Team Serrins/Springfield

Chiara's Farm Birthday

2012-01-06T05:11:00.000-08:00

When we asked Chiara who she wanted to come to her birthday party her first answer was Grandma so we decided to spend her birthday at the farm this year. She was delighted.

Licking the beater after Rachel made frosting for her birthday cookies

Chiara's "Mary Poppins" birthday dress

Opening her presents from Asher

Her new Playmobile Swim Center (with water (not included))

Grandma and Granddaddy gave Chiara a purple watch that lights up in 3-4 colors

Thanking Granddaddy for the watch

Great hug!

Rachel, Chiara, and Asher building the swim center

Chiara's birthday cookie

Christmas at the Farm (2011)

2012-01-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas at the farm as we always do. We were there for a week so we had time to enjoy all the family and relax. Lately I can't reorder pictures on blogger very well so these are in no particular order.

Dad, Rachel, Michelle, Asher, Mom, and Dwayne (moving very fast) working on Asher's 1000 Piece Periodic Table of the Elements puzzle.

Andrea, Asher, and Chiara watching A Bugs Life

Chiara opening a present

Asher opening...

Chiara picked these slippers out for Rachel. I can't even describe how thrilled both of them were about the gift.

Andrea made afghans for Chiara, Asher, and one for Rachel and I. Here Chiara models her afghan.

I made Mom and Dad this afghan

Asher's new afghan

I'm keeping this on here just to say that for some strange reason, this season all the pictures of Asher are like this - eyes closed, looking away, ... bad pictures

Our gorgeous afghan!

Chiara and mom playing with her new computer

Chiara's 4th Birthday Party

2012-01-02T06:11:00.000-08:00

We had Chiara's Birthday party a bit early (the 17th) to avoid the holidays bracketing her actual birthday. The theme was Mary Poppins (her current interest) and we had chalk painting and kites. We could not really figure out how to have horse racing or tea parties on the ceiling. Joey took some of these pictures (the good ones) so thank you to Joey!

Chiara in her Mary Poppins Dress surveying the chalk area.

Some of the chalk drawings

Christie doing some chalk art

Time for cake!

I can't believe Chiara is 4

Rachel made the doll previously but then she made all the new clothes and hat for Chiara's birthday party day.

Mary Poppins cake by Rachel as well.

Joey working on a kite

Chiara got right to the presents!

This busy box has been a huge hit

Asher singing The Element Song

2011-12-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

Asher memorized The Element Song by Tom Lehrer and sang it (A Capella) for his math camp/school talent show Thursday night.

Removing Carpet/Staining the Floors

2011-11-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

We have spent the better part of our weekends for the last few months on a large house project. We removed all the carpet except for our living room which we replaced a few years ago so it is in much better shape than the old carpet in the other six rooms (3 bedrooms, meditation room, school/art room, office). We need to add transition strips between the stained concrete and the ceramic tile which we will have to wait to do as we are ordering it online and need to wait a few weeks for it to arrive. Other than that, we are done.

We started by pulling up the carpet in the master bedroom. That meant carpet, carpet pad, and tack strips. Little did we know that pulling those things would be the easy part. Under the carpet pad was a nearly overwhelming amount of paint on the floor and carpet glue as well as notations done with a permanent marker for placement of light fixtures and electrical outlets. On the first room we hoped that there was a product that could help with the paint removal so we bought two gallons of (pretty expensive) Ready-Strip paint remover. What we found was that soaking the paint in water, using a sharp paint stripper, and a lot of elbow grease worked even better and cost much less. At that point, we had not yet decided what to do about staining the floors so we finished cleaning the floor and put the furniture back. A week or two later, we stripped the floor in the school/art room but again put the furniture back without staining.

Before beginning the next room we did some research and found SoyCrete Concrete Stain which is sold locally at House & Earth. The folks there were happy to answer our questions and the stain is sold in gallons or small 2 oz. bottles to test. We got 5 sample bottles and stained some patches in the garage before deciding on our colors.

For Chiara's bedroom we cleaned the floors and then stained the floor. The stain had nearly no smell and we didn't even feel the need to open the windows. The staining process basically required wiping on the stain with a sponge and wiping it back off quickly so it didn't take in uneven splotches. Both kids helped with the staining and we let Chiara put a hand-print in her closet. We found that the Burgundy Wine was a little deep for our taste so we used the sample bottle of Carribean Blue to give it some depth.

Chiara and Mama working on her room.

Chiara's hand-prints

Hand-prints

Chiara's floor

Chiara's room

Chiara's room in action!

The next weekend or weekend after that we took the carpet out of the meditation room. Asher decided that he wanted to move to the meditation room so he and Chiara would be next to each other (that was always our intention). We pulled the carpet out of the room and moved Asher's stuff to his new room - complete with a map wall.

Asher's map wall

Asher's floor

Asher's floor/map wall/desk

Asher's room/bed

Next we tackled Asher's old room which we turned into a play/rumpus room. (The picture is above with the purple rug with rectangles on it. Blogger won't allow me to place it here or put a caption on it.)

Then we spent a weekend going back to the first two rooms: the master bedroom and the school/art room. On the school/art room we used the concrete black with Burgundy Wine accent so it is a different color from the bedrooms.

School/art room

School/art room with furniture

Master bedroom from the doorway

Master bedroom

My closet

That left us the room we knew would be the hardest/longest project - the office/library. We tackled the project Veteran's Day weekend with Rachel, Chiara, and I moving books while Rachel repeated "Love me, love my books" over and over. We also decided to rearrange the front two rooms so that one would be the library/piano room and the other would be office/school/art. I think they both turned out wonderfully.

Book pile(s) #1

Book pile(s) #2

Books #3

Library/piano room

Office/school

A bit messy in front of the desk but a long view of the Office/school room

Most of the rooms now have rugs in them to dampen the echo and keep the house a little warmer in the Winter. I think that the floors will be much easier on our allergies and just generally cleaner. It was a great project and a really great project to finish!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday. We went to a Fall Festival at the school where Asher goes to weekly Math class/camp and a Halloween party and then the kids went trick-or-treating last night. After they were done trick-or-treating, they handed out the remainder of our candy.

They did all those activities dressed in the costumes that they requested and Rachel made: an atlas and bugs bunny.

The kids practicing trick-or-treating.

Asher showing off his USGS maps.

Asher designed his pumpkin and did part of the carving. Chiara requested a scary ghost on hers and Rachel carved it.

Visit from Friends

2011-08-19T17:28:00.001-07:00

Our friends, The Sullivans, from Houston came to visit us last week. They only stayed a few days but we had a lot of fun with them.

Rachel reading a Mercy Watson book to all five kids.

Rachel, Chiara, Dylan, & Molly making cookies.

The girls posing.

Dylan wouldn't get in the circle of heads picture.

Asher, Chiara, Molly, & Leah.

Asher getting twinned.

Summer Pictures

2011-07-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Wow. The Summer is nearly half-over and I haven't posted pictures in months. The good news is that the kids are as adorable as always (I swear); we just haven't taken many pictures lately. Or the ones we have taken are on our cell phones and we just keep them there. Our Summer is going very well. We've visited the farm, had a long visit from Phoebe, and done a lot of swimming. Asher is able to stay afloat and swim without touching bottom. It's still a doggy-paddle but it's swimming! Neither Asher nor Chiara want to put their faces in the water.

Chiara loves dress-up. We found this hand-me-down ladybug costume and she has worn it many days in the last two weeks.

Here are some pictures of the kids while they were dressed to go to a party.

And a picture of Chiara enjoying some corn on the cob.

I hope everyone is having as nice (if not as hot and dry) as summer as we are.

Dinosaur Park Birthday Party

2011-05-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

We went to a birthday party at the Dinosaur Park in Bastrop this weekend. It was a nice place for a party and the weather was lovely. Asher got eaten by a dinosaur and Chiara petted this one.

Rachel has been knitting really fantastic animals for various kid birthday parties lately and she made a great dinosaur (maybe a plesosaur?) but I don't have pictures on this computer.

Sorry for the lack of pictures and posts. We haven't been taking many pictures lately.

Austin Livestrong Marathon/Half-Marathon

2011-02-21T04:03:00.001-08:00

The Austin Livestrong Marathon & Half-Marathon was yesterday and I ran my first half-marathon. I've been training for months and running for just under a year to prepare for this event. I ran as part of Team Livestrong (about 500 members out of 20,000 runners) to raise money for Livestrong which "works to inspire and empower people affected by cancer." I raised $888 through my donation page. You can still donate if you wish to do so.

My primary goal was simply to finish the half-marathon (13.1 miles) but the goal in my head was to finish in 2:45 or less. My official time was 2:50:24 so I missed that goal by just over 5 minutes. I think I was thwarted in reaching that goal by the hills which were bigger and longer than I was prepared for, the crowd of people running slowly or walking, and the line to use the porta-potty when I stopped at mile 8.

Regardless, it was a wonderful experience. I've read advice that you should never commit to either run or never run an event for a week after a race, but I would definitely say that I would do this again (and again and again).

My sister Mitzi and nephew Jonah came up from Houston to cheer me on. My niece and brother-in-law would have come but Alissa got sick the night before and they couldn't travel. When I reached the Chuck E Cheese on Ben White (5 mile of the race), I saw Rachel, Chiara, Asher, Christie, David, Ezra, Mitzi, and Jonah. They were shouting my name, pounding on a pot with a stick, and holding up signs for me. Mitzi ran with me for a minute to hand me a bar and I could still hear them screaming for me and hear the pot-banging for another 2 blocks.

Bands played all over the course which was very fun to run by. I tried to clap and cheer for them as I went by.

David, Christie, Ezra, Mitzi, and Jonah again cheered for me at mile 7. I heard the pot-banging first and it came as a surprise as I didn't expect to see them so soon.

At mile 9, I ran by a huge station of Team Livestrong volunteers and spectators. The line stretched for 1/4 mile or more. They manned the water station, picked out team members from the crowd and cheered us by name, and had written notes and names on the ground with chalk. It really picked me up and also made me tear up as I thought of all the family members I've lost to cancer.

Next, I saw our friends Heather, Mackey, and Jayna around mile 11. Sharyn was walking and was well behind me but they cheered and danced for me. The biggest hill on our course was the hill up 15th and it came after about 11.5 miles so most of the people near me were walking. I probably would have walked as well but I saw Jonah and Ezra at the bottom and asked where everyone else was. They said at the top and to run with them so the three of us ran it which felt great.

At 15th & San Jacinto my friend Garth and his two little boys were at the corner cheering for me. That was a really nice surprise since I didn't know they were coming down to the race. He yelled that it was only 800 more meters. At 200 meters I sprinted with everything I had although I was one of the only half-marathoners running at that point.

Rachel and the kids met me near the finish although they hadn't been able to get there in time to see me. We got my medal and shirt and went to meet everyone else for lunch at Chuy's. It was a great day and was wonderful to have so much support.

Asher's Birthday Party

2011-01-23T07:02:00.001-08:00

We had Asher's 7th birthday party this weekend. It was the first time we've had a party at a location rather than at our house which had upsides and downsides. On the upside, we didn't need to clean and cook. On the downside, we didn't have as much time to visit with people as usual. The party was at Highland Lanes and 11 children and 3 adults bowled with varying levels of banging, dropping, shouting, and success.

Our camera was low on batteries and then died completely (a downside - we have a spare battery at home but didn't think to bring it). We got only one picture of a guest bowling:

I like that the bowling alley grill is called "Lebowski's":

With the party package, Asher got a bowling pin and some balloons:

And Rachel did her usual amazing job making the cake. The pins were handmade white chocolate and all the kids wanted one.

Luna Lightfoot

2011-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the newest addition to the family. She's settling in well and hiding in spots we could never imagine (like the piano). She seems to really like being on top of the piano or in my closet. Perhaps she likes all the space in my closet since I've been out so long. (rim shot).

Being a cat, she'll nap with anyone taking a nap and anyone not taking a nap as well.

She found a little house that's just her size:

And Asher is working on teaching her to read and to memorize the periodic table.

Christmas at the Farm

2010-12-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

We went to the farm for Christmas as we always do. Unfortunately, we had a very short visit, only being there from Friday to Sunday. Nonetheless, we got to visit with everyone.

Asher singing in front of the tree:

The beautiful array of gifts:

Chiara cool-chillin in Granddaddy's chair:

Granddaddy watching Asher play:

Asher and Chiara opening two of their presents:

Phoebe modeling the hat Rachel made her:

New Kitty

2010-12-30T17:47:00.001-08:00

We got our new kitty from the shelter this evening. She's groggy but very cute. I think her name will be Luna Lightfoot (we'll call her Luna).

Chiara's Birthday Party

2010-12-21T11:58:00.001-08:00

Chiara will be 3 on December 28th but given the timing of both her birthday and Asher's we had her party early. I think it was our most well attended party ever with more than 30 guests. The theme was tattoos. Rachel and Molly put the finishing touches on Chiara's cake. Rachel had drawn the artwork, then took it to the grocery store so they could print it onto sugar paper.

The Sullivans arrived early so they and Chiara filled the balloons.

Then Chiara got a huge bouquet and danced with them.

Once the guests arrived, the tattooing was fast and furious. Nearly all the kids and some adults got a tattoo or two and some guests got 15-20. Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of the array of tattoos once they were done.

We also had spray-on hair color. The other side of my head is equally green and Mackie, Jayna, Mateo, Chiara, and the twins also got copious color in their hair. I didn't get pictures of everyone who got hair color.

The cake was delicious and Chiara blew out the candles well.

And what else can I say but "party hard, crash hard!"

Kid Pictures

2010-12-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Our neighbor Rich of Paul Marcus Photos asked a few weeks ago if he could take some pictures of the kids to build up his gallery and we of course said yes. He got some wonderful shots.

Asher and Joey in the Hammock

2010-11-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from last week but I forgot to post them until now. Last week LD & Joey watched the kids while we went out for our anniversary. After we got home, I saw Asher and Joey playing in the hammock so I took some pictures. Don't they look like they're having a great time?

Boo!

2010-10-31T17:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had a great time. Last Monday night we went to the annual Homeschoolers's party at the Austin Children's Museum which was very fun. This year we knew more families than last year. The hostess kept mentioning that they'd never had a Rook at the party before.

For their pumpkins Chiara wanted a mean monster and Asher wanted a triceratops in a palm field in the moonlight watching constellations of itself. Following Chiara's instructions, I drew a mean monster for Rachel to use as reference material for the actual pumpkin. Rachel and our friend Jenni started on the pumpkins and then Asher helped with his.

And of course our Rook and Elephant went out trick-or-treating after dusk last night.

Farm Trip

2010-10-05T04:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to visit the farm. Everyone had a very good visit and some nice snuggles.

Asher, Rachel, Grandma, and Andrea all put together a 3D carousel puzzle.

Rachel tried to learn how to play marbles.

Chiara snuggled with grandma and grandfather.

And everyone had fun building with the magnetic balls and the foam sheets that go between.

Sunday Pictures

2010-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

This first picture was taken during the week when the kids were snuggling on the hammock one day:

Rachel got some barefoot running shoes this weekend and Chiara loves to put them on. Lucy, of course, just loves anyone who is at lick-level:

We went to lunch and Freddies and the kids had fun playing on the playscape and in the rocks. Asher is wearing his Marathon Kids shirt. He just finished the 26.2 miles for last year's marathon and was excited to get the shirt.

Some pictures

2010-08-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

It's been dreadfully long since I posted any pictures. But here we go. Last week Rachel and I went to our friend Angelique's 40th birthday party and someone snapped a few shots of us. We both liked them enough that this shot has become both of our facebook profile pictures.

Rachel was trying get a good pic of the kids

Now that Chiara is the appropriate age and Netflix has episodes on instant stream, the Backyardigans are making a come-back at our house. Last week Rachel and the kids made masks for all five characters.

Chiara and I reading a little Sesame Street book:

Chiara and Phoebe playing.

Asher playing Chess

2010-07-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Lisa Diane & Joey's annual July 4th/Wedding anniversary party and it was fun as always. Asher played a game of chess with one of the other guests who I think is 9 years old. The other boy won but both said it was a good game.

Cousin Camp Pictures

2010-06-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

Phoebe is visiting for the week. We thought we'd do lots of ourside activities but it rained Tuesday - Thursday so it hasn't been as much outside as we thought.

Thursday (and Sunday) we went bowling. Neither Asher nor Chiara had ever been.

One day Phoebe dressed Chiara in lots of costumes but most of those picture are on Rachel's facebook account. Here's one:

Rachel super-braiding Phoebe's hair:

Snuggles & just hanging out:

Hat pictures

2010-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

We haven't taken many pictures lately but here are a few. Asher got a new stylin, adjustable, and floatable hat on our first REI Anniversary sale trip a few weeks ago.

And Chiara has a new hat. Ok, really Chiara has a plastic tub that formerly held 100 plastic and colored bears but obviously it's a hat. Let me assure you that these are merely 2 of the 20 pictures of Chiara on different days and in assorted outfits (or lack thereof) with the same hat.

And here's the puppy-dog who was helping Mama in the garage yesterday.

Mother's Day Weekend visit from Grandpa Paul

2010-05-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Paul Serrins came for a quick visit to Austin and then left for Colorado this weekend. It was very nice to see him and for Asher to see him again and Chiara to get to meet him for the first time.

Saturday morning we all went to the Austin Farmer's Market and wandered around.

Saturday afternoon we walked over to the park to play and have some ice cream.

And Saturday evening we went out to dinner and snapped a few pictures of Grandpa Paul with most of his grand-children.

Kid Pictures

2010-04-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Here are a few kid pictures. We've been going swimming at an indoor pool but it was too cold for Chiara so Rachel ordered her a kid wetsuit. It is quite easy to get into and she seems quite warm in it. And of course if you wear it around with your winter hat, it is really warm.

And we all walked the Texas Round-up 5K this weekend. Asher got this cute shirt (I wish I had ordered an XL kids shirt rather than the adult because his is much cuter). Here he is posing in it. Also there was a photographer at the race and he took a picture of Ash just as he ran across the finish line so hopefully I'll be able to post that once they are all cataloged and posted.

2010 MS150

2010-04-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend, our brother and brother-in-law will be riding their bikes from Houston to Austin to raise money for the Texas MS150. I believe this is David's sixth time to do this ride and Norm's 3rd. Over the years they have been able to raise thousands of dollars for MS research.

If you'd like to donate to either, please click the links:

Donate to David's ride.

Donate to Norm's ride.

There's help and then there's help

2010-03-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Rachel started to do some yoga the other day and Chiara decided to do some too:

And Chiara read us her current favorite book: Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus:

Edited to Add: Hmmm. At home I could see this video but now I'm at work and I can't see it. Assuming it doesn't work, I'll try again later.

Pictures

2010-03-16T04:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted. Here are some overdue pictures. It snowed in Austin a few weeks ago.

Asher has now lost 6 teeth.

And here's Chiara jumping on the trampoline with the pink elephant (like you do).

More Party Pictures

2010-02-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

One of our party guests, Monica, brought her camera. She is the same friend who took our wonderful family photos last year. And these pictures from the party are wonderful.

Chiara doing experiments:

Asher and other kids doing experiments:

Ash blowing out the candle:

Everyone enjoying the beautiful weather:

Asher's 6th Birthday Party

2010-02-07T04:59:00.000-08:00

We had Asher's birthday party this weekend. Per tradition Rachel made a special cake reflecting Asher's current interest. In this case, it was the periodic table of the elements.

It was quite an audacious and awesome undertaking and she spent about seven hours baking, frosting, and piping the atomic symbol and atomic number on each cupcake.

Asher and Chiara both "helped" frost a few cupcakes:

We set up three science experiments throughout the house and also did the mentos in diet coke experiment in the back yard.

And since the sun made an appearance for the party, the kids had a great time playing on the trampoline and play scape.

Chiara singing Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake

2010-01-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

Chiara has gotten into Patty-cake, Patty-cake. One night after dinner she sat on the chair next to me and I was trying to occupy her so I suggested we play. The next night, she climbed down off her chair, dragged it around the table to sit by me, and climbed up and said, "PATTY-CAKE!" Last night she did the same thing with Rachel.

She doesn't have the hand clapping down but she likes to do the roll-it and roll-it, throw-it, and then eat-it-up, eat-it-up!

Swinging

2010-01-25T04:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the kids and Rachel swinging and Chiara holding her dolls.

Chiara's Birthday Party

2010-01-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

Sunday we had Chiara's 2nd birthday party. Many many friends and family came and we had a wonderful time. Somehow the camera holds lots of pictures of me and Chiara and very few or none of quite a few guests. We're especially glad the Levines could come from Houston to celebrate with us.

Following the theme dollhouse/dolls etc., we had two crafts. Trapping adults in the castle was one:

Ok, not really. Coloring the castle was one. Here the castle is pristine but by the end of the party many guests had colored and signed it. It looks really cool now.

The second craft was to make little dress-em-yourself dolls. Most of the kids made dolls and some of the adults but we didn't get many pictures. Wylie was particularly focused on cutting and sticking. Even though we thought most kids would put magnets on their dolls, a lot got left behind. Here are all the orphan dolls on our refrigerator.

Rachel had help from Asher and Chiara making and decorating the dollhouse cake. Chiara's help most consisted of her sticking her finger in the icing as Rachel tried to decorate it.

She wasn't crazy about everyone singing Happy Birthday at once but she was totally on board with blowing out her candles and eating cake!

Avelyn enjoyed some cake too:

And after the holiday season, Chiara's got this presents thing down. She called for present opening shortly after everyone finished eating cake.

Chiara's Birthday

2010-01-03T16:17:00.000-08:00

Monday (December, 28) was Chiara's 2nd birthday. It was also the last day of my (Debra's) holiday vacation so we got to spend the entire day together. We asked Chiara what she wanted to do and she said ZuZu for lunch, toy store (we always take the kids to pick one toy for their birthday), and playground. Ok, we didn't end up going to the playground because it was really cold outside but we did go to ZuZu and the toy store where Chiara choose some kitty cat Calico Critters.

Before that, though, we all got up and sang Happy Birthday and gave Chiara her new Tonka Truck while we were still in our jammies.

Later, we had birthday ice cream. Then Lisa Diane & Joey came over for dinner more presents and visiting.

She's two!

Holidays 2009

2009-12-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful Holiday season. Before we left home for the farm, we opened many of our family presents in celebrating the Solstice one day early. Chiara got a camelbak water pack. Asher opened many good presents but here is playing with a set of Chiara's magnetic letters.

Over the week before the holidays the kids made ornaments for various relatives:

Chiara's big present this year was a dollhouse and she's received many of the components like rooms or people for the house from everyone. She loves it.

One of the guests to Christmas at the farm brought a big floor piano for all the kids to be left at the farm. Both Chiara and Ash really enjoyed it. Here Chiara and Phoebe are playing it.

Asher and Chiara had good snuggles with Granddaddy and each other:

... and me:

The big hit of our holidays (besides the dollhouse) has been Wii Fit Plus. Here Jason is trying to play a game:

And here he and Chiara are playing with the dollhouse:

Chiara Pictures

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

Last week Chiara saw Asher's hat sitting on the floor so she put it on. Looks pretty cute, doesn't she? It was hard to get any pictures because as soon as she saw I had the camera, she tried to grab it or squinched up her face to smile crazy big.

Chiara loves drawing and painting. Here she was painting an ornament with Mama.

Happy Hanukkah

2009-12-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Friday night was the first night of Hanukkah. We went out to dinner with LD & Joey and then gave the kids their new (used) train table. Since I went and picked up the table on Sunday night, it has been in LD & Joey's garage so they brought it with them. Then Rachel and Joey went directly home from the restaurant while LD, Asher, Chiara, & I went to "see some lights."

You can see that the table has been a big hit.

I think Joey took this while holding the camera in his hand and extending his arm. Very nice.

Happy Hanukkah and if you haven't seen it, here's Neil Diamond singing The Hanukkah song.

Holiday Decorating

2009-12-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday we went and bought a small potted tree to use as our Christmas tree this year. We've done this in the past and it's always nice to get to use the tree for the rest of the year. We had to rearrange some furniture and electrical cords but the tree is set up on a small table at the edge of the living/dining room. The bookcase standing right next to it holds the menorah. The kids were quite eager to help hang ornaments.

And the finished product. The white lights on the tree are new led lights. The red lights on the tree and the lights around the window are "low-energy" but not led lights. We put up lights on the other windows in the living room as well but did not take a picture.

Thanksgiving Pictures Part II

2009-12-03T04:31:00.000-08:00

Here's the picture of the kids on the carousel at the Houston zoo.

Painting - Part II

2009-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the painting I referred to.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-11-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving visit with the Levines, Kremer-Serrinses, and Kremers. Mitzi hosted this year and made a wonderful meal with assists from us for crudites and Rachel's famous deviled eggs while Christie brought some delicious pies. The Karaoke tradition was not as full as in prior years but Asher sang Dancing Queen with me and You're the one that I Want with Christie:

On Friday we went to the Houston Zoo. It was free Zoo day which I didn't know until we arrived but the zoo was wonderful. Chiara wanted to see the E-phants!, and Asher choose Giraffes but we visited most of the animals. I think the merkats were a particular favorite as they were very playful and engaging. Asher and I were both prairie dogs for a little while.

Both kids rode the carousel (Chiara's first time). Chiara rode on a puppy dog until she leaped into my arms and stayed there. Asher rode the giraffe and was thrilled even if it didn't go up and down. I'll post some pictures when I get some off a phone.

It was a wonderful holiday and nobody visited the emergency room so it gets bonus points.

Painting

2009-11-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

Last week the kids did some painting on the back deck. Lest you think they're going through a Goth period, I'll say that they're using the paint from Asher's one-way sign so it's all black and white. Actually Asher and Rachel worked together to make a very beautiful painting that looks almost like storm clouds. I will post it when I get a chance to take a picture.

And here's a picture of Chiara in the skirt Rachel knitted for her. It's quite beautiful and intricate and Chiara's obviously having fun.

Halloween Pictures

2009-11-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

We had a very good Halloween Saturday. Rachel got three pumpkins at the store but neither of the kids really wanted to be involved in the cutting so she carved them herself but under Chiara's direction. She choose a two-tooth Jack, surprise-face Jack, and Moon & Stars Jack for Chiara who loves the moon and will chant "see moon" in the car or in her sleep.

I took the kids out trick-or-treating to a few houses but we went early and a lot of our neighbors were out at parties. Asher choose being a one-way sign weeks ago and was very amused that kids kept calling him "one-way" as in "Hey, One-Way, where you going?" as if it was his name. Chiara insisted on being a kitty cat with a purple ribbon so although we didn't want to reuse Asher's costume, it made sense since we already had the cat costume and it fit her to use it.

Boo Bash at Austin Children's Museum

2009-10-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the annual Boo Bash - a Halloween party for homeschoolers - at the Austin Children's Museum. Asher was a one-way sign and Chiara was a kitty cat with a purple ribbon. Hopefully we'll get some better pictures on the real camera this weekend. These are from my phone:

October Pictures

2009-10-22T04:06:00.000-07:00

Asher and Chiara playing trains or puzzle together:

Or roaring...

Jenni and Asher reading his Periodic Table book:

Chiara dancing:

Asher, Chiara, and Rachel playing on the trampoline. Chiara is wearing one of the sweaters Grandma Susi made. I think that this one was Hannah's and Nina sent it but perhaps it was Ezra's. I can't remember anymore but really appreciate everyone sharing.

Chiara vogueing in the hat Rachel knitted for her:

Asher asleep on his Solar System: Earth and Lightning McQueen car (you can't see it) in a fortress of pillows and still wearing his glasses:

Skating at Alissa's Party

2009-10-05T05:11:00.000-07:00

Like the pictures from Inks Lake, these pictures were taken on the cell phone so they aren't great quality. This weekend we drove down to Houston to go to Alissa's birthday party. Happy 10th Birthday, Alissa! She had an ice skating party and Asher has wanted to try ice skating.

First Alissa and her friend helped him and then Norm skated with him. Asher went around the rink once and only fell one or two times. He had a very fun time.

And Chiara enjoyed the pizza!

By the way, Alissa and Mitzi made the scarves for party favors.

Camping at Inks Lake

2009-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

We went camping this weekend at Inks Lake State Park. We made our reservations on-line a few weeks ago. When we arrived we bought a State Park Pass. My understanding was that the pass basically is purchased for a car/carload but the ranger who checked us in was insistent that it's on an individual and that I can't use the one on R's car so I actually bought the pass +1 which was $75 rather than $60 for a year. Online we chose a site that said it was "walk-in" and the ranger seemed like he couldn't imagine that was what we wanted but I said it was.

On the way to camping:

The site was perhaps the most awesome camp site ever. Our space was large enough to put up 4-5 tents. It had a picnic table and a fire/bbq pit, and extended all the way down to the water as you can see. And we actually had entry points on the water to swim. Now of course, that meant that other people went through the bottom part of the site to get to the water but it wasn't the main entry point so it wasn't too trafficy. In the last picture immediately below this, you can sort of see where the car is but it was 100 feet! Awesome.

The view from the rocks on the site:

Here's Chiara playing in the water (on our site):

The water entry point:

A few photos from our Saturday hike:

And finally the injury report. Ash got cactus in his hand and lips (from chewing on his shirt sleeve). I bet her stays on the path better next time. Chiara fell off the bench trying to get away from a fly or get it to get away from her.

Catch-up

2009-09-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Labor day weekend we went camping with the Levines at Buescher State Park. It was a quick but very good outing. Chiara explored while we set up the tent:

A few group shots including Rachel, Chiara, Asher, Jonah, Alissa, and Mitzi:

And Jonah gets something to eat while Asher hides his head.

Saturday we walked into the office to find that Chiara had stolen my Ipod from where it was charging and was attempting to listen to some music:

And Rachel finished knitting Chiara's baby blanket. Can you tell Chiara loves it?

Cool shoes and shades

2009-09-04T04:16:00.000-07:00

Chiara loves putting on sunglasses - hers or someone else's. Here is she wearing her shades in the house. And here are her first pair of crocs. Actually she has two now - the other are a light green pair of Mary Jane crocs. Very cute. Rachel decorated these according to Chiara's request for butterflies.

Pictures

2009-08-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

Rachel, Chiara, and Asher rearranged the toys and got out new books last week. Now Chiara's interest in the books is even higher than it was before. She will bring you book after book and say, "read, read" or "gain, gain" (again). Here I am reading her one of Asher's favorites from this age: Dr. Seuss's ABC book.

Chiara also likes to dress herself. I arrived home this day to find that she had adopted a rapper persona and was wearing a pair of too-big jeans backwards with nothing else on. Note her standing up in her high chair.

Dwayne, Michelle, Duncan, & Phoebe visited us this past weekend. Here are some pictues of the kids together.

This was a dress of Rachel's.

And finally, here are some pictures of school at Casa Serrins/Springfield.

More Park Pictures

2009-08-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

It turns out that Rachel took more pictures on her phone yesterday. Here are a few more.

I really love this last one of Asher.

Kids at the Park

2009-08-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

Rachel took this picture of the kids on the play scape on her phone. This was after a "bike-run" in which Rachel and Chiara ride leisurely on the bike while Asher runs and gives directions.

July Farm Trip Pictures

2009-08-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to visit the Farm over July 4th weekend but did not get to, so we went last weekend. It was a very good visit and we got to see the three goats that were born the day we arrived. But before we left, Asher had a chance to teach us all some of the dances he learned at summer camp.

At the farm:
Chiara loves to play "phone." Here the phone was for Mama. I can pretty much promise you it was Nernie calling.

And Chiara got her groove-thing on.

While Rachel mucked out the barn (yes, that's really a thing), Chiara took her nap. When she stirred, I picked her up and she slept on me another hour plus.

Asher played Rush Hour with Andrea and Sudoku with Grandma.

Mmm. Cheese

2009-07-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

One of Chiara's favorite foods (and words) is cheese. If she sees anyone with cheese she will start chanting "cheese, cheese" at them. The other day we were making some California Roll at the island and she climbed up into the Learning Tower and helped herself to some of the tub of cream cheese.

This is one of her favorite dresses (puppy dogs!). The other day she had it on and wanted to wear the hat but every time I tried to take her picture, she walked up to smile as close to the camera as she could. So I have a whole bunch of pictures of the pores on her nose or her two front teeth and these.

And Asher now has reading glasses. We got him two pairs because there was a special and he likes the way this pair fits better although I like the look of the other pair.

Independence Day Pictures

2009-07-05T07:05:00.001-07:00

Our Independence Day was pretty low-key this year. We were supposed to go to the farm but through a long story that I won't go into here, we didn't. That meant that we were able to attend LD & Joey's annual July 4th/Anniversary (11th) party. The party was fun although the crowd seemed somewhat smaller than usual. And it gave us a chance to dress the kids up. Nana Ina sent Chiara this very pretty dress (with a matching hat) a few months ago and LD & Joey brought Asher the shirt from Mexico last year (it has matching shorts but he chose not to wear them this year).

I really love these two pictures:

Assorted pictures of Chiara. I just kept clicking and she just kept closing her eyes or trying to grab the camera but I got a few good ones.

And then we tried to get Asher to pose with some pictures with his sister or with me and his sister or just by himself.

I think he's singing here but you can see the space for his two missing teeth.

Happy late Independence Day, everyone!

Pictures

2009-06-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some assorted cute pictures. This basket stands by the back door to hold towels to clean off dog-feet, balls, and other miscellaneous stuff. In this case, I guess the miscellaneous stuff was Chiara:

Chiara has her first obsession. Nernie. You know Nernie of Sesame Street. Of Bert and Nernie? We were at T@rget and saw this Bert and Ernie ball. If you press on the mouth of either side the ball says something or laughs and shakes.

Last week the kids wanted to do a craft so I set up the table to paint while Rachel was working. They were painting in one of those books where you just use a wet paintbrush and the color is on the page. Quite honestly, the books seems pretty worn out and not much paint was actually coloring the page, but that didn't seem to bother them.

And one day last week Asher, Chiara, Bumpy (the bunny), and I went to Wh0le Foods. We got what may be the only race car cart in the sore but it really made for an easy trip.

Beach Trip - Port Aransas 2009

2009-05-16T06:19:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach from Sunday to Friday of last week. We got a very good deal from A Laughing Horse Lodge for the off-season. We had stayed there before but not in the last five years. The weather was fantastic every day of our vacation and we went to the beach at least once and usually twice each day.

Here are some pictures of the space. It was a real lifestyle shock to fit into one bedroom/living room and a dining/kitchen area but we had a lot of fun. And every meal was a picnic!

Here's Chiara stealing my hat.

And Chiara stealing a bag and making it a hat.

We went down to the pier but didn't go out on it. This is the beginning of the pier before you go through the gate (and pay). Chiara is asleep but she looks all fallen over.

Asher's favorite part of Port Aransas was playing in the big shark in front of a store.

Posing

2009-05-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pictures of Chiara from before we went to the beach. In the first few she is walking around on the deck eating a Popsicle. They are these Mott's pure juice Popsicles and they are very yummy.

Whenever Chiara declines sleep in the evening she likes to climb up on the coffee table (actually she always likes climbing on anything).

The other night Rachel was finishing crocheting this hat (which she designed) and Chiara wanted to try it on.

Asher's First Lost Tooth

2009-05-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

We left for vacation with Asher's front left bottom tooth very wiggly and thought he would lose it on vacation. Six days later, we returned with all our teeth still intact. A few hours later, he was messing with it and said, "Here's part of my tooth." It wasn't part. It was all. Now the tooth next to that one which was very loose is now really really loose. But he's lost his first tooth! Cute, huh?

So Big

2009-05-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, Chiara is so unbelievably big! We went for her 15 month visit last week (even though she's 16 months old). She is actually doing all the tasks on the 18 month checklist and she got only one shot so it was a good visit. She walks, runs, nearly jumps, and says 25-30 words and parrots an even longer list. Her favorites include: eating cheese ("cheese, cheese"), riding in the car ("car, car"), putting on and off shoes ("shoes, shoes"), going out side ("side, gate!"), and drinking water ("Bwah, Bwah"). She also likes taking off or putting on clothes (not necessarily her own), climbing into and out of the bathtub, and standing on the furniture ("get down, get down").

Here she is pushing and pulling Asher around on the deck:

And here they are snuggling on the couch while Asher eats carrots.

She also loves to ride the horsey (not pictured) and play the piano:

Weekend Pictures

2009-04-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

First off, here are two pictures of Mitzi and David after finishing the MS150 this weekend. Although the first day of the ride was rained out, it is a fantastic fund-raising event and athletic event. We're proud of our family for participating. The links to the right will be active until the middle of May if you just realized you wanted to donate to the cause.

Asher tabulates votes for lunch location:

And Chiara (wearing my favorite of little kid clothing - a romper) climbs up the toy shelf and onto the window sill. I'm sure it sends a mixed message but I couldn't help wanting to get a picture of her signing more while I said please sit down. You know she's thinking, "You said sit down. I'm sitting now." If you say "sit down" or "get down" she will say it back to you even if she doesn't do what she said. And if you say "sit down or lay down" she will incline her head like she's taking a nap.

Rollies

2009-04-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

Chiara loves to be naked. We have to put clothes on her for the purpose of taking pictures. In this case, we managed to get a diaper on her and she took it off the moment we stopped taking pictures. I felt like these pictures were tastefully modest but I bet they still embarrass the heck out of her when she starts dating or gets married or wins a Nobel Peace Prize.

Last night, after dinner Chiara started spontaneously trying to do somersaults (Rollies in our house). I don't know if she and Rachel have been working on them but she seemed to know what she was trying to do. She would laugh and clap after each attempt.

And here's a random cute picture of the baby in a produce box.

A Ride on Shoulders or the Totem Pole

2009-04-06T05:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday walking from where we ate lunch to where we parked our car, Rachel plopped Chiara on Asher's shoulders. Both kids loved it even if the baby couldn't balance well enough without Rachel's help.

Weekly Pictures

2009-03-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

Maybe this post is badly named since I don't really post pictures every single week but I couldn't think of anything better. I love the pictures of Chiara laughing and doesn't she totally look like she's weighing herself on the magnadoodle?

No obstacle (or need to get off the couch and walk over to the play table) is too great for Climby McClimberson.

I think this picture is Chiara eating her first bowl of cold cereal. You can't even imagine how excited Rachel is to have another cereal lover in the house.

Last week we let Asher pick out one set of PlayMobile toys (one island, two guys, a tree) so he could do more imaginative play. He really loved them so Rachel looked on Craigslist and found someone selling a pile of ships and islands and animals and accessories really cheaply. Here's Asher playing with some of the big haul and then you can see all his guys traveling all over Europe (as they do).

Dance, Dance, Dance

2009-03-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

Asher Swimming Lesson

2009-03-17T06:36:00.001-07:00

Asher is taking Swimming Lessons this spring. I'm not saying this is a great picture (especially since I took it through the window with my camera phone) but you can see him tied in a noodle swimming around following the instructor.

Assorted Photos and Updates

2009-02-26T04:28:00.000-08:00

First off are some more adorable pictures of Chiara feeding herself with all the skill a 14 month-old can muster (happy birthday today, darling). Did I mention she really loves yogurt?

Last week Rachel and the kids did finger paints one day:

Simply a random cute picture:

Both children are recent dare-devils. Chiara climbs into any chair left out and stands on it or just sits to talk as she's doing here. Asher, has decided to stand on the monkey bars and try to walk across. He is genuinely disappointed that he can't stand on the playscape roof and touch the clouds. I'm doing surprisingly well with the entire endeavor.

And here's a shot of Rachel playing Guitar Hero on her birthday. Thanks, Ang.

Cool Shades and Fast Rides

2009-02-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

Chiara loves the toy horse (Blaze) and will demand to get on it then either just bounce it up and down or ride it forward and back.

She also loves sunglasses (or other glasses for that matter). Here she is wearing Asher's sunglasses:

Pictures

2009-02-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

Chiara has some newfound loves. Near the top of the list is hummus. She will eat it with a spoon, hands, crackers, bread, or about any other mechanism. She also delights in signing more and walks around signing it all the time. Here she is enjoying the hummus although I don't think you can truly appreciate the mess from these pictures.

Asher doing one of his most regular responsibilities: putting away the clean silverware.

Chiara's favorite book is Snuggle Puppy. You can actually start singing it from anywhere in the house if you want to call her and she will walk to wherever you are.

Sunday Bike Ride

2009-02-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Sunday we decided to go for our first family bike ride. We went to Tar get and got Chiara a helmet, then came home to get the bikes ready. Rachel put the trailer hitch on my bike and she changed out my pedals. David et. al had given me clipless pedals for my birthday but I've never felt comfortable with them. I also wanted to be able to go to the park with the family without needing to take a change of shoes so Rachel put my pedals back on. Perhaps in the future I'll go back to the clipless (they really do make a big difference on a ride of significant length).

Then we were ready to go. We seat-belted both Asher and Chiara into the trailer and set out. Chiara alternately fussed and laughed as she got used to the ride and after about 4 blocks, I started to feel like my right pedal was loose. I slowed down and said to Rachel, "This pedal is loose" at which point it fell onto the pavement. So Rachel transferred Chiara into the seat on her bike and they went for a ride while I walked Asher home in the bike trailer (not hard but not that fun either). On the way Ash said that he wanted to ride with Rachel too and I said that he could also ride his bike if he wanted.

So after riding on the back of Rachel's bike, Asher tried riding his bike (thanks, Ezra) for the first time. He did very well at it with the hardest part being not lifting his foot off the pedal so that he would be ready to push it on the next rotation.

I love this one with Chiara chasing him. I had to pick her up because she was so intent on catching him. And here's another cute pic of her in her new helmet (no, we didn't buy one to match her dress - that's coincidence).

And here's a little video of Ash riding his bike. Sorry for the prominent position of my bottom but you can see where Rachel was standing to shoot the video.

Chiara in her bike helmet

2009-02-01T12:09:00.001-08:00

Ever the accessory nut, Chiara was happy to wear her bike helmet and didn't want to take it off. Shortly after we went for a bike ride which went... let's say non-traditionally. I'll write more about it and post some pictures later this week.

Birthday Cake Retrospective - Obsessions through the Ages

2009-01-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

People have been commenting on Facebook or the comments of the blog or in person about the Trampoline cake. I agree with every comment - the cake is wonderful and I love that Rachel is committed to always making the kids's cakes. Here's a review of the cakes so far:

Asher's one year old cake was a model of his favorite toy at the time, a castle shape sorter (the link is Wal mart just because they had the best picture, not because I encourage you to shop there):

Asher's second cake reveals his obsession with letters and the letter blocks. He chose what letters should be on each block on the cake.

Asher's third birthday cake showed his interest in calendars. Note that his birthday is circled.

Asher's fourth birthday (I guess this retrospective could be called "obsessions through the years") was a map of the world:

Asher's fifth birthday was the trampoline with a kid playing. This is the only one that I don't think represents an obsession although he does love the trampoline.

And the first of Chiara's cakes was her first birthday - a puppy cake based on her love for both puppies and the word puppy.

Asher's Birthday Party

2009-01-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

We had Asher's birthday party on Saturday. We planned a small guest list, letting Ash choose the invitees (he chose just the "big kids" (each of whom has a baby sibling) and cousins). Unfortunately, if you only have 6 kids and 3 babies coming to a party and one family gets sick removing 2 kids and a baby, that is a very small party. Of course, Asher being Asher small is fine with him although he was sad that Molly and Leah couldn't come.

For months Asher has said that he wanted his cake to be a portrait of himself which I think was a little daunting to Rachel. Then a few weeks ago he decided he wanted a trampoline cake and here it is:

Asher requested singing and cake early so we complied. I like Avelyn's bow. No really, it's a bow off a present.

Chiara apparently wanted to pose for pictures near the food (spanakopita, baba ganoush, hummus, pita, grapes, oranges, cheese, & crackers). Note how she's letting Joey hold her without screaming:

Ash opened presents and one of them was a fruit clock which Joey, Asher, and Owen got working.

It was a great party and we can't believe our little boy is five already.

Look at the Clock!

2009-01-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

What more is there to say? Bush's last day is under 18 hours now!

Asher is Five!

2009-01-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

Asher turned Five on Saturday. We are having his party next weekend so Saturday was just our family. We went out to lunch (his choice) and then let him pick his present (a family tradition) at Toy Joy. We also gave him the neat watch you see in the pictures and Chiara gave him two Muppet movie DVDs. It was a very good day.

Chiara walking and More

2009-01-18T08:55:00.000-08:00

Chiara is definitely walking now. She loves nothing more than to walk around carrying shoes and hand things back and forth with anyone who will play that game. She also really loves playing along with anyone playing Wii.

Here she is playing Hula Hoop along with me.