Thursday, October 28, 2010

Boo!

Kayci had her favorite friends over today for a Halloween party. I think it's safe to say, a good time was had by all. :)





































Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Hardly Working

Helping Mommy with Motor Lab is hard work...



--out & about :)

Monday, October 25, 2010

Cheerleading Fun



On Sunday, Kayci attended the annual cheer clinic hosted by the Brenham cheerleaders. As you can see, she had a great time!

Friday, October 22, 2010

But I DO Got an Owie!!




Due to a policy change, Kayci needs a couple of shots. Long story. Noble's having a hard time understanding that this visit is NOT about him...he keeps insisting that he has an owie and requires shots, as well. We'll see if he changes his tune when the needles come out! :).

(She's 75th percentile for weight and height, if you're curious. Average is good!)

--out & about :)

Noble Being...Noble Eating Ice Cream



Noble and I went for a bike ride last night and stopped at Dairy Queen for some ice cream. He was in classic Noble form, so I shot a couple of minutes of video of Noble just acting, well... like Noble.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Train!





Good Times





13 years ago, on a football field not so far away...he proposed and I said "yes!". :D

Friday, October 15, 2010

Farmer in the Dell

Today Noble and I accompanied some of my school friends on a trip to Old MacDonald's Farm. It was a gorgeous day!


He got to ride a "worse"


And loved it!




In addition to the expected animals, we saw a Wallaby (?) and this guy. Can anyone name him? Hint: his cousin's the guinea pig.



Howdy!!



Hee hee...upon entering the pumpkin patch, each child is instructed to pick one. Any one. Um, anyone but THAT one, wishful thinker.



Harumph.

--out & about :)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Thuper Thurthday!

Man, are we glad to see thith one go!!



--out & about :)

New Cyclist in the Family

Over the weekend, Kayci learned how to ride her bike! This video was shot over four days as she learned and got better. It's Kayci, so there were a lot of crocodile tears and wailing and gnashing of teeth, but she kept trying and refused to give up. We're so proud of her!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Put This on the Calendar


This morning Noble was being Noble, hanging out on the kitchen counter.  (Okay, fine...he was drinking his coffee and enjoying powdered donuts.  Call CPS already.)  Anyway, he called me in to show me his calendar entries.  I asked him what he'd written, and he pointed to various blocks on the calendar:   "Stay home this day...and this day...my home this day...this day...stay home..."

It's almost as if he's trying to tell me something.  Nah...off to Houston we go!

Stay tuned for some awesome video of Bitty conquering life on 2 wheels!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Science Fun

God bless whoever poured vinegar into sodium bicarbonate for the first time...



--out & about :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Bastrop State Park

Notice that I didn't say "camping." If you say we went camping, Kayci will correct you. We stayed in a cabin this weekend at Bastrop State Park. And we had a great time.

We arrived well after dark on Friday evening, not really sure what to expect. Would it be nasty and bug-filled inside or would it be tolerable. Well, it turns out that we were pleasantly surprised. Our cabin was spotless and bug-free. Hooray! The cabins ate Bastrop State Park were built in the early '30s by the CCC and they're still amazing. And they've been maintained very well. It was a little weird because we didn't know what to do, so the girls read and we all just kinda hung out the first night.

_MG_3715

The first night was a little restless as we remembered that Noble is probably allergic to pine. But a quick trip into town Saturday morning for some Benadryl made that a lot better. We woke up before the sun was up on Saturday morning and made some coffee. Noble enjoyed his on the back porch of the cabin.

_MG_3724

_MG_3732

_MG_3734

_MG_3744

We got dressed and the kids had fun running around outside. There was an organized hike at 10, so we got out and met up with several other people for the one-mile hike through the woods. The hike was very informative, and I learned about a kind of poison ivy I didn't know about as well as the difference between post oak and blackjack oak trees. The kids had a great time just being outside in the woods. It reminded me a little of when Kristi and I used to hike in the woods at Hunstville State Park when we were dating. But the one-miler proved to be too long for Kayci, who routinely walks farther on our family walks in the evenings, but somehow thought she was going to pass out from all the hiking on this occasion. She didn't.

_MG_3746

_MG_3788

_MG_3799

_MG_3811

_MG_3822

_MG_3870

_MG_3872

After the hike, we went back to the cabin for sandwiches and a nap (there's something awesome about taking a nap in a little cabin in the woods). Kayci and I woke up about an hour before Kristi and Noble, so we got the chance to explore and play outside - including sword fights with sticks from the forest!

Then it was time for fishing! Kayci and Noble each caught a perch. Much to our surprise, Noble actually held his and didn't have the same reaction as the last time we went fishing. Noble and Kayci were also super-excited that they got to use the fishing poles that Grandpa gave them - Barbie for Kayci and Batman for Noble. Noble had a lot of fun playing with plastic worms and throwing the corn we were using as bait into the water. Kayci practiced her casting, with varied results. But she's getting better.

_MG_3874

_MG_3878

_MG_3879

_MG_3889

_MG_3906

We took a scenic drive and then went back to the cabin for dinner. The kids had more fun running around playing, while Kristi and I worked on dinner. By Kayci request, we had hot dogs. Noble wasnted "cowboy beans" (Ranch Style Beans). And we grilled some corn. We made a fire and ate s'mores under the stars and sang songs until it was finally time to go inside and go to sleep. We all slept a lot better that night.

_MG_3909

_MG_3910

_MG_3911

_MG_3912

On Sunday morning we woke up early, ready to get our day started. We made coffee and Noble insisted on drinking his on the back steps again (apparently that's just what you do when you're camping...). We built a fire and sat outside next to it and the kids ran around and played some more. Kristi had brought some Jiffy-pop pocorn, so we threw that on the fire and watched it pop. We ate breakfast and headed off to the lake to go for a canoe ride. The kids loved riding in the canoe, and even got to paddle a bit.

_MG_3942

_MG_3944

_MG_3946

_MG_3965

_MG_3971

_MG_3973

_MG_3978

Finally, before we left we went down to some awesome rock steps that were behind out cabin for a dry-run of a future family portrait. Then we headed home (after a trip to HEB and lunch at the Roadhouse). It was a great weekend. The weather was perfect for being outdoors, and it was a great introduction to what will hopefully be many, many more family outdoor weekends. But it turns out that it was only the beginning. When we left, we had a little Pharaon family fall celebration of our own. But more on that later...

Be sure to check out the entire photo set on Flickr.