Award Overload

At Friday's Roundup, Margaret was already scheduled to be annouced for the Principal's Award she won in January (that she missed since she was sick last month), then we found out she was going to be awarded Musician of the Month, and at the last minute we found out she was going to get Athlete of the Month. She knew she was getting one award, but when she heard her name the 2nd and 3rd time, I think she was in shock.

Library Lunch at Last!

Margaret got to have a picnic lunch in the library today - what a great treat for someone who loves books and reading so much. She won it as a prize way back at our fall school carnival, but we had to reschedule 3 times due to someone being sick. It was worth the wait for a lunch of pizza, salad and chocolate ice cream with our wonderful librarians.

Who let the kids drive the Jeep?

We had another fun visit with the cousins at Bob & Kelly's house while Gerald was running the Cowtown Marathon. Nathan, Lilly and Margaret took turns driving Walker's Jeep.
Here is Nathan ... barreling through the swings and
Margaret - heading straight for a tree.Yeah, can't wait till learners permits.

Get the shotgun ready...NOW

Margaret got this letter today from a boy in her class:
Dear Margaret, You are preshies and beaatlfull. You are nice. I want to do every thing you want. You are queen.
Yikes - when Kyle sees this - he is going to take that boy down.

Jr. Engineers

We got a new Hot Wheels toy on Tuesday - the Trick Tracks Drop Tower. The Trick Tracks are connectible pieces that make a Rube Goldberg-like machine - picture Mousetrap, but with cars. We didn't have it setup for 1o minutes before Nathan decided to reconfigure different than the box. Tonight, Nathan and Margaret were both in on the action, rigging a huge contraption for a big show. Future engineers at work...

Later on, we made a giant tent to cover the playroom. Nathan, Margaret and Sandy loved it. Nathan is actually sleeping in it tonight, solo. Margaret had to miss out since it is a school night and all.

Holey Hail Damage, Batman

Apparently I was too chicken to get the big hail - I just grabbed what was right out our back door. Brave neighbor Mickey walked around and picked up some golf ball sized and larger.

We've confirmed with two different roofers that our roof is totalled. Our gutters are shot. We are getting ready for the insurance adjuster to visit, so I had to check out what other damage we had in our yard.

Here is the top to the playfort. Margaret thinks it is really cool and we should keep it this way.
Here is the roof to our storage shed. The wheelbarrow inside was full of water.
And here is our hose reel. This sucker is made of pretty heavy resin. I can't believe it broke.
Before this happened, we were already scheduling AC guys to come out to quote replacing our AC unit before this summer. Now we are adding roofers to the list. Fun week - stuck at home to meet contractors.

We would love any references you have (good or bad) on AC guys or roofing guys. Thanks!

Fond Farewell to Friends

Saturday night we hosted a going away party for our friends Michael, Tami, and their kids Peyton, Emma and Sarah.

Michael and Tami were some of the first people we met when we moved here. Michael and Kyle became great friends at work, and we also ended up at the same church where the very talented Tami became the music diretor.

We had a fun time - enjoying the wine Michael got from his vendors in Italy, eating, talking, and listening to good music. Later in the night Tami, Glenn and Suzanne broke out the guitars and sang for us.

We wish their family the best at their new home in the Northwest, but we are going to miss them dearly.

Great Balls of Hail!

This is what we woke up to at 6:45 Saturday morning. That's not snow - it's hail - and lots of it - and most of them were an inch in diameter. Yes - we do have a call out to the insurance adjuster - there may be a new roof in our future.

So what if he loves the ladies? He's all boy!

Last week Nathan had play time with two girls named Maddie...and then when shopping at Wal Mart for valentines stuff, he insisted on buying his friend Maddie a ceramic valentine heart because "It's so cute - she will love it!". The next day, Kyle made a big point in saying - "You need to get Nathan some more boys to play with"But this is Nathan at the Moms club Valentine party...Look here - playing "boy" toys and not a girl in sight.

Name our Cave

Our house isn't big enough for a decent sized playroom, so we decided to create one in the garage. We got a shed to move out the lawn equipment, combustible liquids, and poisins. Then we moved in the kids stuff. Here is the school room...
...the TV watching area...(with punching bag and balance beam)
...and a big open area for things you wouldn't dream of doing in an indoor playroom, like roller blading...

...or riding your bike over ramps.

In nice weather, we open the door for fresh air. When it is cold outside, we close the door and turn on a space heater. When everyone is done playing, we pull the cars back in. What a deal.

Our neighbors have a party garage that they call "The Lodge". We thought we should name our garage, too. We thought of "The Cave"...you know, like the Bat Cave, but the name hasn't quite stuck. Any more name suggestions?

Sandy's bedside reading

"Nathan, where did you put the new library books we got on Monday?"
"In Sandy's room"
"Your room?"
"No - Sandy's room!"
I'm sure Sandy is enjoying her bedside reading.

Krewe of Barkus

We took Sandy to her first Mardi Gras dog parade on Sunday. She was very excited for the occasion and even insisted on dressing up with the Rock and Roll theme. She had a great time and I think was the prettiest dog there.
Prettiest, yes. Funniest, not even close...Nathan had another great line for the day when he pointed at a dog and said "look - a dog dressed up like a cow!" Uh, no...that was just a dalmation.