Tired

What happens when a tired baby tries to snack and nap at the same time.

Birdhouse

Our friendly neighborhood birds attempted to build another nest on our carport lights. Chris decided to provide them with a nice house that wouldn't leak bird poop all over our car. So he and the kids put together a birdhouse.

They even decorated it with a welcoming message.

All done!

At the Playground

We've been using our time off of our regular school year activities to let Mom hit the gym. We especially like the gym at the community center because we get to go to the giant playground afterward. We're climbing fiends!

Time to get out of the sun.

No Whining

After a talk with Adam about what happens when we whine:

"And when you whine, I will get constipated!"

He showed me!

Progeny

Our friends from college (one who went to Rice and one who would have fit right in at Rice) came to Austin to visit (from North Carolina). In the time since we all graduated, Tonyamas and Paul got married and had two kids, John and Luise got married and had one kid, and Chris and I got married and had two kids. Everyone except me also got some sort of advanced degree - masters, doctorate, law degrees, MD. Overachievers! Here's a fun shot of all our best work.

John and Luise also came up to Fort Hood to visit. Lottie had fun showing Elisabeth her play area. It was great catching up - just like old times, plus or minus a few toddlers.

Texas Bluebonnets

Chris reminded me that I forgot to post our obligatory (in Texas) pictures of the family frolicking in the bluebonnets. It was a prolific year for Texas wildflowers, due to a cold winter and lots of rain. We found this patch out in Belton, near the lake. It was fun to watch the wildflowers come out, since we were suffering from cherry blossom withdrawal this year.

Strawberry Picking

On Monday (April 26), we went to Marble Falls to go strawberry picking! Adam and Lottie were excited to get their baskets and start picking. Lottie was good about selecting red berries, but neglected to check for mold.

Adam carefully waited for Mom to tell him which berries were good to pick.

Then it was time for Ring Around the Rosey.

After a break for strawberry lemonade and strawberry ice cream, it was on to goat petting. I love the little girl's face in the background.

One last shot of my strawberry-loving baby.

Temple Wildflower Bluegrass Festival

On our way back from Belton on April 24, we saw a billboard for the Temple Wildflower Bluegrass Festival. We decided that we liked both wildflowers and bluegrass enough to go to the festival. It was a very small festival, but Adam and Lottie were thrilled that there were a lot of dogs. They enjoyed watching the dogs herding the sheep. Lottie kept trying to get the sheep to come over so she could pet them, but she just scared them. She settled for watching them and calling out, "Sheep, come here!" every now and again.

We listened to a little bluegrass, then took a break for lunch. The only option was home-made BBQ. Adam only ate the bread, but Lottie loved it. Beans and meat are her two favorites.

Then it was off to watch more bluegrass, then check out the dogs running the agility course.

What are YOU looking at?

Soccer

Because Fort Hood doesn't start soccer until age 5 (Our last two duty stations started at age 3!!!), we signed Adam up for Start Smart Soccer, a short sports program designed for preschoolers. I would say that six weeks of "practice" helped him, but I think he learned more playing in the yard with his parents. Oh well. The last week, they got to show off their moves and play a real "game."

Doesn't he look like he knows what he is doing? (He doesn't - yet.)

The game. It was more like a game of tackle football, but the kids had fun.

The kickoff, which the coach treated as a drop ball.

Blurry shot of Adam's best move - pulling the opponent's shirt. Guess he's been watching the adult league too long!

The happy and sweaty class!

Car Wash

Adam and Lottie are great car washing helpers. Lottie washes the exact same area of the car about twenty times, then washes herself.

Adam runs around like a maniac.

Look, they are all helping (including our neighbor, Olivia)!