at the museum. He took Bryce by the hand and we saw room filled with model trains. The kids got to push buttons to make the trains go, make noise, etc. After the inside we went out to climb up on a real engine and caboose. Mr. Mathis shared tidbits about how the engineer and brakeman would sleep in the caboose and how bathrooms weren't on board in the beginning...we all learned a lot :) Sorry about the pictures...I really didn't know what we were going to be doing.

First strawberries...

The new garden has already yielded the first 2 strawberries of what I'm sure will be a bumper crop for 2010.

Passover

We had a very nice seder with my family on Saturday night. Uncle Arnold condensed his previously condensed seder to accommodate the kids' attention spans. Plenty of matzoh and charoset kept Bryce in his seat. Ivy was not so easily convinced...

Wildflowers

This post is supposed to be about how beautiful all the wildflowers are this year. Instead the pictures will show how difficult it is to get one good picture of two kids. Russell tried his best...please use your imagination to put these two pictures together into one good one.

***UPDATE - ask and you shall receive...a little photo magic:

Egg Hunt

Since eggs are Kosher for Passover, we thought it would be fun for Bryce to participate in his school's Easter egg hunt.  He also needed a little practice for the Afikomen hunt on Saturday when we will have TIVO Passover at the Jessel house with the Barbans (that's right TIVO Passover...we've taken to recording all 8 days of holidays and then watching them when convenient...we get to skip the boring parts of the service as wells as the commercials).

Houston

We went to Houston for the weekend to visit some friends. The highlight of the trip was a trip to the Houston Zoo. Besides the standard favorites of the animals and a train ride, the kids had their 1st carousel ride. I couldn't believe that Bryce wanted to ride and was even more surprised when he loved it and Ivy cried.

New Garden

My herb garden was in serious need of help and Russell (with a little help from Bryce) came to my rescue. We now have 4 raised garden beds and hopefully our herbs and veggies will appreciate the makeover and will not die on me...

All Dressed Up

Someone told Ivy that the rodeo was in town so she got all ready to go!

Fox Family Fun

Russell's Aunt Dot and Uncle Marty were in Dallas visiting their daughter's family. They convinced Hilary and Scott to bring Morgan to visit us for the weekend. Morgan was the first one to sleep in Bryce's trundle bed. No one could believe the kids slept in the same room all night. Both are known to be night wanderers... On Sunday we went to the kite festival. Marty and Scott brought kites, Hilary supplied bubbles, I was in charge of food and Ivy monitored the port o potties. We all had a great time.

Corpus Christi

We took the kids to visit Dede for the weekend. We all had a great weekend. We took the kids to a new museum which had a great kids area in addition to the regular exhibits. Staying in a hotel was also a big hit. The kids loved popcorn at happy hour and the breakfast in the morning.

Visit with Nana

A major snowstorm in NY wasn't going to keep Nana from visiting her grandkids. Myra was able to come in for the weekend and our weather cooperated for a change. It was warm enough that we got to show off a few playgrounds and take a train ride.

Obligatory Snow Pictures

It snowed this week in Austin...here's proof.

A Close Shave

As I continue to struggle with the daily (or every other daily in my case) hassle of shaving, I've gone through almost every type of product there is.  Creams, oils, lotions, gels, clear, foamy...one blade, disposable, 3 blades, electric, 5 blades, lawnmower blades, henkel knives...whatever.  I hate shaving...always have.  Recently I discovered a website Badger & Blade (http://badgerandblade.com/)...a community dedicated to my nemesis.  On there, they review various shaving products, produce their own line of shaving accessories, and have actually started a mini revolution dedicated to the art of shaving with brushes, full lathers, and the most unbelievable part...double edged razor blades...super old school.  While they're convinced you can learn to shave the 'right' way with relative ease, I'm not ready to start hacking up my face quite yet (although our Costco membership would come in handy as we would surely have to quadruple the amount of toilet paper to cover up Freddy Kruger face) and I will more than likely stick with my 105 micro-blade concoction from Gillette.  I have however switched from my ridiculously expense shave gel by Zihr to a combination of shaving oil from Pacific Shaving Company ($4.99, 100 shaves)

and a good old fashioned can of Barbasol (with aloe...of course). ($1.99)


So...why am I boring you with details of my personal hygiene?   Well...Bryce caught a glimpse of me shaving with my new foamy shaving cream and thought it looked like a kick.  So...while at Target this weekend (what else do you do on the weekends...c'mon...you go too...it's ok) we happened upon a kiddie shaving kit...and the little man got a taste of what he has to look forward to in another 12 years or so.  The whole process was pretty hilarious as he was convinced that he didn't get it smooth enough (if he can't get it now while his face really is as smooth as his behind...he's screwed).  Anyway...he looked like such a little mensch...I had to post some pictures.  Who knows...with kids his age already having Facebook pages and playing World of Warcraft online...maybe he'll buck the trend and be old school...at least when it comes to shaving.

 

  

Love is in the air

Happy Valentine's day. Our day started as a lazy Sunday morning. With Paige at the grocery, I had the kids. The mission, as usual, was to have the same number of kids as when she left...success! The kids broke in to a spontaneous session of ring around the rosy and my video camera had just enough juice to capture a few seconds.



Since the weather was finally nice today, we headed out to the park for a little picnic and some digging time. The picture of Ivy above may be the first time I've successfully recorded a non food induced smile on film. The rest of the slideshow are just for fun.

We ended the day with some friends over to eat dinner. Ryan and Michelle made the drive down and David and Lindsey were nice enough to let Zach be harassed by Josie and Ivy for a few hours.

A Visit and a New Project

Last weekend, my Dad and Barbara came to visit. The standard mid winter visit to the warm Texas climate failed miserably as it was not much nicer than it was in NY. Well, I guess 45 is technically 30 degrees warmer than 15, but at this point I think we're splitting hairs. Despite being a little couped up, I think everyone had a good time. I know the kids have a few new expressions they're running around with, and I'm sure that Dad has a few bruises he's running around with after Bryce treated him as his personal trampoline.



This weekend was another Home Depot workshop. Bryce donned his apron and took to the aisle with his new project...a race car show stand thingy. I wish they had some smaller hammers so Bryce could do a full one handed swing (we tried that with the heavier hammer and...well...my fingers didn't appreciate it). Anyway...Bryce did great with the stickers and glue and couldn't wait to get home and set up his cars and trucks.