Goldilocks and Pawpaw Bear's Chair

The girls have formed special traditions with each set of their grandparents during their visits. Among other things, Granny Jean sings them silly songs that she makes up, Granddaddy Ferrell and Granny Gigi take them out for ice cream at Dairy Queen, and Grandma and Pawpaw buy them favorite fruits and pretzel rods. Another special thing that Olivia has gotten to do when she visits Grandma and Pawpaw in Plano is sit in Pawpaw's big chair in the family room. Soon, I'm sure, Eve will be joining her in this special chair. It's never too hard, or too soft, but always just right. Here's a nice compilation Pawpaw created of Livy sitting in his special chair from ages 2 - 4 1/2.

Three is a Magic Number

The girls have a new baby cousin and are so proud and excited! Celeste Marie was born on August, 8, 2008 to Nicole and Brad, and the whole family is well and headed home today. We are looking forward to watching Celeste grow-up. Congrats to Brad and Nicole!! What fun lies ahead for your family.

Water Play and Flower Play

Genevieve has really enjoyed playing with her water table this summer. There is so much to do with a sensory table other than putting water in it, but during the heat of the summer, water and ice cubes are just what Genevieve likes! The Child Fun Web site has a whole list of wonderful ideas of ways to use a sensory table (or a bucket will do nicely too); for instance, in the spring time, letting the kiddos play with dirt, plastic flowers, and pots. We are excited to try some of these ideas as the year progresses!

Our neighbors, the Surles and Green families, are beautiful people and also have a beautiful yard. One of the girls' favorite parts of their yard is the butterfly garden which lies between our houses. Every season, there is something new to see and experience, like chrysalises, different kinds of herbs and flowers, worms, lizards, birds, and butterflies. Currently, Eve is enjoying smelling the multicolored zinnas, and blowing wildflower seeds. Maybe some of these seeds will even become flowers for next year's butterfly garden.

Granddaddy

My last post was about how loving and caring Olivia and Genevieve's grandparents are and how thankful we are to them. On that note, please say a prayer for Livy and Eve's Granddaddy Ferrell, my dad, as he undergoes some medical testing today as a follow-up from his brain hemorrhage in March. Thank you so much for your prayers then and now.

We love you, Granddaddy!

Little Milestones

Pawpaw Yeager compiled this beautiful video of Olivia and Genevieve at various stages of their babyhood/toodlerhood. Their first days home, baptisms, and similar facial expressions are all included, and it's so interesting to see how much the girls' looks favor one another.

How lucky the girls are to have grandparents who love them and care about them so much! Especially since they take such a special interest and active part in their lives. Grandparents are such blessings! Mine sure were/are to me.

Thank you, Pawpaw, for the treasured video and all the ways you show us you care.
Love, Livy and Eve

Feeling a Tug on Those Heartstrings

Olivia is off to camp this morning, and I am missing her BIG Time! She will be there from 8:30AM - 4PM for a whole week without anyone she knows, but I am sure that will change in a very short time. When I dropped her off this morning, it felt as if my heart was still attached but it was being tugged on. She will have great adventures, I'm sure, with some of her favorite activities: swimming, kayaking, hiking, climbing, and crafts, and she told me she is really looking forward to the afternoon snow cones. She'll learn lots and become a little more independent before school starts, but it does feel like I'm holding my breath this morning. Genevieve is missing her too and cried as we watched Livy hike away to her group. Livy just smiled and waved. She's ready to fly. Wonder what it will feel like when she will leave for college....GULP!

Gonna Make It a Brighter Place

All summer long, Olivia and I have been studying about the environment. From bats to weather, animal habitats to community helpers, goods and services to being a responsible citizen, we have covered quite a bit and our family has learned so much in the process.

(7/17/2008 Olivia is our meteorologist for the day and gives us her weather report. Her forecast read, "A hot, hot, day and a great day to spend in the pool.")


This morning we met our friends Constanze, Julius, and Vivian at Brushy Creek Lake Park for a trash hunt. What is a trash hunt? After choosing an area with a lot of people traffic, we seek out, bag up and dispose of all the trash we can find.

We had to learn the best trash hunting techniques from Julius and Vivian who have been on several hunts throughout the spring and summer.




We didn't have to go very far in our hunt because the children found trash everywhere and picked up even the smallest bits. About halfway through, the kids starting talking about "treasures" they were finding instead of calling it "trash"; they found bits of brightly colored balloons, a pretty piece of star confetti, rings from discarded Ring Pops, and all sorts of interesting trash. Next time, we might bring a separate bag for the "treasures", so the kids can use them to make a collage of their hunt or use them to decorate a picture frame that could display a trash hunt photo.

After the trash hunt was over, the children had a well-deserved, cool break in the park's water sprinklers.

What a pleasant morning we had spending time with friends making the world a brighter place.

Check out this new PBS Kids site called Meet the Greens. There are all kinds of ideas to get kids interested in "livin' green".