Children's Museum

The girls have been bugging me forever to take them to the Children's Museum. I have been avoiding it because it's always so crazy busy and annoying there. I finally decided that I had the patience, so off we went! It was pretty nuts, as always, but we had a great time. There was a "Spy Exhibit", and the girls loved doing all the spy stuff and trying to solve all the problems. Brooke absolutely loved the little air that shot out to keep the ball in the air. That girl could have stood there forever balancing that ball over and over. They kept wanting to go back to the diner and the grocery store, but after they realized how many kids were in there, they joined me in deciding that it was too crazy in there. We had a great time, and hopefully they won't be asking to go back for a while. :)

Willow Jean...

After 14 years, Cory and I are officially dogless :( Willow started going downhill pretty quickly after Christmas, so we decided to put her down. She did almost exactly what Zoe did with not being able to stand up on her own, and just getting very weak in general. We had tried to give her some anti-inflammatory pills, but it just didn't seem to work. We had her put down at a different vet, and they were so much nicer and did everything so much sweeter than the other place. When we first got there, they put us in a little comfortable room with a couch and soft rug. They handled everything so quickly and kindly. It was the best situation that you could ask for in a scenario like that. I'm so grateful for that! Here is our slideshow for our sweet, lovable Willow girl- love her!

Willow was a great dog! Of course, she was needy and no amount of petting was ever enough for her, but she was always so sweet. She let the girls be all over her and never complained, and she always wanted to be right in the middle of the action. Her favorite thing was to come over and "dance" with us when we were having a dance party! She loved being right by Zoe all the time, and once Zoe was gone she did seem to be a little lonely. Her other favorite thing was to come and lay right next to me any time I was exercising on the ground. It's pretty strange without any dogs in the house. Every time I see a cracker or a goldfish on the ground, I always think of her. I also used to give her all the crusts to the girls' sandwiches, now they just get thrown away :( I do not think I will ever be able to open a piece of sliced cheese without looking for her to come running my way. I do miss that sweet girl, but I think she had a great life with us. At least I hope we gave her the life that she deserved! I hope that she is up in doggy heaven, reunited with her sister. I can see them playing and running around in circles now.

Workout Buddies

The girls usually never want to go to the Y with me anymore. I'm not sure why because anytime they go, they seem to have a good time. Anyway, one Sunday, they wanted to go with me. I was totally fine with it, but I always feel a little rushed when I know they are there. I was about to do a little running when I had an feeling that something was wrong. I went down to childwatch, and sure enough, Brooke had fallen and scrapped her knee. It was nothing major, but she was definitely sad. I asked them if they wanted to come up to the track with me while I finished, and they were so excited! They ran some laps, did some "stretching", and did some other exercises. Brooke was hilarious! She probably ran 10 straight laps. The girls kept stopping to "exercise", but she just kept on running and running. She might be our only one that loves to run! I love teaching them the importance and the fun of exercising.

A Successful Swim Meet

Adilyn and Kacy have continued to enjoy swimming, but they are still having a bit of a hard time with the level of competition they face. We did a "developmental" meet, and it was so good for them to see a little more success. They placed in every single one of their events! Now, granted the super fast kids weren't at this meet, and the girls totally understood that, but they still were the faster of the not super fast. Ha! Ha! Kacy had the fastest time for the 50 Fly and the 100 IM. She was 3rd in the 50 Free. Adilyn got 4th, 5th, and 6th in the 100 backstroke, 100 IM, and 100 freestyle. Adilyn also got her "B" time standard time in the 100 IM. She was really proud of herself! I never get pictures at swim meets, but maybe I should start trying a little harder to liven up these swimming posts.

A Peaceful Day of Play

Every now and then the girls get along for an extended period of time. Those times are absolutely glorious! I love seeing how they use their imagination and work together. I love hearing their little voices pretending and playing. The giggles are by far my favorite!
Today they played dress up, make up artists, and college girls :) I wish there were a million more of these days, but I have to just appreciate them when they are here, and hope for more of them along the way. Love my girls!

Railroad Museum

We had s super birthday at a Railroad Museum down in Rosenberg. It was so neat down there! Most of the stuff to play with were for younger kids, but we still had a lot of fun. I even got Kacy to dress up in the "old timey" clothes, even if it was just for a second. They had an old-fashioned actual passenger train that they had set up like the old days. It was a beautiful day to be outside and to celebrate with cousins!
After the party, we went across the street to an antique store. The girls were totally freaked out by the creepy old dolls with their creepy eyes. It was actually pretty entertaining to see them try to find the scariest one! We actually ended up finding some cool vintage Barbies and some old McDonald's Beanie Baby toys. It was a fun day of old timey things!

The Coldest 5K, Ever!

Adilyn's running club, Fit Girls, was scheduled to run a 5K in December, but it got canceled because of the rain. It was rescheduled for this weekend, and it was a serious cold front. Like more than a "normal" stupid Houston cold front, it was a serious arctic blast! When we got out of the car it was 20 degrees and felt like 14. Brrrr!!! I was really surprised that she wanted to do it, but she did. Who was I to say that it was too cold? The things we do for our kids!!! We had lots of clothes on, and once we got moving it wasn't too bad. At about .75 mile, Adilyn didn't want to go on. She started complaining a little bit, and I was like "Oh no, you wanted to do this. I got out of my warm bed. We are doing these 3 miles!" So, we came up with a plan. I gave her my watch, set 1 minute run/walk intervals, and we continued. We made it in about 45 minutes, and she was really proud of herself, and I was proud of her! Hopefully the next 5K will be a little nicer weather. :)

Swimmer #3

Brooke has joined the family of swimming ladies! She is just doing swim lessons once a week, and we hope that's enough to get her ready for summer swim team. She fought us and fought us about wanting to do them, and I was thinking that it was going to be a disaster! Luckily, she got right in, listened to her coach, and smiled through the whole thing. I knew she would love it once she did it, and I sure hope that she sticks with it and learns a lot! So far, so good. :)

Alien Sisters?

The girls can get quite creative in their imaginative play. The other day after bath, Brooke and Kacy came down in matching jammies and panties on their heads. Adilyn was a DJ, and she announced them as the "Alien Sisters!" I couldn't get them to stop laughing long enough to figure out what in the world they were doing. These crazies! There is nothing more that I love than hearing three little gigglers having fun together.