Weekend Warrior

This weekend I finally decided that I'd had enough of the ugly brick on our fireplace, so I decided to paint it. I went to Home Depot with all the three kids to get paint and a ladder. That was interesting to say the least! I will say painting brick is much more time consuming than painting a wall because it is so porous. It took an entire gallon of paint just to get the first coat on. Two coats, a new mirror, and some candlesticks later...

Our New Fireplace

This is the ugly brick from before.

I think it's a major improvement!

To the Zoo!

Our last day in Dallas, we took the train to the Dallas Zoo. It was an exhausting day, but the we all had a blast!

Grace on the train


Jake on the train


Baby Clare on the train


Sitting on the butterfly chair


At the Touch-a-Stingray exhibit


Up close with the penguins


Riding the carousel


On the Elephant


Sleeping

Climb Play

Climb Play is what the twins call McDonald's and every single time we pass one, they make sure to let us know they want to go there.  They could care less about the food.  In fact, they hardly eat at all when we are there.  They just love exploring the different play structures.  We stopped at one on the way back to Gree Gree's house today and I took these pictures with my camera phone:

Grace waving

 
 

Grace being a monkey

Grace and Jake in the helicopter

Enjoying the Outdoors

We are currently in the Dallas area due to Ike and our lack of power at home. We've been enjoying spending time together as a family. Today was a beautiful day, so we packed lunches and headed to a nearby park. The kids had fun, and it was nice to wear them out for a good nap. There was not much shade near the playground, so Mommy and Baby Clare spent most of the time in the tower of the play structure.

Jake enjoying the same trains Mommy played with when she was little


Swinging


Climbing


Sliding


Snuggling


Mommy and Baby Clare


Baby Clare

A Bit of Fun

Surviving Ike

Well, we survived Ike! It was quite an experience, but we escaped with pretty much no damage. We don't have power and aren't expected to for a few weeks, so we are in Dallas now sitting in the a/c. I do miss home, but why live without power when you don't have to? Here are a few pics:

Our House

Our Street

There are trees like this one all over the place.

That's my fun and interesting update for now! We hope to be back home soon, but it looks like it could be awhile. Keep us and all those affected by Hurricane Ike in your prayers, especially those who are sticking it out and not leaving the area.

She's a Ballerina!

Thanks to a friend's recommendation of a nearby dance studio, Grace started taking dance classes yesterday. They start with 15 minutes of tap and then do ballet for another 45 minutes. She did pretty well considering it was her first time in a group class of any sort. She was very observant rather than participatory and tried to come out to the waiting room to me a few times, but I think she will really enjoy it once she gets used to the instructors and the new environment.

Our little ballerina:


With a new friend:


In class (Grace is the one sitting sort of in the middle of the circle):


She's getting so big!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a fun labor day weekend down at Galveston Bay. G&J got to ride on a boat, practice fishing, and run around with lots of cousins.

Jacob fishing:


Baby Clare and Aunt Gina:


Some very interesting sunglasses:


Heading out on the boat:


Grace falls asleep:


Jake falls asleep:


Mommy feels a little seasick:


Still asleep as we arrive back at the house:


Grace and Jake on the tube (yes, George is on there too):


The day after we arrived back home, Grace entertained herself by dressing Blue in her Dora panties:

Some Recent Happenings

About two miles from our house there is a big outdoor concert facility and every so often the area symphony performs there. When they do, an area advertiser usually sponsors free lawn seating. This time they were playing swing dance music, so we decided to meet up with several friends there. G&J had a blast running around with their friends. Baby Clare got tired but Daddy got her to go right to sleep:



Last week I took G&J to a nature club meeting for younger kids. They used paintbrushes made from sticks and feathers and made paints from beets, sunflowers, carrots, and other natural elements. Here are their creations: