Big Canoe - Memorial Day Wknd 07

Olivia, McIver and I rode up to Big Canoe with Pop on Friday. They loved the pit stop for doughnuts and slushies on the way up! Once we got the car unloaded, it was time to wait for Daddy, Nanoo, Cacoo & Christian, and the YaYas to arrive. We spent the weekend just enjoying being together.

We gave Pop an early Fathers Day present - an ice cream machine.

It's particularly cool b/c you can either use the hand crank OR plug it in for easy ice cream making. We tried out two recipes - my fave is the Mexican Chocolate!

Olivia and McIver show off their new shades. Mac wore his ALL the time -

even when inside watching Cars with Andrew.

We all loved the new Wildcat pool. Everyone loved the sprinklers,

the rainbow and the buckets.

Will took a break from peeling shrimp so I could snap this shot.

He made a DELICIOUS shrimp & grits for us Saturday night!

Sadie & Julia

More Macon Pictures

Olivia, Madison & Emma playing playdough with Grandma Myrtle. McIver helped Pop find just the right tool to fix the tricycle.
Olivia discovered Cacoo's Razor Scooter and zipped all over the place.
Mac with the T-Rex skull - and his Power Ranger sunglasses which he wore ALL the time.
Olivia with the bear skeleton at the Museum of Arts & Sciences.

Visit to Macon - May 20007

We're having a good visit in Macon with Nanoo, Pop and Cacoo. Olivia and I enjoyed going to Catherine's dance recital - she was in 8 performances! The kids are loving the pool - they have been swimming three times every day even though the water is still super cold. It has taken a few days, but McIver is slowly becoming more and more brave. Went to the Museum of Arts & Sciences this morning. They loved the dinosaurs fossils and bones. We also went to Kangaroo Bob's - along with about 4 local class parties. Olivia and McIver said they liked Kangaroo Bob's better than Pump It Up or BounceU.

Mothers Day 2007

Happy Mothers Day to all! I could not have asked for a better Mothers Day - Olivia, McIver and I went to the Family Service at church this morning. They were able to light the candles so they thought that was pretty cool. Father Sam invited all the kids to the front to sit with him and it was nice (finally) not to have to worry that McIver would wander around getting into trouble. He sat right next to Fr. Sam and was able to say something into the microphone (I DID worry about what in the world would come out of his mouth, but whatever he said was benign enough that I've already forgotten!). Will was on call yesterday and had to round this morning so he wasn't able to make it. But, we all enjoyed a wonderful get-together with the DuMays and a bunch of folks for dinner.

Austin with the Stricklins

Will and I had a great, great weekend in Austin with Gay & Don Stricklin. After getting all of our kids set up with their respective sitters (LaToya stayed with O & Mac and they didn't miss us for one minute!), we headed out of town early Friday night. Once we finally got to Austin, we had a delicious dinner at Threadgills and made our way to 6th Street. We found a duelling piano bar called Pete's and sang our hearts out, making friends in the proces, until 3am.

Saturday got off to a slow start. Brunch at Kerbey Lane hit the spot! Then we went to the UT campus to enjoy some people-watching. Now I know where "Keep Austin Weird" came from! Once we all napped and watched the Kentucky Derby, we were ready to attempt night #2. Don suggested Romeo's for dinner. The food was delicious and we were entertained by all of the high school prom-goers. Little did we know that we would end up hanging out with high-schoolers for a great part of our evening. We made our way back to Threadgills for some live music but it turned out to be a high school Battle of the Bands. We voted for Max & Henry - renamed Max & Ruby by those of us with small children!

Finally, we were able to find more adult entertainment at the Continental Club. Elana James can play the fiddle like nobody's business. She was followed by Mother Truckers. By then, though, Gay & I had had our fill and were ready to head home. The guys talked us into a late night trip to WhatABurger before we called it a night.

We enjoyed a quick breakfast at Guero's Taco Bar in SoCo. Sadly, we didn't take a single picture, but we did have a great time and are looking forward to our next get-away with the Stricklins!

Olivia's Dance Recital

Olivia's dance recital was today. Her group danced to Lollipop. Olivia was front and center and did a great job. She didn't even glance to the side once to watch Miss Amanda. It was very obvious that she was having lots of fun!

Olivia's Fish Class Party

Olivia class celebrates everyone's birthday together at a party in May. I was a Party Mom today (the first party I've been able to attend all year b/c I'm usually at school with my class) and McIver was lucky enough to get to go with me. The kids all had a ball decorating cookies in the shape of their name, making picture frames, bowling and singing. McIver liked feeling like a big kid for a little while.

What happened to the Dinosaurs?

McIver's class is 'studying' dinosaurs this week. His teacher, Mrs. Paisley, asked the class "What do you think happened to the dinosaurs?" There were some funny responses. McIver said "Maybe strangers and mad dogs got them."

Libby Lu

Olivia's friend Abigail had her 6th birthday party this morning at Libby Lu in the Galleria. From what I heard (I couldn't go because I was giving a tea party at school), the party was a BLAST!! The girls got their hair done, danced and sang, then they all enjoyed lunch and a birthday cookie. McIver tagged along and was a trooper. You can tell from the picture that he was so OVER it by the time they got to lunch.

Olivia is growing up

During my Moms' Small Group today at church, the Choir Director told me a great story about Olivia. When Olivia joined the Cherub Choir last fall, I had to join with her for the first 6 weeks because she was so shy. She has enjoyed it more this year, but still had to be coaxed into going some weeks. This past Wednesday, Olivia asked Miss Courtney if she could sing a song to everyone. So, my sweet, shy Olivia sang a song she learned at school to the entire Cherub Choir and even tried to teach it to them. I'm so proud that she put herself out there like that!!

McIver's Chapel

McIver during the elephant part of the Call to Worship - "... God made the flowers, God made the trees, God made the elephants and God made the bees, God made you and God made me."

McIver goes to chapel two times each month with the Teddy Bear Class. I was finally able to make it for the first time this year. It was hilarious and so sweet. Now I know why the school decided to let the 2 year old classes have their own chapel rather than join the 3s, 4s, and 5s for chapel. The Teddy Bears were up and down, interjecting their own version of the creation story and showing off their latest boo-boos.

My Sister went to Disney World...

... and all I got were Disney crocs and a package of cotton candy (which I LOVE!!!!).

More pictures from Disney World/ MGM Studios

If you would like to see more pictures from our trip, feel free to check out our album on Shutterfly: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AYuXDhq0cM1FPE

Olivia's 1st trip to Disney World

Nanoo & Pop surprised Olivia with a trip to Disney World over the weekend. She LOVED it! Cacoo took a day off from school so she could join us. And, Will was kind enough to treat McIver to a boys' weekend so Olivia could be princess for the weekend. Here are just a few pictures...

Texas Bluebonnets

The bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. We went to Brenham, TX (also home of Blue Bell Ice Cream!) yesterday to see the bluebonnets - and indian paintbrush and tons of other wildflowers. At least 100 cars were stopped along the highway with even more people climbing out to take pictures in the fields. It was beautiful! We took our fair share of pictures, too.

Will defended his thesis...and passed!

Will spent yesterday morning with his Masters Review Committee successfully defending his thesis!!! His thesis is titled Effects of targeting IL-8 on ovarian cancer. If you would like to read it, I'm sure he will be happy to send you the bound copy! Not only is this a big deal because he will earn a Masters degree in Cancer Biology, but also because this marks the (almost!) half-way point of his fellowship. I'm very proud of Will for all of the hard work and time he has put into this project.

Meet the Robinsons

Kids didn't have school today so we went to see Meet the Robinsons, the 3D Disney movie. Olivia and McIver got a huge kick out of the 3D glasses!

Will also noticed that McIver's picture in The Houston Chronicle is the first one listed under the editor's picks today. He's a star! Go to www.chron.com and click on "Top photo editor's picks" to see who else is among the top picks. Hint: he wears a funny hat.

Happy Easter!!

We went to the Children's Easter Vigil last night at our church. Spirits were high even though the weather temperatures were very, very low. The Houston Chronicle was there to cover the service and McIver was snapped holding a candle lit directly from the new Paschal candle by our rector. He thought that was 'very cool and fun.'

This afternoon (we had to wait for Will to get home from rounds, much to the children's dismay!), the children were going through their Easter baskets when Olivia commented that the Easter Bunny is nice but doesn't bring as much stuff as Santa Claus. I reminded her that both Christmas and Easter are not about Santa and the Easter Bunny. She said she knew that they were both really about Jesus. McIver interrupted and said that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are different because "Santa Claus is up high and the Easter Bunny hops on the ground."

Cherub Choir

Will and McIver spent a rainy Saturday building a HUGE snort (from the book Are You My Mother?). Olivia sang in the Cherub Choir for the Palm Sunday service last week. McIver made bunny ears in Sunday School and likes to show them off.

Daddy's Not a Singer

Will went into McIver's room to turn off his light tonight. I went in afterwards to sing to him. He interrupted me and said: Mommy, Daddy's not a singer.
I said: Really? What is he?
McIver: He's a worker - he just works.