Texas

My family took a summer trip to Texas to see my folks.

First we stopped to see my dad, Bob.  I love him so.

Texan -born and raised-  just like me.

{And proud of it, I might say.}

One afternoon after a rain we took a walk to the park.

Aunt Brooke even let Ranae push the twins!

They are some sweet, cute boys.

We had no problem finding the ducks.

In fact, we got the impression they have done this before.

There were even some baby ducklings.

And Sarah especially loved feeding them.

After the ducks had scarfed all our food it was time for:

Playground Wars.

And my little brother thinks he won.

But the jury is still out.

Sarah Kate and Bristol are sitting on that jury

and with five brothers between them

it's going to be a close vote.

Ballet Spring Showcase

Today Sarah Kate danced on stage.

In order to calm these ballerinas down,

I brought along some coloring pages and crayons.

Waiting backstage can be long and boring.

Especially for energetic ballerinas.

This day was especially long,

because we had dress rehearsal first,

then a break for lunch,

then the performance started at 4 pm.

During our break we visited a popular tourist attraction for lunch.

In this picture Sarah Kate and some of her ballerina girlfriends

are looking into the "Christmas Room".

They looked a long while at the many decorations.

Then we came back and the girls danced again.

Beautiful!

Piano Recital

Today Ranae and Sarah had their end of year piano recital.

Sarah's best friend, Lily, also takes lessons with the same teacher.

This picture was taken just after the recital.

They all did so well.

I keep telling my kids that music is an international language.

A language I am thankful they are learning.



Prom #2

One advantage to having a girlfriend that goes to different high school

is that you can go to two proms.

Your Prom and Her Prom.

That's two proms for the price of one suit or one dress.

And a way to meet a whole new group of people

that you may have never gotten the opportunity to meet.

They had a great time.  Again.

And although our goat Cookie wanted to go.....

she wasn't allowed.

Prom was just way past her curfew.

The Chickens Are Fine

Henny, Penny and Jenny are doing fine.

They finally got big enough to move into the coup.
They aren't laying yet.  They're still too young for that.

But I'll start looking for their brown eggs in October.

Now, Lucy gets along with them just fine.

And Matilda does too.

(I traded her for Victoria and gave the Rooster away for free.)

But Henrietta can be a little bossy.

And sometimes a little scary.

But with room to roam Henny, Penny and Jenny

have learned to stay out of her way.

And Henrietta is nice to us and lays eggs too.

Two big pluses in her favor!

Snake on the Porch

Springtime has the animals out and about

 .....including snakes.

This one is a "good" snake.

But he's still in the "look but don't touch" category for me. 

Mommy's Little Helper

Sarah Kate loves to help me.

She loves to follow me from room to room 

and ask if she can help.

It's a great way for her to learn new skills.

Like how to wrestle a pillowcase on a pillow.

Cowgirl style.

Tennis Time

Ranae made the tennis team again this year

and has enjoyed playing doubles.

She learns more every year and really likes the sport.

I've learned that it's impossible for me to watch

more that one match at the same time.

With four tennis courts playing at the same time

I just don't have the skill to keep up with all of them.

You can bet I'm watching her though!