Worthington Family Photoblog

Boy Scouts and SHAC Jam

2010-10-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

We went on our first scouting trip this weekend. We camped with our troop at Bovay Scout Ranch, which is about 6 miles south of Navasota. The kids hadn't ever been camping that they could remember (Korben went once when he was two) so it was an adventure. We heard coyotes howling in the night, running up and down the woods that bordered the campsite, and the kids saw and caught lots of bugs.

They were not so impressed by the SHAC Jam, but I think that was more due to the fact that it was hot and crowded and they had slept in a tent outdoors for the first time ever the night before, with coyotes howling and 50 degree temperatures, so they were tired! They sure had fun running around the campsite with the other kids, though.

We look forward to many other camping trips in the future! I need to just start scheduling some for us to do as a family. It was a lot of fun!

Froberg Farm

2010-10-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

We stopped by Froberg's farm a few weeks ago, and took a few photos on the old oaks out there that hang just above the ground.

Happy 5th Birthday Sophie!

2010-03-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

We had Sophie's party at Acrosports Swim Center, and the kids all had a total blast. I didn't get any pictures of the water part of the party, because I didn't want to risk getting my camera wet, but here are a few of the party-room part. :)

Birthday Girl! It's hard to believe she's already 5.

Vote for Star

2010-02-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

Download and Print a
"Vote For Star" Flyer!

Mom on Let's Make a Deal!

2010-02-26T13:19:00.001-08:00

Mom!

2010-02-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

My mom has been going to see "Let's Make A Deal" at the Tropicana, and me and the kids have a fun time trying to pick her out of the crowd. Here's a photo of her in the audience.

Christmas Photos...

2009-12-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

Haul out the holly...

2009-12-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

We all managed to get two weeks off together for the Christmas holidays this year by some miracle. So we've got a lot of projects on deck - the first of which is to get the clutterfest that the house has become in shape and cleaned up again. We paid off some bills, got a new fridge, and we're working on cleaning and organizing now. I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time together as a family, even though I know that by the end of these two weeks, we'll be sick to death of each other. ;) I finished preparing most of the Christmas cards today and they'll go out in the mail tomorrow. This year's card is based on the art of Meg Lyman, who seems to share our fascination with the cephalopod.

The cards turned out so cute, and I am so grateful that Meg decided to let us use her artwork at no charge. We've been fortunate to find people who are willing to share their art in such a generous way, so I hope you'll all go check out her stuff, and if you see something you like, buy it! :D Or at least tell her how much you like it.

For those not on the Christmas card list, here's the annual family newsletter:

Worthington Holiday Greetings 2009

http://worthingtonphoto.blogspot.com

s always at this time of year, I find myself approaching the prospect of writing this letter with a mix of excitement and dread. I know how much I love to read the letters we receive from friends and family, but at the same time, I never know quite what to write. Well, they say the longest journey begins with a single step, so I’ll put my left foot in and put it back out, and then back in and I’ll shake it all about. I bet you didn’t know we were doing the Hokey Pokey today, did you?

It seems like time passes faster every year. An older woman told me recently that life is like a roll of toilet paper – it seems to take forever to get all the way around at the beginning, but by the time you get close to the end it seems to spin out of control. I can understand that feeling completely! We are so busy that sometimes it’s hard to remember to slow down and enjoy life.

Sophie is 4-and-a-half-going-on-14. She still attends preschool at St. Bernadette’s, and is learning the hard way that her whining isn’t just unpopular at home – her classmates don’t like it either. She is turning out to be very artistically inclined, both in music and in fine arts. She started piano lessons this year, and continues to do Kindermusik with me, but she really loves to sing. She recently informed me that she is going to marry both of the boys in her class named Jack and have two husbands. I thought that 4 was too young to be boy crazy, but boy was I wrong! It’s hard to believe that next year my baby will be starting Kindergarten. This year, she’s decided that when she grows up, she wants to be “a fashion.”

Korben turned 7 this year, and is enjoying 1^st grade. He struggled to find his balance in the beginning of the year, so we had to work on some behavioral issues at school, but he’s come around since then. He’s still studying piano and singing. In May, he once again was able to participate in the All-State Music Festival in San Marcos, Texas. This year, he was eligible to compete in both piano and voice. He worked so hard, and did such a great job. This year, he was chosen to be the All-State Musician for singing “Yankee Doodle Boy” at the competition. That means that he beat all the other entrants in his age group and was named the best singer in Texas for that group! There’s a video of him singing it at the winner’s recital posted on YouTube. We are so proud of him!

Also in May, we flew to Las Vegas to be in my little sister’s wedding. It was a beautiful affair, and it was so wonderful to see so many family and friends. Here’s a photo of me and the kids with Grandma Wynn.

I am still teaching music at Harmony Music not too far from home. It sure is nice not to have a long commute! My Kindermusik classes continue to grow and the kids are a constant source of joy for me. No matter how bad a day is, seeing their little faces light up when they get to play with their favorite instruments or hear their favorite song make it all just melt awayI like to keep busy, but I’m also looking forward to simplifying things a bit for the spring so I will have more time to devote to the family. I’ve been working on brushing up my skills on the guitar and have been using it to accompany some of my students during their lessons, which is a lot of fun. I also have been more involved in drawing and painting again. My friend Andy from college published a book and asked me to illustrate it. It’s called “What Do You Say To The DJ?” and I drew all the interior art. Apparently it worked out well, because he’s commissioned me to illustrate a novel he wrote as well, but it’s not published yet. This has inspired me to get back into art a lot more, so I’ve been painting and drawing a lot.

Ryan is also still with Impact Weather making sure that nothing breaks on their network. He is getting to be pretty good on the guitar after taking lessons for over a year now. He is still very serious about his photography and is working on a new photo studio website to promote himself as a photographer.

We hope you and yours have had a successful year, and that 2010 will be even better than the last.

Sincerely,

The Worthingtons

new camera fun

2009-12-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

I got a new camera for Christmas (early) and took a bunch of test shots last night. The new camera is a Nikon D50 Digital SLR and it has more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at. I just unloaded my first batch of photos from the camera, and I wanted to show how awesome the photos are. On the bottom is the picture as it came out of the camera with no adjustments. On the top is the same picture after I ran it through Picasa and did an "I Feel Lucky" run on it to color-correct, adjust lighting, etc.

So you can look forward to better quality photos of the kids and stuff here soon!

R.I.P. Judy...

2009-11-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I did my best to save her, but on Monday night, sometime during the night, Judy gave up the ghost and died of her injuries. I am very sad, but I'm glad that I got to enjoy her, Scarecrow, and Roses as pets during the brief time that I did.

I find it absolutely fascinating that even reptiles have distinct individual mannerisms within the normal behavior for their species. Judy and Scarecrow were much more tolerant of handling than Liza is, but I am hoping I can change that with time. Liza seems very content all alone in her enclosure, now.

Judy the Lizard

2009-11-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I've become a reptile hobbyist. We caught a green anole (anolis carolinensis). She was pregnant, laid eggs, and subsequently, in October, one of the eggs hatched. We were thrilled. In the meantime, I'd become hooked, and bought two more anoles at a pet store. One was an emaciated male I named Scarecrow, and the other a female I called Judy. The wild-caught lizard was a total Diva, and constantly displayed towards the other female and even became aggressive, chasing her around the cage with her mouth open. I named her Liza. Scarecrow was so thin, it was kind of scary. I'd read online many stories from other hobbyists who had tried to "Save" thin lizards from pet stores and no one ever succeeded, but hope springs eternal. After three weeks, he started eating, was active, and seemed to be doing well. Then suddenly, he took a turn for the worse, passed a waxworm half-digested as stool, and after that, on Halloween night, he turned spotty and wouldn't drink anymore. Within just a few hours, he was dying. I tried to warm him up by putting him in a container and running warm water underneath it, but he began gasping for breath, and he died shortly after 10 pm that night. Meanwhile, I had accidentally left the door of the upright cage ajar... and tragedy struck. My blue tabby cat, Ripley, had just taken an interest in the lizards for the first time the day before. He jumped on my desk, got into the cage, and killed the hatchling, whom Sophie had named Roses, and caught Judy and was holding her in his mouth when I discovered this. I would have thought they just escaped and ran off if I hadn't heard him growling in the hallway and seen her dangling from his mouth. He dropped her, I caught her, and I have been treating her wounds. He had her hips between his canine teeth and left puncture wounds just over both hips, and bruises and scrapes elsewhere. I have put her in an infirmary cage and I'm feeding her small prey - fruit flies, pinhead crickets - and I built her a mesh "hammock" to hang onto, since she isn't using her hind legs much right now. She can still move them, but it's obviously painful. I'm cleaning the wound daily with hydrogen peroxide and treating it with neosporin and an antiseptic reptile wound treatment I got at the pet store.

Here's a photo of her progress today. She is looking better, although you can still see the swelling and the injury. She is more active and alert today than she has been. I think she's starting to chafe at the small infirmary cage, so tomorrow I will clean the 10 gallon tank again and set her up in there.

Here's a picture of the mesh hammock I made for her to climb. She has been MUCH improved since I made it last night, as she was having trouble holding onto the leaves with just her front legs since she was injured. The mesh holds water similar to how the leaves do, only better, and she's seemed more comfortable with it. I made it from the extra substrate mesh I had from setting up the tall tank with hydroballs. I hot-glued the mesh to some sticks that I had also hot-glued together to make a support system. I baked the sticks in the oven for 30 minutes at 300 degrees to kill anything on them first, of course! I also used this mesh to make feeder insect storage boxes out of some awesome sterlite snap-lock boxes so the cat can't dump my crickets out on me in the middle of the night again. :)

October and Halloween...

2009-10-31T21:28:00.001-07:00

Kids at the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago

Kids trick or treating tonight.

Our house was ready for the trick or treaters...

My pumpkin

Ryan's rotten bottom pumpkin that I carved anyway. Notice the backdoor glow...

Korben's pumpkin that Julia helped him carve. Julia is the German exchange student living with Mel's family this year.

The dogs were confused by the copious use of the word "Treat"

Crashed out.

At Korben's class party on Friday.

School turns him into a zombie.

Happy Birthday Korben!

2009-09-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

I made a gigantic photo collage of Korben through the years. If you click on it, it'll take you to a gallery of the images used in the collage.

From Collages

I made a cake yesterday and Ryan frosted it/I decorated it last night. We gave Korben his family gifts just before dinner time - a DS game called "Legendary Starfy" and a fancy DS case that holds like 40 games or something ridiculous like that, and also has room for all his other accessories. Ruma gave him a Sonic the Hedgehog game for the wii.

girlpirate

2009-09-09T22:14:00.001-07:00

I want to win nifty shiny things, so I will tell you all that you should go to Girlpirate's shop and take a look at her awesome jewelry, and maybe buy some if you find something you like. Or shop for Christmas. I do! I've bought gifts from her the last two years. :)

http://girlpirate.etsy.com/

Sophie's First day of school

2009-09-01T07:40:00.001-07:00

She starts her pre-k 4 class at the Catholic preschool down the street. This will be her third year at this school. She started making faces like she did last year but I told a joke and made her smile. :)

New pet...

2009-08-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Korben gave her a name, but I can't remember it. I totally love my lizard.

She has scrapes on her jawline on either side, but they are healing. Not sure what they're from, but she had them when I caught her. She likes for me to pet her!

She watches me while I sit at my desk. She also changes color a LOT. Right now her head and shoulders are brown, her midsection is green with a brown and white stripe down her back, and her tail and legs are brown.

Eggs! Only one of them appears to be viable, as the other shriveled up. I'm watching and waiting, with fingers crossed. We'll know by mid-to-late september!

First day of First Grade

2009-08-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Photos from the kids cameras...

2009-08-23T03:23:00.001-07:00

Ok. Funny Story. I bought that shirt for Burgundy, but Korben comandeered it because it was a cool "Star Wars Shirt" - hahaha!

Oh no! it's the mama monster!

Apparently they needed to document the mess they made.

Me and my bitches, sleeping.

Back To School prep without pictures!

2009-08-22T01:17:00.000-07:00

I have been working on getting some house stuff done during my break from Kindermusik. I've been trying to stretch our dollar further by shopping even more at resales than I did before, and I think it has helped a lot. I took the kids this morning to get their hair cut. Korben was getting Really Shaggy, and even though I know that's totally hip right now, it was a bit much for me. So I had them clean it up to a more "Zac Efron/ 17 again" look, and Sophie just got a trim. Then we hit Walmart early in the day to get backpacks and the last few school clothes we needed. I wanted them each to have a new warm-weather outfit to wear to school on the first day, since a lot of the school clothes I bought are for winter. Sophie also got a new lunch box and some juice bottles. I haven't bought Korben's school supply list, because I think we paid the PTA to do it, but I can't remember for sure. Our Back-To-School night is on Thursday, so we'll find out then, if not before. School starts on TUESDAY! I need to take him up there to find out who his teacher is and what classroom he'll be in. Sophie has a whole week at home with me all day. Scary! ;) He also has a new bus stop this year.

After we went to walmart, we stopped for lunch and then went to the ICM thrift store down the street from us. We had gone to a bouncy-castle place in Pearland with friends on Thursday, and I didn't want to blow a huge chunk of change going somewhere I knew was going to be crazy crowded on the last friday before school starts, so we cleaned out the board games section of the resale store. I spent about $10 on games and got a brand new Upwords, along with Mouse Trap, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego Jr. Detective Edition, and a battleship-like hangman game. Most were missing something - usually just the little avatars, which are easily replaced. Mousetrap was missing the mice, the diver, and the pool. We tried to make do but couldn't find a toy the right size and weight to replace the diver, and it also had NO CHEESE cards! We made some out of cardstock paper, though. Hangman had enough letters to play on both sides, and we had a good time with that one. Carmen Sandiego was missing Kazakhstan and most of the little 4-piece "wanted" posters that you hid under the country pieces, so I printed out a picture of her I found online on colored cardstock and cut them into the 4 squares. We had a set of hungry hippos that was missing parts, so for a buck, we now have a complete set. :) Korben did really well with a lot of these games that were very hard - most were rated age 8 and up and he did just fine. He was neck and neck with me all through upwords, and caught on super quick. That was always one of my favorite games.

We played games for several hours throughout the afternoon, and Ryan came home just in time to join us for the Carmen Sandiego game, which even Sophie could play, as it required no reading, just matching map pictures, and it really felt good to be spending time together doing something like that that cost so little. I want to make a collection of leftover game bits to keep on hand for this kind of thing, too. It was also an opportunity to show the kids how to "make do" by creating our own pieces to replace the ones that were missing. I even made some paper-doll people to use as game pieces. Those are the kinds of life lessons that I think people sometimes forget to show their kids, you know? Anyway, it was a great day.

Welcome home, Endeavor.

2009-08-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Because I have awesome friends, we got to go to the ceremony for the returning crew of the Space Shuttle today, and Korben got to meet the astronauts!

Here's Korben with Dr. Dave Wolf. The Doctor spoke with Korben for quite a few minutes and it was photo op time, so he may have his picture published somewhere.

Here's a writeup of the landing: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/jul/HQ_09_179_Shuttle_landing_success.html

I'm laughing at the name of the new treadmill. Stephen Colbert knows no shame.

He kept asking Korben questions, and I was shocked - Korben was so overwhelmed by meeting the austronaut that he was speechless!

Sophie still looks like a mini-Burgundy most of the time, though her eyes are more green than burg's now...

Photo Explosion!

2009-07-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

OK, the technology in the house is cooperating now. I hope it stays that way.

I have not had a computer for almost a week, and we had no TV or internet for a big chunk of the week, too.

I had one of those days where nothing worked the way it was supposed to, and it carried over into the rest of the week.

And now I have PMS. So I will just give you pictures and videos.

Apparently it's been forever since I unloaded my big camera. This is from Korben's Kindergarten graduation:

From july 2009

A boy and his dog taking a nap.

From july 2009

Korben and his teacher.

From july 2009

Korben and Sophie at his graduation.

From july 2009

Paper Quilt seen in the hallway at Korben's elementary school. *spock eyebrow*

From july 2009

At the beach yesterday...

From july 2009

"Waaaaah! I got water in my MOUTH!"

From july 2009

Ahoy, there, Mate!

From july 2009

Korben made a friend. Haha, actually, this was PERFECT timing, because not even a half second after I snapped this, Korben noticed he was moving and screamed like a girl and dropped it. He wanted to bring it home, but I explained that it was an ocean hermit crab, not a land crab, and we don't have a salt water tank here.

From july 2009

I've never seen the trawlers working so close to shore before. I took this driving down the seawall. We left the beach when I started hearing thunder. It had briefly sprinkled while we were there, but I made a good call getting out when we did. Not 10 minutes after we got in the car, the heavens opened up and poured down for a good 35 minutes. It was heavy enough rain that the kids thought it was another hurricane, and the traffic on the freeway was going 35-40 instead of the normal 70-80. But we had a great time.

From july 2009

LOL. Sophie napped most of the way home.

From july 2009

We went to a classmate's birthday at McDonald's this weekend, too.

From july 2009

Sophie's best friend in the whole world, Frankie, and Frankie's sister. I wish I could get them together for playdates, but without cooperation from Frankie's mom, there's not much I can do except hope that Frankie and Sophie will be in separate classes next year so she can make a new best friend who's more available.

Here's the other video from Korben's graduation. Enjoy!

Dinner at Skipper's with the Belly Dancer!

2009-07-11T08:40:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to dinner with Ryan's Dad, Linda (SMIL), and his step sister and her fiancee. We almost always eat at this little greek place down by their house called Skippers, and have for years. Friday nights, they have a belly dancer! Sophie was enthralled.

Sophie and Grandpa

I had been trying to figure out where this goofy grin Sophie's been making comes from, since it doesn't look like anyone in my family, and not that I'd noticed in Ryan's family either... well, now I know after last night: It's grandpa's grin! LOL

Korben and his cousin, Alec, who he just idolizes.

Recital Vids

2009-06-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Bathroom!

2009-06-26T22:38:00.001-07:00

*Huge thanks to my In-Laws, who made this bathroom fix-up possible!*

We finally got the floor done and replaced the toilet, which handily fixed all the leak issues we had in there. It was a complete mess - a previous owner of the house had assed it up so badly when he'd done whatever it was - there was no wax ring under the toilet, he'd filled in the concrete around the sewer hole with road-grade concrete, and hadn't leveled it off... there were two layers of linoleum. It's no wonder the damn toilet leaked from the day we bought the house. The commode was glued to the floor with caulk. Literally.

Anyway, here's the before and after:

Please note that I finally got to install my fish toilet seat that I bought 5 years ago when we bought the house.

Swim Lessons

2009-06-21T08:06:00.001-07:00

I enrolled the kids in swimming lessons at the YMCA. They are really enjoying the lessons.

View all

Get your own

Korben's doing great with the swimming, but has gotten in trouble several times for not listening to the lifeguards (i.e. getting in the pool when he's not supposed to) and Sophie is struggling with getting her head wet. She apparently is just like I was and doesn't want to get her face or ears wet. We're working on it.

Sophie's Water Day at School

2009-06-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

View all

Get your own

Korben's Field Trip to the Houston Zoo with Ms. Baggett's Kindergarten Class

2009-05-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

View all

Get your own

Videos for your pleasure...

2009-05-28T20:55:00.001-07:00

From last Friday - Sophie's last day of school for the year.

Video of the GPO at the zoo today.

2009-05-23T00:46:00.001-07:00

http://helpbouvier.blogspot.com/

Sick kitties need love, too.

Korben won all-state!

2009-05-17T22:06:00.001-07:00

Korben won the "All-State Musician Award" for singing last weekend! He did a great job, and we are so proud. :)

hilights from the trip....

2009-05-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

My baby sister got married!

Me and my sisters!

Me and my husband!

Me and my cousin Lori!

Sophie in her flower girl dress

My cousin, Steve - and Meme, mom's black lab.

Steve's wife, Leah, with Alta's dog, Birdie.

Me and Suzana!!!

The kids had a run in with the Las Vegas police....

More on facebook:
Tabby's albums:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024402&id=1249842505&l=2de8753f06
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024401&id=1249842505&l=6a09e027e7

Sophie's: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=61283&id=1384751923&l=1e74e0b764

Korben's: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23051&id=1379108346&l=5988cbb93e

Sophie's Art

2009-04-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

"I drew you and me, Mom. I'm the little one and you're the big one. We're in the grass and with the sun."

Me: "Who are those people at the bottom?"

"Those are the underground people."

2009-04-23T18:18:00.001-07:00

We were at Walmart today to get an extension cord that will work with my new laptop power cable (my old one broke so I haven't been able to surf from the couch for months) and we checked out through the garden center. The kids found these little child's bucket-barrow things, and Korben asked Sophie to give him a ride. LOL.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

This year, we had a hunt in the backyard instead of in the house. I hope it stays as green and lovely back there now that the trees are filling in. Sophie had to get "dressed up special" for the hunt, while Korben opted to stay in his pajamas.

April Photos

2009-04-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

Taken at Frankie Carter Randolph park and the Pearland Egg Drop.

Bluebonnet Photos

2009-03-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

View Album

Get your own

It seems like it's going to be an every-other-year thing for us, but I took the kids out yesterday and did the texas traditional bluebonnet photos. Enjoy!

Also, here is a gallery of my gardening this year so far:

View Album

Get your own

Gir Smiles

2009-03-05T20:15:00.001-08:00

2009-03-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

Arm's length self portrait with flash

Ryan's octopus collection is threatening to take over the house.

Korben sleeps - regular no-flash auto setting, then Macro no-flash auto setting.

2009-03-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

Sophie cuddles Roxy. I like how this came out, even with the blur.

Hate the flash.

More snuggles.

Much like Girlpirate's Oliver, Morbo's freckles get more pronounced each year.

2009-03-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

Korben's school has been celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday this week. Today was crazy hair day, so daddy gave him a "faux" hawk.

You can see that I'm having trouble getting the focus right without the flash, still. It's hard to self-stabilize the shots when I'm shooting something so mobile as the dogs are, and when the camera is so small and lightweight.

Sophie lounges in my bed.

New Camera

2009-03-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

None of the batteries for my Canon Elph will charge, nor will the chargers work, so since my phone has more megapixels than that camera does, I decided it was time for an upgrade. Today I picked up a used Fujifilm Finepix j10, which is 8.2 MP, and came with a charger and 2 gb sd card. It is smaller than my cell phone, and it records video with a decent 3x optical zoom and very few features - mostly just a point and shoot. The picture taking time is incredibly short, and the quality of the shots is pretty good, although there will be a learning curve for me to figure out how to get clear subjects without the flash. Hopefully you'll be able to look forward to more photoposts from me from now on.
Crossposted to http://worthingtonphoto.blogspot.com

Sophie Models handily, but gets bored quickly and it shows in her face.

Ripley is subjected to corporal cuddling.

Ripley is not amused.

CPSIA law has dire consequences for us all...

2009-01-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

Note - Congress has acted on extending the deadline for digital TV conversion from 2/17 till 6/17 (Senate yes, House no). They should act on this which has even more far reaching affects on our economy and goes into affect sooner (2/10)!!!

Merry CHristmas

2009-01-02T07:09:00.001-08:00

Santa came!

Ripley is not impressed.

You know it's really Christmas when...

Through the years:

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

I illustrated a novel!

2009-01-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, an old friend from college contacted me to see if I wanted to illustrate each chapter of a book he and another friend were working on. I said YES, and now the book is set to be released next month. However, you can order a presale copy through the website: What Do You Say to the DJ?

Check it out!

Korben's Class Party

2008-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

This about sums up today:

Learning to make a reindeer sandwich

Feeding reindeer parts to sister (raisins)

Haha, what?

Time to humiliate mom! :P We'll turn her into a reindeer with pantyhose, balloons and red paint!

Korben manned the camera while I was reindeered-up and took pictures of his friends.

Apparently six-year-old sass has no regard for gender

Haven't we all taken this shot?

Playing games with the PTA mom

Korben took up my abandoned reindeer hat

Reindeer racing

Korben and his friend writing their own music in his Kindermusik class.

Holiday Caroling TIme!!!

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

Holiday Caroling with Ms. Tabby
(You’re invited! The more the merrier!)
Host: Ms. Tabby
Where: Ms. Tabby’s House
(RSVP for the address!)
When: Sunday, December 21
5:00 pm
Phone: 713-306-4023
RSVP to: tabbyfoo@gmail.com

We had a conflict come up (don't we always!?) and so I've changed it from the 20th to the 21st. Hope you can come! Join us for some holiday cheer! We'll wander the neighborhood and sing to the neighbors, then come home to visit with friends and share in some hot cider (wassail) and cocoa. Caroling books will be provided, but please bring your own flashlight!

Thanksgiving feasts part 3

2008-11-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

Korben shared his feast with Sophie.

She also dug into her "harvest blessings mix" from her class feast.

Demonstrating how to eat a carrot.

Sophie was excited to get to go to recess with her brother, too.

Thanksgiving Feasts part 2

2008-11-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

Sophie sits in Korben's chair while we wait for them to come from Art class.

Korben's arrival.

Korben took a seat at their feast "table" on the floor, and all the other kids started to flock to him. They were very excited to meet his sister.

Korben introduces Sophie to his friends.

The kids' THanksgiving Feasts part 1

2008-11-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

First, we have Korben's terrible school photo.

Sophie singing and dancing with her classmates.

My little turkey.

Sophie's feast.

Pumpkin Patch 2008

2008-10-18T20:14:00.001-07:00

Ryan was hired to shoot another wedding today. I wish I could get him to work on his photography website, because he could be making a lot of side money if he would. In other news...

The kids and I went to the Methodist church's pumpkin patch to help them set up. With the hurricane and crop difficulties this year, they did not get the first shipment as planned, so they got their first pumpkins today, two weeks later than they normally do. This morning, one of the members of their church bought out the entire stock of pumpkins at a local Farmer's Market and donated them to the church so they would have some on hand for their fall festival this morning, since the truck was scheduled to come this afternoon.

Funniest. Pumpkin. Ever. and it's ALL MINE@!!!

There were almost no pumpkins out when we got there. The kids and I helped lay out pallets, and they made some friends. They came back and forth between playing with the kids on the MDO playground and helping unload pumpkins from the truck.

Part of the pumpkin passing people chain - I loved his shirt.

There's Mel! Hi, Mel!

One of Korben's friends, a boy named Tyler, helping to unload pumpkins. People of all ages and sizes come out to help unload the pumpkins every year.

Korben and Sophie played with this young lady, Julia, and her keyboard for quite a while. They sang the songs for all the buttons she would push to make music. It was really neat.

And of course, there were dozens of people there to take pictures of their kids with the pumpkins.

Mel's husband, Mark, helping to unload the truck. I took this for her so she could admire his muscles.

Artsy Fartsy - white pumpkin.

We unloaded somewhere between 3,000-4,000 pumpkins today.

For comparison: 2007's shot

And 2005's shot

I think we missed 2006 because my mom was in town? I don't remember. I have so many pictures to sort through... it took me 20 minutes to find that 2005 shot.

More Ripley cuteness...

Meet Ripley

2008-09-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

Uncle Larry & The Dogs

2008-09-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

CAKE

2008-09-24T11:50:00.001-07:00

Birthday fun at Gatti Town

2008-09-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Mickey D's.

2008-09-24T11:49:00.001-07:00

2008-09-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Gir frets during the storm.

Sophie terrorizes Larry's kittens.

I think she wants to call him george.

Korben enjoys a frosty beverage.

Sophie's first day of school, by contrast...

2008-09-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

Korben's first school fundraiser

2008-08-29T14:59:00.001-07:00

Korben brought home his first school fundraisers today. I know a lot of parents hate this stuff, but I know it's a necessity. If you're inclined to shop for something, you can now do so online and 50% of all sales go directly to the school's PTA. This year, they're hoping to raise enough money to buy new playground equipment (and they need it!)

Anyway, please go browse and see if there's something you'd like.

They are also selling the Entertainment coupon books, and you can even customize for your location. They're only $20, and they're chock-full of great deals on food and retail establishments, not to mention just about everything else under the sun. Even if you only use it 5 times in the year, it will more than pay for itself.

2008-08-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

For comparison, first day of school last year. He's grown!

2008-08-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

Korben started Kindergarten today.

Photos on Facebook

2008-07-14T23:25:00.001-07:00

Jesse & Dylan come to visit

Our day on Galveston Beach

Both albums are over on Facebook, but you should be able to view them without signing up, if you don't want an account there.

Mother's day and photos...

2008-05-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

I have not been very posty. I'm really jealous of my time lately, and it seems like posting takes too much of it, I guess. But I did take some photos I'd like to share.

While I'm waiting for them to upload, my Mother's Day has been very nice and calm. When I got up, the kids pounced on me like they hadn't seen me for years, and Korben told me to close my eyes because they had a present for me. I closed my eyes, and Sophie said, "That's right mom, we have a flower suprise for you!" Korben admonished her that she was not supposed to tell me, and then he said "Open your.... oops." He'd tipped the pot over and spilled the flower and soil onto the carpet. heh. They all gave me cute cards, including Ryan, and we went out for a nice lunch at a local place. Now the kids are napping and I've been working on organizing my digital photos.

First, something artsy.

The kids like to come in and wrestle and play on my inflatable bed in my office while I'm on my computer.

They played a game where Sophie would tackle Korben and pull him off the bed for about 25 minutes that day...

We have mini-recitals at the studio every other month to give the students a chance to practice performing before a small audience. Korben was in one last Saturday. He was a complete Ham, and this was the first time I've seen him realize that the applause was for him, so he played to the larger audience, instead of simply performing for me as if no one else's opinion mattered. Interesting...

Then we went to Caleb's Birthday party at the bounce playground down the road from the studio. Caleb is my neighbor and friend Star's son, who just was diagnosed with Autisum a week before his birthday. Their family lives 4 houses down the street from us, and she's a really great gal.

Sophie seems to always be slightly blurry these days, as she doesn't want to hold still for pictures.

"Who Wants Pizza?"

It's spring again, which means the annual frog orgy season has begun. This year, we have Southern Leopard Frogs, Gulf Coast Toads, and some kind of tree frog I haven't identified. I went out to see if I could ID the tree frog, and this toad was SLEEPING in the middle of the pond with his eyes wide open. He was so deeply asleep that I literally just reached in and scooped him out of the water. He is the biggest Gulf Coast toad I've ever caught. He was literally the size of my palm.

Sophie's school did a little "Spring Sing" program for the parents last Thursday. Here Sophie does the Hokey Pokey and turns herself about.

Do you like my caterpillar hat?

Presenting me with my Mother's Day present early...

Sophie with her teachers, Ms. Lily, and Ms. Jackie.

Breakfast of champions... We had the oil changed in the van on Friday, and walked across the street for breakfast and playtime while they did their thing at Jiffy Lube.

After that was done, we ran by the studio to pick up my paycheck and then went to the bank. At my bank, they give lollipops to the kids in the drive through, and both my kids know this routine by heart. However, I've been working on some new techniques to cut down on the whining around here, so I told Sophie, who was getting tired, that if she whined after I gave her her lollipop, I was going to take it away. So of course, before we even got out of the bank parking lot, she started whining. I pulled over, got out, took the sucker away, and then Korben and I endured and tried to ignore 45 minutes of solid, top-of-your-lungs, howl-until-you-gag screaming. Shortly before we got home, she quieted down to heartwrenching whimpers and then drifted into an exhausted sleep.

She hasn't whined more than once or twice since. :D

Sophie befriends a camel.

2008-04-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

At the park, they give you buckets of feed to give the animals as you ride the tram through the enclosures. Some of the animals will eat out of the buckets, like ostriches, emus, and larger antelopes, cattle, and buffaloes. Others you throw the food to the ground for, like the deer and zebra. But the most gregarious, by far... the camels.

Sophie quite enjoyed herself.

Wildlife park take 2

2008-04-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Why are you eating my shirt?

The kids mug for photos...

Wildlife Bayou Park in Alvin TX - School Field Trip Photos

2008-04-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sophie waits to see the animals.

"Look, it's a BUTT!"

"I'm going to touch the butt!"

The rest of the photos are in my April Album.

April 2008

Easter pictures

2008-04-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

These are way late, but here are a couple of photos from the chaos of Easter morning, and two cute shots of Sophie with Daddy.

A day at the beach...

2008-03-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

We went to Galveston Island to visit the beach today.

Can you tell they had fun?

The kids immediately made friends with a Latino family that was stationed right next to our little spot. The man's name was Simon (said like see-moan) and he was wonderful with all the kids. He built his daughter and niece a "swimming pool" and we all helped keep it shored up when the tide started to come in.

Korben helped by finding rocks and shells to decorate the pool wall with.

The beach was insanely crowded today. We had to park about 3 blocks away (1 traffic light, but it was a long walk) along the seawall next to a place that had no sandy beach, just breaker rocks. In addition to that, it took us nearly 2 hours to get from our house to the beach, which normally only takes about 45 minutes. I had no idea that Good Friday was such a big holiday for people.

There were all kinds of people there, too... the old...

And the young... (these girls are FAR too young to be in such revealing bathing suits, imho, also)

I took pictures of birds...

and Korben...

And cute dacshund puppies!

There were dozens of dogs at the beach today, too. I've always wanted to bring my pups to the beach, but I just don't think I can manage my two little monkeys and my three mutts, so that'll have to wait for a day when the kids are at grandma's or something.

This poor little puppy was swamped by even the tiniest waves.

Simon's niece didn't speak much English, but that didn't stop her and Sophie from becoming fast friends.

Sophie never ventured far into the water, becoming terrified anytime it came higher than her knees (I'll post a video later of her shrieking as a wave chases her back to shore...haha)

It amused me that all afternoon, we played in the water right next to this big sign:

The water was considerably warmer in this little pool than it was in the actual ocean, and after an hour or so, the kids started laying down in the pool to try and warm up.

I'd heard rumors that some crazy people like to try and surf in Galveston's puny waves, but I'd never actually seen it before today. Later, when we were leaving the seawall, we saw this same guy riding a bike that had been cusomized so he could carry his board on the bike. Pretty cool.

This pup was so sweet... I can't remember her name, but her owner told me a sad story about how he'd named her after his dead mother. Anyway, they moved up away from the water and made camp on the higher dunes, and the pup just was SO sad to be away from all the people, and especially the other dogs. She was doing a little dance and whining, much like Roxy does, because another dog was down in the waves, and she wanted to go play, too. :) I just like how it looks like she's smiling.

After leaving the beach, I took the kids to go for a ride on the ferry to Bolivar Peninsula, not knowing how long the wait would be...

It took an hour and a half to get on the ferry.

So I took pictures of Grackles.

and hotels.

And children with Ice Cream Sandwich on their faces.

The kids enjoyed the ferry, long though the wait was, and short the ride.

The birds always follow the boats, probably because people like these always feed them, despite signs warning them not to.

We actually rode home on the green ferry in this picture.

A big cargo ship was anchored in the bay. Watch for this same ship on the return trip.

Apparently, I like to take pictures of birds. I never knew that.

The Bolivar Lighthouse.

The sun began to set as we waited for the return ferry, so I snapped some pictures of this old truck that was sitting outside one of the bait shops/restraunts on Bolivar.

A few minutes later, there were 3 very young children playing out there by themselves.

A mobile ICU Ambulance came screaming down the road and boarded the ferry just before us, obviously carrying some precious cargo.

I liked the paint job on this car, and the light was very nice for photos....

Eventually, someone came to collect the toddlers from the old truck.

I only ever see these big white pelicans sitting on the docks, never flying. The black or brown pelicans are always flying in formation and catching food, but these big fat birds just sit around all the time.

Sophie enjoys the sunset from the upper deck of the ferry.

The Tokyo Marine with a stunning sunset behind.

A beautiful end to a lovely day.

Gir: a study

2008-03-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

Gir is the most camera-friendly of the dogs. She doesn't like the extreme, extreme closeups, but otherwise she tolerates my photography very well.

She has a strange penchant for being under the covers. The other dogs also do this, but generally only when someone else is under the covers with them to snuggle: Gir will search the house for a blanket to burrow under, and if she can't find one, she'll bury herself in the pillows on the bed or in the couch. The bad part of this is that any bed in the house doesn't stay made for long, with this dog around.

She literally poses for the camera, sometimes.

And believe it or not, this is not an angry growling face. This is Gir's smile. She literally smiles with just her front teeth when she's excited and happy to see you. Sometimes she'll do it on command, like for this picture, but she doesn't hold it long enough to get a good picture, though God knows, I've tried! This is the best one I've gotten yet of Gir's smile. She's such a character.

Adventures in parenting: the yard

2008-03-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

The kids' new parking lot...

We spent several hours in the yard today, the kids and I, working on cleaning things up for spring growth. Of course, we were also trying desperately to catch leopard frog tadpoles in the pond, not to mention their moms and dads. I decided to cull a lot of our yard toys, as the kids are just leaving them laying around, and I might be able to make a little money from selling them at a garage sale this weekend.

Look for tabbyfoo on youtube to see some videos from today of Sophie with a fruit snack up her nose (!) and a little green tree frog I found when I moved the kids' playhouse.

New Bed for the Birthday Girl

2008-03-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

I spent all day Sunday trying to put together one of the things I did for Sophie's birthday: a new-to-us Ikea Vradal loft and slide bed. It was missing some of the hardware, so I had to make some modifications to make it stable, but after much sweating and swearing, it was finished.

I think it's safe to say that Sophie likes it.

Korben, on the other hand, is harder to read. He said "I'm going to slide down extra slow so you can take my picture, mom.

Happy Birthday, Sophie!

2008-03-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

My baby turns 3 today!

I have been running around like crazy cleaning and preparing. I haven't sat down for more than 5 minutes unless I was driving somewhere. But, here's the end result:

Korben's playing video games and the house is clean and ready for party time!

Inspired by , I decorated Sophie's chair this year, and got her a birthday princess hat and wand.

And further into the "I'm making my own stuff" field, I made a cake for Sophie. To be more specific, I made cupcakes using a nifty silicon mold a friend had, and then used regular chocolate frosting to make the turtle shell and coolwhip to make the green frosting (I hate regular sugar frosting) but it's so hot that even in the few minutes it was out of the fridge to frost, it melted a little. I still need to put eyes on, but oh well! I also made some regular chocolate frosted cupcakes, but this cake is actually 12 cupcakes.

Sophie is currently taking a much-needed (and much-appreciated by me) nap as we wait for guests to arrive for her little party.

She is, of course, sleeping with her mermaid doll that Korben got her for her birthday. :)

My princess woke up just as her first guests arrived, and I gave her her crown to wear.

She'd been pouting at me all day, and since I was having no success getting smiles out of her, I asked for a pout.

Korben helped her start opening presents before I was ready, but here she's cheering about a pony playset from and family.

She held court over all the big kids during the opening... after I convinced Robbie and Korben to stop trying to "help" her open them.

Things quickly degenerated into a tissue-paper fight from the gift bags.

And of course, because I love my daughter, I gave her one of the things I hate the most - play-doh - for her birthday.

Happy birthday, baby!

Thank you to Shanin, Eric, Keri, and Allen and their kids for making her party a success! Keri got some cute pictures of the kids playing dress-up and bed-jumping in the kids' room, so hopefully she'll send those to me so I can share them, too.

Field Trip

2008-02-29T00:45:00.000-08:00

Last week, we headed to Galveston to see a children's play at the 1894 Grand Opera House. I kept Sophie out of school for the day so she could go, too.

Sophie, Melanie, Korben and Robbie waiting for the show to start.

This shot just makes me laugh, that Korben's weird face is the only thing in focus.

Sophie's new "camera smile" that she puts on whenever I ask her to say cheese.

Korben very soberly explains to Melanie that she should write him a love letter like the one she wrote to Daniel Radcliff.

Somehow, I don't think she's buying it.

Our View of the stage.

Sophie eagerly awaits the show.

Korben checks out what Keri's working on from behind Robbie.

Quinn, Taylor and the rest of the class were there, too.

The show was a play version of the children's story "The Velveteen Rabbit" - a favorite of mine when I was young. I remember being so sad that they had to burn all the boy's toys when he was sick. Anyway, just like last year's children's play, this was about 20 minutes too long for the kids, but it was a good experience anyway, and The Grand was awesome, as always. At least this year we were not on the balcony!

Dog Days

2008-02-17T14:04:00.001-08:00

October's photos

2008-02-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

I somehow managed to miss posting my pictures from October here, so here are a few favorites.
For Halloween, Korben decided to be a dinosaur, and Sophie was a princess. We have a closet overflowing with dress-up clothes, so it was actually a pretty tough decision for both of them.

We make an annual trip to the local pumpkin patch each year, and this year I managed to wrangle Ryan into joining us.

Aren't they just SO OO CUTE?

Recreating history...

2008-02-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

When I was Sophie's age, I had a brown and white chihuahua named Ruffles. She was born two days before I was, the runt of the very last litter of chihuahuas my mom ever had as a breeder. I treated that dog like a baby doll, and she tolerated me, nestling into my armpit to sleep at night, and being fiercely protective of all of her family. When I was about 3, my mom took a picture of me kissing Ruffles in our wading pool.

I have been cleaning all morning and had just finished steaming the carpets in the bedroom half of the house. I came to check on the kids, and found Korben playing games on the gamecube, and Sophie outside with the dogs. I opened the door, and this is what I saw... Completely unrehearsed.

Sophie kisses a reluctant Sammy

Gir comes to investigate

Korben, being completely addicted to any kind of video games, stayed inside.

We've had several days of pretty intense rainstorms, and I hadn't realized the kids had dragged out the kiddie pool. Sophie even found a swimming suit in her drawer and put it on herself while I was steaming the carpet in my bathroom. What a stinker!

But anyway, we have a picture that almost exactly mirrors that first one. If I can find it, I'll scan it and post it, too.

Lazy day

2008-01-24T15:11:00.000-08:00

More evidence of never-before-seen sharing behaviors...

2008-01-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's a quiet day at home today. I woke up, and it was cold and rainy and Aunt Flo came unannounced for a dreary visit. I tried unsuccessfully for 2 hours to get the children dressed and ready for school, and finally just said "To hell with this, we're staying home today." We went in my room, put on cartoons, and took a nap in my nice, warm, electrically-heated bed. (hooray for electric mattress pads!) Now we're up and the kids are playing quietly together, I'm farting around on the computer between household tasks, and the dogs are burrowed under the comforter on my bed in search of warmth.
Korben and Sophie have become much better at sharing, lately, and this picture is a good example of that. Of course, Sammy still doesn't trust anyone.

More holiday photos

2007-12-27T12:11:00.000-08:00

Here we have a shot from Ryan of me with all three of my pooches. Sammy always looks at Ryan with that suspicious glare and worried wrinkle between her eyes.
I was telling Carrie on the phone last night that Sophie's absolute favorite thing in the world right now is her beanie-baby sized army of stuffed animals that she calls her "pets." She methodically lines them up for tea parties, meetings along the wall in the hallway, and in this case, a picnic in the living room on one of my dishtowels. She also sat watching TV and pulling faces, most of which involved contortions of her tongue that I thought only the giraffe could do. She's still a sweet baby, though, even when she's covered in sticky goo on her face.

2007-12-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Korben sort of skipped the "stockings first" rule and went right for the green-wrapped Santa presents. "It's the speeding guy from Justice League, just what I always wanted," he shouted.

Sophie moved with slightly more moderation, and enjoyed not only her presents, but watching Korben open his, as well.

Korben opening some gifts from Grandma's dogs - monsters and cars to fight each other!

Sophie chilling out with the only thing she really wanted for Christmas - a candy cane.

Old Photos: July 7, 2007

2007-07-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Korben wrote me this letter all by himself a few weeks ago. :)

I made the kids a fort of couches and blankets to try to get them to take a nap one day in June.

Audrey's daughter, Meena, sacked out at the recital.

If you wondered why I don't post a lot of pictures anymore, this is why - they won't hold still for them.

Sophie's more likely to hold still, but only if she doesn't know I'm taking pictures.

She's a cave-woman.

Sophie refused to be in the picture unless I was, too... But here's this year's obligatory 4th of july photo of the kids.

Last year's picture for comparison - last year they were 1, 2, 3, and 4. Now they're 2, 3, 4 and 5! :D

Walking to the golf course...

Korben adopts his traditional 4th of July stance.

Oooh! It's started!

Sophie cheered and clapped in the beginning.

But then she got scared and had to sit on my lap.

Eventually, she even laid down.

Meanwhile, Korben and Becky shared a chair, and Korben tried to keep me from taking his picture with his foot.

So there are some pictures!!!

Korben's 4th Birthday Party

2006-09-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Slideshow of Korben's birthday pictures.

Wow, the party was great! It poured rain, but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits, and luckily most of the people didn't arrive until after the rain was over. The first pictures in the slideshow are from before the rain, and then after. The kids went swimming several times, and played like monkeys in the wet moonwalk, and just had a great time. We never got to the opening of presents until after everyone left, but that was ok. Here are my favorites:

Linda started a paint fight, and by the time Korben opened his presents, he was totally exhausted. It was really great, though, and I am very grateful for all the hard work that Linda and Larry both did to get everything set up. Thank you to all of you who came to the party, too!