The Baccus Family

February 5th - The Children's Museum

2011-03-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

February 4th

2011-03-28T20:32:00.001-07:00

I used my new pancake writer to make some fun pancakes this morning.

Cold weather swinging.

February 2nd - Jack's turn

2011-03-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

This morning Jack wished me, "Happy Hedgehog Day!" Cute! Now he has the fifth disease. Good thing the rash doesn't seem to bother them.

January 29th - A trip to the zoo

2011-03-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

January 23rd - Notes from Jack

2011-03-28T20:14:00.001-07:00

January 22nd

2011-03-28T20:11:00.001-07:00

I was wondering if I was going to have a climber. The flashlight in the mouth is just a nice extra touch.

January 17th

2011-03-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

Digging for dinosaurs at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Sugarland. There were two other boys in the dino pit - brothers named Jack and Charlie.

DJ Josie

January 16th - Space Center Houston

2011-03-28T20:05:00.001-07:00

January 15 - Fifth

2011-03-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

With no prior symptoms, Charlie apparently has fifth disease, also known as slapped-cheek disease.

January 7th - Kaleidoscope kids

2011-03-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

January 1-6

2011-03-28T19:52:00.001-07:00

December 31st

2011-01-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

December 30th - Baccus family Christmas

2011-01-08T19:42:00.001-08:00

Today we celebrated Christmas with the rest of the Baccus family. Nana and Papa were celebrating New Years in Georgia, so it was just the kids. :) Camilla was really good with Josie. I had never noticed how much they look alike until I kept seeing their faces together.

We often try to get get all of the crazy kids on the couch for a picture together.

December 29th - Rockin out

2011-01-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

The boys love their Paper Jamz guitars, but Josie seems to love them most of all - especially Charlie's flying V. She loves playing them and dancing to them.

December 27th - Our last day in Minnesota

2011-01-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Today our last full day in Minnesota. It was a pretty good day to go out sledding and we took Epsen with us. It was great fun, but a little windy, so we didn't last long - especially Josie. When Josie isn't playing in the snow, she has been wearing this pink fur coat that I wore when I was little. Here are some pictures for comparison.

We worked a lot on this butterfly puzzle that Grandma got for Christmas. It was addicting.

I took these pictures to show how much snow there is in MN already. The snow was really high.

I made hot chocolate for the kids when we were finally able to get them inside. Espen said, "It's pretty good!" Like he was so surprised. I gave him a hard time for that.

December 25th - Merry Christmas

2011-01-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas day is pretty mellow for us. The kids played with their new toys and we took the boys to see the movie Tangled. It was Charlie's first movie and it was really good! We all loved it. On the way home, I drove through Bloomington - my home town. I showed the boys where I learned to ski and Jack asked if we could do that tomorrow. Maybe next year...

December 24th - Christmas Eve

2011-01-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

We open our presents on Christmas Eve and we had a lot of fun doing it. Charlie fell asleep early again, so it was up to Jack and Espen to sprinkle the special reindeer food (glittery oats) out in the snow and leave cookies and milk for Santa.

December 23rd - The Zoo

2011-01-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Minnesota Zoo. We alternated inside and outside activities so we didn't get too cold. The boys would stick their hands in the snow and then complain that they were cold and wet, but that wouldn't stop them from doing it again and again.

December 22nd - Snow day

2011-01-07T19:25:00.001-08:00

Today we had a great day playing in the snow and decorating gingerbread houses.

December 21st - The Mall of America

2011-01-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Today was Toddler Tuesday at the Mall of America. We watched the Grinch cartoon and got to meet the Grinch. Doesn't Charlie look thrilled? Jack ran right up and hugged him. We grabbed some lunch at CRAVE and then Grandma took Josie home for a nap while we took the boys to Nickelodeon Universe to go on the rides. Overall we had fun, although each boy had a ride that they didn't ride because they got grumpy. Each boy had a roller coaster that they loved and each had a roller coaster that they hated. Fun stuff!

December 20th - He's making a list...

2011-01-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

Jack decided that Santa needed a little help, so he made a good list and a naughty list. Surprisingly, the only person on the naughty list was little brother Charlie.

December 19th

2011-01-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

Our first morning in Minnesota, the boys just had to play outside even though it was 8 degrees. They didn't care. They were having a great time and Ronny had to trick them to get them back inside. Later we went to a Christmas party at my relatives.

December 18th - Christmas in TX then on to MN

2011-01-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

Santa came early to our house in Houston this year. We exchanged our Christmas gifts in the morning before heading out for an afternoon flight to Minnesota.

December 17th - Santa at the childcare center

2011-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

December 14th

2011-01-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

This week I took my first business trip in almost two years. It was my first time to skype - video chat - with the kids. I could often hear Josie kissing the computer, which was very sweet.

December 12th

2011-01-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

December 11th - Christmas celebrations

2011-01-04T19:10:00.001-08:00

This morning Nana and Papa came with us to Ellington Field for my work Christmas party where Santa comes in a T-38. Later we went back to our house to unwrap presents from Nana and Papa - including some huge bugs.

December 6th - Wasn't I just wearing shorts?

2011-01-04T19:06:00.001-08:00

We were all in shorts and short-sleeved shirts two days ago at the zoo, but today we needed to bundle up for a chilly day.

December 5th

2011-01-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when Jack gets mad and is in a bit of a huff, I ask him to hold the face so I can take a picture of it. He squirms and turns away smiling, but trying to keep his grumpy face. This was his best effort at giving me his mad face.

December 4th - Beautiful day at the zoo

2011-01-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the zoo to see the members-only preview of the new African section. We saw chimpanzees (one named Charlie), rhinos, and there was a beautiful new giraffe habitat. We decided to have lunch on the patio of a restaurant that was right next to the giraffe yard. It was beautiful. The weather was great too.

November 27th - Portrait Day

2010-12-22T20:04:00.001-08:00

Today was our annual pilgrimage to get our family portraits done. The photographer got some pretty good shots.

November 25th - Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-12-22T19:59:00.001-08:00

Today we drove out to Nana and Papa's house for Thanksgiving with the whole Baccus family. I think it was 23 people - 7 kids and 16 adults. It was really fun, but I forgot my camera, so I only have a few pictures from my cell phone. Hopefully someone will share their pictures.

November 24th - Boys day out

2010-12-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

The boys had a dentist appointment with Dr. Grilli this morning and had a little time to spare, so after they dropped Josie at school, they hit this local park near the library. They loved it!

In the afternoon, it was time to do some Christmas decorating! Ronny did it all with the help of these boys. I'm not sure why Charlie is decorating the tree in his underwear. Maybe it is an Aggie thing.

November 22nd - The Santa Pictures

2010-11-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

We went to visit Santa a little early this year and it was great. There was no line, so Santa talked to the boys for a minute or two. I thought Josie was warming up to him, but I was mistaken. Ronny and I think this picture is a classic!

November 21st

2010-11-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

Today Jack and Ronny made a robot.

Jack went to a birthday party with most of his class from preschool last year. It was great to see all of his old friends.

While I was in another room, Josie made a bit of a mess in the kitchen. Ronny sent me this picture so I could see what I was missing.

November 20th

2010-11-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

Charlie had a birthday party at FunMax. He had a great time.

While Charlie and I were partying, Josie was crashing right in her pizza. Zzzzz...

November 19th - Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, Jack's class had a Thanksgiving Feast. After their snack, they read a story called, "Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving".

November 14th

2010-11-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

November 13th

2010-11-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

Josie will hold just about anything like a baby - dolls, stuffed animals, phones, the remote control - even Handy Manny. He needed a little rocking too.

We went to Mr. Gatti's for Jack's end-of-the-season soccer party.

Jack had to try on the new wig that Ronny got for his SH2K gig tonight.

November 7th - Paleontologists

2010-11-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today the boys cracked into one of their birthday presents and became paleontologists. They dug out dinosaur bones from this block of plaster and had a great time.

November 6th

2010-11-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

We went to a birthday party at Lido today. The kids had a great time.

Josie's got a new friend.

We went to El Dorado and ran into Chris and the kids. When we were done eating we took a little tour of the card section of Kroger. Good stuff.

November 5th - Back to the drawing board

2010-11-12T19:54:00.000-08:00

The boys are really into Dav Pilkey books and lately love Super Diaper Baby. Here he is following the instructions in the back book to draw Super Diaper Baby. Then he drew Deputy Doo Doo. If you aren't already a fan, I'm sure this really makes you want to read the Captain Underpants series. Good stuff.

November 2nd - Happy Birthday Charlie!

2010-11-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

Grandma left to go back to Minnesota this morning. She came on Jack's birthday and left on Charlie's birthday.

We brought cupcakes for Charlie's birthday. Those kids loved that frosting.

Since we were done at the preschool early, I took Charlie and Josie to the library to play for a bit.

After dinner Charlie opened presents and we had more cake.

November 1st - Grandma's last night

2010-11-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight was grandma's last night in Houston and we finally made it in to Chuy's. We've tried a few times and it has been packed. It helped that it was a Monday and we got there around 5pm. It was as good and the boys enjoyed these mirrors in the entryway.

We had to give Josie a toothbrush so she can brush with the boys. I still brush her teeth later in her room too.

October 31st - Happy Halloween!

2010-11-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Ronny carved up my our beautiful huge pumpkin. He did a great job.

We went to a Halloween party this afternoon. I took this self portrait.

They had a big wagon that Jack enjoyed pulling around.

Another photographer caught me giving Jack a time out. What a witch, right?

October 31st - The Ballunar Liftoff

2010-11-12T18:25:00.001-08:00

This morning we got out of the house early and went to see the 7:30am balloon competition at the Ballunar Liftoff. We picked up some donuts on the way for breakfast. It was a beautiful cool morning and the scenery was spectacular.

When we got home, Charlie wanted to go for a bike ride. Josie saw my bike without her seat on it and fussed - pointing to the point where her seat goes. So I put her seat back and we went for a little ride. The girl knows what she wants.

Kenzie left her monkey suit at our house and Josie tried it on. She left it on for seconds longer than any other Halloween costume.

October 30th - The big birthday bash

2010-11-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

Today we had a birthday party for Jack and Charlie. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. It was the first costume party we've ever hosted. We played wrap the mummy with toilet paper and made a huge snowy mess.

October 29th - Kindergarten Pumpkin Day

2010-11-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

Jack's class had some special Pumpkin Day activities. Grandma went to it and took a few pictures.

October 29th - Trick or treating, take two

2010-11-08T19:51:00.001-08:00

This morning Charlie went trick or treating with his preschool class around a few buildings at NASA, He had a great time and got quite a haul. By the end, his bag was so heavy he was asking Ronny to carry it.

This woman looked AWESOME in her curlers and cold cream and robe. She had a wagon and gave each kid a goodie bag.

My friend Lauren, a NASA photographer I know from my zero g flying, took this great picture of Charlie and me.

Another NASA photog friend of mine, James, took this cute oreo shot.

October 28th - NASA Halloween Party

2010-11-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to the annual Halloween party at Space Center Houston. Grandma got the boys dressed for the shindig. They both chose to wear their flight suits.

I love this look.

Jack got this great Frankenstein on his face. Charlie wasn't interested in any face painting.

The Madsen's joined us for a while when we were eating. The kids quickly switched their seats around to sit by their buddies.

Last year when we came, Josie was just 5 months old and a bit fussy. The one and only thing that made her smile was this big blue star. She smiled at it this time too, but wouldn't get too close.

There was a space with giant legos that Josie enjoyed stacking.

Charlie couldn't leave without trying on a helmet or two.

On the way home, Josie enjoyed wearing these styling skeleton glasses.

October 28th - Trick or treating with Josie

2010-11-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

This morning, the little kids trick or treated at the childcare center. They go around to the older kids rooms basically having no idea what they are doing. I couldn't get Josie to wear a real costume, so the closest I could get is this tutu-like skirt. She's a dancer!

October 24th - Wings Over Houston Air Show

2010-11-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

This is one of two times that I was able to get this Dorothy costume on Josie. Both times, she grabbed the shoulder straps and pulled hard enough to pull the dress off and down around her waist. Well, that's not going to work. And I even got her the cute little shoes. Oh well.

Grandma brought down some old costumes like this clown costume that she used to wear to my school carnival when I was a kid.

In the afternoon, we went to the Wings Over Houston air show. It was SO HOT! We walked down the displays and back and then went to sit in the car for a while to cool off. Then we watched the USAF Thunderbirds from the parking lot. We had a good time, but it sure would have been nice if it wasn't 90 degrees.

October 23rd - Happy Birthday Jack!

2010-11-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

Oh Jack. This is a drawing that Jack did of himself sticking his tongue out at Charlie who is covered in ant bites. Apparently Charlie drew a picture of himself sticking his tongue out at Jack and this way payback. The ant bites make me laugh.

I took the kids to the airport to pick up Grandma. We played outside for a bit when we got home.

Grandma had gifts for all three kids including these great Halloween flashlights that made spooky sounds. All three kids loved them.

I got this awesome cake at Randalls. The boys all had fun with the eyes.

Tonight Charlie and Josie were giggling so hard. She would sit up and then he would pull her back down and she would laugh so hard.

October 22nd - Jack's birthday celebration at school

2010-11-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today we brought cupcakes to school for Jack's birthday. It was great to see Jack's friends and teacher again.

Today Josie decided to test out temper tantrums. Big, long temper tantrums. She got upset about something this morning and rolled around on the living room floor for minutes - over books and toys. It was so strange. I didn't really know what to do. Then this afternoon during the fall festival at her preschool, she did it again. This time she was mad that it was time leave Charlie's room and the purple marker she had been carrying around. We watched her roll all over the floor - again for minutes on end. You would think that I've had experience with this before since she is my third child, but I really don't. Jack didn't have temper tantrums at all. Charlie tried them out a couple of times, but they were just short spurts. Josie's fits were like nothing I had ever seen before. We had plans to celebrate a friend's birthday tonight, but Ronny just took the boys because Josie was acting so strange. Hopefully this doesn't continue.

October 20th - Still sick

2010-11-04T19:32:00.001-07:00

Poor baby still isn't feeling well or sleeping well. After she woke up from a nap, she enjoyed a bit more sleep - first on Daddy and then on me.

October 18th - A prezint from Jack

2010-11-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

Josie was sent home sick from school today. Later in the afternoon, I picked up Jack and went to my office to retrieve my computer (I got the call during lunch). Jack enjoyed my whiteboard and markers. He drew a prezint for me, an earth, and a jack -o- lantrn. We love to see how he spells things. So cute.

October 17th - The first birthday celebration

2010-11-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

We got a great surprise today - a visit from Nana and Papa with birthday presents for the boys. It was the first birthday celebration of the season.

Ride 'em cowgirl!

October 16th - Fall Festival at the Pumpkin Church

2010-11-03T20:16:00.001-07:00

We had big plans to take the family to the Fall Festival at the pumpkin church, but after I got ready to go, I found this scene - Josie sleeping comfortably on her Daddy. So Jack and Charlie and I went by ourselves. We had a great time - the boys played a lot in the bounce house, took a little train ride, went in the petting zoo, and enjoyed a snow cone.

Gotta love a goldfish vampire. Or two.

Jack got creative with the wikki sticks today. He made the skull and wrote the words without any help.

October 16th - Watch out Cindy Crawford

2010-11-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

October 14th - Field Trip

2010-11-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today Jack had his kindergarten field trip to the Children's Museum. First we went to Hermann Park to play and have lunch. It was quite a walk from the parking lot to the playground. Each of the five classes have different color shirts - you can see them all along the trail. It was a fun day.

October 10th - You gotta have friends

2010-11-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

October 5th - Sick day

2010-11-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

This morning Jack was crying out in pain saying that his ear hurt. So off we went to the doctor. He did indeed have an ear infection, so we went to Walgreens for some antibiotics. He wasn't even in the system anymore because it had been over 2 years since he had a prescription. Yea! Jack was excited to check out all of the Halloween goodies while we waited for the drugs. Afterwards, we grabbed some Happy Meals, had a nice lunch at home, and walked to school. We were just in time for recess, so I stayed and watched Jack play for a bit. We had a really nice day together.

October 3rd - Princess Jack

2010-11-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

I crown thee Princess Jack of the gameroom. Such an understanding big brother.

She has to have a toothbrush in the bathroom with the boys toothbrushes so she isn't left out when they are brushing teeth.

October 2nd

2010-11-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

Josie likes to visit the naughty spot, espcially when the boys are there. Hopefully she isn't practicing for a long future of time outs.

September 25th - Dress up

2010-10-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

September 24th - Josie's first pony

2010-10-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day that Josie came home with a pony tail. Very cute! I guess she thought she needed an accessory.

September 20th - Our three crazies

2010-10-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

September 19th - Houston Zoo

2010-10-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Houston Zoo and checked out the dinosaur exhibit. It was pretty neat. They were animatronic and made some noises, so Charlie wanted to stick with the stroller, but Jack was not phased.

This baby elephant was climbing all over the older elephant. It was so cute. A crowd of people just watched and watched.

September 12th - Brotherly love

2010-10-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

September 11th - Jack's first soccer game

2010-10-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

September 4th

2010-10-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we tease Jack that it is his turn to change Josie's diaper. He always says, "Nooo!!!", like he knows we are kidding. This morning, he suggested it. We were shocked, but of course we let him change Josie's diaper. He did a great job.

We spent some good time outside this afternoon. We made chalk drawings on the driveway and rode bikes. We also spent some quality time with our neighborhood cat, Socks. Josie LOVES animals. Hopefully Sock's owners didn't mind the purple fur.

September 1st

2010-10-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

The first week of school, we had to put together this poster for Charlie's room. When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up he said, "A grandma... a giant robot... a monster to cheer you up." Josie points at Grandma on her way to Charlie's room.

August 31st - Trouble

2010-10-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

This one is going to be trouble. I can't believe that she can almost reach the water dispenser.

August 24th - Orion Crew Module

2010-10-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

After dropping all of the kids off for their first day of school, Ronny headed to the airport for the rest of the week to go to the Michoud Assembly Facility for meetings about the Orion Crew Module Ground Test Article.

August 23rd - First Day of School

2010-10-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the school year - Jack's first day of kindergarten. It was Josie's first day at preschool and Charlie's first day in a new room at preschool. Ronny and I walked Jack to school and into his new classroom. He did great! When I picked him up in the afternoon, he said, "I LOVED IT!" before I could even ask how his day was.

August 14th - Basketball

2010-10-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Today was Jack's last basketball game. He and Sami had fun, although Jack gets easily distracted during the game. Nana and Papa came to watch. Charlie and Zach had fun playing on iPods and Josie ran around the other gym.

August 13th - End of summer party

2010-10-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Charlie had an end-of-summer party at school today. It was also fairy tale dress up day. I'm not sure which fairy tale has cowboys, but whatever. Grandma and I brought Josie to the party and Charlie took great care of her, feeding her snacks from his plate.

August 8th - Birthday party #2

2010-08-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today we met up with the Baccus family at Nana and Papa's house for another birthday party. We celebrated all of the August birthdays (including Papa's today and Nana's coming up on Thursday), but concentrated mostly on Ronny since he is hitting a milestone.

The party was a Star Wars theme, complete with goodie bags for the kids and Star Wars pez dispensers for Ronny.

All kids love Dolf and Josie was no exception.

Melanie gave Josie this adorable Texas A&M cheerleader outfit. Cuteness!

Dolf was great at getting some pictures of me this weekend, which is very rare. :)

Jack voted himself the funniest boy in class. Here he is walking around with a trash can on his head. The other kids thought this was HILARIOUS!

August 8th - Glamour girl

2010-08-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

August 7th - Party time

2010-08-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

We had a big party to celebrate Ronny's 40th birthday. We had 50 guests including 22 kids. We had a great time visiting with friends and neighbors. It was interesting to see that some of our friends knew some of our neighbors.

The girls were very cute - pretending that Ava was a baby and putting her to sleep.

August 7th - Ah, the love

2010-08-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

August 6th - Dolf arrives

2010-08-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Surprise! Ronny was happily surprised when Dolf showed up after dinner on his birthday weekend. A bounce house arrived too - all ready for an early test drive before tomorrow's party.

August 5th - Charlie's last basketball session

2010-08-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

August 3rd - She likes to move it move it

2010-08-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

August 1st - Happy Birthday to me!

2010-08-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ronny made a great cake for my birthday. The boys helped to decorate it with lots of sprinkles. Jack couldn't help but assist me in blowing out my candles.

My mother seemed somewhat shocked that I was just going to let Josie eat the cake and frosting with her fingers and get all messy. No good mother would let her kids get messy with chocolate frosting! The horror!

Not too bad for 39, although you can't see the wrinkles around my eyes with this shot.

July 26th - Space cadet

2010-07-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Charlie's class is learning about space this week. Jen Madsen brought in a bunch of show and tell items including this helmet and flightsuit. The kids also got to try on a real EMU glove and see what astronaut food looks like.

July 24th - The less important circus

2010-07-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the real circus. The kids had lunch on the way there. I made peanut butter sandwiches and packed veggie crisps for the kids. Charlie would take a big bite of his crisp and then give the last little bit to Josie. It was the cutest thing. Usually he would just hand them to her, but sometimes he would put it in her mouth. Sometimes he takes care of her like she is his child. It is just the sweetest thing.

Ronny and I got lunch at the circus. I had to move Josie off my lap to make room for my food, so I just slid her in next to Charlie. He quickly makes room and puts his arm around her so she will be safe. So nice.

July 20th - Iron Maiden

2010-07-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ronny had the amazing opportunity to go to an Iron Maiden concert in Washington DC. They had backstage passes and got to chat with some of the band members. He had a great time.

July 19th - Josie's favorite

2010-07-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

While Grandma is on a trip to Minnesota, Ronny and I are spending more time at home taking care of Josie. She is becoming even more of a Mommy's girl than before, if that is possible. But one person ranks above me - my favorite 10-year-old Emma. She has come over a few days to help out with Josie. Josie just adores her. And Emma does such a great job. I've known Emma since she was born and it is amazing to see what a smart, mature, and delightful girl she has become.

This picture was taken after I had come home from working for a few hours. Usually Josie DEMANDS to be held by me the minute she sees me, but this afternoon she wouldn't even come to me. She would just go to Emma. What a tease!

July 17th - The playground

2010-07-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

July 16th - The most important circus

2010-07-28T20:36:00.001-07:00

Jack was a strong man with his classmates in the school circus. My crafty husband made the most awesome dumbbell.

And here is my clown.

July 7-13

2010-07-28T20:26:00.001-07:00

There was a face painting day at school. Charlie was a clown and Jack was a mean pirate.

Josie watches out the window when the boys leave.

Giant baby eats dinosaur.

There is a circus day coming up at the boys' school and Charlie is going to be a clown so I ordered a little costume for him.

July 4th - Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

We went to the Nassau Bay fireworks show. They are the earliest show in our area and very accessible (no traffic). We enjoyed the show at 9pm and we were home by 10. Even Grandma came. She hadn't been to a firework show in decades.

July 3rd - Bike Parade

2010-07-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

So last year for our neighborhood bike parade, Ronny drove to the start of the parade with Jack and his bicycle and Charlie and his Big Wheel. He didn't realize how fast Jack would go and thought he could just walk along as the boys rode their wheels. He ended up running after Jack while carrying Charlie and his Big Wheel. I parked at the end of the parade route and walked to meet them with Josie in the double stroller. I took Charlie and Ronny kept running after Jack. This is really why we all got bicycles this year. In any case, this year's bike parade was a bit less stressful. Charlie wasn't quite ready to ride, so I took him and Josie in the wagon - her first wagon ride.

When we get to the F page in Josie's ABC book, she likes to match her feet up to the feet on the page.

Jack and I made some chocolate chip cookie bars in the big mixer. Jack had a great time and kept trying to increase the speed of the mixer.

July 1-2

2010-07-11T20:00:00.001-07:00

Charlie's small stuff basketball league plays with the little hoops, although he can reach the rim and prefers to just put the ball straight in.

Josie likes to get ready for school by taking a few laps around the house with her brothers' backpacks.

June 24th - Your mama wears combat boots

2010-07-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

I got to fly zero g again and Josie enjoyed trying on my flight boots.

June 23rd - Charlie's field trip

2010-07-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

I went with Charlie on a field trip to Kemah. We started at the Aquarium. We had a little educational session about reefs. Then we went into an area where we got to feed stingrays, which was pretty cool.

Piranhas.

This was a scorpion that turned green in the dark. I think it was Charlie's favorite part.

There was a little time to play at a playground before lunch.

Ronny joined us just in time for lunch. After we ate, we went to the amusement park and went on a few rides. We had to dodge a few raindrops, but we had fun.

June 20th - Happy Father's Day

2010-07-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

June 18th - Josie's ride

2010-07-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

We got a bike seat for Josie too. I like the idea that they have seats in front now. It is nice to be able to check on her and pull her helmet back if needed. She seems to like it.

June 15th - Basketball

2010-07-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted the boys to be in an activity this summer and the YMCA had programs for both Jack's and Charlie's ages. They offer soccer and t-ball as well, but basketball just sounded so much cooler (literally - air conditioned). Madsen's put Sami and Zack in basketball too, so they are among friends.

I brought Charlie to practice, so he could see what it was all about before his session started. He didn't pay much attention.

Jack doesn't pay much attention either.