Happy Birthday Emerson!

Emerson had great fun on his birthday!

Here he is digging with his buddy Sage.

And here he is with the gifts that Grandpa Chuck and Uncle Adam hand made him. There are two swords that are made out of foam and metalic look fabric. The two shields are made of thin plywood and hand painted. Very Cool and Way Fun and NOT MADE IN CHINA!!! Kudos to Grandpa Chuck and Uncle Adam and everyone else who made Emer's birthday so much fun!

Those are Agave plants in the background.

97 Oaks and counting....

I counted 97 Live Oak Trees (aka Ever Green Oak) in our yard today. There are a lot of overgrown areas back there, from years of neglect from the previous owner, so I know there are some that I couldn't count so I'm sure the actual number is well over 100. WOW! What beauty they bring us. There are some who are over 100 years old . They can live to be several hundred years old. These truly are Grand Trees!


Our oaks are sick. They're dying from Oak Wilt. We will attempt to treat the 15 that are directly around the house and who are shading our house from this intense Texas sun. Wish us success. We'll keep you posted...

New Sandbox

taking a break during construction

Mike and Emerson built a sandbox. It is really cool and with 500 pounds of sand it is big enough to fit several children. Thanks Guys!

filing the sandbox with sand

after hours of play

Singin' In the Rain

Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face... Just singin' and dancin' in the rain. (We are huge Gene Kelly fans, btw)

Helping Grandpa Chuck

Emerson is such a great helper. He is fascinated by any type of work. He loves to help with anything. He helped move wood, measure things, make sure things were level and he even got to use a power drill to screw some screws into the floor of the shed. He is usually eager to help and the other day he even unloaded the dishwasher (without me asking). He stacked the dishes on the counter and put the silverware away. He is such a nice little boy. I hope these young years are an indicator of the type of person he will be when he is an adult.

I will post before and after photos of the rebuilding of our shed soon.

Ananci - She was a spider

The children have named her Ananci. She lives outside of our kitchen window. The piece of wood that she is on is 2 inches wide, for perspective. Legs open and walking she is as big if not bigger than your hand.....
The Texas Tarantula is not dangerous to humans (unless you are allergic) and they eat lots and lots of yucky bugs so as long as she doesn't journey into the house we will peacefully coexist.

Click here for some info on Texas Tarantulas.

Zilker Kite Festival

At the Zilker Park Kite Festival on March 1,2009

HomeSchool Friends

We have been sharing homeschooling with 2 other families. It has been great having the kids here 2 days a week. Each mom will take turns teaching for 4 weeks. With one week off in between. We had our last day at our house today and next week it is off to Kari and Indy's house for 4 weeks and then off to Maia and Max's house for 4 weeks!! These are some amazing kiddos and mamas!! We had so much fun!

Just Wanted to Share

Emerson was telling us about a car and a track that he saw. He described it in detail to us and told us, "It didn't have a remote. It was juf totally automatic-less"

Coming Up For Air

I'm finally coming up for air. What a crazy few weeks we've had. Annie started a one day homeschool enrichment academy, an emotionally wonderful closing on our old house, a whirlwind move to a new house, and Annie's birthday....

I will post details soon, I promise.