Nolan's New Wheels

Ever since we gave Laiken and Carson a 4-wheeler for Christmas, Nolan has felt a little left out. A few weeks ago, my mom and I were bargain hunting and came across this great ride-on for nine dollars. It needed a battery and no one could assure us that it would work, but it was in such great shape that I figured I would chance it. We bought a battery, got it all charged, and it works perfectly! We let him try it out today. He can maneuver it really well--so well that he was cracking himself up while intentionally running over his daddy's newspaper.

TAKS Day

The state tests continued today. Laiken wasn't nervous--just ready to get them behind her. She wore her "Most Likely to Save the World" t-shirt for the occasion. I think it was a subconscious reminder to everyone that she has much bigger things on her mind than passing a state mandated test. She will be taking the Math test today and the Reading test tomorrow. Each day, after the students finish, they can not have anything on their desks, not even a book. There is no recess, no specials class, no trips to the library, and if students need to go to the bathroom, they have to be escorted. Laiken was not excited about getting through the ordeal. The reward? We get to enjoy the Gladney Fundraiser at Six Flags on Thursday night! I'm thinking that will help make the TAKS testing nothing more than a bad memory!

I was a little too late....

this year to get good Bluebonnet pictures. Every time I thought about going, it was either raining or we were heading to soccer or some other activity. I packed the kids up this afternoon and found a little patch with the last vestiges of blooms for the year and snapped a few pictures. The kids grumbled, of course. They do not see any reason why I should drag them out every year and plop them on the ground with bees and ants simply to take pictures among our state flower. I can't really explain to them why I feel so compelled to get this annual picture. I think it has something to do with the brief period of time that we get to enjoy the sight of the flowers--a metaphor for the whole experience of having children (Wow--that was deep, huh??). I also think it has to do with my dad's profound love for this state and for everything associated with Texas. He asked me to take Laiken the year she was born and get a picture of her in the Bluebonnets. She was 9 months old at the time and the pictures were adorable. Every year since then, I have retaken the pictures. Some years, we have had fabulous fields to snap in; other years, like this one, we have had a little tiny group of the flowers. The kids asked me how long they have to do this and I told them that they would take Bluebonnet pictures every year until they left for college. I was not very popular after that! So far, I have 9 years of photos that, eventually, I will use to make a beautiful collage. Don't laugh, Monica--I will get the pictures printed someday!!

Yummy!

I made treats to take to Laiken and Carson's classes this week for Student Appreciation. Not to be left out, Nolan helped himself to some of the leftover cake batter--one of the simplest joys of childhood!

1,000 Words

My little brother, Joe, has always believed that second place was nothing more than first loser. Needless to say, he takes his sports competitions seriously. On numerous occasions, his reactions to a loss were out of proportion to the event itself and sportsmanship was nowhere on the radar. (I love you, Joe; but, you know it's true!) Apparently, this genetic trait, lying somewhere dormant in me, was passed on to my oldest son. We have watched more than one game where Carson has let his emotions take over, where we have had to threaten not to let him play anymore until he can be a more graceful loser, and where we have had to remind him that you can't win them all. It has been a constant struggle for us as parents to navigate these emotions and to teach our son to channel them appropriately.

The other day, I opened up a file of pictures that had been sent to me by one of the parents on our soccer team last fall. This picture was taken after the team endured a particularly difficult loss. Carson finished the game red-faced both from playing hard and from being mad. He was holding back tears as Farrel quietly reminded him to remember what was important. It is one of the most poignant pictures of my children that anyone has ever snapped and it captures a whole story in the one little frame.

Great Wolf Again

We had so much fun at Great Wolf on New Year's Eve, that we decided to go again while the kids were out of school for the long weekend. We were happy that the Woodalls booked, too, and despite a few customer service issues, we had a great time. Susan was a good sport and even rode "the scary rides"!! The place was packed--apparently, everyone had the same idea we did--and we ended up seeing several people we knew. I saw a friend from high school and, let me tell you, there is nothing quite like catching up with someone while you are dripping wet and wearing a swimsuit! I mean, I love catching up with old friends, but I would really prefer to do it while I am fully clothed!! :-)

Back to the Majestic

Thanks to a generous grant from Target, Carson's class got to take another field trip to the Majestic to see Henry and Mudge, a musical production. I had a group of 4 boys who were very well-behaved despite the fact that the actors sang almost every word of the entire play! Afterwards, we went to the park to let everyone fill their bellies and run off some steam. It would have been a perfect idea if it hadn't been for the high winds and intermittent rain!! Oh well, the kids had a great time, even if the chaperones were grumbling a little bit.... who, me, grumbling????!!

Umm...it's a race car??

Nolan went grocery shopping with me on Monday morning and he rode in one of the car baskets. When he had to get out, he told me that he wanted to come home and make a race car. I thought he would forget on our drive home, but no such luck. I started looking for some supplies and managed to help him make this:

Nolan had a lot of fun "driving" around the house the rest of the day. When Carson and Laiken got home, they just looked at it. Laiken, my very crafty, creative child was mortified. "Mom! Is that the best you could do?" she asked. Even Carson laughed. In my defense, I did try to get Nolan to let me put a racing stripe on the side but he didn't want one.

Trip to American Girl

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to the American Girl store with a bunch of friends for a fun afternoon of shopping and dinner. Uncle Joe gave Laiken a very generous gift certificate at Christmas and she had been planning for months what she was going to buy with it. Of course, her list changed when she actually got in the store and was able to look at everything. Yes, I think we looked at every single item in the place! I just had to shake my head as she paid to have her doll's hair done. Looking at the pictures later, Farrel started laughing and said, "Look at the ladies' faces--they look so serious about fixing doll hair!" It's true--they did! Laiken and the other girls had the best time. We were practically the only ones in the store--I'm not sure how we lucked out like that! After several hours of watching dolls' hair being styled, trying on clothes, and finalizing purchases, we all went upstairs for a nice dinner and even better conversation. Thanks to everyone for an unforgettable day!

Night at the Museum

Laiken's Girl Scout troop got to spend the night at the museum on Friday night. They had a great time and spent the evening doing all kinds of hands-on science learning. Thanks to Alicia, Karla, and Cecilia for planning and chaperoning!

Blue Ribbon Student

On Friday, Laiken was named the Blue Ribbon student for her class for the month of March. It was a great beginning to a big weekend. She is a great student and we are so proud of her.