Oh, and Daddy, One More Thing...

Can you add one more thing to your list?  Is there any way you can put a swimming pool in our backyard?  In addition to our tennis court, of course!  This little kiddie pool is just not good enough...

"A Bird in the Hand is Better than Two in the Bush"

Okay, so after a fun night at Retama Park, I was ready to put the kids in bed.  It was late (10:25 p.m.) and we were all tired.  Oh but wait, what is this by our front door?  A bird! 

 

Poor little thing, he wasn't going anywhere.  Of course, all three kids were so concerned about this little creature that we ended up getting a box and a little container for water for the bird.  You can probably imagine all the questions and comments I got from Natalia, Carson and Luke.  Luke was so worried that the bird didn't have his daddy or mommy with him, he kept saying "Mama, me call bird's dada and mama."  You could see this was really bothering him by the look in his face.  I kept calling all the veterinarians that were opened after hours to see where I could drop this bird off, but had no luck.  Finally, I got a hold of Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation and they told me what to do and where to drop the bird off the next day. ~What a relief!  No, we were ready to go to bed.  By this time, it was very close to midnight. 

This morning, I woke up early to go run but first I decided to check on the bird.  It was dead.  It broke my heart when I saw all three kids rushing to the garage to see the bird.  But there was no bird anymore, the box and the bird were gone.

"Hold Your Horses"

Friday night was "Fifty Cent Night" at Retama Park, which meant free admission, $0.50 hot dogs and free activities for the children.  Hey, why not, right?  

  

We just had to go!  It was such a neat experience.  The kids got to ride the ponies, Natalia got her face painted, Carson & Luke got a balloon, they had fun petting a few animals, we ate hot dogs, chips, and cotton candy and we got to see the horse race.  During the first race, the kids really didn't know what they were looking for.  They pretty much missed the horses as they quickly, and I mean quickly, passed in front of them.  By the second race, they knew what to expect.  They were so excited and were cheering for the horses.  

What a fun night we had.  

  

"I Have An Idea!" Carson Said

Last evening after dinner, I decided to take the kids for a little run. We went to the UTHSC and we ran/walked 1/2 mile. The plan was to play a little tennis after we ran but all the courts were full and there were several people waiting... Carson was very disappointed. He kept saying, "but Mama, how am I going to beat Daddy then. I really need to practice." Although it was 7:56 p.m. (bedtime!) already, we went to a park nearby hoping to find a tennis court available. No luck though, all were being used. So, we had no other choice than to go to the playground and play a little. Poor little CarCar, he really wanted to play, but it was definitely time to go back home. While in the car, after a lot of thinking Carson said, "Mama, I have an idea, why don't we build a tennis court in our back yard." So Daddy, add this to your "to do" list. Carson is expecting a tennis court in our backyard when we get home.

Oh wait, I don't think our backyard is big enough for a tennis court, is it? --darn it!

Nike+ Human Race 10km

I just registered for the Nike+ Human Race 10km. This event will take place in Austin on August 31, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. As far as I know, Brooke and Luci are also participating. It's going to be so much fun. So, if you are interested, just let me know.

How Sweet!

Just a few days ago, out of no where with no help, Natalia presented me with this little note. It touched my heart and this is one of those things I never want to forget.

For those of you having a hard time reading it, it says: "I love you and you are working so hard for us. We love you very, very, very much because you have been the best worker."

She gave me this note one or two days after she told me that the days were too long without me! She loves me...she really does.

"School STOPS for Summer - Learning NEVER Should!"

So far this summer, the kids have been working on their workbooks getting ready for school in the fall. Natalia will be entering 1st grade (I can't even believe it!) and Carson will be attending Pre-K twice a week.

Carson has worked very hard so far this summer! He has changed so much over the last few weeks. It just makes me so glad to see him maturing like this. Up until a few weeks ago, all he wanted to do was to play ball. He just was not interested in anything that had to do with paper, pencils, crayons, markers or anything that required him to sit still at the table for a period of time without a ball in his hands or any other sporting good for that matter. But you should see little Car-Car now. He is so good at it too. Every question I ask, he answers - no problem!

Now, let me mention that his willingness to work, I believe, comes from the fact that before we started this workbook we agreed that if he completed 15 days of work (1st section of the book), he would get a prize!

Here is Carson with his prize and a big smile:
Oh, Carson has been asking for this Ice Hockey Set for a very long time now. He finally got it! Only after all that hard work.

Natalia, well what can I say...she would have finished the 1st section of the book (15 days worth) in 2 days, if I would have let her. Especially, after she found out that she also would get a prize! That girl loves to do school work. I mean, she L O V E S homework. I just pray that she will never change.

Now, here she is with her prize for being such a hard worker:
This little dog, she actually asked Santa for, but for some reason Santa didn't bring it to her. So, she took this opportunity to get it!

Oh, and Luke also sits at the table and works with us. Naturally he is still too little to do this kind of work but he likes to sit there and scribbles in Natalia's old workbooks too. And, of course, he also got a prize:



Oh boy, what have I started, we still have two more sections to go before we finish the workbook - this is going to end up being an expensive summer!