Sarah and Leah

So for some reason I've always thought my nieces Leah and Sarah were really far apart in age - probably because they've only been together once. At our wedding. As it turns out, they aren't even a full year apart - they'd be in the same primary class at church. Today we dropped Danny off at a sitters and then picked Leah up from school. The three of us headed off to Splashtown to do the big rides. There were NO lines, so we went again and again on all the rides. The girls were so brave and were fearless. They were quickly the best of friends, holding hands between rides and laughing and splashing. They were having such a fun time that they wanted to stick together a little longer. Leah joined us for dinner and then after showers, the girls got in their PJs, snuggled into the "nest," and watched a movie together. Then, when Leah had to go home I said, "Say goodbye, you may not see each other for a long time (like a few years)" And even after their bonding time holding hands at Splashtown and not wanting to be split apart all evening they just said, "Bye. See ya later." No tears, no hugs, no sorrow. The simple, pure friendship of 8 year olds . . . .gotta love it.
(Debbie, don't worry . . . I will fix Sarah's hair tomorrow when we're not having a water-filled day) ;)

Sarah's Visit

We are lucky to have our niece Sarah visiting from Utah this week. She is a Texas girl by birth, but hasn't been back since she was a baby. Her dad had some meeting in Austin, so down they came. Although she hasn't loved the Texas heat (although she told me she was getting used to it today), she's had fun with Danny AND cooling herself off at Splashtown, the water park by our house. We also made chocolate covered strawberries for a baby shower. Actually, we ate quite a few of them ourselves and made a big chocolaty mess. While Danny naps, we've played a few games. Sarah would be proud to share that while she hasn't won Mancala yet, she is the reigning Aggravation game champion (it's a lot like the game Sorry). Tomorrow we are driving up to Austin to meet Sarah's dad. It's been a fun visit and we are so glad to be spoiling one of our "far away" nieces. :)

Go Spurs Go

Back in 2003 Matt and I were dating pretty seriously during the NBA playoffs. We had made a day trip to San Antonio previously to watch a Spurs game and then watched many of the playoff games on TV. When they won the Championship that year, it was clearly a sign that our relationship had good things in store. :) We made a trip to San Antonio to watch the Championship boat parade. Do we look 5 years younger in that picture?


Since then, Spurs have won in 2005 & 2007. Matt and I think it's time they had back-to-back championships. Game 5 for the Spurs/Lakers series is Thursday night. Spurs are 3-1, so I'm hoping this special blog will help them get out of the hole their in - GO SPURS! During the last series against the New Orleans Hornets, Matt and I were able to get some reasonably priced tickets to game 6. We quickly made arrangements for Danny (thanks sis!), Matt took a day off work, and we drove out to San Antonio. We got there in time for the pre-game festivities - face painting, climbing wall, poster designing. Matt was a little bummed to find out the game would be on ESPN2, not TNT as he had originally been informed. His poster was still cool. Though I admit I'm a Spurs fan by marriage, I get pretty excited about the games. Matt seemed impressed that I was able to name almost the whole roster. The game was fantastic - cheer sticks, great seats, super nachos, AND a double digit lead most of the game. Just the way we like it. Spurs won 99 - 80. If you don't have a team left in the playoffs (sorry Jazz and Rockets) then you should really jump on the Spurs bandwagon. GO SPURS GO!

My sleeping boys

This was from a few weeks ago when Danny got really sick. He woke up from his nap with a 103.7 degree fever - he felt like a hot water bottle. Needless to say he just wanted to be held. I had previously agreed to bring a chocolate fountain to a baby shower, so had to leave for about 20 minutes to get it set up. Matt took over comforting our sick little guy and they snuggled with Baby Einstein. When I got back from helping set up the chocolate fountain, this is what I found. Fortunately, Danny's fever/illness only lasted about 24 hours. Some Motrin, a cool mist humidifier, and many extra hours of sleep did wonders for the little guy.

Setting the Table

He's getting a little better all the time. Maybe he'll be a pro by his second birthday.

Busy beagles

Daisy and Dozer felt like they had been neglected on this blog, so I thought I better post something about them. When my parents were visiting they brought their dogs, Joy and Freckles. Even though papillons are an inferior breed to beagles, the four had a lot of fun playing together. :) J/K mom and dad. Dozer really loved the octopus toy that his cousin dogs brought him to play with. This picture captures Daisy perfectly. All her waking hours (which are few- usually she's asleep) are spent watching the neighborhood out the window. Any unusual behavior (actually usual behavior too) is reported promptly. She sprints out her dog door to the backyard and howls an alarm. Aroooooooooooooh! We have to close the dog door in the evening - 9 PM seems to be her favorite alarm time. Gotta love our hounds.

Anne's Cake

So here is pictures of the beautiful cake Anne did while Lisa and I were out and about downtown Houston. Isn't my sister talented?! And the amazing thing is that not only does it look beautiful, but it tasted delicious. I was glad to help eat the cake scraps and leftover filling. Each tier was a different flavor, and each tier had 3 layers of scrumptious cake & filling. There was chocolate/vanilla swirl with coconut filling, chocolate with chocolate filling and white with raspberry filling. I think that's right - all tasted amazing! Great job sis!

Children's Museum with Aunt Lisa

Aunt Lisa came to visit from Georgia, courtesy of her son Brian's internship with Delta. Hooray for family working in the airline industry - thanks Brian! Anne had to make a wedding cake, so Aunt Lisa and I ventured out with the 3 youngest kids. We spent the day at the Children's Museum painting faces, exploring, watching baby chicks, and having fun. I was surprised Danny knew what to do with the telephone since he's only seen cell phones. Hard to believe the kid has never seen a phone with a cord! After a fun morning we went to Hermann Park and had lunch and then looked for ducks at the Japanese Garden. There were some tired kids (and adults) on the drive home, but it was a fun day AND a great visit from Aunt Lisa.

Rocking Chair

Our friends gave us this little wooden rocking chair. Their son, who is now in 4th grade, had outgrown it long ago and they thought Danny might like it. When Grandma Hong was visiting she helped . . . OK, she did it and I watched . . . redo the cushions on the chair. It's not as kid-looking as it was before, but I kind of like the miniature 'adult' rocking chair and the new fabric on the pillows matches our sofas really well. You can tell Danny has a lot of fun with it! My favorite is when I find him reading a book and rocking in it. That doesn't happen often enough, nor does it last long enough, that I've been able to catch a photo of it. Hopefully soon !

Introducing Dizzy

So several weeks ago, my friend Terri, who watched Danny while I was teaching, posted some adorable pictures of a puppet she had made for her boys. I commented and asked if she was talented enough to make a beagle puppet. To Danny and my delight, the next time he visited she introduced us to Dizzy. Danny has so much fun with Dizzy the beagle puppet, even if he can't keep him on his hand very long. Dizzy's favorite activity is to play fetch with the ball popper. Danny thinks it's pretty great to have a beagle who doesn't take the balls, run outside with them, and chew them up. Dizzy puts them right back in where they belong. We now have Daisy, Dozer, and Dizzy . . . any other ideas for D names? Thanks Terri! Danny sure misses coming to your house!

NBA Playoffs

Danny is hoping to earn a Championship ring soon.

Cocoa tastes yucky

Recently Danny was "helping" me make a Texas sheet cake. I'm not sure why this cake is called a Texas sheet cake - maybe because it's big and flat. I had the recipe long before I became a Texan. So anyway, the recipe calls for quite a bit of cocoa. As he often does, Danny wanted to taste several of the ingredients. He sat on the counter tasting, watching me add a few, trying to stir, tasting more. Soon he came to the delicious looking cocoa. He dipped his finger in, tasted, and then with a disgusted glare shoved the entire box of cocoa of the counter. Needless to say, we had a powdery mess. I'm not sure what possessed me to let Danny get off the counter while I attempted to clean up the mess - we soon had cocoa foot prints all over the floor along with Danny's cocoa-y PJs. At this point there is nothing left to do but laugh and get the camera. He decided the finished product (uncooked batter - yes Heather, I let him eat the raw egg too) was pretty tasty and I'm pleased to say our floor is now cocoa free.