Oak Tree in an Acorn

The Banister School of Excellence

2010-08-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

We were brainstorming names for our new homeschool, and Brian came up with "The Banister School of Excellence". Olivia picked our mascot, "The Mighty Oaks" and Genevieve is working on a school song, although she keeps calling us "The Mighty Princesses" which Olivia is NOT going to agree to by any means. :)

We had such a great first week! We are using Sue Patrick's Workbox System to keep us (me!) organized and on track. (I'll take pictures of our workboxes this week and post them.) We start the morning with the Pledge of Allegiance and a morning prayer. Then, we sing a little song, the girls ring a bell and they check-in for the morning. We do calendar activities first, mostly for Genevieve's benefit, but it also helps Olivia keep track of the day, and I let her teach this so she gets a chance to take on a leadership roll.

Olivia has 8 to 10 workboxes a day to complete which seems to be taking about 4 hours a day. Genevieve has 5 -6 workboxes a day which takes a couple of hours. We start our school day about 8:30AM, have a mid-day snack, break for lunch, and when Genevieve takes her nap, Olivia and I catch up on some workboxes that require me to give her more attention. We squeeze in P.E. (a walk to the neighborhood park, an obstacle course in the backyard, a trip to the YMCA, or an indoor dance party) as well as watering the plants and feeding the hermit crabs (The hermit crabs are stunned to be getting fresh food daily; this is soooo not what they are used to.).

Genevieve's curriculum comes from Little Saints Preschool Program and the letter activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler. She's learned how to read 10 - 12 one syllable words and is so proud. :)

Olivia is using Singapore Math, Geography Songs, Sequential Spelling, Sonlight for reading and language arts, Noeo Science, Learn Spanish with Grace, Story of the World for history, A Reason for Handwriting, Discovering Great Artists, and playing her guitar for music. She has a full school load and is really enjoying the new reading books outside. She also likes to take a break and do a project here or there with Genevieve.

Our plan is to get everything done Monday - Thursday so that we can save Fridays for field trips, educational games, and some downtime. Last Friday, we met Uncle Brad, and cousins Celeste and Charlotte at the Brushy Creek Lake Park sprinkler park. The girls ran and played their hearts out. What a great way to spend a super first week of school! :)

The Last Hurrah!

2010-08-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

The weekend before we started our homeschooling adventure, we took a family "camping" trip to beautiful Bastrop State Park. We didn't actually tent camp in the 104 degree F heat...we're not THAT crazy! We did stay in a cozy, sandstone and pine cabin built by the CCC in 1935. My granddaddy was part of the CCC crew that built the buildings in the park, so when we hiked around the park, there was awe about it all to me as I wondered if he worked on the very cabin we were sleeping in.Despite the heat, we cooked out on the campfire...hotdogs, hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, new potatoes, summer squash, and even mushrooms (Olivia's request)! Oh! I almost forgot about the s'mores! The chocolate bars were melted before they even touched the toasted marshmallows, but good and messy as expected.We hiked one morning and went looking for a geocache. After a couple of hours bushwacking, we aborted our quest and headed back for the picnic area. A hiker came up as we were taking our break, and it turned out he had been lost for several hours, and the park rangers were looking for him. We called the rangers and shared some oranges with him, while he waited for his wife to come pick him up. Just part of the adventure! :)

Saturday afternoon, we stayed in the park's swimming pool and ate ice cream. Now, that's what I call camping! :) Before heading home on Sunday, we went fishing, and although we didn't catch anything the girls enjoyed casting and reeling in.
All in all it was a great trip and an awesome way to spend the weekend together before we buckle down into schooling.

A Trip to Bountiful

2010-08-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

One of the weekends before school started back up, we took the girls and went to see my dad and his wife. The girls love going to the "country" and feel right at home at Granddaddy and Granny Gigi's house. Our visit came at a good time because a couple of days before, their dog of 13 years passed away. The girls had lots if hugs and "sugar" to give, which I hope eased some of Granddaddy and Granny's heartache.

While visiting, we made a trip to the Wharton County Historical Museum. The museum now resides in the former home of Marshall and Lillie Johnson, which I had never been to even though I was raised in Wharton. There were exhibits on the Native Americans who once lived in the region, Academy Award winning screenwriter and playwright, Horton Foote, former news anchor Dan Rather, the Texasgulf Sulfur Company, the history of Wharton County Junior College, and the interesting animal collection of Marshall Johnson.

When we came back to East Bernard, Aunt Gatha came by and brought a Slip-n-Slide and sidewalk chalk for the girls to play with. They had a blast!

Happy Birthday, Granddaddy!
P.S. If you have never seen the movie *The Trip to Bountiful* (adapted from Horton Foote's TV play), it's definitely worth checking out!

Summertime

2010-08-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Summertime...oh how I wish you would never end!

Camp Invention

2010-07-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

Olivia went to a week long creativity camp called Camp Invention this summer. She and her fellow campers brought recyclable materials with them and used them to create new inventions. They also brought an electronic item which they took apart to make something new. Olivia went to GoodWill and bought a flight controller for a video game, she took this apart and added pieces to it to make an earthquake/vibration detector that really works! Olivia is always coming up with inventions and had so much fun having the time and materials to put her creativity to work. If possible, she would love to do this camp again next year.

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

2010-07-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

We hope you have a special 7th birthday, Olivia. Your smile is as big as your heart. We love you and no matter how old you are, you'll always be my Baby Cakes. :)

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

To all the dads, grandfathers, godfathers, stepdads, uncles, and "like a dad"s out there, we are wishing you a Happy Father's Day.

To my own dad, I want to thank you for always being there to listen and share your advice. Even when you were busy, you always made time for me and still do. Your love, support, and encouragement helped me to feel good about myself and worthy of love. I am forever grateful and could not have had a better father. God blessed me by making me your child. I love you and wish you a happy father's day.

Happy Father's Day, Brian!

2010-06-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

The girls are so lucky to have you for their daddy.
Thank you for being such a good father to them.

Who is Ready for Summer?

2010-05-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

....My girls are!

The sidewalk chalk has made its way out of the garage and the Slip-N-Slide has had it's inaugural use. Summer, here we come!

Biscuits and Buttermilk

2010-05-23T18:40:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we went to see The Biscuit Brothers perform at The Domain shopping center in Austin. Uncle Brad, Aunt Nicole, and Cousin Celeste invited us, and we had such an awesome time listening and dancing to the music of the award winning group. The girls always have adored Buttermilk Biscuit, and at the concert they got the chance to meet her up close and personal. Now, Genevieve only wants to listen to Biscuit Brothers songs that feature Buttermilk! If you get a chance to see this group perform live, you have to go. What a great show and a fun morning with family.

Parkside Elementary Fit Kids Day

2010-05-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Olivia's elementary school held a fun run and fitness fair a few weekends ago. Olivia participated in the fun run and had such an enjoyable time running with her friends. One of her favorite events at the fitness fair was a heart obstacle course, where she held "blood cell" balls and ran through different parts of the circulatory system made with tunnels and tents. She is also an awesome Hula Hooper!
As a mom, I love that Olivia can have so much fun doing healthy activities that are good for her body.

Batty About Bats

2010-05-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

This year, Olivia's QUEST independent research project was about bats. She specifically researched the Madagascar Rousette bat and made a poster detailing characteristics about them using many different styles of graphic organizers. She also sent a plastic bat she named "Watson" on a flat traveler's trip, where family and friends took a picture of the bat at a significant landmark and then logged information about the site before sending Watson on to someone else. Aunt Sharon and Uncle Bill, who live on the island of Sardegna, hosted Watson for several weeks and sent pictures of many lovely places. Then Watson headed to London, England where he "saw" such amazing sited as "Big Ben", Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. Watson made it back to Georgetown, TX just in time for Olivia's QUEST presentation. She did a puppet show to explain about all the neat places that Watson saw and things he did. The following week, Olivia participated in the QUEST fair at her school where she shared all her bat research with all the school kids and parents.

Olivia's is complimenting her friend on her QUEST presentation. Olivia is sharing information about her bat research with her school principal.

Another Fun Saturday with the Family

2010-05-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

We love going to the new Cedar Park Farmers' Market in the 1890 Ranch. The vegetables, eggs, cheese, and yogurt are great quality AND they are produced without pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. The word about this great food option is spreading and each week the crowd grows. I like to give the girls $5/each to pick out a healthy food to bring home; they pay for it themselves and Olivia helps count the change. Sometimes it ends with an interesting assortment of goodies; once we had chocolate goat's milk (Olivia) and chive cream cheese (Genevieve) and another time we had green onions (Olivia) and garden tomatoes (Genevieve). There is even live music and "Twinkle Toes" Genevieve came ready to rock it.
The Saturday of before my birthday, we went and Brian had the girls pick out something we could take on a picnic. We went geocaching to a beautiful spot, had a picnic, watched the sunset,
and then ran around like kids. It made me feel so young and happy! :)

Spelunking in Inner Space Caverns

2010-05-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Olivia had her first grade field trip to Inner Space Caverns in early April. The kids made cute tie-dyed T-shirts at school to wear the day of the trip. Genevieve and I drove over to meet the class as they arrived on the bus. They ate a picnic lunch, mined for semi-precious stones (which was Olivia and Eve's favorite part), and then it was off to the cave. Olivia came prepared with her head lamp and although Genevieve was not allowed in the cave, she wanted to wear her head lamp too. Olivia counted 5 bats when she was inside the cave, and on the way home she quoted much of the tour, so I know it was quite interesting to her even though we have been on the tour before. While we were waiting for the tour to wrap up, Eve made a discovery of her own. :)

Tea Party Playdate

2010-05-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

Genevieve has a new free she met at the YMCA, and she simply adores her. The other morning, we had her friend over for a tea party. The girls made flower arrangements, and decorated muffins that they ate with their "tea" (juice). After ward, a stellar dance party was held by the little ladies. We will be sad when the friends will move to Seattle this summer. They will surely be missed.

Home Improvement

2010-05-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

We seem to be going to our local home improvement store once a week these days either for garden supplies, window coverings, or weed eater string. The girls love looking at the flowers and plants in the outdoor nursery; they pretend to be bees and actually pollinate different varieties of flowers, so we apologize to all those people who bought petunias that look are now looking a little like snapdragons! ;) The first Saturday of the month are kids workshop days, so we take the girls to do a little project and make a fun and free morning out of it. (Well, the workshop is free, but we usually end up buying something while we're there. It's funny how that works! ;) ) Uncle Brad and Cousin Celeste met us out there the first weekend of April to do a little planting project. Of course, no trip to Home Depot would be complete without a pretend "tractor" ride.

Moms

2010-05-08T13:43:00.001-07:00

Moms-
You've got to love them.

I sure love mine.

Happy Mother's Day!

Genevieve's Birthday Party with Pooh and Friends

2010-05-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

Genevieve had a family birthday party this year and the theme was Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends.
She loves listening to the original stories by A.A. Milne, and pretending to be Piglet, so she was very excited to share these stories with her cousins. We played "hot carrot" in Rabbit's Garden (like hot potato), hunted for heffalumps and woozles in the 100 Hundred Acre Wood (an egg and elephant hunt), made Piglet's haycorn salad (played a parachute game with beanbags and pom-poms), pinned the tail on Eeyore, and jumped in Tigger's Bounce House. Aunt Megan made a beautiful honey beehive birthday cake that tasted delicious. Genevieve felt so special on her special day.

Austin Stunt Ranch

2010-04-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Olivia is crazy about science. She has had this love for science since she was two and discovered ladybugs, pill bugs, and other insects. Now, she wants to learn about physics and chemistry, and instead of reading *On the Banks of Plum Creek* for bedtime stories, she wants me to read *Mixtures and Compounds* and *The Book of Knowledge* by Usborne. I guess it's better than reading bedtime stories about trapdoor spiders like we did when she was three. ( I always thought those books might give her nightmares but they never did.) Anyway, when one of my newsgroups offered a trip to the Austin Stunt Ranch, I knew this would be an opportunity that Olivia couldn't miss. Brian took the day off to spend this time with her (Olivia was already off from school) and they had such a memorable day! They not only got to participate in actual stunts (safe ones) but they also learned the science behind the stunts. Here are some pictures from their trip:.

Scooter Sisters

2010-04-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

We gave Genevieve a scooter for her 3rd birthday.

Here is a video of her inaugural ride:

Now, she can keep up with big sis, Olivia!

Happy Birthday, Little Cupcake

2010-04-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

Genevieve is three-years-old today.

Healthy Kids Day

2010-04-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Olivia participated in a karate demo for the Healthy Kids Day at our local YMCA. Once she started doing her karate moves, her stage fright evaporated.

Way to go, Liv!

Easter 2010

2010-04-12T19:34:00.001-07:00

We took lots of Easter photos this year, so it was easier for me just to compile them into a video to share with you. You will see pictures of the girls dyeing Easter eggs with Grandma, an indoor Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Pawpaw's house, a picture of the girls before Easter Mass, an Easter egg hunt in our backyard, an Easter visit to Uncle Corby and Aunt Megan's house, and family pictures in the Texas bluebonnets. Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Signs of Spring!

2010-04-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

The girls spent some time with Granddaddy (my dad) and Granny Gigi over the first weekend of spring break while Brian and I finally emptied out our garage from our move. The girls enjoyed spending time out in the country with their grandparents including building a bonfire and roasting marshmallows.

On our way home, we stopped in La Grange and went on a tour of Jersey Farms. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera with me, but if I had pictures to post, you would see the girls on a hayride, Olivia milking a Jersey cow, the girls feeding ducks, chickens, rabbits, and turkeys, and both girls feeding baby calves bottles of milk. So much fun, and I would highly recommend it if you have time and are stopping through La Grange while the weather is cool.

We also met up with some of our good, old friends at local parks. The weather was so nice to get together for a play date at the park. I met Shari, Constanze, and Alice when we were first all new mothers. It was so nice to see how our "little ones" had grown. Those sleep-deprived days when we met seem so long ago, but forged a bond that will last throughout the years. Catching up and sharing new stories about our kids was fun to do.

We were also able to get together with my dear friend Elizabeth and her three children. She is a busy working mother, so when we can get together with the kids it is truly special. She has such a positive outlook on life that I admire greatly, so while the kids played, we got to catch up.

Also during spring break a friend from our old neighborhood of Forest Oaks, Ethan, came over to play with the girls. The kids played, decorated cookies, went to the park, and had veggie dogs for supper. It was great to see Ethan and so nice to catch up with his mommy, Tonra.

The girls made rainbow cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day and also enjoyed creating flower displays from flowers I found on sale at the craft store.

Signs of spring are everywhere!

Homeschool Tot School

2010-03-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

Genevieve will be three years old in a couple of weeks and is growing up in so many ways, academically, socially, and physically. She just loves it when someone says how tall she has gotten and after every nap, she stands up in her bed and asks me if she looks taller. (I told both my girls at a very young age that the human growth hormone is secreted during sleep, or "You grow when you sleep, so the better you sleep, the faster you will grow!" This has been the best motivation for them to sleep well at night and take good naps.) Genevieve loves to make friends and always likes to talk to the "little girls" (usually a couple of years older than her) at any park we go to.

We have also started doing more "school" at home, and she enjoys preschool with mom, especially the art projects and writing. We are using the book, *Chicka Chicka Boom Boom* as the basis for our alphabet study. I pull resources from various books but one of my favorite blogs to borrow ideas from is Confessions of a Homeschooler. She has wonderful letter of the week activities and freely shares her documents. I've been cutting and laminating like crazy and can't believe how fast Eve is doing the activities. We will probably do them again in the fall (she will be able to do so much and understand so much more then) and she enjoys it so much that I don't mind doing all the evening preparation.

Here are some pictures of our morning tot school:

Genevieve makes her own puppets for a Valentine story.

Genevieve makes a peanut butter and jelly cracker lunch all by herself. She loves her spreaders!

Genevieve now writes a "G" for her name.

Book Cooks! Often I read a book to her and we do either a related art or cooking activity.

I print out uppercase and lowercase letters and Genevieve uses giant push pins to follow the letter strokes. This is one of her favorite letter activities because she gets to use something that is usually off-limits (a tack and a huge one at that). This activity is for fine motor skills and letter recognition.

Purple and pink are by far her favorite colors to use when we paint.

Watching the kids grow up and having the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom and an active parent in my children's lives is such a wonderful gift!

Let's go Geocaching!

2010-03-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

We have started geocaching as a family and are finding that treasure hunting can be addicting! We've gone in the rain and sunshine, by ourselves and invited friends, and it's been such a wonderful adventure. We are hiking places that we have never been before. So far, we have found all the cache's we have set out looking for, so it's nice that the girls have experienced success. Success can be so motivating, and believe me, we have had many at-home science experiments flop and are in need of some positive results. One of our most recent science flops: making a battery out of a lemon. When life gives us lemons we will now stick to making lemonade...not batteries!

Olivia is learning about navigating latitude and longitude, and both girls like the family time.

Brian has even checked to see what cache's are nearby his work in case he gets a lunch break one of these days. We have been discussing where we will hide a cache of our own and what we will put in it for other cachers.

We are preparing for the trip by coding waypoints in Brian's GPS. The girls also gather treasures to trade with the cache they find.

Even a downpour can't stop us when we're on the hunt for treasure!

The Happy Geocachers!

The Kite family came hunting with us on this geocaching trip.

The journey was fun and all the hard work ends in success! The cache has been found!

Love those Lady Longhorns

2010-03-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

We met Uncle Brad, Aunt Nicole, and Cousin Celeste at the Erwin Center last Saturday to watch the Lady Longhorns basketball team play. We had a great time and even though UT lost this time, it was so inspiring for the girls to watch these athletes play. Olivia was intrigued by the game and wanted to know all about the rules. Genevieve loved watching the cheerleaders and the cotton candy vendor. Celeste had fun dancing to the band music and clapping when her mommy and daddy were cheering for the 'horns. Olivia has already been asking when we can go again, and I hope the answer is "soon".

More Snow Pictures

2010-03-07T18:49:00.000-08:00

The forecast high in Georgetown, TX, for Tuesday is 74 degrees F, but I still have some more snow pictures from just two weeks ago to post. Texas weather can be quite unpredictable this time of year. In June, July, and August, you can bet that it will be blazing hot, but in February and March it is hard to know whether to put away the sweaters or keep them out just a little bit longer.

Speaking of clothes, you may notice that in the pictures of this post and the previous one, Olivia has a total of three different outfits on in one day. I had so much laundry to do after one day of snow that it made me thankful that snowfall like this only happens once every ten years in Austin.

The Sky is Falling!

2010-02-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well, not really, just THREE INCHES of snow in Georgetown, TX in February! Unbelievable! This may not sound like a lot of snow to some people, but I'm a South East Texas gal, and it was more falling snow than I have ever seen in my life.

No doubt, Olivia stayed home from school to play in the snow; it might be another 10 years before this happens again, and I didn't want her to miss sharing in this experience with her little sister.

Blooming Guitar Players

2010-02-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

Olivia participated in a guitar concert on Sunday playing "A Gift to Be Simple". She did a really nice job and her hard practice showed. She has come a long way in a year and a half of lessons.

Genevieve decided to give us her own guitar concert (Laurie Berkner style) with her sister's old toy guitar. She says she would like to learn to play piano, but she might have a guitar in her future too.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

The girls made melted crayon hearts for Valentine's Day again this year.

It's always interesting to see how all the different colors mix so beautifully.

Olivia designed a coloring sheet to go with the crayons.

Eve also sewed a lacing card heart all by herself for the first time.

We hope you had a lovely day!

The Banister Happy Theater

2010-02-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

Brian's mom made Genevieve a puppet theater curtain for Christmas, and it has proved to be one of the best presents the girls have ever received. They love using their puppets to create puppet shows for us. Here is one of their shows, and we expect to see many more!:

(Do you notice Eve's costume jewelry? They are beads from Grandmother Ferrell. Eve had to get decked out before the puppet show. Olivia even created tickets that she handed out to me and Brian.)

Can't shake that Christmas Spirit!

2010-02-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

Forgive me for not getting this Christmas video made and posted until Feb. 11!

(The RC plane was Olivia's present from Santa. Brian is teaching her how to fly it and I'll post pictures of its first flight. Right now, they are just working on taxiing the plane.)

Banister Family Christmas Lights Contest

2010-01-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Another new Christmas tradition we are starting this year is the Banister Family Christmas Lights Contest. Normally, one night in mid-December we drive around different neighborhoods to see how families decorate the outside of their houses for Christmas. This year we have added a twist by buying four prizes, one for each member of our family, to give to the households of the four light displays that we like the best. Since we knew it would be a late night, the girls dressed in their snuggliest pajamas, brought a stuffed animal along, and wore their Santa hats. It was lots of fun listening and singing to Christmas carols as we drove around and looked at the displays. Each person got to choose only one house to win his/her first place prize. Two prizes ended up going to friends and the other two to people who we didn't know. It was fun leaving a surprise prize (an inexpensive can of Tootsie Rolls) on someone's doorstep, and it sure made us feel the Christmas spirit. Next year, we would like to figure out how to bring my mom with us because I know she would love seeing all the lights with the girls.

Sharing Christmas with God's creatures

2010-01-01T17:14:00.001-08:00

This year we made a wildlife Christmas tree for the birds and insects that live near our home after we read the book, *Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect* by Richard H. Schneider. We dried sliced apples and oranges and threaded popcorn and frozen cranberries on yarn. Even Brian had fun stringing oranges. Then, the girls hung the edible ornaments on the tree in our front yard, and we had enough left for several trees in the back. The red yarn was supposed to attract birds, but the birds seemed to be scared off when the ornaments blew in the breeze. The popcorn disappeared the fastest, and we saw several butterflies on the oranges. It was fun sharing Christmas with God's creatures, and I think we might make this a Banister holiday tradition.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2009-12-27T14:01:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to you all, friends and family, near and far!

The Banisters
Christmas 2009

Winter Crafting

2009-12-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

We have been making lots of crafts this winter. Here are a few of the girls' with their works of art:
Genevieve likes to work with alphabet beads and buttons. She strings them with pipe cleaners and asks for some clay so she can stamp the letters and shapes. Here is a picture of her wearing one of her creations...an alphabet choker necklace.

For a Christmas gift, Olivia made a pointer stick for her 1st grade teacher. We painted a long wooden dowel, stuffed a glove with fiber-fill, attached the glove onto the dowel, and decorated the pointer with an alphabet bracelet and button ring.
Olivia also made friendship bracelets for her classmates and teachers at school. Since they are called Parkside Mustangs, we decided to spell out "Mustangs" in alphabet beads on each bracelets and add a jingle bell for a Christmas touch. Olivia made four bracelets and I was proud of her for sticking with it and doing that many because it can get frustrating when the beads fall off the stretchy string. Several nights, I stayed up into the the wee hours finishing up the rest so the task would not seem so insurmountable to her. We might try something different next year, although, with one more year under her belt, she may be able to complete a few more. The kids in her class had fun wearing the bracelets the last day before the Christmas break.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart!

2009-12-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

With our recent move, Olivia is attending a new elementary school this year, and we have been so pleased with the kind and caring staff. Something special that they do for the car riders is teachers escort them from their cars into the school each morning; they also escort them to their parents car each afternoon.

We had been parking on the street and Genevieve and I would take Olivia to her classroom each morning, and in the afternoons we would wait for her outside of school and walk her to our car parked on the road and get in to head home. Genevieve would cry: Imagine...waking up to be put in a car, parking, walking your older sister to school in the freezing cold, getting strapped back in the cold car and finally getting home to have your breakfast. Well, with the freezing weather, we needed a new strategy because both girls were sooooo cold walking to and from school. We started going through the car rider line, and it has been so nice to stay in the nice warm car up to the very minute Olivia goes to school or gets in the car to come home. No more tears about the cold from Genevieve!

We started thinking about how cold the staff must be waiting outside to escort the kids. Each morning they are shivering but are there ready to help the kids out of their cars; and they are usually smiling or have some warm greeting. For some reason, I kept thinking about how cold their hands must be (probably because my hands often go numb in the cold), and thought about making them hand warmers. I looked up on the Web about making homemade ones and saw that they could be filled with dried corn or rice. Also, instead of making little squares, I thought about filling up small little gloves like the kids hands that they hold when they help them out of the car. My MIL, Mary Ann, told me they had stretchy cotton gloves two pairs/$1 a Walmart, so we went and bought a whole stack of different colors. I read online that brown rice held less moisture when heated than white rice, so Olivia and I mixed up 3 big bags of brown rice with a bottle of whole cloves (for that Christmas-y smell!). We scooped some into each glove and tied them off with rubber bands. Then, I set about making a tight blanket stitch across the top to hold the rice in. We made little tags that said, Cold Hands, Warm Heart (the saying came from a little wreath craft I saw in an Oriental Trading Comapny magazine) and had instructions to zap in the microwave for 30 seconds on high (30 sec = about 30 min. warmth).

After we were done, we drove through the car rider line the next couple of mornings, and Olivia handed them out to the staff. They were so delighted, and we were so glad to see them being used the next few cold mornings. We hope they know how grateful we are for their kindness.

Design Your Own Instrument

2009-12-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

Olivia's QUEST class project was to research an instrument of her choice and how it makes sound, and then design and create one herself using clean trash. The one criteria of the instrument was that it had to have at least two pitches. The teacher had the band director from Vista Ridge High School come and talk with the students about instrument design and sound. Several high school students came with him to play their instruments for the kids.

At home we watched the YouTube video of the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra and the girls jammed out with our Thanksgiving pumpkins and other squash. (We did end up eating the squash for dinner the next day so as not to waste it, and it was very, shall we say, tender!)

Olivia chose to make a bass drum with three different pitches using an old bathroom trashcan. The top, middle, and bottom made different sounds. At the end of the presentation, the kids played "Frosty the Snowman" with their trash band instruments.

Little Miss Sugar Plum

2009-12-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Sugar Plum Fairy rocks out with Elton

A Thankful Thanksgiving

2009-12-16T10:16:00.001-08:00

Thank you, God, for all of your blessings, including family, food, and fun.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Brad!

Choon Be!

2009-12-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

Olivia recently took her first karate test and became an orange belt. She loves learning the self-defense skills and trying out her karate moves on her daddy. ;) Karate not only is great exercise but it gives Olivia a way to acceptably release stress. There is a lot of pressure on kids to be "contained" at all times and be perfect mini-adults. Sometimes kids just need to be kids and not worry so much. In karate class, Olivia can yell and kick within the confines of the class and it is okay; she can be a tomboy without being looked at as different, and she has the biggest smile on her face each week after class. This is definitely worth $35/month to me! [step...step...stepping off my soapbox now.... Maybe I need a karate class! ;)]Genevieve loves going to watch Olivia and you can usually spot her doing her own karate moves on the sidelines. She also thinks Olivia's helmet is pretty cute on her, and we have to agree. :)

Home Sweet Home

2009-12-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

Closing Day and...

Home at Last!

Green Eggs and Hamburger

2009-11-18T06:51:00.001-08:00

Back in September, Olivia submitted a recipe for the Red Robin Kids' Cook-off called, "Green Eggs and Hamburger", and we found out she had the winning recipe for the Austin Arbor Red Robin! They have her name on a poster on the door and gave her all kinds of free goodies like the cherished Heart of the House cap that the chefs in the restaurant wear. They also paid for our family's whole meal and gave her a gift certificate for a return restaurant visit. Genevieve was so excited to get a special visit from the Red Robin himself. By the end of November, we should hear if Livy is one of the top 50 finalists, but either way we are proud of her for submitting her entry. She has always loved to experiment with "mixtures" and is excited that she can "do science" with food.

Trick or Tweet

2009-11-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

Halloween was really fun this year! The girls decorated pumpkin Rice Krispie treats (now made with multigrain, so they have to be healthy, right?! ;) ) We also went to a puppet show at the Cedar Park Library family storytime. Grannie Jean met the girls there and gave them each a treat bag. If you can't already tell, Olivia dressed as "Yoda's Ghost" and Eve was a "Little Chicky".

Brian didn't get to decorate with his famous black lights and glow-in-the-dark decor since we are still in the apartment, but our sweet friends, Tonra, Ben, and Ethan invited us over to trick-or-treat with them. We had such a nice visit and it was fun seeing our old neighborhood again. Olivia even had a Star Wars showdown with Darth Vader outside one of the houses! Afterward, we stopped off at the Surles' house and had a great chat with our former next door neighbors and dear friends, Tony and Dennis. The girls didn't get to bed until 10PM, so we were really grateful for the extra hour of sleep due to daylight savings time ending. What a blessing that was and what a fun day!

Snake Head Monster Truck

2009-11-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

Olivia's QUEST (Quality Utilization and Enrichment of Student Talents) class at school studied "people-movers", or means of transportation. Each child was to choose one mode of transportation, research it's features, design it using a shoe and "clean" trash, write a story about it, and present it to the class. Olivia came up with the "Snake Head Monster Truck" complete with gigantic wheels and a rope for pulling small cars out of the mud. She did a great job on her truck and her presentation. Now, she's hoping that she gets Brian's truck when she gets her driver's license; no doubt that she has plans to soup it up!

Blog Recess

2009-10-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things we have been up to over the last two months....

Crafts

Visiting with Family

Visiting with Friends

Exploring the Outdoors

Celebrating Birthdays

Celebrating Fall

Exercising

Patiently Waiting for Change

Growing Closer as Sisters

She's got Potty Power!

2009-10-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

G has Potty Power! Any parent or person who works with toddlers knows what I mean and what a big deal it is to the toddler and the parents! Bye-bye diapers and congratulations G!!

Two Month Long Hiatus

2009-10-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here it is Oct. 27, 2009, which is exactly two months from my last blog entry. I'm really not a slacker...well, not too much of one any way; we have been doing things that I could have been blogging about but we have just been busy with life. That doesn't sound like a very good excuse does it? I don't want to bore you with the details. I just want you to know that I'm ready to forge ahead and give my blog a little more attention and to say sorry for the delay.

So far, so good!

2009-08-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

Olivia had a great first day of school.

Eve had a great first day of homeschool preschool.

They celebrated with an after-school snack of whole grain blueberry muffins. :)

What We Did on Our Summer Vacation

2009-08-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

The girls and I have had such a memorable summer at Grandma and Pawpaw's. It's hard to believe that eight weeks have gone by and we'll be headed back to Cedar Park this week. We've had so many fun experiences such as going to Six Flags for Olivia's birthday and seeing the Ringling Bros. circus in Dallas. Every day has been a delight but most of all we have enjoyed being spending this quality time with Mary Ann and Michael who welcomed us into their homes with open arms. It will be sad to say goodbye and we will miss seeing them everyday. Thank you Grandma and Pawpaw Yeager for a most memorable summer vacation.

We love you!

Here are some pictures of our summer adventures as well as relaxing moments.

Olivia really learned how to swim this summer, ...

and Genevieve learned how to swim with her floaty.

How blessed we were to be able to swim almost every day in Grandma's backyard pool.

Grandma and the girls made cookies for Olivia's birthday which she celebrated in Plano this year.

The girls loved spending the evenings with Grandma and Pawpaw when they got home from work.

We spent one morning at Heritage Farms and learned about pioneer home life.

Pawpaw arranged a private tour of the Plano Living Materials Center for Plano ISD, and we got to meet legendary Jim Dunlap. In this picture we, together with Mr. Dunlap, are holding "Banana" who weighs 125 lbs. Later that morning, we watched her swallow a whole rat!

We missed Brian but he came up EVERY weekend.

Genevieve used her tools to build a "candy house".

Olivia and Grandma had some time to sew. Here they are working on camouflage slippers.

Genevieve learned to use scissors this summer. She cut lengths of colorful yarn to share with the birds for their nests. Her bag of yarn scraps read, "Birds, come play with me."

One weekend we visited Sandy Lake amusement park.

Olivia and I spun around on the Twirl-A-Whirl at Sandy Lake.

The girls painted (milk + food coloring) sponge cake for their snack one day. Genevieve concentrated hard on her masterpiece.

We visited Jump Town one morning...

and had a special lunch at Firehouse Subs.

We tried lots of new (to us) parks...

and we learned that the ducks like garlic bread but are not fans of tortillas!

We went to the IMAX theater in Dallas and saw the Coral Reef Adventure. Genevieve was amazed by how life-like the animals appeared on the big screen, and she sat in Daddy's lap to make sure the octopus would not eat her.

We disguised ourselves on our visit to the Dallas Nature and Science Center's spy exhibit. You don't even recognize us now do you?

We went to a local farmers' market and tasted the sweetest tomatoes!

Olivia had the idea to have a luau party for Grandma and Pawpaw (They were married in Hawaii.) to thank them for the lovely visit we had with them this summer. We made and ate Hawaiian food and even wore costumes. This is the invitation she made for the party.

Everyone gets a taste of yummy, fresh coconut.

Aloha Summer!

Granny Jean

2009-07-22T07:02:00.001-07:00

Please keep my mom, (the girls' Granny Jean), in your prayers. She has been referred to Texas Oncology after her doctor found several cysts in her ovaries through MRI. Please pray with us that God watches over her, gives her peace, and that these cysts turn out to be benign. Thank you in advance for your prayers. Love, Apryl

Granny Jean, your smile is brighter than sunshine. We love you!!

Austin Zoo

2009-07-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Our last week in Cedar Park before the big move was so busy. We had movers come to move furniture into permanent storage, we packed and organized the rest of our things into boxes to semi-permanent storage (for when we move to an apartment in August) and the rest of our things went into boxes and bags to take to Grandma's and Pawpaw's for the summer. We also had to have a new roof put on our house because of the hailstorm in April. The new roof took a day and a half to install, and despite having lots of preparations to do for the move, the girls and I headed to the Austin Zoo for the day. Who wants to sit in a house filled with boxes and hearing constant banging from hammers on the roof, especially on the first week of summer vacation? The girls had a great time feeding the animals in the petting zoo, riding the train, and talking with the parrots. Despite the hectic week, we managed to have some fun and enjoy the ride. :)

Here's a video of the girls with their new friend the talking parrot.

Childbloom Guitar Spring Recital

2009-07-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

Olivia played her guitar in the Childbloom spring recital program. She even wore a dress! Eve was excited for Olivia too, but she absolutely did not want her picture taken! Unfortunately, her guitar was out of tune when she played with her trio, so I'll spare you the video of them playing "When the Saints Go Marching In." She was a little disappointed, but a few minutes later she said positively, "Well, my guitar was out of tune, but at least I played the right notes." What a sweetheart! Here's a picture of her with her good friend and cohort, Martine. My friend and former boss, Janice, came to cheer Olivia on, and brought the girls a little goody bag. They sure enjoyed their treats when they got home!
We want to thank everyone that came to the concert to support Olivia and hear the music: Granny Jean, Uncle Brad, Mr. Jim, Ms. Ann, Ms. Janice, Ms. Constanze, Julius, and Vivian

Those Lazy Days of Summer

2009-06-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh... I remember those lazy days of summer all too well. We are hoping we can keep the kids relaxing and having fun this summer even though we are in crazy packing and moving mode. Maybe next summer Brian and I will get to have a few lazy days too.

Last Day of School 2009

2009-06-12T20:15:00.001-07:00

Olivia on her last day of Kindergarten!

Boxes, boxes, and more boxes

2009-06-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

Our exodus has begun. For the last couple of weeks we have been packing up as our house closing date is now drawing near. The girls are starting to see some of the changes we have been preparing them for such as decorations coming off the walls and loads of boxes everywhere. They have been enjoying decorating the boxes with their drawings which is also giving us some time to get some serious packing done.

Whenever I experience a major change in my life, work, etc., I tend to search for something to focus on. Finding something that is stable helps me get through what sometimes feels like chaos. It seems Olivia is like that too. She decorated a box like a lion's den and poked little chimney straws all through the top. Then, she attached plastic army soldiers to the straws to protect her and added some special trinkets that had yet to be packed up. She set the box in the middle of the kitchen floor which was a little difficult to get around. When I told her we were going to have to move it some place else, she started to cry and said that we were moving everything and could she please keep the box. What a dagger to the heart! I started second guessing our move because of its affect on the girls. For the past three days, Genevieve has woke up in the morning calling out, "Where is the letter 'B'?" referring to the alphabet decorations that used to be on her walls and are now in a box in storage. Did we really do the right thing here? Are we following God's plan for our family?

I barely slept last night because today our furniture would be moved to offsite storage. I worried about how the girls would react. We were gone all morning because I was hoping to shield them from the change. We went to Jungle Java and they had a blast. Unfortunately, the movers were running late, so when we got home for Eve's nap, they were still doing their thing. Olivia stayed in the study where we had all the boxes that would remain until Sat. and not until Eve woke from her nap and the movers left did the girls look around. I held my breath....

Guess what they did!

They ran around the house doing karate moves (or their versions at least)! They loved all the empty space and made all kinds of loud noises to try out the new echo. Brian and I just sat down on the floor and watched them and laughed. Kids are so resilient! Empty space and a lot of love and they can still be happy. :)

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-06-08T04:37:00.000-07:00

Miss Soon-to-be-First_Grader

Olivia and her Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Boone.

Olivia and her sweet friend, Emma.

I spy with my little eye some happy Kindergarteners.

Click Play to watch Olivia's Kindergarten class singing their class song.

Click Play to see:

Today...Kindergarten
Tomorrow...A Whole New World!

Walker, A Good Walking Stick

2009-06-03T12:28:00.001-07:00

:(
The picture says it all.

Our New Pet

2009-06-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Olivia has been asking for a pet for the last year or so. We have been telling her that Genevieve is like her pet, and she can help us take care of her and play with her anytime. Well, we got away with that for a little while, but now Genevieve is "asserting her independence" and is no longer the docile little pet she used to be! ;) With the moving preparations and the business that entails, the last thing I want to worry with is a pet (Of course, I might be tempted if it was a mini pig!) And although Grandma and Papaw Yeager have welcomed us with open arms this summer, they might not be too keen on a summer guest of the four-legged variety.
A creature of the six-legged variety, namely a walking stick, came to visit our porch a week a go. Olivia latched onto him, and declared him her pet. His name is "Walker" (although after reading about walking sticks on the internet, I think "he" is a "she"...most are.). He likes bramble from our berry bush, and Olivia takes him out of his terrarium (she emptied her piggy bank funds to buy one) for his daily playtime. The first night we had him, he also had storytime, and both girls sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for a lullaby. Eve asks to hold him, but I still think she can't decide if he is really an insect or a stick because she keeps talking about a stick on a tree. The whole mimicry/camouflage thing could be pretty confusing for a toddler, I imagine. Well, it's not a mini pig, but I have to admit, Walker is pretty interesting and a very low-key pet. Maybe we'll just have to ask Grandma if we can keep him this summer.

Cox Elementary Field Day

2009-06-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

If you went to public school, do you remember as the school year drew to a close having a Track and Field Day? You might remember the water balloon tosses, relay races, or picnic on the playground. Well, Olivia participated in her first elementary school field day in May. There were water balloon tosses, relay races, and a picnic outside, as well as dancing, tug-of-war (for the older grades), and even a water slide. The kids had a blast! Eve and I volunteered at the balloon release event, where the kids released balloons (earth-friendly ones) with messages of hope inside. I was so thankful for being stationed at this event because I figured Eve wouldn't want to get too involved (she would have been upset if we were stationed at the water slide and she wouldn't be allowed to participate) as long as she got to hold a non-helium balloon. Silly me! She cried each time a class released their balloons and the balloons floated into the sky. She wanted them to come back down and felt they were lost forever. Finally, I told her that the balloons were a present to Jesus, and that seemed to satisfy her a bit, but unfortunately I didn't think of this until there were only two more classes to go.

Olivia had so much fun and didn't want the day to end. She told me her favorite event was the water slide. I was able to watch her do a couple of the events next to where we were stationed, and she had the biggest grin on her face. It's so lovely to see her smile at school.

QUEST Fair

2009-05-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Olivia is participating in a pull-out program at school called "QUEST" which is an acronym for Quality Utilization and Enrichment of Student Talents. For their culminating project, the Kinder - 5th grade Quest students held a fair displaying a product of their research topic, much like a science fair. The Kinder students researched an insect of their choice and Olivia chose "the mosquito"; everyone's favorite bug! I asked her why she chose the ever-popular mosquito, and she said it was because they spread disease, and she is interested in diseases caused by insects. They made their models from what their Quest teacher calls, "Clean Trash" (non-food related recyclable materials) and designed and painted them. Then, they researched facts about their insects, and were available to answer questions at the fair. Olivia loved answering questions about the mosquito! She told me afterwards, "That was fun, Mom! I really like answering questions and talking about insects." During the fair, though, I could tell she was a bit nervous because she pulled the mosquito's eyes off. Luckily, her teacher had a hot glue gun, so Livy and I did a quick, little "insect surgery". Eve also wanted to be part of the act. She was telling everyone how to plant seeds to make flowers grow and how a turtle hides in its shell and when it is not scared, "it just cracks out". (her words) It looks like Eve will be ready for her Kindergarten Quest fair too.

Austin Family Connections

2009-05-19T12:10:00.001-07:00

We met Nicole and Celeste for a fun playdate at Family Connections before Nicole starts her new job in June. Family Connections has a nice sized book library as well as a really appealing toy library. Unfortunately it is a little bit far from Cedar Park, so I didn't want to check anything out and then not be able to get it back by it's due date (I know myself too well!), but I was tempted to check something out just for the novelty of trying out a toy library. Staci Gray performed some of her original songs as well as old favorites like "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Old MacDonald"; she also read a couple of Dr. Suess stories for the storytime element. The kids danced and sang, and Celeste crawled and crawled. She would have crawled right up there and strummed that guitar, I think! :) Then, there was the bubble mosh pit finale with pepperment scented bubbles. Too cool and best of all it was free! Austin is such a great place to raise kids and we are so happy to have family nearby to share these moments with.

Flutterfly Kids

2009-05-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

We spent a recent Saturday morning at Wild Connections Butterfly Farm in South Austin. The butterfly house was filled with Gulf Fritillaries , Monarchs, and various other butterflies. The owners provide fresh fruit slices for guests to hold, so they can get an up close and personal view of the butterflies feeding. The pet turtle enjoyed a couple of our pieces of fruit too. Afterwards, we went on a scavenger hunt through the woods looking for items on a list the farm owners provided. We had an easy time finding " a piece of a bone" and "something that smells good" but never did find "a bird's nest". All in all, it was a great trip and fun family excursion.

Fox Banister

2009-05-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

"Fox Banister" is the title Olivia gave to her school report on foxes. Each student in Olivia's class had to choose an animal to research, create a project or display about, and then report on. Olivia chose "wild mustangs", but a classmate had already selected it, so she switched her choice to "foxes". We went to the library and found four books which we read through for the next two weeks. She decided she wanted to do her report and project on how a fox's body features are adapted for survival. Her idea was to dress up as a fox piece by piece (ears, feet, tail, muzzle, etc.) and tell how each of those pieces aids the fox. We were having a hard time finding faux fur at the fabric store at a reasonable price, so we went to Goodwill and bought a faux fur coat for $9.00 as well as some sandals that Olivia could glue fur onto. Grandma came down one weekend and helped us cut down the fur, and she sewed some ears and a tail for Olivia to wear. Then, we used a toilet paper tube covered in fur and a black pom-pom for the nose to make the muzzle. Olivia discovered the "joys and pains" of the hot glue gun! When she had to present her project to the class, she wasn't a bit nervous. She ended up wearing her fox costume most of the rest of the day at school.

Shaving Cream Sculptures

2009-05-17T05:36:00.000-07:00

One day after school, Olivia wanted to take a bubble bath and Eve chimed in that she did too. We didn't have any bubbles, but we did find two bottles of shaving cream. Here are some pics of the sculptures they made on each other's heads.

Berry Special Birthday Girl

2009-05-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Our "baby girl" is no longer a baby! We celebrated Genevieve's 2nd birthday by having a berry themed party at Sweet Berry Farms in Marble Falls, TX. Eve had a great time picking and eating strawberries (her favorite food since she was 10 months old) with her family. Even though her birthday party was three weeks ago, she still asks us every time we get into the car if we are going "to de [sic] strawberry patch?" During the party, big sister Olivia read the book, *The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear* to all the kids, and all the children received a decorated straw hat and homemade strawberry bean bags to take home. Since she has been asking to go potty lately, Eve was ecstatic about some Yo Gabba Gabba panties she received. You can see where they ended up! Hope you enjoy the video. :)

Playdate with Tonra and Ethan

2009-05-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

With Olivia in Kinder this year, it's a rare day where she can have a weekday playdate, but lucky enough she was off Good Friday, so we got to spend the morning at the park with good friends Tonra and Ethan. Tonra and I met in our neighborhood almost 5 years ago when she was pregnant with Ethan and Olivia and I were on one of our morning strolls around the block. She was nearing her due date and Olivia had just turned one. We had easy conversation that day and ever since. I'm truly blessed by her friendship and I'm praying that once we move and life gets busy we don't lose touch. She is such a dear and special person.

These two spiders are just waiting for the flies to arrive.

Ethan and Genevieve share a picnic lunch.

Olivia is so happy to have a day off from school.

Ethan made Genevieve's day by sharing his box of "Walle" raisins with her.

Playing Transformers and Playmobil turns out to be more fun than the playground.

Before and After

2009-05-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

Before and After
See if you can find the two big differences.
Hint: It has nothing to do with the Hulk.

Olivia before 9AM this morning:

Olivia after 12PM this afternoon:

Crowe's Nest Farm

2009-05-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

Ms. Boone's Kindergarten Class Field Trip 2009

Olivia's kindergarten field trip was to Crowe's Nest Farm, a non-profit farm designed for educating the public about animals. The kids had a great time riding the bus there, seeing the reptiles in the big red barn, having a picnic lunch and hayride, watching how a cow is milked by machine (this was still painful for me to watch...those who have exclusively used an electric breast pump to nurse their baby will understand!), going on a self-guided tour around the animal pens, and walking through Faeriewood. They had fun just being together and doing something outside the classroom. I felt so lucky to get to go and experience this with Olivia. My good friend Blanca, her daughter, Sabrina, and I rode there together, and it was fun to visit and catch up along the way. Her son, Max, and Olivia were in preschool together where we made this same trip before, but it's so amazing to see how much the two of them have grown and changed in just one year.

Blanca and Sabrina feed the ponies as we wait for the school buses to arrive.

A windy picnic lunch...hold onto those grapes!

Sweetie Pie, the milking cow; I know your pain!

Olivia and her class listen attentively to Farmer Dave.
He squirted Olivia with fresh milk from the cow.
She got a big laugh and said it went into her eye not her mouth!

The look of wonder...priceless!

Magnificent ostriches!

Ms. Boone and her class pet the goats.

Say "Goat Cheese!"

Such a memorable day with my big girl makes me feel lucky to be a mom.

This little lamb made me think of Genevieve and how I hope to be making this trip with her soon.

What an awesome day to share with friends!

Down the Rabbit Hole

2009-05-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

"Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"
Like the White Rabbit in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I always feel like I'm running late with this blog. Speaking of rabbits, it's been several weeks since Easter Sunday 2009, and I'm just getting these pictures up. It's still the liturgical season of Easter; does that help my case? ;) Included in the video are some pictures of our cute nieces, Elena and Gabby and cute nephew, Jonah on Easter Sunday. We had a fun family evening out at Corbin and Megan's (younger brother and sister-in-law's) new house in Georgetown. The kids loved running around in the big backyard and it was nice for the cousins to be together again. That is, until Genevieve started biting Olivia! Then, we knew it was time to get our sugar-overloaded Banister Bunnies back home and into their rabbit hole.

Springtime Fun in the 'Hood

2009-04-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, our neighborhood had a get-together to celebrate springtime. The girls loved the petting zoo, and I did too. This wasn't some cheesy petting zoo with a couple of goats. They had bunnies/rabbits, piglets, chickens/roosters, ducks, a donkey, a baby calf AND goats! ;) The girls love going to the pet store, but it's pretty much hit-or-miss if they get the opportunity to touch an animal there. This petting zoo was very much hands-on, and you can see the girls' delight in the pictures. I fell in love with the piglets and afterwards did some research on having a miniature piglet for a pet, but when I mentioned it to Brian, the look on his face told me "Are you serious?"...which I WAS! ;) Well, I guess I'll just have to read *Charlotte's Web* to the girls again to get my cute little piglet fix!Our little niece Celeste, and parents Brad and Nicole came out with some of their good buddies. There was also a bouncy house (which the girls liked to jump on much better than our bed!) and Easter Egg Hunt (which the girls declined on so they could have extra time in the petting zoo. "Good choice!", says Mom.).

Brushy Creek Lake Park Extension

2009-04-09T12:13:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we went exploring the new Brushy Creek Lake Park extension which winds around from Parmer Lane to Twin Lakes YMCA. We have been really impressed with the way Cedar Park is preserving parks, trails, and nature in preparation for future growth and development. I always think of the amazing foresight the city planners' of Austin had in preserving Zilker Park and the trails around Town Lake, and Cedar Park seems to be following suit with the Brushy Creek Regional Trail which encompasses six parks and a trail that runs from east of Great Oaks Drive in Round Rock to Hwy 183 in Cedar Park. The extension trail is paved (of course, we had to go off the trail to explore a water fall; shhhh...please don't tell!), and we saw little or no foot/bike traffic on a beautiful Saturday morning. If you get the chance, go, go, go!

Texas Bluebonnets

2009-04-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

What would springtime in the Texas Hill Country be without family pictures in the bluebonnets? Luckily we had a nice patch in our front yard, so we didn't have to travel very far.

In this shot, Genevieve is wearing sandals on her hands because she likes to make believe her hands are her imaginary friends. Of course, they MUST wear shoes if they are going outside!

Genevieve is discussing her big plans for the day with her buddy, the garden gnome.

Olivia is showing us her Texas-sized grin.

Sweet sisters!

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

2009-04-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

Genevieve is turning two and still has only a wisp of hair. She had more when she was born than she does now, but it all fell out a few weeks later. To soothe herself when she is tired, she twirls the little hair she does have, so most of it ends up getting combed out with the knots she creates. She would love to have more hair, and every morning when I brush Olivia's hair into a ponytail, she asks for one also. Well, I found these tiny rubberbands the other day, and put her hair into pigtails for the first time. She went to the mirror to see, and started making buzzing noises. I asked her what she was doing, and she said "Genevieve Bumblebee!" So I guess instead of her first pigtails, these were her first antennae!

Home Sweet Home

2009-04-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been two months since I've posted, and believe me, life for the Banisters hasn't stood still since Feb. 4, 2009. "Free time" has been put towards updating and cleaning our house in preparation for selling it. Now, we sit and wait....well, we clean and wait is more like it. We've only had it on the market for two weeks, and it's still ours, but it doesn't feel like ours anymore. Most of the girls' toys have been sold or put into storage; we've had to hide anything remotely religious, and we're lucky if we can find a pen to write with. Our junk drawer isn't even "junky" anymore; now that's a first!

It is nice to live simply again. When I left for college, I had some pots and pans from my Grandma, some clothes, and a couple of towels. My parents went and bought me a desk at Walmart once we got to Austin. I'm sure it was pretty much the same for Brian. How did we collect so much stuff over the last 17 years?

With this move, I'm really not missing the stuff, and haven't even felt the need to go and get anything from the storage unit, but what I do miss is the comfort of having a home. We are keeping it straight, nice and neat for someone else, not for ourselves. I like that it's clean, but I don't like having to put out a set of "show" towels, instead of the ones we really use. I don't like telling the girls we can't play with the playdough in the fear that it will be too messy, or telling them that we can't play in the sandbox because sand always tracks its way back to the house. Sometimes the best learning takes place while making a mess! I don't like having to hide my rosary. I'm not complaining, just biding my time until we can live in our home again, whether that home is here, in an apartment, or at our future house.

The bluebonnets in our yard which Brian and I planted from our wedding favors are just blossoming all over, and even though we're enjoying them, it's bittersweet knowing we're leaving them behind when we move. We are happy that someone else will enjoy them. We have awesome neighbors. It's hard to leave the Surles and Green families, knowing that we won't be as close and we won't share in the happenings of their lives like we do now; they are like family. We are excited about our new place, but we will miss this house because it was our first real home together as a family. It's the only home our girls have ever known.

Congratulations, Geff and Tina!

2009-02-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

My older brother, Geff, and his girlfriend, Tina, are recently engaged to be married, and we are excited for them! They are so happy, and we wish them many years of love and joy. Congrats, you two!

Girls in Motion

2009-02-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

Genevieve caught a stomach virus last week, and two days later, Olivia caught it. Fun! Fun! Fun! I'm still amazed at how quickly kids get over viruses and common colds. After being up for several hours during the night and feeling pretty puny most of the morning, Olivia was ready to do a painting project in the afternoon. Nothing keeps these girls still for long! As you can see, Eve enjoyed painting her hands and face much more than the paper.

Howdy-do?

2009-02-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

Howdy, Partner! Olivia's Kindergarten class studied Texas last week, learning about the state bird, state flower, etc. On the final day of the week, the kiddos came to class dressed in cowboy apparel, and here are a couple of photos I took of Olivia that morning.

Welcome back, Brad and Nicole!

2009-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Brian's brother, Brad, his wife, Nicole, and their daughter, Celeste, have moved back to Austin from Columbia, Maryland. We are so happy to have them back in Texas, and we look forward to seeing a lot more of them now that they will be living so close. We were recently able to meet Celeste, our niece, for the first time, and here are some pictures of our get-together. She is a cutey!

Texas State Aquarium Camp-In

2009-02-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Olivia and Brian went to the Texas State Aquarium for a camp - in. They arrived on a Saturday afternoon, played a little bit at the beach near the USS Lexington, and then attended several behind-the-scenes tours at the aquarium. They saw sea turtles, sting rays, sharks, jellyfish, coral and all kinds of interesting sea life. After a pizza dinner and a bedtime story, they headed off to sleep near a tank of fish. Brian shined his flashlight on the fish during the middle of the night, and they awoke and started zooming around the tank in fright. Livy thought this was very funny! Good thing none of the fish were "floating" in the morning! Olivia and Brian came home early Sunday morning, tired and happy.

Genevieve and I stayed home and played lots of her favorite games, like Ms. Genevieve Potato Head!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-01-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Banister Family - Christmas Eve 2008

Well, I'm a bit late with this post but our Christmas and New Year's holiday were filled with family illness. We made it through, though, and here are some photos of the highlights. We hope you all had a peaceful, enjoyable Christmas and wish you many blessings for the new year.

Genevieve helping to make Jesus' birthday cake (Angel Food cake , of course!)

Olivia making Snowball cookies for Santa's treat!

Our Christmas Eve dinner. We followed my Grandma's tradition of placing special momentos of loved ones and special treasures around the table. We placed on the table a pair of my Grandpa Fred's glasses and harmonica, my Grandma Sylvia's scarf, a birthday card from my Grandmother Ferrell, my mother's rosary, a picture of my dad, dried flowers from our wedding, the girls' ID birth bracelets, etc.

Genevieve sprinkling Reindeer Snacks (oatmeal with glitter) on the sidewalk.

Treats for Santa! Olivia made a thank you card for him and wrote "Hand made by Olivia and Eve" on the cover.

Olivia and Eve opened a couple of gifts on Christmas Eve before heading to bed.

We were getting Eve ready for bed, and I notice Olivia talking to herself over by the Christmas tree. She was pretending to be the Three Kings and was offering baby Jesus the Bakugan balls she just opened that evening. It was so sweet that I had to take a picture before she noticed me there.

The Banister gals on Christmas morning 2008.

The Ferrells invited us over for Christmas brunch. It was fun and relaxing and Aunt Megan's pancakes were delicious. Little did we know that we were leaving them a "gift" of Strep Throat!

The weekend following Christmas we got together with my older brother Geff, his girlfriend Tina, and my niece and nephew Lexie and Kurt.

The girls and I went for a one day, one night visit to my Dad and Glenna's house during Christmas break. With my dad still recovering from his infection and craniotomy, we didn't want to tax them too much.

The day we got back from my Dad's, my mother was admitted to the hospital for Strep, pneumonia, and blood clots in her lungs. She is home now and already back to work after spending a whole week in the hospital. We are so glad she is feeling better and pray that she continues to recover well.

We had a rough holiday, with both my parents recovering from serious illnesses as well as each of us getting a couple of colds and Strep over two weeks, but we managed to have some wonderful moments together, and enjoyed celebrating the gift of Jesus' birth.

Olivia's Class Christmas Party

2009-01-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

The Kindergarten classes at Olivia's school had a holiday rotations party before letting out for the winter break. Each Kinder class went to do a fun activity in one of the eight Kindergarten classrooms, and Genevieve and I volunteered to help out so that we could share in this special time with Olivia. There were Christmas carols, face painting, crafts, and games enjoyed by all.

Laundry Basket or Dress-Up Box?

2009-01-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

Genevieve raided the laundry basket the other day and decided Livy's undies were much cuter worn on her head as a hat. I have to agree!

Canoeing at Zilker Park

2009-01-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

Olivia and Brian went canoeing one Sunday at Zilker Park with some friends and here are the photos from their journey.

Childbloom Holiday Guitar Concert

2008-12-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

Olivia participated in her first guitar concert last Friday. She did a beautiful job along with her cohorts, and we are so very proud of her. Her instructor is Slobodan Vujisic who is an instructor for the Childbloom Guitar Program. She loves going to practice as well as practicing at home. To her this is a dream come true because she showed interest in playing the guitar by the time she was 2 years old.

Rollercoaster of Life

2008-12-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm asking for your prayers again. My dad will have another craniotomy and brain surgery again today because of complications and infection from his surgery two weeks ago. If you think about it today, please say a prayer for him and his surgeons. With heartfelt thanks, Apryl.

Prepare the Way!

2008-12-14T18:50:00.000-08:00

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season has reached our little house. We put out our Christmas tree, decorated the outside of the house with white lights, and today at dinner we lit the pink candle on our Advent wreath. There's talk of wish lists for Santa, gingerbread houses, school holiday parties, and what kind of cake we will make for Jesus' birthday. I can see why this Sunday is called "Rejoice Sunday"; Christmas is almost here and we will be so ready to celebrate!

On Saturday, we had our Adventure Guides, Christmas potluck supper.

The girls had fun at the Camp Twin Lakes playground and running around the bonfire. The food was delicious; Olivia must have eaten two bowls of Frito Chili Pie, and by the end of the dinner, her little tummy was as round as could be. Genevieve had seven different kinds of macaroni and cheese to choose from, as well as fruit kabobs, so she also was full and happy when the potluck was over.

Afterwards, we headed over to Santa's Workshop in Cedar Park. The girls had a blast making different types of handmade ornaments and listening to the bands play Christmas music. As luck would have it, we ran into my brother Corbin, his wife Megan, and my nieces and nephews, Elena, Gabriella, and Jonah. It's so much fun sharing the wonder of Christmas with children!

Today, Olivia and I went to Sunday School where we celebrated Jesus' birthday with spiritual Christmas songs and birthday cake. (We celebrate Christmas early since there will be no Sunday School for the next three weeks.) Olivia's class made dioramas of the nativity scene, and she is looking forward to adding more details this week when she has more time. Afterwards, we went to Mass, and Olivia was very excited to see the third candle lit on the Advent wreath because she knows that means Christmas is almost here.

This evening, we made presents for her school class party. We made a HUGE batch (10 lbs +) of snowdough and rolled and wrapped a snowdough ball for each child. It was great working on this craft with Olivia. It was the first year where she really lead the gift-making, and I just assisted. She sure is growing up! :) I saved a little bit of snowdough so that Genevieve can play with it tomorrow. Here's the recipe in case you would like to make some too. (This should make enough for two children.):

Snowdough

1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1T. cream of tartar
2T. vegetable oil
1 c. water
1/3 c. white glitter
1/4 c. white powdered tempera paint
1 tsp. pepperment extract

Mix ingredients together in large pot. Cook over low heat until dough becomes large ball. Cool. Seal in plastic bags.

Three Twirling, Swirling Christmas Snowflakes!

Smitten with Mittens

2008-12-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

Eve wore mittens for the first time today, and she wanted to wear them all day long, both outside *and* inside the house. She called them her "puppets" and kept asking them "How [are] you?" while she made them talk, wiggling her fingers inside. Then, she spotted Olivia's old pink camouflage mittens from way back in the days when she didn't mind wearing pink. Eve quickly discarded her little "puppets" for Sister's bigger "puppets". It's a good thing Olivia won't wear them anymore because...

Genevieve is smitten with her "new" pink mittens!

One Week Ago Today

2008-12-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

One week ago today, my dad had his brain surgery, and we are so thankful that everything went well. He is still recovering at home and seems to have some kind of infection with the fever he is battling. He began a round of antibiotics last night, so I pray they do the trick, so he can get back to doing the things he likes to do and feeling good again. Thank you for all your prayers during his surgery. They gave us strength when we were worried and gave him peace of mind that God would take care of him. I was in awe of his bravery as they wheeled him into surgery, and his faith and belief that everything would turn out okay.

Grandaddy and Olivia building a bird house in Dec. 2007

Stuck Inside

2008-12-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

With the freezing temperatures this morning, Genevieve and I were stuck inside. It was just too cold to take our morning walk, so instead she played in her room for a while and wore her pajamas a little longer this morning. Check out this video to see what she was up to:

It's Beginning to Look A Little Like Christmas!

2008-12-10T10:45:00.001-08:00

When we awoke this morning, we were surprised to see ice on the ground. The girls were excited to see this unexpected precipitation, and there was just enough time to play in it (and taste it) before heading off to school.

Over the River and Through the Woods

2008-12-08T18:22:00.001-08:00

To Grandma and Papaw's House We Go...for Thanksgiving!

We had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday spending time with Brian's mom ("Grandma") and her husband Michael ("Papaw") at their home in Plano. Our crew all had bouts with colds the previous week (except for Brian The Invincible), so we were worried that we wouldn't be able to make the trip, but by the day of our departure for Grandma's, we were all feeling good and looking forward to the trip. It took us just 4 hours, which isn't bad considering trips taken previous years during the Thanksgiving week.

We had a wonderfully delicious Thanksgiving feast cooked by Grandma-- even two kinds of turkeys with two different gravies! Only grandmas cook like that! One of the girls' favorite things was Grandpa's appetizer tray with pickles and two kinds of olives. They gobbled up the black olives as fast as they could!

The next morning, the guys watched the kiddos and Brian's mom and I hit the Black Friday sales. It was fun, and we did some damage ;) , but the best part of all was just spending time together and catching up with one another. It reminded me of how I used to go with my own Grandma Sylvia on all day Saturday shopping trips like this growing up. We would leave at 8:30AM for Houston and return sometime after dinner with tired feet but full hearts sharing this time with one another. I feel so blessed to have the parents I have, and now am doubly blessed by my in-laws. They are always so supportive and loving, easy to talk with, and lots of fun! Yes, I'm getting a bit off-topic here, but this post is about Thanksgiving, so I guess I'm just saying I'm thankful for my family. :) See how I brought my ramblings full circle?

Olivia and Grandma made these cute Thanksgiving treats that they put at each persons table setting. They were tasty as well as fun to make!

We made several trips to the playscape at the elementary school just across the street. Eve went down the slide for the first time by herself. Olivia loved swinging on the chin-up bar.

Grandma and Grandpa even babysat for us, so that we could get a mini-vacation in Dallas. We stayed at the historical Stoneleigh Hotel, walked around the area leisurely drinking hot coffee (me) and hot cocoa (Brian), ate dinner at The Melting Pot (a fun fondue place where we would NEVER take the kids), and visited the Galleria. It was our first time away from the kids in a long time. I missed them terribly, but it did good for us to recharge. It was great spending time together and having complete conversations, but by Sunday we couldn't wait to get back to Plano fast enough to give those two girls of ours a big squeeze, and hear all their chatter.

We had an all around great Thanksgiving at Grandma and Pawpaw's house.
We are truly thankful for them.

Rock Climbing Buddies

2008-12-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

Olivia and some of her neighborhood buddies went rock climbing one evening this month. They really enjoyed their time together and can't wait to go again.