Everything's up-to-date in Kansas City

So, finally, I've updated the blog for the quarter. You'll have to go all the way back to Christmas to see all the new ones. But I'll try to do better, seriously. I have a new p-a-s camera and I think it'll serve as incentive to keep it cleaned off. We'll see.

First bowling

Bennett's friend Dominic had a bowling birthday party and Bennett actually did pretty well. And by well, I mean that all his balls connected with at least one pin each time (thanks to the bumpers), but he also had the second highest score. Man, I could have wiped the floor with those 4-year-olds, though.

The aftermath

It took only about two days of whining about wanting more Easter candy for us to trash the rest of it--well, what we couldn't push off on friends. During those two days, though, this was pretty much the scene at our house. I like how Bennett treats us like paparazzi.

Easter Day

We rolled into town Saturday evening and had just enough time to get Easter ready for the kids the next morning and throw a ham in the oven for lunch at our casa after church with Susan and her parents. It was a great day with lots of laughs and lots of great food.

Early Easter

Those of you who know us well know that we have the best neighbors in the world. I'm not sure how we got so lucky. But when they heard we were unexpectedly having to leave town before Easter, they made sure the Easter Bunny selected our yard for a practice run (in case we weren't back in time for the real thing). So the kids got a great suprise on a Tuesday after school.

What is so appealing about the pillows?

We can't go five minutes with them actually staying on the couch. But I guess it does look pretty comfortable with them on the floor, too.

Company's here

Grannie Annie and Aunt Sonya came bearing gifts following Bennett's birthday. A weekend full of fun and a freak snowstorm made this visit unforgetable. It was the last weekend in March, and on Saturday it snowed for six straight hours, dumping about 6 inches in our area of KC. Of course, all we wanted to do was stay inside and play anyway! It gave Grannie more time to begin some piano lessons with Julia.

Happy Birthday Bennett!

We celebrated Bennett's birthday with a pool party on March 21. He was so pleased with it that on the way home, he asked if we could do the party "again tomorrow." Little did any of us know that "tomorrow" would hold plenty of surprises of its own.

Next up: Princess Day

As if a girl needs an excuse to dress like a princess whenever she wants!

Blast from the past

Hey, I know a little something about the 80s, so when the kids' daycare had 80s Day a while back, I knew just what to do (hey, it wasn't THAT long ago, was it?). Julia sported the side ponytail with leggings, a short skirt, Converse (of course), rocker shirt and denim jacket. Bennett had the cool do with a Star Wars T-shirt and some tight-rolled jeans and loafers.

Tree time

For the most part, Julia has left both Christmas trees alone, except for one incident involving candy canes (Bennett had hung all 10 candy canes on one 5-inch section of lights). Her main focus is the singing snowmen that surround the Christmas tree. She likes to turn them all on at once, especially if I'm on the phone.

O Christmas Tree

Snow set in the Sunday after Thanksgiving. What better time to go pick out a Christmas tree? After searching all over for the perfect one, we finally found an independent grower who had some gorgeous trees. But by then, our helpers were tuckered out and slept through the whole event (check out the review mirror). Maybe next year...

The last of the leaves

With the freezing weather out there now, it's hard to believe that we were able to play outside only two weeks ago. Bennett eagerly offered to help rake leaves, and was true to his word, after some playtime first. Julia showed a preference for supervising only, but did add to the bags one leaf at a time.

Family fun in College Station

Bennett and Julia enjoyed getting to see their Grannie Annie and Aunt Sonya in College Station. It was a quick weekend (even though the game against OU seemed to last forever!), but we made the most of if.

Texas A&M trip

OK, so the game wasn't all that great, but it was a fun trip--even though we were there with an all-OU crew! Our seats were right next to the OU band, too. With 60-some OU points on the board, I'm pretty sure Bennett and Julia have Boomer Sooner ingrained, which is just fine with their Grannie Annie. To get away, we took a break for some popcorn late in the second quarter.

Fall leaf fun

One day, our maple tree was fire red and beautiful. The next day, the wind set in and all the leaves were on the ground. So we had a very small window for playing in them (which constituted about one hour after work this week). The oaks in the back hang on a little longer, though, so we still have some potential for more leaf fun. Bennett says he's looking forward to raking them up. I'm sure that will last about five minutes.

Halloween

Bennett really got into the Halloween spirit this year. He was like a machine. And Julia, in her quest to do everything Bennett does, quickly learned to follow him up to houses and hold out her candy bucket. I do believe Bennett would have continued all night, but we called it quits after about two hours and 15 pounds of candy. We're sneaking it out of the house as we're able, but Bennett is catching on to our scheme.