The Rakovans

Yummy Goodness

2010-12-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

I was taken aback today by how much joy and gratitude a couple of homemade baked gifts brought me today. First, I arrived at school to find that my teacher friend made a loaf of yummy goodness just for me and another teacher just because she knew how we were hoping for it. She didn't have time to make it for everyone this year like she usually does, but she made a small batch just for us because she knew she would enjoy how happy we were to get it. And she was right.

After I hyperventilated and gushed a million thank you's, I got to hear my friend down the hall shriek repeatedly with joy as hers was delivered. You would think we were teenagers opening an ipad on Christmas morning.

Then my thoughtful students brought me several nice presents throughout the day. I kept wondering why the homemade goodies touched me so much more. Is it because I linked them with the labor of love that the special bread from the morning seemed to be?

And I arrived home to the highly anticipated annual box from Aunt Pat. We all try to be the one to get the mail on the day the buck-eye balls arrive each year so we can gobble them up before anyone else sees how many we really got. I was the lucky one this year, and I had a moment of weakness where I showed the box to James, who promptly wrestled them from me before I could come to my senses. We then called her so we could all give her the mouth-full-thank-yous.

So does this mean I'm officially old now? Or does it mean I've finally realized how personal the homemade stuff really is? How it seems to have more of the giver in it? Or am I just PMSing?

Christmas Tree Farm

2010-12-13T18:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not thrilled with how any of us look in this picture, but it's good of the trees and the farm and the beautiful day we went. And it explains why my hair looks so funny in the santa picture - hat hair.

This year we went earlier than usual on the day after Thanksgiving. I usually like to wait until after Kayla's birthday to start all the Christmas craziness. But I also wanted to start earlier this year in the hopes of enjoying Christmas for a change. I'm always so rushed and pressured and, therefore, resentful. Sad but true.

I'm so glad we did! It has made such a huge difference! I enjoyed decorating the tree because I was off from work and didn't have to rush through it. Since we had the tree, I had a place to put gifts so I could go ahead and start wrapping. That allowed me to see what I had bought and what I still needed, so I continued shopping. And I could shop online since it's not last minute, so I don't have to battle traffic or people or junk I don't want or Christmas music or any of that other stress-inducing stuff! Such a simple thing like getting the tree has allowed me to actually enjoy the Christmas season so far this year! I've even tuned my car radio to Christmas music on purpose a few times! I still can't believe that about myself.

Since G'ma Wood is here from Cleveland, she and Fred and Irene came with us. There are a few classic rocking chairs on the porch of the log cabin store, so they provided the perfect spot for G'ma to watch all the action comfortably and enjoy the beautiful day.

The kids enjoyed this year's added attraction - the rock climbing wall.

Pretty soon there won't be any more room for trees. They keep adding more entertainment each year. The place is almost unrecognizable from 7 years ago when we started going. Then it was just a hay ride and trees and a gift shop with hot apple cider and sausage on a stick. Then they added bounce houses, a roller coaster, a petting zoo, and even bungees. But once you finally get out to the tree farm part, it's still the same. And the great family that runs it seems to always stay the same. I like seeing their kids grow each year with ours. This has been the perfect start for what could actually be an enjoyable holiday season.

Date Nights

2010-12-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

Our family date nights are spread out more these days, but we're still keeping them going. Kayla and I like to go to the mall. We eat at Sbarro's or California Pizza kitchen.

We do some shopping at Justice and Dillards and the accessories stores. Then we spend a good hour sitting in the massage chairs at Brookstone and watching the parade of people go by eyeing us with envy.

We also like to go to the bean bag store and chill on the huge bean bags.

Sometimes I can convince her to browse through the bookstore. One time we stopped at the flat iron kiosk and got Kayla's hair curled. It looked really pretty! He wanted to straighten mine, but I wouldn't let him. He seemed overly peeved about it for some reason!

Cal and I usually go bowling. We eat pizza and play video games and he plays laser tag (I'm too claustrophobic to play). It's always nice to hang with them with no agenda other than enjoying each other.

Lexie

2010-12-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

I think the post date here is December 12, but I'm writing about when Lexie was born on August 3. We got Shellie my favorite raspberry orange muffin from Starbucks and drove to Frisco. Shellie really like her doctor, and was willing to continually make the drive so she could have Lexie here. Everything went well, and here she is with the kids.

She is beautiful and sweet and yummy. My favorite thing about her is how she sticks her leg straight up in the air when you unwrap her. I think the reason she does it is because when they were bathing her, they scrubbed a little hard in between her toes and scraped some skin off. It's like she's trying to keep her foot safe from everyone. I'm thinking I'm finally getting a fellow yogini in the family. :) When we saw her 3 months later she was still doing it. Yay! I love it!

Shellie had her first experience with claustrophobia. Apparently she woke up ripping everything off her. She just had to be free. The nurses were telling her it was too soon and she had to leave it all in, but they could tell they better not interfere if they wanted to keep all their appendages. I totally empathized with her - I've been there way too many times.

She was great in the morning when we got there. I admire her calm, joyful, humorous energy. Being around her reminds me to not only slow down and enjoy the moment - but also to laugh with it too.

Aferward the kids and I ate lunch at Chili's. Another great summer day!

Dog Days in Austin

2010-08-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

We've always wanted to take the dogs with us to Austin. It's a dog-friendly city, and we've always enjoyed playing with people's dogs everywhere we go when we're there. We just felt bad trying to keep them cooped up in a hotel room. So we found a great house to rent this time. It had a back yard and tile floors - perfect for the dog experiment. We still weren't sure if our unsocialized dogs could handle it. Onno barks and goes into attack mode when she sees anyone or anything, and Lena cowers and pees on herself. But we knew they would love running and swimming and exploring, so we brought them knowing that the worst case scenario would be that they couldn't handle it and would just stay in the back yard all week.

They were great in the car and actually seemed to enjoy the ride. We just stopped once half way to let them walk around a bit - which was a helpful for Kayla and me too since we've been getting carsick lately.

The first place we took them was a new trail the homeowner told us about right down the street from the house. You hike down about a quarter mile to an open stream with lots of huge river rocks to climb and sit on. There was only one other person there at the time, so it was perfect to experiment with what the dogs could handle. We knew Lena would be fine off the leash, but we weren't brave enough to let Onno off yet. We were unfamiliar with this trail, so if she ran off we wouldn't even know where to look for her. She didn't bark at all, which made us optimistic.

Tuesday morning I took Lena to Town Lake for a run at the dog park. She was in heaven just like I've always been when I'm there. I loved sharing it with her! Then we jogged on the trails where she had to be on a leash. It's pretty crowded there with joggers, bikers, and other dogs, so she cowered a lot at first and almost caused some accidents. I yelled a lot of "Sorry!" 's to people for the first 5 minutes. But she quickly caught on that if she stayed to my right at the edge of the trail, everyone would pass on our left and she would be both protected by me and out of everyone's way. Then we were back in Nirvana! Everyone always jokes about how dumb Lena is, but she's actually very smart.

We went back home to eat and get the rest of the family that likes to sleep in. Then we ventured to Barton Springs. This was the moment of truth for Onno. No leash. Big dogs. Lots of people.

She was great! Absolutely no barking. She stayed right by us. If she started to get more than a step or two away, we called her and she actually came back to us! She sniffed the other dogs curiously and never once attacked. She was so much better than we had dared to hope for. I still can't believe it!

We were hoping the dogs would take a running leap into the stream and swim their joyful hearts out like all the dogs we've watched here in the past. They did love it there, but it was in spite of the water - not because of it. They were so scared. I guess it makes since because they've never seen more water than what's in their water bowl at home. We tried carrying them in and letting them swim to shore. They did it, but they were scared and had had no desire to do it again. Lena's legs would start swimming in the air the second we picked her up to take her out in the water.

We left them in the house that evening while we went ziplining. I'm sure they slept the whole time.

Ziplining was awesome. Cal and I graduated to the challenge course this time. Once you get to the ropes course, they have 3 paths for you to choose: hard, harder and hardest. Predictably, I chose hard and Cal chose hardest. The guides encouraged me to try parts of the harder courses, but I was enjoying just watching Cal try to navigate the hardest course. He wore himself out, but he did it! It took a lot of courage and strength. I'm very proud of him. I'll take a few trips to work up to it. I think I'll try the harder course next year and the hardest the following year.

Kayla and James did the regular course again - as experts this time. Kayla's confidence and fearlessness helped the family of first-timers with them to relax and enjoy it. James tried to lighten things up with his "That's what she said" humor, but it was lost on them.

Afterward we took the kids to Salt Lick for some awesome barbeque. They didn't have baked potato - saving grace for our little vegetarian - so Kayla didn't like it so much. But the 3 carnivores pigged out and loved it. Kayla ate enough bread and potato salad to tide her over and we ordered pizza when we got home.

Wednesday Lena and I went back to Town Lake. We were experts today and had the routine down. Then it rained all morning, so we all played Phase 10 in the living room. Cal is the new the reigning champion. I'll have to give him the trophy when we get back home.

We went back to Barton Springs with the dogs and fed the birds. They really really wanted to eat them, and Lena wanted to eat the bees even more. She drove herself crazy trying to catch them.

Then we took them to Freddie's for dinner with us. Again - not barking at anyone! Amazing! And very enjoyable!

Thursday we went to New Braunfels to toob the Guadalupe. It was the perfect day for it. The whole week was unseasonably cool - 80's. And the rain had the river at a perfect 250 cps. We did the short and simple 2 hour trip since it was the kids' first time. That was a good decision. Kayla was not a fan. She enjoyed the 5 minutes where we got to watch a deer eat grass on the edge of the river, but this was her mantra during all 4 rapids:

"I hate this!"

"Why are you doing this to me?????!"

We won't discuss what happened when she discovered a bug in her toob with her. Good times. Cal loved it and wanted to keep going and do the longer 4 hour, but we decided not to torture Kayla.

Then since Kayla asked recently how we got engaged, so we took them up to Mount Bonnell. Afterard we went to The Oasis for dinner. I didn't know they let guests ring the big bell for sunset until they came to our table and asked if Kayla would like to do the honors tonight. She was reluctant, so Cal went with her. What a great brother :)

Friday we packed and went for one more outing with the dogs before heading home. When we got to the bottom of the Campbell trail, we realized our cool weather luck had ended in a big way. So we headed right back to the car and to Amy's ice cream to cool off.

Then we went back to Barton Springs since the water is always cold there. We swam this time, too.

We took the dogs to lunch at Shultz's beer garden. Very yummy and relaxing under a big shade tree, and they brought out a big bowl of water for each dog. We're going to have to take the dogs every time now. They made the trip, and I can't imagine enjoying it without them again.

Fun Day

2010-07-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

We spent all day playing with friends today at Amazing Jakes. It's getting too hot to do anything outside, even swimming, so I was glad our friends found this great indoor fun place. We met for the yummy lunch buffet, played games and rode rides until dinner, then ate dinner before heading home. All inside and all for one reasonable price. Excellent!

Kayla scaled the rock climbing wall effortlessly for the first time. Even with a jammed finger. She's not yet tall enough to drive the go-carts, but luckily she has a great big brother who drove her around the track recklessly with her screaming in panicked excitement the whole way.

Cal had a "girlfriend" within 10 minutes of our arrival as usual, so everyone got a kick out of making fun of his flirtiness all day.

As for me, I had good food, good moms to socialize with, and a great time watching the kids have fun. Another great summer day!

Summer View

2010-07-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is my view of Summer 2010. Perfection. My family, sun, water, and great books.

So many people don't know how to respond when they ask me what I'm doing with all my free time this summer and I answer, "As much nothing with my family as possible!"

I think they expect a list of big projects. "Remodeling my kitchen!"

"Building my own compost pile and complete garden!"

"Learning to speak fluent Mandarin!"

That all sounds great, but how could it compete with spending an entire day lounging around with Cal in his room while we procrastinate cleaning it? Or strolling all over town with Kayla looking for someone to teach her how to knit my cousin's baby a blanket by August 3, and the perfect frame for the pictures she wants to give her best friend on July 13 (Best Friend's Day)? Or spending hours playing with puppies at Operation Kindness because there's nothing we have to watch the clock to rush home to get ready for, and being there when our friends decide to adopt the extra special one we've fallen completely in love with? Or spending an entire day with all four of us on the couch watching movie after movie after movie?

Unscheduled time is the best thing about summer for me. I spend enough of the school year telling the kids, "No, we just don't have time for that this week, now hurry up - we gotta go." And telling James, "That's a great idea! Just find an empty spot on the calendar and we'll do it. How does 2042 work for you?"

It's like one of my favorite quotes says:

When the mind is not crowded 

By imaginary things, 

It is the best season of your life.

Summer is definitely the best season!

Party in the USA

2010-06-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Kayla and I had a great time at the Miley concert with her best fried and her mom. I love Miley. I think she's fun, and her music makes me happy. I'm pretty sure that of the 4 of us, I was the most excited about the concert. Kayla is sitting here saying, "Not true!", but I still think I was.

We ate at California Pizza Kitchen before the concert. When we got there, we were excited at how great our seats were - 13th row on the floor. The girls had a hard time seeing at first, but we quickly learned how to position them standing in the chairs so they could see everything.

At one point, she came right over us on a zipline singing a song. Then we were extra happy with our seats. I was surprised at how entertaining it was. She was very creative and had a lot of special effects and extras.

I also just love watching Kayla and Aden together. They're such great friends to each other. They love and enjoy and care for each other. They are the living definition of the perfect friend and have been since they met in Kindergarten.

Best Class Ever

2010-06-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

We weren't sure about me being Cal's teacher this year. It could have easily been a nightmare. We set up all these rules to prevent us from embarrassing each other. The main one was that once our ID's were on, we were just teacher and student. When the ID's came off in the afternoon, then we were just mother and son. Here's us on the first day of school.

Of course it had to be 4th period, the longest period of the day by 15 minutes. Luckily, the class was incredible. He was pleasantly surprised that I'm not as mean at school as I am at home, and that the class was kind of interesting. I was pleasantly surprised that he behaves better at school than he does at home, and he is a smart, inspiring student and a great leader in his class.

Here's one of the assignments he really got into. They were telling the class a folktale from their heritage. I tried to warn him to choose a different Czechoslovakian folktale, since his had a fairy princess for a main character, but he wanted to stick with it, so here he is telling the story to the class. My little fairy princess! :)

His best friends come from this class. I enjoyed them so much every day. There was only one day when I embarassed him. They were all hyper and wouldn't settle down, and we had something we had to get done that day, so I had to get mean and give some consequences. After school he told me I had been mean to them and he didn't like it. But it was only that one day out of the whole year, which tells what a great class they were. We took these pictures on the last day.

Best class ever!

Break a Leg!

2010-06-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been a year since I added anything here. Reading back over my last few posts made me realize how valuable it is, though. For some reason, doing anything with pictures just completely drains my energy. I don't know why that is - but it is. So it makes sense that I haven't had the spare energy needed in a year - the last time school was out. It took me a full 3 weeks to decompress. What a lifesaver summer is!

Kayla performed in her first play today. She took an exploration academy class called "Goldilocks on Trial" where they learn and perform a play on stage and with costumes and props and everything. She enjoyed the whole process, wasn't freaked out to perform, and did an outstanding job! She was confident, loud, clear, animated, and very entertaining. She's a natural! I foresee many more plays in her future.

Her part was Detective Clorox. She testified against Goldilocks, acted out the flashbacks, and eventually got called out for eating too many donuts to be a reliable witness.

And her teacher was one of my teammates at school, so that was fun, too.

I'm so proud of myself for figuring out how to get these pictures from my phone to the computer to the blog. Whew!

Luckily, Kayla also took a photography class at exploration academy. Hopefully she can help me with my cameraphobia!

Hill country vacation

2009-07-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

I don't have many pictures because we were in water most of the time and didn't want to worry about the camera. We started the vacation on July 2 celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary. We went back to California Pizza Kitchen and Dave and Buster's like we did after the wedding last year.

On Friday we woke up, packed, and headed for Austin. At the last minute, James talked Gaga And Grampa into coming with us for the weekend. Friday night we ate at Freddie's, petting the dogs and playing washers. Afterward we wen

t to Amy's ice cream.

We spent Saturday at Barton Springs. There were a ton of people there, but it didn't feel at all crowded. There was plenty of shade, the water kept us cool, and everyone was just relaxed and happy. I could have stayed all day, but we decided we should go to the hotel to rest before our late night of fireworks at auditorium shores.

We were so glad that we had such a convenient hotel for the fireworks show. Again, there were a ton of people, but we just walked right over, easily found a spot to lay out our blankets, and listened to the symphony music and people watched while we waited for the show. We were sitting right by the port-a-potty line, so we got a great parade of people to watch.

The kids even got to see our favorite Austin "character". There'

s not really a name for him, but anyone who has spent much time in Austin knows who he is. I just call him James' boyfriend. On this particular evening, his ensemble included a leopard bikini bottom that revealed plenty of crack, a denim vest, and a cowboy hat. Of course he was carrying his rolling luggage with him, so when it was his turn for the bathroom, he left the door open so he could keep an eye on his luggage. It was fun to watch the kids' faces, as well as several others in line who were obviously experiencing their first such sighting.

The fireworks were great. I was surprised by how cool it was to see their reflection in the new glass buildings on the shores. It made it look like the f

ireworks were exploding inside the buildings. Afterward, we easily walked right back to the hotel, thankful we didn't have to fight the traffic.

Sunday we ate our Embassy Suites breakfast and went to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. It was a great mix of family/spa/waterpark/luxury resort. We enjoyed the lazy river and the water volleyball.

Kayla and I decided to get out hair braided. It was SO tight! Kayla only lasted for a few hours before taking hers out. I lasted a little over 24 hours. It was nice to not have to think about or wash or brash my hair for a day. Is that what it's like to be a boy?

The kids decided to make Monday a lazy day. We spent a few hours at the pools, but most of the day we layed in bed watching movies and ordering room service. It was nice to just hole up in a little room with just the four of us.

Tuesday was Sea World. We spent most of the day in line. It was extremely hot. But the rides were fun and we saw some good shows. The waterskiing show was good and there was also a dolphin show. That's all I've got to say about that.

After Sea World we drove downtown and stayed on the Riverwalk. The Alamo was right outside our hotel window. We ate at a Mexican restaurant on the river that was yummy.

Wednesday was Schlitterbahn. This was a great day. Long lines, but plenty of shade and not too crowded. Everyone was happy. It's just a different vibe in the hill country. If you're in a crowd, it's okay because everyone is chilled and happy and it's a good energy. If you're in a crowd in Dallas, it's a resentful, hurried, "get-outta-my-way-I'm-way-more-important-than-you" energy. Anyway, we liked the rapids ride in the original park, and we liked the Master Blaster and the wave river on the new side.

When we left we found a new yummy restaurant in Clear Springs. Calvin ate at least 20 ounces of steak, and we all completely stuffed ourselves. I have vowed to NEVER stuff myself again - I was so miserable. I guess that what happens when none of us eat all day.

On Thursday, we just couldn't decide what to do. We had planned to go tubing on the Guadalupe, but it was so low we could tell it would actually be drudging down what used to be the Guadalupe before it dried up. So we decided to go ziplining. I was being chicken for some reason. I think it was the heat I was afraid of. Every day was getting up to 106, and it had been okay since we were in water, but I didn't know what to expect here. So we went to go see how it looked.

It looked awesome, and it was half price day, and they had a spot for us in the evening if we came back at 6. That was perfect because we realized on the way there that Krause Springs was right down the road. So we went swimming at Texas' #1 best swimming hole.

Now we know why it was voted #1! You're surrounded by trees and rocks and waterfalls. It's cool,fresh spring water. There's a rope swing. And Cal went straight to the cliff diving without hesitation. I wish I could be that carefree. I watched him over and over climb up the cliff and fly off. I was so envious! It looked so fun! I watched people jump for about half an hour, getting my courage up. And finally I steeled myself to do it. I knew it would be fun - I'm just such a chicken.

So Cal taught me how to climb up using the tree branches, pointed out the hornet's nest and how to avoid it, showed me where to step to get to the edge without slipping, and the overhead branches to hang onto as I made myself jump. The scariest part was making sure you jump out far enough so you won't hit the cliff on your way down. It felt so great!

Then we went to eat at an awesome barbeque restaurant called Opie's. When you walk in the door they open up this huge smoker and ask you what you want. Pretty cool. It was really good, but we were all careful not to eat too much after Clear Springs.

Ziplining was even more fun than any of us expected. It's not nearly as scary as it seems. In fact, it's not scary at all-just fun! The only kind of scary part was the bridges you cross to get from tree to tree. We're looking forward to going back to do the Challenge course next time. We all agree that the unplanned day turned out to be the funnest day by far. Isn't that usually how it happens?

Friday was our last day. Everyone was pretty ready to go home. I did my town lake running in the morning. Then we ate breakfast at Kirby Lane and went back to Barton Springs for the day. I guess it was pretty hot again because I lost count of the people carted off by ambulances throughout the day. But we didn't notice. We just swam and basked in the sun and soaked up all of Austin we could before heading back the next day.

Friday night we met Kellie and her family at Baby A's. It had actually been 10 whole years since we had all seen each other together. Unbelievable. It was fun to be all together and hang out for a night.

Saturday we just got up and went. No breakfast, no nothing, just went. We were pretty ready to get home.

Cal's summer

2009-07-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of catching up to do. I haven't updated since January. The computer started getting slower and slower and slower, and it was just a beating to do anything on it. So now we have a new one and I've got all the pictures transferred and I'm finally ready to get back to it. I'm not techy enough to be able to put it in the right order, so I'm just going to randomly catch up on the last 6 months as best I can. Waiting until I can do it perfectly will only lead to more procrastination.

So - Cal has been to several basketball camps this summer. These pictures are from the Mavs camp. It was amazing to see how much more smooth and deliberate he was after just one week.

The burnt orange really made him stand out. A little ironic since his team was the Oklahoma Sooners, but it was nice to be able to pick him out of the crowd so easily.

Freedom!

2009-01-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those perfect California weather days right in the middle of gloomy winter when you can really appreciate it. Cal and I started out at the gym, and as we walked to the car we declared it a "Windows Open Day"! We opened the windows, I showered and put on a tank top, and I moved the patio furniture out of the shade and into the sun so I could lay back and soak it all in. Warm sun on my skin felt so great!!!

Then kayla remembered that she had seen a four year old riding his bike without training wheels. "If he can do it, I can do it!"

So I took the training wheels off her bike, we grabbed my old rollerblading kneepads and wrist guards, Cal grabbed his football and rubics cube, and we headed to the park where the sidewalks are wider.

She did so great! She started off confidently by herself, getting about two pedals before she needed to put her foot down for balance. She wasn't falling at all, so the wrist guards were really only making it hard for her to control the handle bars, so she took those off.

She reached a peak and wasn't making any more progress, so we tried it with me holding on to her to get some speed going, then letting go. She did great! She got up to about 8 pedals before she had to put a foot down.

She still wasn't falling, so she shed the kneepads to give her better leg control. But she started getting frustrated, and mad at me for not letting her also shed the helmet. "It makes me feel caged in!"

About then the ice cream truck came by, so we took a snack break. After she cleaned up all the melted pink panther popsicle from her hands, face, arms, and clothes, she played at the park for a while.

She is so excited to have her freedom from training wheels now!

And when we got home, Cal actually completed the rubrics cube! Seriously! No cheating! He totally got all the colors put back and solved it in one day! That's persistence.

Christmas

2008-12-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

Kayla woke up at 6:30 this year and was very patient while we drank our coffee and woke up Cal to open Santa's presents. We started with the stockings, which had fun games and magic tricks in them. We've especially been having fun witht the electronic 20 questions. It's spooky how specifically it gets your thoughts! It knew that I was thinking of a golden retriever puppy -weird!

Then we opened presents from each other. Dad got rock band gear, fire place tools, and framed momentos. Mom got work out gear, pajamas, and a digital frame. Cal got jerseys and baseball cards. Kayla got bean bags and Barbie furniture. Both kids got Dave and Busters gift certificates. WooHoo!

We ate a quick breakfast and went to Gaga and grampa's to eat and open presents there. Ella was very cudly with Cal this year. The kids had fun playing in the leaves in the back yard.

Christmas Tree Farm

2008-12-28T17:25:00.001-08:00

We go to Canton every year to get a tree from the Christmas tree farm. The real Santa is there, and it's a lot of fun to cut a tree down, so it's worth the long drive.

We see Santa first. He tells jokes to Dad, then the kids sit and tell them their lists for Christmas.

Next, we walk the farm in search of the perfect tree. This year we chose the tallest one yet. It almost touches the ceiling in the house!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

We drove to Wichita Falls for Christmas Eve. We got there in time to enjoy Kenzie a little before everyone else got their hands on her. She's very alert and laid back.

Dinner was Mexican food, and the enchiladas were awesome. Cheesecake dessert was great, too. The kids didn't eat much since it wasn't Tombstone and fried eggs. I've got to start making them expand their diet. I've let them be too picky.

The kids wrestled while they waited for everyone to finish eating so we could open presents. Jaxson was having fun calling James "Bucko!", which always prompted a beating. Kohen just watched from a safe distance. He's not into the rough stuff yet. We also got a great picture of all 6 great grandkids.

Cal loved his jersey and video game, and Kayla was thrilled with her Webkinz and American Girl loot.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

Cal and I started Thanksgiving Day with the Turkey Trot 5K in downtown Dallas. I've been looking forward to racing with him for a long time. Lately he's been working out with us at the gym. He can run for about 15 minutes on the treadmill, so it was definitely time to bump up from the fun run 1 mile races to a 3 mile 5K. He was reluctant to get up early and drive all the way down there with me, but I think he saw how excited I was and did it for me. He's a great kid!

So we parked and registered and found a good spot to people watch and soak in the festive atmosphere while we waited for the race to start. The dogs are always fun to watch and pet. One black lab was decorated all over with turkey feathers. Cal liked the guy dressed up as a tofu turkey with a sign that read "It's hip to eat square!" We started pointing out all the kids his age that he was about to beat in the race.

When the race started we had to wait about 15 minutes before we could cross the finish line. As soon as there was an open path, Cal took off sprinting. I had a hard time keeping up with him because of both speed and weaving ability. He's not as worried about politeness as I am. I kept up well enough to not lose him, which is good because he never looked back.

After a few minutes, he slowed down to walk for a little bit. We alternated sprints and walking for the first mile. At about 1.1, we were walking and Cal said, "Mom, this isn't very fun."

"That's okay. We're almost half way, and there will be a water station up here. That should replenish your energy."

"Whatever. I think I'm getting blisters. And I know we've gone at least 2 miles by now."

He slows down to a leisurely stroll. Kids start passing us.

"Hey Cal. See that group of kids that just passed us? They're all beating you now."

"I don't care, Mom! My feet hurt. Where's the water?"

We kept strolling through Deep Ellum. We passed a pizza restaurant and Cal wanted to stop and eat. Luckily everything is closed for the holiday. He insists that he was just kidding, but I don't believe him.

As we passed the 2 mile mark, Cal declares that he will never do another Turkey Trot. I thought maybe he was rested enough to jog a little bit and get some momentum going, so I pointed out the toddler and old lady that had just whizzed by us.

"Cal, you can not let that baby beat you, and I can not let that Grandma beat me. Let's go!"

"Stop it, MOM!"

So I decided to just enjoy the leisurely walk with my son. Maybe next year he would change his mind, change his shoes, and decide to try to beat his time.

Luckily, about that time, we passed a building with a couple in the window cheering everyone on. They were acting like they were running. They had their hands in the air in exaggerated "rock on!" signs, and were screaming and celebrating. It was SO funny, and their energy was contagious.

That got us to the 2.5 mile mark. There was water there and that seemed to pep him up a bit. We might make it. Then Cal actually asked if we could find a place to sit down and rest! That was where I had to draw the line. There was no way we were sitting down!

So we somehow made it through that last whiny half mile, and found the energy to run across the finish line at an hour and 22 minutes. Pitiful! But hopefully encouraging that we could easily beat our time next year if I'm able to drag him out again. I really hope so. I had a great time!

Thanksgiving lunch was at Gaga Irene's. James fried a turkey this year, and it was delicious! Grandma Wood was here, and it was a great day!

Birthday Girl

2008-11-29T09:40:00.000-08:00

Today was Kayla's party day. She surprised us by sleeping in. She later told us that she was trying to sleep until 3:30 becasue she just can't wait for her party. Then she surprised us again by wanting to eat breakfast BEFORE she opened her presents. So she ate 2 cinnamon rolls and 6 fried eggs, snuggled with Dad for a while, played a song on the piano, and finally decided to open her presents. We played the "hot/cold" game to locate her hidden presents. She got a Hannah Montana karaoke machine, 3 karaoke CD's, and a rug and wall decorations for her newly decorated room.

Her friends started arriving around 3, and we all went in our car to iceskate at Stonebriar. I even skated, and it was scary at first, but very fun.

I'm glad Kayla wanted me to. At the end of skating, they cleared the ice for the zamboni, and Kayla got to ride on it and wave to everyone while it smoothed the ice. Then we gathered in the party room to eat pizza and cake and open presents.

Back at home, the girls made a flower craft that Kayla created and organized. They had a pillow fight and watched a Olsen twins movie called "The Challenge". There was some drama at bedtime because everyone was so excited about Kayla's plan to sleep under the bed, but they just couldn't find a way to fit 6 girlas under the bed, and no other arrangement would work to everyone's satisfaction. So after a lot of tears, negotiating, and losing 2 of the girls who decided to just go home, the remaining 4 girls slept happily on Kayla's bed.

I'm mad at myself for waiting almost a month to finish writing all this down, because I'm not doing it justice a month later. Which reminds me, she still needs to send out thank you cards. . . . . .

Date Night

2008-11-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

It's been too long since we did a date night with the kids. Cal and Dad went to play basketball at Lifetime. The place is empty on Saturday night, and they got the court to themselves. Although they were surprised to run into 2 seperate families from McCoy. I guess Saturday night is family night at the gym - who knew?

They planned to go bowling afterward, but there was a 90 minute wait, so they drove over to the whirlyball place. They were promptly "greeted" by a lady informing them it was closed for a party. So they settled for the old standby - a movie. They saw Madagascar2. They thought the funniest part was the old lady beating everyone up.

Kayla and I decided to finally go to the American Girl store to get Mia, have them re-do Julie's braid, and eat at the Bistro. We invited Gaga Kay to go with us. First we got Mia. She has really soft, shiny, strawberry blonde hair. Then we dropped off Julie at the hair salon. Kayla was worried about her having to wait in the cubbies for her turn, until we pointed out that she could see all the other dolls getting their hair done while she waited.

We shopped around the store and made a birthday list until it was Julie's turn at the salon. We watched how they did her hair, and we think we'll be able to do it ourselves if needed in the future.

Then it was time for our resevation at the bistro. They had special chairs for the dolls at the table and special menus, too. They actually have really good food! You get to order a starter, meal, and side. Kayla liked the flatbread best, because it is actually cheese pizza. That was my favorite, too, but I think Gaga preferred the pretzel bread with dipping sauce. Kayla even got her favorite desert - hot fudge with ice cream.

The birthday party on the other side of the bistro was cute for about 5 minutes. The second time they screamed the happy birthday song we began to get annoyed, and the 3rd time was just downright obnoxious. Right now Kayla never wants to hear that song again. Hopefully that will wear off in the next 3 weeks!

Halloween

2008-11-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Halloween night at home this year. We felt like we did Halloween last weekend because we went camping and trick-or-treated from tent to tent, went on a hayride, walked a haunted trail, entered a scream contest, and watched a scary movie. So tonight was kind of just a bonus. Both kids have always enjoyed passing out candy as much as collecting it, so we just made a quick trip around the scariest parts of the neighborhood.

Good Citizen

2008-11-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

Cal was chosen by his class and teacher as a Good Citizen for his class for the first 9 weeks of school. He was chosen for exemplifying the 7 McCoy Cowboy character traits: respect, responsibility, pride, citizenship, integrity, cooperation, and one more that I can't remember (effort, maybe?). He was recognized in front of the school at an assembly, and the 5th grade performed. He had parts in the performance playing the recorder and big wooden xylophone thingies that I also don't know the name for.
Kayla was "Sheriff of the Week" in her class, so here she is in her sheriff hat at the assembly.

Ice skating

2008-11-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

Kayla's chosen activity this semester is ice skating. She takes lessons every Thursday evening. She has learned 8 new skills, and her favorite and most advanced move this session is spinning. I love seeing her all decked out. The first week she just skated in her clothes from school. Then she realized she needed a jacket. Then she fell and we added the gloves. Then one week she didn't wear socks to school, so we had to buy the tall ice skater socks at the skate shop. She decided to wear them every week, so now we suddenly have an ice skating bag we haul in every week. Add in a couple of juice packs and her sticker necklace that gets added to every week, and she looks like a serious skater as she arrives with her bag full of equipment.

Here she is mid-spin. You can't really tell in a picture.

Fair Day '08

2008-10-13T18:21:00.001-07:00

We have learned a lot over the last few years about the fair, what we think is the most fun, and how we like to spend our day. We start with the petting zoo. James really likes the mean ostrich who flails around wildly while he eats, then tries to bite your finger off. Most people heed the warning signs and feed him from the shovels or cups they provide. Not James . . . .

Here's the "surprising" bite he got from the mean ostrich.

The kids like to go on the scary high rides that the old folks are too scared to go on now. So Cal and Kayla stand in line and ride together while we sit and wait, amazed at how big and brave they are.

We're even more amazed that not only are they not fighting, they are actually enjoying and taking care of each other!

After the rides, we play some of the games on the midway. Cal won several basketball games and got a Mavericks and a Lakers basketball.

Kayla beat Dad in the water gun race. She won a Longhorn. Dad won the huge Cheetah on a basketball game. Kayla also threw darts at balloons to win a unicorn.

As we left the park, Jordan Pruitt was playing! Kayla was very excited.

Farmer James

2008-10-12T11:30:00.001-07:00

We've tried to grow tomatoes several times with no success. This year, James planted 13 tomato plants, and we actually got three tomatoes out of them! This is the very first one. It was delicious!

Campfire

2008-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

We went camping at Lake Ray Roberts. It was just a quick "one-nighter", and the highlight was the campfire. The kids roasted all the hotdogs and marshmallows for everyone.
We also got to use our first-aid kit this time when Aunt Pat got stung by a bee!

It's out!

2008-10-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Kayla's second top tooth finally came out, after several days of looking like Nanny McFee. It was so gross! We're so glad it's out. You can already see the grown-up teeth coming in.

Aces Soccer

2008-09-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of the soccer season. The Aces are undefeated and can't be stopped. They have been blowing out the other teams, usually scores like 7-1 or 11-0. This team has been together for 4 years now, and they're playing like a well-oiled machine. Winning is always nice, but I think the boys are starting to wish for a little challenge. They're looking forward to the play-offs for some competition.

Cal usually plays forward/striker the first half of the game. He likes staying by the goal where all the action is.
The second half, he usually plays goalie. It's a lonely half becuase the Aces keep the ball at the other end for most of the game. Cal watches everything, though, and coaches from the box to make sure everyone is where he should be at all times.
And yes, the socks fashion statement is intentional. It makes it easy to locate him on the field.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

2008-09-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

Kayla lost her top front tooth! This is the second one she lost this week. The other top tooth is very loose and will be out soon!

First Day of School!

2008-09-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 25, 2008

No one was ready to go back to school this year. We had a great Summer, and we did not want it to end. But it did. So we focused on the fun aspects of going back to school. Cal knew he was going back to a great teacher for his last year of elementary school. He had Mrs. White for 3rd grade, and this year she moved up to 5th grade. He also just got several new basketball jerseys for his birthday, and he looked forward to wearing those.

Kayla looked forward to seeing all the friends she did not see over the Summer. We had a fun shopping day buying her new clothes, too. She picked everything out herself this year.
Both kids looked forward to being apart from each other all day again!