Sunday, November 27, 2016

Field Day 2016

Field Day was last week! This year, third and fifth grade field days were at the same time, so Gene and I popped between the two classes to catch as much of the action as we could.

Here's Henry cheering on his class, McClintock's Medalists! 


Henry competed in four events: the obstacle course relay, 2 person sack race, crossover, and over and under.


#1


Will competed in three events: the obstacle course relay, baton relay and over and under.





Check out the amazing sign one of the mom's made for his class:


As always, field day was a blast!

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

A Sunday Adventure: Brazos Bend State Park

Sunday was a gorgeous, cool day, so we headed down south to Brazos Bend State Park for a day of hiking. Being outside was exactly what we all needed!

Despite the perfect weather, the park wasn't very crowded. Our first hike was on the White Oak Trail, and we didn't see a soul!


The boys loved having Ruby with us.





 Picnic lunch after the first two miles


 followed by some playground time



 For our second hike, we chose the Hale Lake loop.


It was just beautiful!




Vultures in the tree





Fall in Texas is lovely, and we can't wait to spend another day outside, hiking and being together.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Lately: Keeping On

Our lives are always full, but this fall has been busy to the point of stressful! From touring middle schools and filling out endlessly long applications to keeping up with the kids' activities and attempting to finally update our house a bit, we are all falling in to bed completely exhausted each night! Despite the long days, we are trying to remember that this too shall pass.

With that, here's a quick peek at some of what we've been up to lately:

Hands On Art -- the boys learned all about Gustav Klimt


Henry played baseball for the first time this fall. He learned so much and enjoyed the more laid-back approach to fall ball. Henry's last game was Sunday afternoon; he made two outs at third base and got a hit, which earned him a game ball for his efforts.






Celebratory cookies made by one of our friends
 

Game ball!


Gene went to the opera with his brother one night, so the boys and I went to Barnes and Noble to spend a gift card. The store was having a builders' workshop and Henry spotted the Magformers right away!


Ice cream at the Chocolate Bar


Kid in a candy store!


We also have had a couple of author visits at school. James Hannibal came with his new book, The Lost Property Office, which Will tore through in less than 24 hours!

 
 Henry earned his whittling chip for Cub Scouts


and carved a fish.


And finally, I'll leave you with this snapshot of a birthday card I spotted at the post office. I laughed out loud in line because this perfectly embodies our cat, Freyja, who is constantly sitting by her water bowl and begging for fresh.  #spoiled


May we all find some humor in unexpected places to help us get through the tough spots. 

Friday, November 4, 2016

Halloween and All Things Pumpkin-y

We have been enjoying all things pumpkin lately! Last week, Henry's class dug into 12 pumpkins to do some hands-on science and math activities. I got to help out and take photos and the kids had a blast digging into the gooey gourds.



Last weekend, we visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Sugar Land because they had a family-friendly haunted house and Will has been dying to visit a haunted house for years. It is hard to find family-friendly versions in Houston, but the science museum did a bang-up job. It was spooky and a little scary but not nightmare-inducing.



Along with our admission price, we also got to play games and make crafts outside.



It was a really fun way to get in the Halloween spirit!


Back at home, we carved up our jack-o'-lanterns.




On Halloween, we served up our usual simple supper of Bloody Mary (tomato) soup and jack-o'-lantern quesadillas.



And then it was time to don the costumes and head out trick-or-treating. Will was an evil warlock and Henry was the grim reaper! 



I hope your Halloween was full of pumpkin and spice and nothing too spooky!