Auntie and Ellie are coming, and the Flu is Here!!!!!!!

     Ugh!  I have been so excited that Meagan and Ellie are arriving tomorrow.... BUT Scott and Ethan have the flu!  Fever for two days now, staying in bed, sore throats...I have been tending to them around the clock, and feel I am fighting it too.  Fiona is the trooper.  So far so good for her.  All that fresh air working on her civilization!  We all got our flu shots this year too.  The boys are on Tamiflu, which is supposed to cut the length of sickness in half.  I hope it works fast!!!  Poor Meagan and Ellie!  I must say, I gave them full disclosure.
     On another note, Ethan started baseball this past week.  (Perhaps where the boys picked up this nasty virus!)  He and Scott seem to think they have a winning team this year!  Speaking of winning teams!!!  How about those Patriots!?!  We watched the game with the Dutys, and at first some of them were rooting for the Falcons, but by the end of that game everyone was a Patriots fan!!!!!
     On Tuesday night the kids had their first official sleepover in Texas!  Ethan and Fiona were so excited all week to sleep over CJ's house.  There they have Tiger (12), Tess(10), Nathan (9) and Luke (5) to keep them busy!  Also CJ's daughter Daraugh and her husband Weston are living there, so it is a happy, full house!  With the kids away, Scott and I got to PLAY!  We enjoyed a nice evening of sushi and bowling.  Two nights later we took the kids to the symphony to see E.T. accompanied with LIVE ORCHESTRA!!!!!  It was soooo amazing!  I cried when Elliot and E.T. had to say goodbye, like I do every time.  The music was mind blowing.
     I am now looking forward to a home full of healthy family, and fun warm days ahead.

Superbowl party!

Tomatoes are going strong.

Fiona weaved this outside!

Getting their tin can kiln ready.

My bowling buddy.

Love these shoes!

This was up on the score board for all to see.  Yeah, there were some seriously jealous ladies...

My Valentine's....

Seth, Samuel and Andrew stopped by before their first game of the season.  Go Mustang's!

Charlotte from a few houses down just loves my pig!

Here are the girls bounding over from their yard.  If they spy Fiona or Ethan out front they usually pay us a visit.  So cute!

All dressed for the symphony!

We ate at Torchy's Tacos before the show.  The food was just as the sign says.

At riding lesson last week "Donkey" escaped again...

"You can't see me.  I'm camouflage with this pile of wood."

The boys before the first practice.

We are bird sitting again this week.  Kids had a blast making perches out of "Kinects".

Valentine bears!

Fiona got an extra bear from her brother.

From my dear husband.

Discovering a New Civilization...In Our Own Front Yard!

     This week has been pretty standard, except for the major developments in Fiona's new civilization!  She has been working diligently to manipulate the front yard into her own world.  Through weaving, balancing, digging and pure imagination she has managed to create her own "civilization".  There is a time telling devise (using shadows, and breaking the day up into just four parts she tells time).  There is a temple.  Depending on where the shadow falls from the stick determines what you worship at that time. (Ethan must clean the temple ten times to become a member of this exclusive society.  He is currently at about six cleanings.)  Fiona, with the help of her friend Tess, is also creating a language for this new group.  Using pictographs and creating a "Rosetta" stone for translation.  People passing by cannot help but notice all of her structures and comment with interest about what is going on.  She got a nice compliment on her "tepee" from the guy delivering our Chinese food the other night!
     Other exciting news...Ethan got to see his first pro basketball game this past week.  Scott had an extra ticket through work, so Ethan went as his "wing-man" to help keep the conversation going.  The traffic was crazy due to the Super-Bowl!
     Kids were also spoiled with two riding lessons this week due to the fact that their teacher was on vacation last week.  We LOVE those horses, and any extra time spent with them is always rewarding!  Fiona and Ethan are also well into their cantering, and lessons are such a thrill with all the speed!

The boys spotted a Delorian in the garage before the basketball game!

Tess is wearing some of the clothes the girls fashioned out of palm leaves.

Here is the entrance to the temple.

This is the time telling device.

Here is Fiona "cooking" at her fire pit.  I allow her a lit candle, as long as she stays by it at all times.  Notice her homemade head band out of seed husks.

These are some amazing veggie biscuits.  I just loved them so much I had to share...

This is not a set up.  He seriously loves reading the paper.

Ahhh...sitting by the fire while the kids snorkel in the hot tub...

Ethan on Spud.

Poor Spud let his best friend "Donkey", who is in fact a donkey, nibble off his tail.  (Horse tails and manes DO NOT GROW BACK once cut...or chewed.)

Fiona on Tuly.  Practicing flextion.  This is when you pull the horses head to the side while keeping them walking straight forward.

We always pass this sign...and it's tempting...just $549!

Our neighbor asked us to bird sit for her baby parakeet while she was away for a few hours.  We were happy to oblige!

The baby bird was a quite observer to Ethan's spelling lesson.

Anyone? Anyone?
These commercials are everywhere...and so ridiculous!

Entrepreneurs, boaters, adventurers...that's us!

     Last weekend Fiona decided bright and early on Sunday morning that she was going to go "door to door" and sell magnets (origami butterfly magnets, for $2 a piece).  Far be it from me to rain on her parade.  As soon as she had enough merchandise (which she diligently created within an hour) I walked along with her as she started knocking on doors.  As a parent I worried how she would take the rejection...which she received plenty of...BUT Fiona was amazing.  I was so very proud of how she handled herself.  When asked what she was raising money for her answer was," I will use the money to expand my business."  Most people were confused... A girl out here making money for herself?  Not selling candy bars to benefit some random company and a sports team?  Hmmmmm...  People had to think about this one.  The men were VERY encouraging, and seemed to like the idea that the money was for what she had made, and going into her pocket.  The women who answered the doors were skeptical, and often were the ones to say no thank you.  At the end of about an hour, she went home with $22 dollars in her purse that wasn't there before, and a serious dose of confidence!!!
     This past weekend we enjoyed a classic Jason adventure.  On Saturday morning we headed out to visit the Texas Prison Museum about 45 minutes north, BUT on the way I saw a sign for "Huntsville State Park".  So, (as is the rule on our weekend adventures) if you see something interesting along the way you HAVE to stop.  This became our new adventure.  The place is great!!!  There are wild alligators in the lake (none of which we saw).  Tons of picnic areas and grills, hiking trails that range from a 10 minute hike to a 2 hour hike, and boats for rent!  Paddle boats, kayaks and canoes...as well as fishing rods.  We went for a paddle boat, and off we went across the lake.  Scott and I even gave the kids a turn steering and paddling.  We can't wait to come back here when Aunty and Ellie get here in a few weeks.
     On the way home there was a neat looking antique shop and soda fountain.  It did not disappoint!  The pictures will speak volumes.  Today it was all about capturing shots of Ethan and Scott on the street hockey court!  How cool is it that there is a rollerblade court at the park down the street...just there for whenever?!  Then Scott and I took Zevon for a walk and tried out the new wagon.  I got it for baseball season, but it will also allow us to bring the old man along for walks, if we can get him used to it.  Today was a bit rocky.  He wanted out sooo bad, but was just too weak to make the jump (not that he didn't try).  The lengths we will go to for our four legged children...

Fiona in her new glasses!

My door to door sales girl.

Here's what she was selling.

Um, have I mentioned that almost two years in and we are still LOVING homeschooling?

'Cause we can take off a random Tuesday and bounce the day away with fellow homeschoolers!!!

Checking out which trail to hike.

Can you see Fiona in there?

On board the only gold glitter paddle boat.

Check out my special paddling boots...and the gold.  I wasn't kidding.

Ahhh, men in charge.

Ladies in the back, relaxing.

This place is a trip!

It's a retail shop, ice cream shop, pool hall....

The barn outside has crazy antiques and signs.

This was in a random room of old frames...

Need a plane?  Bit of a fixer-upper.

Then another quick stop into Hobby Lobby...

Just look at this "hotty".

They have such a blast!

Shadow selfie.

My old man in his cart.

One of us had to stay next to him at all times.