Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Basketball!
A.J. has only ever wanted to play baseball. This year, though, he asked to play basketball in the winter. We thought that was a great idea. Not only would it improve his conditioning, but help him to make new friends, too. Last Saturday was their first game. And he was nervous! He's never been nervous about a game before. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" he said. But it's because in baseball there's always a right choice, depending on each situation. In basketball, the situation is always changing, and there are always many right choices. He did just fine, and even had one dad declare that he must be lying about never playing before. :)
It was not easy to get pics. Gyms aren't exactly photo-friendly, with all that bad lighting. But here are a couple.
It was not easy to get pics. Gyms aren't exactly photo-friendly, with all that bad lighting. But here are a couple.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
So behind!
Many, many fun things have happened, even before we moved, that I still haven't posted. There's the video from A.J.'s first orchestra concert, and his birthday, the first day of school, and lots of baseball. (Surprise!)
Today, though, I'll just put up some things from this week.
Wednesday was Parent/Teacher conference, so they were both out of school. I scheduled Levi's conference for 8am (A.J. is too old for mandatory conferences now!) and we headed out by 9. First up was the Trinity River Audubon Center. This is a new center, built along the Trinity River (which runs through much of the DFW metroplex) an on top of an illegal dump site. They "sculpted" the trash, covered it up, and planted lots of native grasses and other seeds. It is still in the early stages of succession, so it will be even more beautiful in future years. The drought this year also didn't help. The building, though, was mostly a disappointment. There was very little information available. Minimal, non-changing displays, and no staff to answer questions were bummers for me. I wanted to learn more about when the monarchs arrive back in TX, but no luck there. We did get several things passed off for A.J.'s Webelos requirements, and the river was beautiful.
Here are some fun pics.
A.J. had to help Levi find the turtles sunning themselves on the logs.
They liked this little fence.
This is Levi learning to perch with the binoculars.
He spent several minutes up there.
After hiking the trails for a couple of hours, we headed over to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It's a really nice zoo. Much nicer than L.A.'s. They even have penguins there! I didn't get any pictures, since we were getting short on time.
Yesterday was Levi's school fundraiser, the Fun Run. They set up cones on the soccer field, and the kids ran 30 laps each. Levi looked like it was easy, he just kept running and running, and running.
Today, though, I'll just put up some things from this week.
Wednesday was Parent/Teacher conference, so they were both out of school. I scheduled Levi's conference for 8am (A.J. is too old for mandatory conferences now!) and we headed out by 9. First up was the Trinity River Audubon Center. This is a new center, built along the Trinity River (which runs through much of the DFW metroplex) an on top of an illegal dump site. They "sculpted" the trash, covered it up, and planted lots of native grasses and other seeds. It is still in the early stages of succession, so it will be even more beautiful in future years. The drought this year also didn't help. The building, though, was mostly a disappointment. There was very little information available. Minimal, non-changing displays, and no staff to answer questions were bummers for me. I wanted to learn more about when the monarchs arrive back in TX, but no luck there. We did get several things passed off for A.J.'s Webelos requirements, and the river was beautiful.
Here are some fun pics.
A.J. had to help Levi find the turtles sunning themselves on the logs.
They liked this little fence.
This is Levi learning to perch with the binoculars.
After hiking the trails for a couple of hours, we headed over to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It's a really nice zoo. Much nicer than L.A.'s. They even have penguins there! I didn't get any pictures, since we were getting short on time.
Yesterday was Levi's school fundraiser, the Fun Run. They set up cones on the soccer field, and the kids ran 30 laps each. Levi looked like it was easy, he just kept running and running, and running.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
What a goof
Just a quick post to say that my boys are still around. They just haven't gotten much blog time lately.
Today, A.J. told us abouthaving getting to learn Spanish during Social Studies. His school bought Rosetta Stone for the kids to use in the computer lab. His computer was having troubles, so he only managed to watch the introductory video, and didn't get to "talk at it. You know, with headphones and a microphone like pilots and commentators wear."
Levi starting quoting some of the Rosetta Stone commercials, and then announced that he wanted to learn Latin. He picked Latin because "nobody speaks it anymore. And then nobody would understand me. It would be funny." See? He's a goof.
Today, A.J. told us about
Levi starting quoting some of the Rosetta Stone commercials, and then announced that he wanted to learn Latin. He picked Latin because "nobody speaks it anymore. And then nobody would understand me. It would be funny." See? He's a goof.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
What we've done so far...
Well, we've been in the house for almost 3 weeks, but only owned it for 2. We've been quite busy with various projects. And the shopping! Good heavens we've done a lot of shopping. Between new clothes, school supplies, food, furniture, tools and such, and other sundries, we've spent more hours in retail outlets in the last 2 weeks than in the previous 2 months.
Here's a rundown of what's been accomplished so far.
Painted A.J.'s room for his birthday. (Pictures later.) Curtain fabric bought, but not made yet. That's a project for this week.
Bought desk/table surfaces for the office and put them together. Finally got the computer off the floor. :)
Opened and put away most of the boxes. Only a few left in the office and the master bedroom.
Bought, installed, and improved some used laundry appliances. Only $500 for both!
Set up the furniture, more or less where it will stay.
Got lawn care equipment (weedeater and riding lawn mower) and tidied up the lawn. Good grief it looks so much better.
Bought and assembled some garage organizing/work bench pieces. And put up peg board. And then actually put the tools away!
Scrubbed (with Soft Scrub and a brush) the grout lines in the kitchen. Well, I've started, but I sure haven't gotten anywhere near finished. WHY WOULD ANYONE USE WHITE GROUT IN THE KITCHEN?!?! If you happen to be grouting in your kitchen in the near future, do not choose white. You will regret it. At least it's coming mostly clean.
Scrubbed our shower. Eww. That's all I got on that one. And got a bench for it, since there's not even a soapdish!
De-cobwebbed the upper corners on most of the first floor.
Signed myself up to help with the garden at the elementary school. I figured that's in my skill set.
Got both of the boys through the first week of school. They're both making new friends and enjoying their classes. Levi is excited that his school has music, computer, and art classes, and that he gets to have PE three times a week. A.J. is thrilled to have PE every day, and that he's doing really well in his Honors Math class. And he gets to see his teammates. They're all 6th graders, so he has no classes or lunch with them, but he sees them in the halls frequently. It's a pretty small school. :)
Up to bat for next week:
Get Aaron to his new office.
Sew curtains for A.J.'s window.
Actually get all the stuff off my kitchen counters that doesn't belong there.
Vacuum and use a Rug Doctor on the carpets. It's not particularly easy to tell, but they had two dogs. And they weren't imaginary.
Get some mulch to put around our poor trees. Especially the ones in the front of the house. They're younger, and taking the heat and dryness a little harder than the mature ones in the back.
Get Levi out to his first practice of the fall season.
Have the missionaries over for dinner and Family Home Evening Monday night. And then go to Levi's curriculum night at school.
Stop eating so much fast food!!!
Find a pediatrician. They're up for their check-ups in a few weeks.
And just enjoy being right where we belong. :)
Here's a rundown of what's been accomplished so far.
Painted A.J.'s room for his birthday. (Pictures later.) Curtain fabric bought, but not made yet. That's a project for this week.
Bought desk/table surfaces for the office and put them together. Finally got the computer off the floor. :)
Opened and put away most of the boxes. Only a few left in the office and the master bedroom.
Bought, installed, and improved some used laundry appliances. Only $500 for both!
Set up the furniture, more or less where it will stay.
Got lawn care equipment (weedeater and riding lawn mower) and tidied up the lawn. Good grief it looks so much better.
Bought and assembled some garage organizing/work bench pieces. And put up peg board. And then actually put the tools away!
Scrubbed (with Soft Scrub and a brush) the grout lines in the kitchen. Well, I've started, but I sure haven't gotten anywhere near finished. WHY WOULD ANYONE USE WHITE GROUT IN THE KITCHEN?!?! If you happen to be grouting in your kitchen in the near future, do not choose white. You will regret it. At least it's coming mostly clean.
Scrubbed our shower. Eww. That's all I got on that one. And got a bench for it, since there's not even a soapdish!
De-cobwebbed the upper corners on most of the first floor.
Signed myself up to help with the garden at the elementary school. I figured that's in my skill set.
Got both of the boys through the first week of school. They're both making new friends and enjoying their classes. Levi is excited that his school has music, computer, and art classes, and that he gets to have PE three times a week. A.J. is thrilled to have PE every day, and that he's doing really well in his Honors Math class. And he gets to see his teammates. They're all 6th graders, so he has no classes or lunch with them, but he sees them in the halls frequently. It's a pretty small school. :)
Up to bat for next week:
Get Aaron to his new office.
Sew curtains for A.J.'s window.
Actually get all the stuff off my kitchen counters that doesn't belong there.
Vacuum and use a Rug Doctor on the carpets. It's not particularly easy to tell, but they had two dogs. And they weren't imaginary.
Get some mulch to put around our poor trees. Especially the ones in the front of the house. They're younger, and taking the heat and dryness a little harder than the mature ones in the back.
Get Levi out to his first practice of the fall season.
Have the missionaries over for dinner and Family Home Evening Monday night. And then go to Levi's curriculum night at school.
Stop eating so much fast food!!!
Find a pediatrician. They're up for their check-ups in a few weeks.
And just enjoy being right where we belong. :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
It's finished!
We finally, finally closed on Monday. That was awful. I never want to do it again. Good thing I like my new house!
And, finally some pictures!
First, the front: The house faces south, and we have no western windows. So, it doesn't heat up unnecessarily every afternoon! :)
Next: the music room. This was originally the dining room. But, the boys aren't allowed to eat over carpet, and the breakfast area is huge. And we needed a place to put the piano!
The kitchen, breakfast area/dining room and living room are one long room, which I love. Bring on the friends! And, I now have possibly the largest kitchen island ever.
Here is the living room. Yes, we already have a Texas star. It's an unwritten law around here that you must. (The master bedroom is through the little hallway on the right. And the boys' rooms are upstairs. Score!)
The entryway. Music room is to the right, and the study is on the left.
The guest bathroom. It's small, but beautiful like all the bathrooms.
This is the boys' homework/art room. The girls that lived here before left some magnetic boards and some cork boards. We're going to paint the dormer wall with chalkboard paint for some more art space.
Levi's room. He wants blues and greens for his paint colors.
A.J.'s room. There is a bed under there, I promise. :) He wants Cardinal red on one wall. Of course. Notice all three upstairs bedrooms have window seats. We love them. It's time to get cracking on some good comfy pillows!
Obviously, it's still a mess. Once we get some paint, and some pictures on the walls, it will really start feeling more like home. It's a beautiful house, and we feel really blessed to have it.
And, finally some pictures!
First, the front: The house faces south, and we have no western windows. So, it doesn't heat up unnecessarily every afternoon! :)
Next: the music room. This was originally the dining room. But, the boys aren't allowed to eat over carpet, and the breakfast area is huge. And we needed a place to put the piano!
The kitchen, breakfast area/dining room and living room are one long room, which I love. Bring on the friends! And, I now have possibly the largest kitchen island ever.
Here is the living room. Yes, we already have a Texas star. It's an unwritten law around here that you must. (The master bedroom is through the little hallway on the right. And the boys' rooms are upstairs. Score!)
The entryway. Music room is to the right, and the study is on the left.
The guest bathroom. It's small, but beautiful like all the bathrooms.
This is the boys' homework/art room. The girls that lived here before left some magnetic boards and some cork boards. We're going to paint the dormer wall with chalkboard paint for some more art space.
Levi's room. He wants blues and greens for his paint colors.
A.J.'s room. There is a bed under there, I promise. :) He wants Cardinal red on one wall. Of course. Notice all three upstairs bedrooms have window seats. We love them. It's time to get cracking on some good comfy pillows!
Obviously, it's still a mess. Once we get some paint, and some pictures on the walls, it will really start feeling more like home. It's a beautiful house, and we feel really blessed to have it.
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