Belated Valentine pix

Here are some photos I took at Kira's class Valentine party on Feb 13th. A little late, but better than not posting them at all!

Happy Birthday to me!

The photo was taken on the morning of January 13, but I'm just getting around to moving photos off the camera and onto the computer.



It was a fine day. Beautiful weather. Good kids. Etc.

More new toys

This'll be a musical family yet, huh? =)


A couple of electric guitars were added to this household last year and this piano/keyboard just after Christmas. Sounds as if lessons are in order!

Christmas 2008

These first few photos are from Christmas Eve, when the kids were arranging and rearranging the presents under the tree! Anne's instructions were to make sure there was room for Cabbie to snooze under the tree, so they complied.

In this first photo, you can see Austen's feet In back and to the left of the tree! He was still fiddling with the presents and trying to lure Cabbie into the vacant spot made for him!


Now Cabbie gets the message ... er ... the snack to lure him to that particular spot under the tree.


He's getting there!


What a pretty tree, with a pretty kitty posing amid all the presents! (And you can see Austen's arms back under the tree, too, it you look!)


Kira and Parker are keeping Cabbie company!


On Christmas morning, after ripping through most of their presents, the three kids come together to open their "group" gifts -- and guess what???


It's a Wii and all kinds of accessories, including some light sabers!!


Everyone's involved in setting it up and learning how to use it.

Finger-lickin' good!

In Kira's classroom yesterday (last day of school for two weeks!), all the kids made a small "gingerbread" house out of graham crackers, small milk cartons, white sticky frosting, and lots of different kinds of candy. Yum, yum!

Snow in SE Texas?

We are having a freaky storm -- started last night, and it was cold all day long. I don't think it ever got above 36 or so all day, and of course, it's colder now. In fact, it's actually been snowing here!! Surprised me!





It's supposed to start "warming up" tomorrow about mid-morning tomorrow. We'll see!

UPDATE (6:15 am, 12/11/08): It had all melted by 1 am, but east of I-45 saw lots more. They have snowy and icy roads, bridges, and overpasses (and closed roads!) this morning!

Christmas craft!

Parker and Kira and I put together a little Christmas tree made of gingerbread cookies in the shapes of stars. Fun Christmas craft, and not nearly as messy as I had feared!

Kira put on the tiny candy spheres (the ornaments), and Parker and I put on the icing-dots to add the green and white colors.

And here are Parker and Kira admiring their creation!

Thanksgiving holidays

We all loved having the New York Spandaus visit us for the Thanksgiving holidays. Kira and Simone got along famously, just as if three years hadn't passed since they had seen each other!

They loved climbing all over the cat climbing toy!

On Friday, we drove over to the San Jacinto Memorial and Museum. Here are the girls standing on the big platform that surrounds the tall memorial building. Here is where Sam Houston and his army defeated Santa Anna and his troops -- and secured Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836.


After taking the elevator to the top of the memorial tower, we drove "across the road" and toured the Battleship Texas. The girls had a great time learning how those mid-size guns used to be manipulated!


On Saturday, we took Kira and Parker with us and went to the Johnson Space Center (NASA) south of Houston. Here are Parker and the girls, just before we went on the tram tour of the NASA buildings and saw the training areas for the international space station, the new lunar rover, and one of the huge Saturn rockets.

A practice-version of the lunar land rover used by Apollo crews on the moon.

Here's a mock-up of the international space station -- notice all the blue and other tarps, which were put on the sections to protect them from the furies and rain of Hurricane Ike a couple of months ago!

Here's a look at the new lunar rover -- the one they plan to use on the NEXT trip to the moon!

And here's my attempt to get that Saturn rocket in one picture -- it's way too big to do that, though!

Both girls fell asleep in the back of the minivan on the way home from the Space Center!

Kira and Simone, hugging before the Spandaus went into the airport on Nov 30 to return home.

Turkey Trot 2008

Today was Turkey Trot day at Kira's school. Each grade level went out to the field during their PE time and ran (and walked) around and around the track. This is one of the PTO's major fundraisers, but all the kids care about is running around the track, having fun, and getting prizes afterward!


This is Kira's class's sign; Kira's name was hard to find -- on the very dark brown feather at the lower right!



Here are Kira and some of her classmates just before the "go" siren sounded!



Kira preferred to walk with her classmate (boyfriend?) than with me! Big surprise!!



All the third graders gathered in the gym after the final siren sounded -- all those prizes to be given away! Kira is in the white coat.



Our gorgeous girl ... who wouldn't smile for the camera!



Abbi and Jodi were there for the awards ceremony in the group before Kira's. They had a good time, too!

Music, music, music!

We've been to some music performances lately -- intermediate and high school bands. I love them. (Click on each photo to "biggify.")

On October 30, the intermediate school bands held their first concert of the year. Parker looked REALLY spiffy in his band uniform!


Here's the symphonic band on stage. We didn't know where Parker was -- somewhere in the middle, I think.


These last four are of the high school marching band's performance at the Lone Star Marching Band Contest in Conroe on October 18.