ECW Oyster Roast

The 2nd Annual Oyster Roast for our church ECW was last night. Everyone who came said it was a wonderful party - and they left full! And, we raised about $700 for our church in the process.

Don, Will and Mark were busy shucking oysters before guests arrived.

The hosts enjoyed some post-party R&R - and laughs.

Olivia's 1st Field Trip

Today was Olivia's first ever ride on a school bus - and mine, too, for that matter. We were both very excited! The entire Kindergarten (4 classes) went to the Children's Museum today. It turned out to be a pretty good time. Even though we have been to that museum more times than I can count, it was definitely more fun to be there with a big group - and with other moms and a 'tour guide' who led us around and played games with the kids.

Preparing to board the bus...

First stop: KID-TV

The kids pretended they were contestants on a game show, manned the cameras and 'worked' behind the scenes. We had never actually been in this room before b/c it was always so crowded. So this was our favorite part of the morning.

Olivia really enjoyed working the camera and seeing herself on-screen.

Face-painting is always a hit, too.

Belated pictures: Park City trip

Better late than never! Here are a few pictures from our trip to Park City in February. We had a great time - we heard from the locals that we had the best snow that they'd seen in 8 or 10 years. That was a good thing considering the fact that I had not skiied in about 12 years. There was plenty of soft snow to break my fall(s). Once I tried out a few green slopes (with a very bored Will!), we separated so I could try some blue slopes while he braved the double black diamond thrillers. I fell a few times, but didn't do any major damage. It was a great time - and now we're looking forward to a Spring Break trip to Vail next year with the kids. We'll meet Dawn, David and Andrew at Dawn's parents' house.

Here we are before taking off on the chair lift for the first run of the day. I was still really nervous at this point - not even sure if I'd be able to manage the short trek to the chair lift!

This was a little later in the day - you can tell that I had a tad more confidence by this point.
A view from the top of the mountain.

Thanks to Celestine for sending the pictures to me!

Gearing up for the Rodeo

It's Rodeo time again. This is a BIG deal here in Houston. By BIG, I mean, there is an entire day (tomorrow) called Go Texan Day where all of Houston dresses up in rodeo/cowboy gear to celebrate the kick-off of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, a three-week, rodeo/party/concert/state fair/barbecue cook-off affair. It truly is an official day where the entire city is encouraged to 'grow beards, wear big hats, boots and spurs..." (per the rodeo website!).

O & Mac had the perfect outfits our first year (the 2006 Rodeo) here so we didn't have to go out of our way to prepare for Go Texan Day. I felt like a bit of a poser so I didn't bother getting dressed up (unless you call wearing jeans being dressed up). Take a look at how little O & Mac look in these pictures.



By the time of the 2007 Rodeo, we had invested in a pink cowgirl hat for Olivia. McIver was still pleased as punch to be wearing the red cowboy boots. He wasn't interested in a cowboy hat at all. He was fine to wear the farmer-looking hat. As a teacher, I had to dress up (to a small degree) last year for the Rodeo Parade. I think I just wore a brown t-shirt and straw cowboy hat that I had found at Target (but did not feel compelled to go further than that). The Rodeo Parade at school is terribly cute - the kids are all decked out in their finest western attire, we march down the hall to the gym where parents are waiting for us. Then we sing about 6 cowboy/girl songs. (Most) Everyone loves it.

Now that the 2008 Rodeo has arrived, I felt the need to "do as the Romans." So, McIver and I headed to Cavender's Boot City (with the other 500 people who 'needed' new cowboy duds) yesterday afternoon. He had inherited some boots a few weeks ago, but was still in 'need' of a shirt and hat (and, according to him, spurs and a horse, but I told him Cavenders didn't sell those). As you can see from the picture, he selected the ugliest shirt on the racks. Believe me, there were plenty of ugly ones to choose from, but I think he found the very ugliest. I kept trying to convince him to get a nice plaid shirt that he could wear again and again. Before I knew it, though, he had stripped off his shirt from that morning and was snapping up his new shirt. You see, since it is a 'cowboy shirt it has to have cowboys on it!' And it has 5 of them, on bucking bulls no less. It's very Garth Brooks circa 1990. But, McIver loves it and has already worn it 2 days in a row.
We also purchased a cowgirl shirt and boots for me - which I love and do not feel the lease bit ridiculous in! - and a new shirt for Olivia.

As we loaded into the car to pick Olivia up from school:

Me: Well, Bud, are you excited about your new hat and shirt?

McIver (in a bit of a sad voice): Yes ma'am, but I very wanted a horse.

Snaggle Tooth - Part Two

It's Official . . . Olivia is a true Snaggletooth! Just a few minutes before we walked in the door from our trip to Park City two weekends ago, Olivia lost her second top front tooth. She was so excited she could hardly stand up! The Tooth Fairy came through with another 4 quarters for her. She said it felt 'weird' to eat for a few days, but has since managed to bounce back just fine.

We're SO not lame...

... and that's how the planning began last May for a trip to Austin with six friends from church.

We stayed in the Writers' Cottage at Carrington's Bluff B&B in Austin near the UT campus. It was the most relaxing weekend I've had lately. We drove up Friday afternoon and had time to visit before our evening plans kicked in.

We made our way to Guero's Taco Bar (and heard some not-so-great live music) while we waited in their outdoor bar. After dinner we crossed the street to the Continental Club to hear Elana James (http://www.elanajames.com/). We had heard her last May when we went to Austin with the Stricklins and loved her. She plays the fiddle (or maybe it's a violin) and the band also includes a bass player, drummer and guitar player. I'm always super-impressed by the bass player.

Lucy, Margaret, Gay, Sue, me and Jacquie

After the band finished, we headed back to the cottage for some relaxing and more talking - and a whole lot of laughing.

Saturday was a beautiful day! I'm sad (but not too sad) to say that Gay & I spent much of the day indoors watching 2 movies in a row - 27 Dresses and Juno. It was my idea of heaven! The other gals spent some time shopping and relaxing. We met back up at the cottage with plenty of time to spare (and drink wine) before our dinner reservation.

Dinner at the Castle Hill Cafe was delicious - and the conversation was a RIOT. I'm sure the other diners wondered just how old we were with all the giggling going on at our table.

Sunday was another gorgeous day. We took our time getting up and dressed before packing up. Gay & I knew that no matter what anyone else did, WE had to revisit Kerby Lane cafe before we left town. It's a cute little restaurant with interesting waitstaff and clientele (read: lots of tattoos and piercings) and the best queso you've ever tasted. Sue and Margaret joined us there and afterwards, we headed home.

I returned home rested and ready for a busy week. Will had kept the kids busy all weekend - even took the training wheels off of Mac's bike. He's not at all adept at riding it yet, but at least he's interested. I may have a few more pictures to share later this week...

Valentines gifts

In all the preparation to get ready for our trip to Park City last weekend, I forgot to give the children their Valentine gifts (I know, I'm not winning Mom of the Year!). I decided it would be an easy way to get the kids out of bed this morning, even though they were up late last night waiting for us to get home. They look like sleepy heads in the pictures!

Spider Man PJs and an alphabet workbook for McIver.

A new frog nightgown for Olivia and some level 1 books that she can read to us.

Naaah!

Me: McIver, what do you want to do when we get home? Play outside?
McIver: Nah.
Me: WHAT!? It's a beautiful day!
McIver: Nah, that's another word for 'no.'

Happy Valentine's Day!!

HAPPY VALENTINE' S DAY!!! We've had a busy, busy day today. McIver had a party in his LadyBug class and I had a party in the Rabbit class. McIver went to gymnastics after school, which he loves. Then we quickly made our way to Kolter for Olivia's class party. It was a little bit of a zoo, but I think everyone had a good time.

As soon as we got home, the kids ran up to the playhouse to check out their Valentine goodies.
They promised they would brush their teeth as soon as the finished their candy.

Olivia chose just 2 pieces - she does not get her self-control from me!

Snaggle Tooth

Olivia lost another tooth yesterday - front and center! She lost it at school so now she has gained a bit of notoriety among the kindergarten set which she is enjoying. She was able to go to the nurse's office to get a 'cool tooth necklace to keep the tooth in so I can show it to people.' Wow - just what her dance teacher wanted to see yesterday.

Bathing Beauties

Yes - those are bathing suits . . . in February! The kids and I stopped by Target yesterday on the way home from church. Since it was a beautiful day, I couldn't resist the bathing suits. Olivia and McIver wanted to "just try them on, pleeeeease!" this afternoon when we got home from school. The weather isn't quite as great today - lots of clouds and a tad cooler, but they were not deterred.

Happy Birthday, Amelia!

Amelia turned 1 on Friday! We gave her a call earlier today to sing Happy Birthday. Olivia and McIver love their cousins so much. McIver often brings me 'baby' toys that we have at home and says we should send them to Amelia and JuliAnna. (There are some, like an Elmo guitar, that we have saved to send as 'payback.' JuliAnna has an Old MacDonald Tractor coming her way soon!) We heard Amelia say "CaGa" for Carter (their dog) and "GaGa" (or something like that) for Daddy. We can't wait to see her when we go to Myrtle Beach for Spring Break next month!

This picture was taken back in December so it doesn't do birthday justice to Amelia. But, I couldn't resist putting up her picture in honor of her birthday!

Artwork by Olivia

In anticipation of the rodeo . . . a cowboy.

Inspired by Matisse (when Olivia was taking French earlier this school year).

Mac the Builder

My little Trouble-Maker (with a capital "T" - is it coincidence that his initials are TMM - Trouble-Maker Merritt, maybe. Maybe that's what they'll call him when he's on the NASCAR circuit one day!)) was at it again today. All was quiet in the living room so I went to work at my computer earlier this afternoon. We had gone to the library after school today so I assumed that everyone was reading their new books. Then, I heard the sound of the stool being dragged across the floor. It's my fault - I should have gotten up then, but I didn't. Then, I heard the the front door open and slam shut. When I got up to see what was going on, I found this...
McIver had unscrewed the deadbolt on the back door. He got a screwdriver as a rebate from Lowe's b/c of the gift certificate we bought for GranDaddy before Christmas. This would be why he was quiet in the living room - NOT because he was sitting and quietly reading books to himself.
Olivia was happy to point out the obvious - "We can't go outside because the lock is missing." Which explains the dragging of the stool so he could go out the front door (he can't undo the lock on the laundry room door).
Now we have a new made-from-scratch playset. (The tape measure came in today's mail - another freebie, although, I thought we only ordered the screwdriver.)

Saturday morning bowling

It has been a long time since we've been able to spend a Saturday together around here. So, we let the kids decide what we would do together. They chose bowling!

After a few pointers from Dad, McIver started to get the hang of it. He ended up being a pretty good bowler.

As nervous as I was, noone's fingers got smashed in the ball-return machine.

This was O's 3rd time bowling, so she didn't need much instruction.

We're not sure why, but this is actually part of McIver's form - he finished every throw of the ball with a quick roll around the floor.

For the record, Will was the winner, McIver came in 2nd and Olivia was a close 3rd. I had to sit out this time b/c I seem to have hurt my back. I will give Will a run for his money, though, when I'm back to 100%!

McIver's new boots

My friend Kathy, and her son Joshua, earned themselves a place in McIver's Hall of Fame because now McIver has a new (to him) pair of 'radio' boots thanks to Josh's growing feet. McIver is looking forward to being able to buy a black cowboy hat to match once the rodeo begins. Yahoo!!

Jersey Boys

Will and I went to see the Broadway Across America production of Jersey Boys on Friday night at the Hobby Center. It was AWESOME!!! It tells the story of how the Four Seasons got their start and rose to fame. I laughed b/c there was a warning outside the theater saying that there would be 'loud gunfire and authentic Jersey language which some may find offensive.' I think everyone in the audience had a ball just hearing all those hit songs (Sherry, Oh What a Night, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man to name just a few). It didn't necessarily take me back to a certain time or place like, say, a Guns and Roses song does (which, by the way, McIver loves now!), but that is definitely my kind of music. I still haven't found a radio station in Houston that plays that sort of 'oldies.' Anyway, if you ever get the chance to see Jersey Boys, do it! You won't regret it.

Pre Roast Roast

We are hosting the 2nd Annual ECW Oyster Roast again this year with some friends from church. To prepare for the actual roast, we had our 2nd Annual PreRoast Roast (which is probably even more fun than the actual roast) last night with all the hosts. We taste-tested a new Champagne Oyster, Oysters Irene and the standard roasted and raw oysters along with a pot of Beaufort Stew. I think it's fair to say that a good time was had by all (even when the lights went out in half the house).

Gay, Don & I were eager to have our first oyster of the night (to be followed by many, many more!).

These kids put AWAY some pizza in a hurry.

Stacey, Gay, Wendy, Julie, Mindy & me:

The Hostesses

Pirate Recipe

McIver said: I have a secret recipe for something in a pirate restaurant. You put one half of milk. Now we add a little bit of yummy M&Ms - you have to buy them first, but you're gonna put them in last. Then we mix in the bee cereal (honey grahams with the Bee movie ad on it); then a little bit of sugar powder. Then you eat it. And, then it's gonna taste good.

Step 1: Add the milk.

Final Step: Add the yummy M&Ms.

When O came home from a playdate, she joined in the fun. McIver watched over her very carefully to be sure she was following the exact recipe. Believe me when I tell you that the making was a lot more fun than the tasting!

"Jackson Pollock" painting

I found a great recipe for sidewalk paint (1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup cold water & food coloring) so the kids got to work on Saturday. We mixed up as many colors as we had tubes of food coloring and they set to work painting the playhouse.


Then we found some huge boxes and they started to paint. McIver's style was more Jackson Pollock than anything else.

Olivia was a bit more reserved at first, but then she let loose and started scattering paint all over the place.

The New Car

Even though Will has said that he thinks it will be best for him to drive the new car, the kids think otherwise. Will's desire to keep one car kid-friendly and one more 'presentable' only led to a major clean-out of the green car. Olivia, McIver and Grandma Myrtle worked hard for 2 hours on Monday scrubbing, cleaning out, windexing and vaccuuming the green car so that Daddy could have the 'presentable' car. They also came up with a few rules for the new car: no food or drinks, except for water b/c it just dries and doesn't stain; no markers only books; no yelling when someone is driving. We still have not made the change, but the kids are hopeful that they can stay awake long enough tonight to welcome Dad home, prop his feet up on the coffee table, bring him a Golf Magazine and then make the trade while he's not looking. Olivia said she'll move everything out of the red car into the green car. McIver will move our stuff into the red car. We'll see how that goes...

On the way to Los Tios with Grandma Myrtle, McIver shows off his clean hair and his seat in the red car.

Olivia working hard to get the green car sparkly clean, like new.

McIver is back to wanting to be a construction worker when he grows up. Here he is with Grandma Myrtle scrubbing the floor mats.

Biloxi with Grandma Myrtle

I flew to Atlanta/Macon last Friday to bring home the new (to us) car that Pop was kind enough to give us. After a brief visit to Stratford to watch Cacoo cheer on the B-team basketball game, Mom and I met Pop and Grandma Janet for dinner at Luigi's downtown. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was the one who asked the waitress to have the band turn down their music. Call me an old lady, but I had less than 2 hours to get in a good visit with everyone and I wanted to be able to hear what everyone had to say!


Saturday morning, I met Grandma Myrtle and we hit the road for Biloxi. The new car drives like a dream (despite the odd 'tic' it had every time the gas gauge flew from F to E and the 'low fuel' light lit up the dash - that lasted for just a few hours and then seemed to work itself out). We made it to Biloxi about 4pm, had a quick bite to eat and then hit the casino. Grandma knew her way around the Imperial Palace like the back of her hand. She pointed out all of her favorite machines and explained how the card works - you don't actually put coins into the slots anymore. And, you have to look hard to find a machine with a handle to pull; most just have buttons these days.




Since you can't take cameras into the casino (or at least cameras as bulky and obvious as mine), I was not able to take a picture of Grandma Myrtle sitting at a slot machine. (We took pictures in the casinos in Vegas when we went for my bachelorette weekend - I don't know if it was allowed or if we just broke the rules with reckless abandon - we took A LOT of pictures!) This is the only picture I got - the sign at the entrance to the Imperial Palace. I will say that I was horrified at the 'uniforms' worn by the waitresses. By uniform, I mean very skimpy lingerie. I was completely embarassed for the girls I saw walking in for thier AM shift. We also passed several groups of college-age girls who were also scantily clad. I tried to avert my eyes, but Grandma Myrtle wasn't the least bit phased. She's used to it, having been to Biloxi more times than she can count!

Bottom Line: It took me less than an hour to lose $40 (which was my absolute limit on how much I was willing to literally throw away) plus another $10 that Grandma gave me b/c clearly I was not lucky that night. Truth be told, I was happy for an excuse to go to bed - the smoke in that place was terrible!

Before hitting the road Sunday morning, we drove down the 'drag' to see a few other casinos and these very cool chain-saw sculptures made from trees that were destroyed by hurricanes in the past few years. Grandma also pointed out just how desolate and deserted Biloxi and Gulfport still are 2 1/2 years after Katrina. It was really sad, but at the same time, the beach seemed relatively clean and views are no longer obstructed by tacky t-shirt shops. I do realize that those t-shirt shops also represent jobs that are no longer available so it's really a catch-22. It's hard to believe that area will ever be what it was.

We made it to the interstate about 9:30 and had a great day for driving. We made it to Houston about 4:30 and were greeted by some happy yet tired children! Grandma Myrtle had mentioned along the way that she didn't know how to order Mexican food, so we took her to one of our favorite restaurants - Los Tios - for dinner. Olivia and McIver were happy to show her how it's done!