Practice Makes Perfect...

She's been diligently practicing for about 2 weeks.


Finally her hard work has paid off!

Tutu...

Two very sweet little girls sent Paige this iridescent tutu when she was born, along with some very cute pink cowgirl boots. The boots do not fit yet, but I couldn't resist trying to take some pictures of her in the tutu. She cooperated for all of 2 minutes, not to mention the fact that Eli was trying to be a big "helper" as well. All that to say most of my pictures didn't turn out.



I have to admit she is quite darling in this one!

Thanks Megan and Ellie...she will be so excited when her boots fit her!!

Basketball...

We have entered into the world of Basketball...This year, both Zach and Seth decided to try out our local Upwards Basketball League (sponsored by our church). Kindergarten and First grade our on the same team...but the teams are evenly divided by experience and talent. The boys are on the same team (Zach is probably one of the oldest and Seth the youngest). How fun to watch them learning something completely new...in a safe and non competitive environment!



We are "The Tigers!" (Seth is #4).



I thought the Ref was especially cute! The kids were called for blatant fouls, and traveling...however when the whistle blew they were basically allowed to "re-do" the play.



Zach made a couple of shots. He was so excited when he did, he tried not to smile, but fist pumped in the air! When he stole the ball away from the girl he was guarding, he kindly handed it back to her!



Seth is just getting the hang of dribbling...and had a little trouble getting the ball up high enough to hit the 6 foot basket!



He still had a great time, however I heard him tell the coach several times during the game that he was "hungry!"

All in all a success...in several ways! Convincing Zach to even sign up for something like this is great in itself...getting him to follow through and enjoy it...is even more of a victory! For Seth...it will be exciting to watch him grow and gain a bit of confidence...and some self control!! We look forward to a fun season (through February!)

Winter Blast of 2011

We have had our "Winter Blast of 2011!" It didn't compare much to Colorado winter...however it did shut down the city! The kids were pretty excited to see a frew flakes coming down from the sky!!



This bird feeder didn't see any action prior to our little Winter storm...but we have had A LOT of activity since! So far we have had Cardinals, Black Birds, Magpies, some sort of yellow birds...and even a huge hawk perched on our swing set!



The Cat Tails have seen better days!!



Not quite as impressive as what we have seen on a bad day in Oregon, but still cold...and beautiful!



Ice...

We are on to rainy days now...but so far our "winter" has been beautiful and enjoyable! I guess that makes up for the unbearable heat and humidity in the summer!

P...

6 months:



Rolling over...this morning she rolled herself under the far back corner of Zach's bed.



Almost sitting up...



Babbling...or I should say "screeching." Zach described it nicely as "screeching like a girl who is on a scary roller coaster." Is that a girl thing? I surely can't remember the boys screeching.



Eating...she loves teether biscuits, and so far has enjoyed some of mom's home made baby food. Squash, Yams, Avacados, and Bananas are all a go!



Teeth...None. We don't expect any for another 4 or 5 months, but we'll see!



Hair...She has a very large bald spot, but it is starting to fill in!



She is very sweet, and lovable. She doesn't like to cuddle, loves to suck on the back of her pacifier, and really likes her new mini blanket from Grandma Pam! She wants in on all of the action; and her brothers can do no wrong!!

We have been so blessed to have little Miss P in our home! We can't imagine life without her!

ACE -- The AFA Falcon!

As soon as we knew the independence bowl was going to be host to my alma mater we were blessed to know a dear friend was coming to stay with us for a couple of days. Don has been a friend since my days at USAFA and he was a falconeer back then. He is now at the Academy teaching and is the Officer In Charge of the Falconry team. The game was two days after Christmas and none of the cadets wanted to travel with the bird, so Don packed his bags and headed out with Ace!

The boys had been excited for weeks to have the AFA BIRD staying at our house...when anyone would stop over they would say, "Where is the Bird?" We would tell them, that is Mr. Don and he is not coming for X days. We were pretty sure he would be in some sort of cage, but he showed up riding shotgun in Don's rental car. He came into the house on a leather glove and spent the better part of the next three days on his perch in the house and the garage (colder and he is a cold weather bird).

Here is a picture of Eli getting a chance to "pet" Ace! You can see the mixture of JOY and FEAR in his eyes...



Many of you may have kept up with our facebook posts about the excitement of Ace getting to fly at the game. As soon as they let him go, they had to go to the part of the script that says sometimes the falcons will answer the call of the wild! This sent Don and the cadets with him on a 3-hour falcon chase around downtown Shreveport. Fortunately they found him, and after being mentioned (on ESPN2) as Lt Col Don Rhymer, the officer in charge of the escaped bird, they were able to show the national viewing audience that he was recovered safe and sound!

This is a picture of the boys with Mr. Don, and their two prides and joy...the Porsche and ACE! After the recovery...both Don and ACE were hungry...I think there are still quail feathers on the garage floor...don't worry Trev, they aren't in the Porsche! Thanks Don for a memorable visit!

Friends...

What fun it is to have friends who will drive an extra 10 hours out of their way to come and spend some time with you!!



We wanted to show them some special Louisiana sights...without facing the Christmas crowds...Gators and Friends was perfect!



The kids loved feeding all of the animals (Camels, Emus, and Copybaras...).



The baby alligator was the highlight!



Unfortunately, the gators are not eating right now...so this little guy is the only gator action we saw! He was pretty fiesty...but I suppose I would be too if people touched me all day!!



We experimented with some JUMBO marshmellows that I came across the other day! They bring S'mores to a whole other level!



How many paint brushes does it take to occupy 8 children...just 8!



The last morning they were here it was almost 70 degrees!



Thanks friends for your visit!! Your friendship means a lot and we loved seeing you...

ps...thanks for helping us with our fence too! It looks GREAT!