rendezvous girl by LE

 Over Spring Break, LE was invited by PawPaw to attend the week-long South Western Rendezvous.  She has been talking about it for months, and to be honest I never thought when it came down to it that she would really go.  But, my Pioneer/Native American Girl did.  She slept in a real teepee, with no electricity or running water for almost a week.  On Day One, was a trail walk and she had to go "hunting" along the walk which she hit the first target with her tomahawk.  She met several new friends, and met a new pen pal from the Dallas area.  That night, a terrible wind storm hit and most people lost their tents, but PawPaw's teepee had no problem weathering the storm.
On Day Two, " the morning was cold, but it got warmer and the weather did too".  PawPaw went to a shooting thing and I took a lot of pictures.  And then, we waited for Red Bear.  And we waited for what seemed like forever. PawPaw and Red Bear threw the tomahawk and knives.  And then we had lunch.  I did kid games and I actually shot a bow and arrow and a real cannon! Me and my friends played more games and shot more arrows.  And then, we went for supper and had hamburgers on the fire that I made.

thank you friends

Our sweet friends, Ellison and Kyla recently cleaned out their doll closets and was so gracious to pass on to Kit, Emily, Molly and Kirsten.  The girls passed on doll carriers/suitcases, shoes, accessories, as well as a wardrobe more extensive than mine.
Now see my dolls? They too are outfitted by Kyla and Ellison and I am so grateful.  For years now, my friend Erica cleans out her girls' closets and passes on the most stylish outfits, jackets, and shoes to my girls.  I cannot tell you the last time I have had to purchase clothes for my children between Erica blessing the girls several times each year, and my sister-in-law Susan sharing Brady's clothes (and Mimi's treasure store finds).  We are truly blessed and this Mama and Daddy really appreciate it.

a major award

At Daddy's evaluation this week, he found out he was nominated for the Dell Champion Award.  It is one of the highest awards one can receive from Dell for his service to the company.  His manager nominated him for the award which came with a cash bonus and an email from the Big Man himself.
Congratulations Ben!
I overheard one of the girls telling a friend, have you ever heard of the super bowl?  Well, this is like that, but with computers.

dance recital 2014

The girls had their first dance recital over the weekend.  It was very informal as the class was part of our homeschool group.  Classes had to cease b/c one of the families moved and we could no longer afford to lease the space.  The girls enjoyed it and as the year has progressed we have needed to spend more time on school work, so having those extra couple of hours in the morning are going to help us get back on track.

The girls performed a tap routine to Elvis' Hound Dog and a ballet routine to Yesterday by the Beatles.  Boo had the tap solo.  Thank you to Miss Natalie for allowing us to borrow dance costumes from her little dancer.Miss Joelle did a beautiful routine also, which had the girls mesmerized.
I wish we could continue on with lessons b/c I think the girls really enjoyed the time and what they learned.  It was a great learning opportunity for them.

Chloe Girl, 2000-2014

We lost our sweet Chloe yesterday to cancer.  She was thirteen years old.  She had not been herself since we lost Duncan.  She wasn't eating well,  very lethargic and over the weekend her breathing changed and she would not eat at all.  I took her to the vet yesterday and after several tests and X-rays they discovered a large mass in her lungs and on her spleen.  It was inoperable and at her age was not recommended.  It was a very difficult decision, but one the doctor recommended.  We brought her room so the girls could say good-bye; a decision I regretted at first.  I could not have my children (one who wants to be a vet) thinking every time a pet leaves for the vet they die.
I am beginning to think the poet who said it is better to have love than lost was full of malarky.  Soon, I will write Chloe's Story, but cannot quite yet.

"the big easy" peasy king cakes

Sometimes I think we were born in the wrong state, don't get me wrong I love Texas, but man I love me some good Cajun food and good Cajun traditions.  I had no idea a king cake was basically a cinnamon roll, light bulb moment!!!
 I figured why couldn't we make a king cake out of the cinnamon rolls that come in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.  IT WORKED!!!  WE unrolled two containers of cinnamon rolls and put them on a baking sheet in a wreath shape.  Then, we baked according to the directions on the pkg.  We added some food coloring to the white icing and Mama drizzled the icing over our "king cake".  I even got a plastic baby from the bakery dept. and hid it inside one of the rolls.  Happy Fat Tuesday, ya'll!

wordless Wednesday - chicken leg

Austin Steam Train Field Trip

My friend, Zelia was able to coordinate a field trip for some fellow homeschooling families over the weekend. After our train failure in Arizona we were sure to not miss this opportunity.
The train is run completely by volunteers.  We were in an open-aired car (no a.c.) and we were connected to the snack car.   The chairs turn around so you can face each other (2x2 -4 in a group) or face forward and two in a seat.  You can bring your own food and walk freely among the train (with an adult).
It is supposed to be a 3 hour round trip to downtown Austin and back to the station in Cedar Park.  About 20 minutes into the ride we had to stop and we sat on the tracks for forty minutes b/c a freight train farther up the line was having mechanical failure.  So, we rode backwards to Cedar Park and farther up the line to Leander, where we then proceeded forwards again.  It was not nearly the failure that we had in AZ, b/c we at least got to ride the train this time.  They gave us vouchers to ride again in November, but I think this time Mimi and PawPaw can get the steam train experience and we will keep HR home.  The kids really enjoyed themselves, thank you Miss Z for thinking of us.

6 weeks break

This past week, we take off the week of home school.  It was the end of our first six weeks of the semester.  The girls have been working so hard and finishing their assignments at a record pace.  We have decided to take a week off after each six weeks instead of one big summer break this year.  The week may come at the end of a six weeks period but it may come at another time as needed (when neighbor kids are out for spring break, or vacation bible school etc).  It was needed for me as well as for them b/c I have had the winter blues and this past week the weather was gorgeous.  We were able to schedule several play dates with friends, Daddy took the day off and we went to the zoo and Mama Teacher got to plan the next six weeks of school including gathering all of our supplies and making needed copies.  Here's to the next six weeks of school!

the big boy

My boy has turned into quite the helper.  He loves to help me in the kitchen.  This week he made biscuits.

**Potty update** R2 is now wearing big boy underwear all day.  We have a timer that goes off every 45 minutes to remind us to go, but he is now telling us when he needs to go without the reminder.  He hasn't figured out #2 yet, but we are saving a ton on diapers down to only wearing them while we are sleeping.
On the diaper note, I just purchased HR's first package of diapers this month.  We were blessed with gift cards and diapers for birthdays and at his birth, that I just cashed the last one and had to pay for them ourselves.  So, Go R2, Go!!  Praying he is on his last box of diapers!!