Easter 2008

We weren't too sure the weather was going to stay nice for us to hide and hunt eggs, but we were blessed with a beautiful, rain-free day. Chris hid the eggs while I dressed the kids and got their baskets ready. The eggs were "hidden" in plain sight, so it was more of a foot race than a hunt but Noah and Ava didn't care.

Dressed and ready!

Here we go...

And this is the picture taken 2 minutes into it ... I'm surprised they were smiling at all because they were so annoyed that I stopped them to take their picture

Found some!

Is that all of them?

Examining the loot...

Score!

Yay! Amy!

Amy came to visit last week and after not seeing her for 18 months, we were super excited! On Saturday her mom and mom's friend brought her over while the kids were napping. Well, when they were supposed to be napping. Noah woke up almost immediately after they got here and started right in asking Amy to come to his room and play with him. He also went into Ava's room to announce Amy's arrival with "Hey Ava, there's two ladies and a boy here." Thankfully Amy is good natured and just laughed!

She got to come back over on Monday night and experience hallway dodgeball at the Raymond house. This is a game that Chris and the kids play where they gather every ball in the house and throw them at each other - and they do it in the hallway; but no one really seems to be dodging anything, just throwing. I guess I'm the dodger - I avoid the game altogether and just take pictures!


We miss you and can't wait to come see you this summer!

To Dye For

On Saturday afternoon, the kids and I dyed hard-boiled eggs for Easter. We didn't hunt or eat the eggs afterward, just did it for the fun and mess of it.

Here's the kitchen table before ...

It took a little bit of trial and error along with some careful reading of the instructions on the back of the dye kits {"always read the instructions entirely before beginning something," say I, the reading teacher} to figure out how to dip them without ruining the table.

I was using my head enough to have them take off their clothes before we started.

Look at these happy people -
And look at these dye-stained hands!

Ear Piercing, Round Two

While we were in Austin, we visited the Round Rock Outlet Mall and had Ava's ears pierced. This would really not be much to write about other than the fact that this was the second time we have done it in the last year. Last July when I went down for the 4th, I had her ears pierced by two seemingly knowledgeable employees; I thought we were lucky to have two employees there at the time - each one stood on either side of her and pierced the ears at the same time. Unfortunately, neither of them informed us that within the first year of having them pierced, if you take the earrings out for more than even a minute the holes can close up. So after waiting about ten weeks, we took her earrings out and took her to the nearest mall to buy her a new pair. By the time we got back home {only about two hours after taking the earrings out}, the holes had closed up.

So, fast forward 9 months and here we are again. This time, there was only one employee working at the store but one smart enough to tell us that within the first year of having ears pierced the earrings can't be taken out for more than one minute or the holes might close up. I wasn't so sure we'd get out of there with both of her ears pierced because she had to have them pierced one at a time, but she was a real trooper and now has two beautifully pierced ears.

Saint Patrick's Day 2008

These cute kids...


Left with this cute babysitter...

Equals one fun night! Thanks to Tiffany for being such a brave soul and watching Noah and Ava when they had never before been left with a babysitter other than mine or Chris' parents. You're awesome!

So ... we went to the Dog and Duck Pub in downtown Austin. We weren't too sure we would ever get served a beer when we saw the city block-long line waiting for drink tickets, but eventually did make it to the front. Of course the real Irishmen among us were almost completely finished with their drinks before the rest of us had even gotten started -
Cilantro! (Oh, I mean Slainte!)

Blythe and Lisa

Blythe and Kat

Lesli, Blythe, and Kat

Jarrod, Blythe, Lisa, Bryan, Lesli, and Kat

Oh, and I must include my favorite pic. from that night. When we got back to Blythe and Jarrod's, Blythe and I decided to stay up and watch the Bachelor (and eat the delicious Totino's pizza rolls Lisa had to stop for on the way home). Lisa was with us through the pizza rolls on her plate and about the first five minutes of the show, then this ... accompanied by the loudest snoring produced by human nostrils coming from my dear brother, Bryan -

First Cousin Fun

Kaylah Jacobs Palmer was born Tuesday, March 11. She weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 20 inches long. We weren't able to go down to see her the day she was born, but were able to go down Saturday afternoon and stay until today (Friday). She is perfect - beautiful, a good eater, and not fussy. I think God gives you a break that way when you have your children less than 2 years apart!







Carah is so cute with her. She's forever saying "baby" and giving her kisses; what a good big sister already. Of course Noah loved Kaylah - he's pretty baby crazy like that. Ava was fairly indifferent, but after seeing Noah love on her she wanted in on the action, too.




The weather was beautiful in Austin every day we were there except for one, so the kids got to spend lots of time playing together outside. It was great to let Noah and Ava run around freely in a yard and not worry that they were going to fall into a swimming pool!


No trip to Austin would be complete without visiting Gattiland. The kids are crazy about this place - kind of like Chuck E. Cheese but without the obnoxious mechanized puppets.

Ms. Heather

We are blessed to know Ms. Heather - not only are we glad she is Chris' boss, but also elated that she loves Noah and Ava. Last Saturday, she picked them up around 9:30 and took them to see Horton Hears a Who while I got ready for our trip to Austin (have I mentioned already that I LOVE MS. HEATHER!?) Much to their delight, she also took them to Toys 'R Us and to eat at McDonald's.

Dancing Divas

Ava LOVES dance class. Being the perfectionist she is, her favorite thing to tell me when she comes out is how she followed all of the directions Ms. Tracie gave. "Mama, I stayed on my spot." "Mama, Ms. Tracie said I was a good girl." and so on, and so on ... well, she also LOVES her dancing buddies Jenna, Mackenzie, and Gracie. But this incident last Thursday after dance class proved that perfectionism trumps friendship for Ava. Ms. Tracie came out and told the moms we needed to talk to the girls about germs because they were licking the mirror in the studio. When Ava came over to sit down and put her tennis shoes on, I told her that licking the mirror was gross because there are lots of germs on it. She said, "It wasn't me mama, it was Jenna." Learning early to throw her friends under the bus!

Jenna, Ava, and Mackenzie

Squirrel Tails and Other Funnies

This afternoon was beautiful - a perfect day for the kids to play outside. We went out in the front yard and Noah immediately found something in the grass, picked it up, and said, "Hey Mommy, what's this?" From where I was sitting, it looked like a short pine tree branch. Upon closer inspection I discovered it was actually a squirrel's tail ... (suppressing gag reflex as I type). On the bright side, at least he didn't pick it up with the rest of the squirrel attached. He and Ava did argue later over whether it was actually a squirrel's tail or a porcupine's tail, but Noah assured her it was a squirrel's because porcupines have quills and not hair.
Tonight we ate at our favorite local dive - Tony's Pizza and Pasta. As always, it was crazy busy and filled with kids. There was a local boy scout and girl scout troop eating in the back, and when one of the boy scouts walked past, Noah said, "That kid is dressed like a police officer. I didn't know kids could be police officers." Wow - those uniforms are frighteningly NOT AT ALL alike. We've got some work to do!

A Place for Everything, And Everything In Its Place

Yay! My mom finished the closet in our bathroom today and my clothes finally have a little breathing room. I think I'm more excited about this than I was about having a second functioning toilet again!!

Again!?

Noah and Ava are sick again ... this is the 3rd time in the last month and a half. We love our pediatrician, but COME ON already. A couple of weeks ago, Chris took Ava to see her for something completely unrelated to her ears and discovered that both of her ears were infected. She just finished the medication for that on Monday, and on Friday night we took her to Chris' parents' house where she spent the evening laying in their bed crying. Saturday morning, both kids woke up with really high fevers, and this afternoon Noah developed pink eye (a direct result of his weird obsession with putting his fingers into his mouth and then into his eyes, I would guess). Neither Chris nor myself got much sleep this weekend - this picture about sums up how we all feel right now ...

A Good Night's Sleep

Someone who is well-paid to give me professional advice assures me that writing down my thoughts before heading off to bed will result in a good night's sleep; so, here I am. Although... tonight the writing might not be as helpful as the margaritas have been! Lots going on around our house. The master bathroom is finally finished (maybe finished isn't the right word, more like functional), and Chris has started demo in the hall bath. I keep telling myself all of the noise, dust, and mess will be worth it - at least it is starting to look more like a place where people live than a place where home improvement supplies are stored.

Took Noah to get his hair cut, which I just did about four weeks ago. I can only dream of having hair that grows as fast as that kid's. He chose all camoflauge clothing today, right down to the shoes on his feet, so the short haircut made him look straight out of basic training.



Yesterday the kids and I went to a Dr. Seuss birthday celebration at a local teacher's store, which I now recognize as a ploy to get people in there to buy overpriced toys and bulletin board border. Anyway, Ava got a really cute purse filled with fun little purse things like pretend lipstick, eyeshadow, etc. She has not walked anywhere today, including down the hallway in the house, without it. Her favorite item is the credit card, (hmmm.... I wonder why??) which fits nicely in the plastic wallet along with a kleenex and a couple of bracelets. Too cute.