Caleb was asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge at his school on October 31. He did a great job -- the night before he told Diane that he was getting nervous; he didn't know if his brain was going to remember what to say. He needn't have worried -- he was perfect. The nurse at school couldn't believe it was him when he spoke because he never speaks to her when she talks to him.
I took a video so you could hear him -- but the picture is just random since I couldn't video Caleb actually reciting the pledge.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
happy halloween...
Jacob, Sydni and Caleb spent Halloween 2006 at the Spooktacular and trick or treating. The Spooktacular is an annual event the city puts on as a safe alternative for trick or treating. The businesses downtown have candy for the kids to trick or treat and they have games and food as well. They also have a haunted house but this year it was too cold and the line was too long to wait.
Jacob dressed up as Darth Vadar; Sydni went as a marabou kitty; and Caleb was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. One of the kids neighbors, Mandy as a cat, joined us this year for the night's festivities.
Jacob dressed up as Darth Vadar; Sydni went as a marabou kitty; and Caleb was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. One of the kids neighbors, Mandy as a cat, joined us this year for the night's festivities.
karate match...
The kids had their first karate competition on October 28. They all won first place and had a good time.
Here is Sydni sparring (in white helmet):
Here is Jacob sparring (in white helmet):
Here is Caleb sparring (in white helmet):
Here is Sydni sparring (in white helmet):
Here is Jacob sparring (in white helmet):
Here is Caleb sparring (in white helmet):
awards assembly...
The kids had their first awards assembly of the year last month and we're please to report their awards:
Caleb:
Caleb:
- Reading Award for his class
- Classy Conduct
Sydni:
- Writing Award for her class
- Classy Conduct
Jacob:
- Classy Conduct
- Perfect Attendance
Friday, October 13, 2006
the hulk at sea world....
We all went to Sea World last Sunday -- it was the first time this year we had been so we were all ready for it. Diane bought us season passes so we'll be going a lot (hopefully). Jacob wanted to get his face painted so he got half a Hulk face. Caleb absolutely did not like it and had a hard time eating while looking at Jacob. Doesn't he make a cute Hulk!
tennis anyone....
Jacob, Caleb and Sydni are also taking tennis lessons. Next week is their last lesson and so far they are enjoying it and doing quite well. Hopefully they will keep playing and taking lessons.
karate....wax on/wax off.....
Diane signed up Sydni, Jacob and Caleb for karate lessons and they have been going for a few weeks now. They are doing pretty good at it -- they started sparring this past week and have a competition next weekend. Not to mention they look too cute in their uniforms.
little entrepreneur....
Sydni is now designing jewelry. She has started making earrings and bracelets for her family and friends. Here's a picture of Granny Gran modeling her Sydni designed earrings. 
just call me dale jr.....
Caleb is now a NASCAR race fan -- a #8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fan. He is also a fan of the #22 CAT car since he has two of those cars. We got home from a party one Sunday a couple of weeks back and I asked what they wanted to see on TV. As soon as he saw racing he said he wanted to see that and ran to his room. We watched most of the race and he was really into it. Granny Gran took the kids to get their Halloween costumes and Caleb picked this one. Granny Gran had only seen the #20 Tony Stewart costume but Caleb said "no, I have to be Dale Jr." -- they called me when they got home and Sydni told me they had a surprise for me so for me to get right over there. When I walked in the house, they popped out from behind the sofa and Caleb said "just call me Dale Jr."! It was too cute!
Sydni picked out a kitty cat costume and Jacob picked out the Darth Vader costume. I'll wait until Halloween to post their pics.
Sydni picked out a kitty cat costume and Jacob picked out the Darth Vader costume. I'll wait until Halloween to post their pics.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
love note...
A few weeks back, Sydni received her first "love note" from one of the boys in her class. I'll have to ask Mom or Diane for his name -- Trey or Eric or something like that I believe.
Sydni was embarrased to tell me about the note -- but she finally told me that he wrote her a note that said "I love you Sydni" (two notes actually) but she doesn't love him so she crumbled it up. Apparently this little boy is not very nice to her so she didn't even want to keep his note. I asked her to let me have the note so I can include it in her scrapbook -- she'll laugh at that later in life.
Sydni was embarrased to tell me about the note -- but she finally told me that he wrote her a note that said "I love you Sydni" (two notes actually) but she doesn't love him so she crumbled it up. Apparently this little boy is not very nice to her so she didn't even want to keep his note. I asked her to let me have the note so I can include it in her scrapbook -- she'll laugh at that later in life.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
pride of pasemann....
Last Friday, October 6, 2006, Caleb was named the "Pride of Pasemann" for his First Grade class. I believe they pick three kids from every grade and give them that honor every Friday. He was excited that he was picked. Last year he had the honor twice.
Diane went to parent/teacher conferences on Monday. Jacob, Caleb and Sydni all seem to be doing well in their classes. They are all reading well above their level at this point and they all like their teachers.
Diane went to parent/teacher conferences on Monday. Jacob, Caleb and Sydni all seem to be doing well in their classes. They are all reading well above their level at this point and they all like their teachers.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
baseball fans....
The kids and I have been to quite a few Round Rock Express games this season...so much so that I'm considering season tickets for next year. The entire family went to one recent game -- the kids all got Nolan Ryan jerseys.
All the kids enjoy the games, but Caleb is the avid fan. He is really enjoying watching the games and is learning all about baseball. His favorite player right now is Brooks Conrad. We went to our last game of the regular season at the end of August and I told Caleb that "this is it -- we won't see them again until next April" and he said "NEXT APRIL! -- BUT I'M GOING TO MISS THEM!" Luckily, now that RR is in the playoffs, we'll see them for a little while longer.
At first I thought it was just the fun of going to Dell Diamond and playing on the rock wall and the moon walks but Caleb's really taken an interest in baseball.
Now, with Sydni, it is all about the food (see August 15 blog). She's not interested in going to any more games --- she actually asked "do I have to go to the baseball game?"
Jacob is a little into the game -- his real interest though is the food, especially the sno cones (or shaved ice as Jacob refers to them).
They all enjoyed the gift shop! Below is just a small sampling of what they got this year.
The Express were in the American Division playoffs (and are now the American League PCL Division Champs) this past weekend. I took Caleb and Jacob to the game on Friday night. We like to sit behind home plate and getting three tickets together was hard so we had to settle for two in one row and one six rows in front of us. Since I wasn't going to let either boy sit by themselves, I told them one would have to sit on my lap the entire game. It was a little hard when the three of us were trying to eat all squished into two seats. It was sprinkling when we got there but luckily we were under the ledge so our seats weren't too bad. We were getting rained on a bit at the beginning so the boys wanted to go to the store and get an umbrella. I had my hands full carrying the food and drinks and the boys were following me to the store. I turned around to tell them that we were going to sit at the picnic tables and finish eating before going into the store when all of a sudden Caleb wasn't behind me. I asked Jacob where he was and he said that he was just behind him. Jacob started calling Caleb's name and I was running around like crazy looking for him. I ended up chunking the food and drinks once I realized he was not in our immediate vacinity. It was all so surreal -- we had not walked more than 20 ft. when all this took place -- but since it was raining, so many people were standing around in the walkways and I guess that's how we got separated.
Of course I started to panic when I couldn't immediately find him. The Dell Diamond folks were amazing. They were very helpful -- now the first police officer I found wasn't worth a dime. He actually looked like he was drunk and wouldn't lift a finger to help me. I just walked away from him irritated and then another officer came up to me. He was helpful and they had other employees out searching for Caleb. They all looked at me kind of weird when I said that he was Jacob's brother, but taller and that he looked like a Mexican (since Jacob doesn't look at all Mexican). The cop was very sympathetic and I told him we had to hurry and find him because I knew he was walking around crying looking for me. Not more than five minutes passed when the cop told me to stop and I heard "Dede" and then saw Caleb running through people to try and get to me. I couldn't stop hugging him and kissing him. We must have looked a sight -- me, Caleb and Jacob all on the ground hugging and crying. Jacob was really scared and he was crying the hardest. I told them "let's go home" and they both said NO! Even through all that madness they wanted to stay for the game. Caleb is shy and he wouldn't tell me what happened or what the guy who found him said to get him to come with him to me. Once we were all calm enough to talk, we found that we were each going the opposite way looking for each other. Well now Caleb has gotten lost with me, Granny Gran and Diane. That boy is a little houdini. Oi Vey!
We didn't get the umbrellas but they bought RR baseball caps to keep the rain off their heads. The rain shifted and we ended up pretty much covered the rest of the night. The game was called for a rain delay at the end of the ninth inning and they had to go into extra innings. Since it was Friday night, they had a fireworks show that they of course wanted to stay and watch. We were lucky that they went ahead and had the show during the rain delay. Jacob said "these are awesome fireworks!"
Caleb and I went back on Saturday for another game and things went well. It was so hot that we had to change seats so as not to burn up. We stayed in our original seats long enough for Caleb to get one of the balls the announcer throws out during the seventh inning stretch. I took my camera so Caleb was loving taking all the pictures.
There were at least three broken bats -- here is my favorite player, Mike Rodriguez, breaking his bat.
All the kids enjoy the games, but Caleb is the avid fan. He is really enjoying watching the games and is learning all about baseball. His favorite player right now is Brooks Conrad. We went to our last game of the regular season at the end of August and I told Caleb that "this is it -- we won't see them again until next April" and he said "NEXT APRIL! -- BUT I'M GOING TO MISS THEM!" Luckily, now that RR is in the playoffs, we'll see them for a little while longer.
At first I thought it was just the fun of going to Dell Diamond and playing on the rock wall and the moon walks but Caleb's really taken an interest in baseball.
Now, with Sydni, it is all about the food (see August 15 blog). She's not interested in going to any more games --- she actually asked "do I have to go to the baseball game?"
Jacob is a little into the game -- his real interest though is the food, especially the sno cones (or shaved ice as Jacob refers to them).
They all enjoyed the gift shop! Below is just a small sampling of what they got this year.
The Express were in the American Division playoffs (and are now the American League PCL Division Champs) this past weekend. I took Caleb and Jacob to the game on Friday night. We like to sit behind home plate and getting three tickets together was hard so we had to settle for two in one row and one six rows in front of us. Since I wasn't going to let either boy sit by themselves, I told them one would have to sit on my lap the entire game. It was a little hard when the three of us were trying to eat all squished into two seats. It was sprinkling when we got there but luckily we were under the ledge so our seats weren't too bad. We were getting rained on a bit at the beginning so the boys wanted to go to the store and get an umbrella. I had my hands full carrying the food and drinks and the boys were following me to the store. I turned around to tell them that we were going to sit at the picnic tables and finish eating before going into the store when all of a sudden Caleb wasn't behind me. I asked Jacob where he was and he said that he was just behind him. Jacob started calling Caleb's name and I was running around like crazy looking for him. I ended up chunking the food and drinks once I realized he was not in our immediate vacinity. It was all so surreal -- we had not walked more than 20 ft. when all this took place -- but since it was raining, so many people were standing around in the walkways and I guess that's how we got separated.
Of course I started to panic when I couldn't immediately find him. The Dell Diamond folks were amazing. They were very helpful -- now the first police officer I found wasn't worth a dime. He actually looked like he was drunk and wouldn't lift a finger to help me. I just walked away from him irritated and then another officer came up to me. He was helpful and they had other employees out searching for Caleb. They all looked at me kind of weird when I said that he was Jacob's brother, but taller and that he looked like a Mexican (since Jacob doesn't look at all Mexican). The cop was very sympathetic and I told him we had to hurry and find him because I knew he was walking around crying looking for me. Not more than five minutes passed when the cop told me to stop and I heard "Dede" and then saw Caleb running through people to try and get to me. I couldn't stop hugging him and kissing him. We must have looked a sight -- me, Caleb and Jacob all on the ground hugging and crying. Jacob was really scared and he was crying the hardest. I told them "let's go home" and they both said NO! Even through all that madness they wanted to stay for the game. Caleb is shy and he wouldn't tell me what happened or what the guy who found him said to get him to come with him to me. Once we were all calm enough to talk, we found that we were each going the opposite way looking for each other. Well now Caleb has gotten lost with me, Granny Gran and Diane. That boy is a little houdini. Oi Vey!
We didn't get the umbrellas but they bought RR baseball caps to keep the rain off their heads. The rain shifted and we ended up pretty much covered the rest of the night. The game was called for a rain delay at the end of the ninth inning and they had to go into extra innings. Since it was Friday night, they had a fireworks show that they of course wanted to stay and watch. We were lucky that they went ahead and had the show during the rain delay. Jacob said "these are awesome fireworks!"
Caleb and I went back on Saturday for another game and things went well. It was so hot that we had to change seats so as not to burn up. We stayed in our original seats long enough for Caleb to get one of the balls the announcer throws out during the seventh inning stretch. I took my camera so Caleb was loving taking all the pictures.
There were at least three broken bats -- here is my favorite player, Mike Rodriguez, breaking his bat.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
first grade....
Today was the first day of First Grade for the kids. They all had new teachers and new classmates this year (although each had at least one that they knew from last year). Even though they enjoyed their summer I think they were ready to get back to a routine....everyone except Sydni that is. She decided last night that she didn't like school anymore -- it's too long. Caleb was just excited that the class bullies from last year weren't in his class this year. In his words "whew!". Jacob didn't really have much to say -- although he didn't want to go anywhere near their school during summer.
(I know it looks like the boys don't have other clothes to wear other than these shirts but they do!)
(I know it looks like the boys don't have other clothes to wear other than these shirts but they do!)
sydni's day again....
Sunday was Sydni's day with me. We started the afternoon by going shopping (for me). We went into a clothing store and the first thing she said was "I don't know if this is the store that had the necklace that I wanted"...and sure enough it was. She saw this LARGE heart locket about two months ago and wanted it -- but it was $24 and I knew she would lose it or lose interest in it as soon as I bought it so I told her I would order one online where some of the money went to charity. Well, I completely forgot about that but she kept reminding me. So for one of her birthday presents, I ordered a small locket for her. When she opened it she liked it but she said "this isn't the one I wanted". UGGGGH! So, thank goodness they had it on Sunday and it was on clearance for $5. WooHoo. I think she's stopped wearing it already but at least she has it.
We then went to the Round Rock Express game. She was not into the game at all. She was more into the food -- she had chicken tenders with fries, a Sprite, a Cherry snowcone (that I filled to the brim and it dripped all over the place); some cotton candy; a hot dog; another Sprite and some water. We got up and down from our seats more times than I can remember.
She also got a pink bat from the store and some "lipstick" aka chapstick. She tried to practice in the stands and scared those around us. She wanted to climb the wall but by the time the sun went down and we made our way to the play area, they were closing up. She was not happy at all. That's a major point to remember for the next trip.
Sunday's are kids days at Dell Diamond so she got to see a clown and get a kitty kat balloon -- that popped while we were sitting and scared everyone around us. They also gave away RR Express/Mrs. Bairds lunch boxes (only to kids 12 and under--I don't think she's giving that thing up to me no matter how nice I ask).
For our next day out together she wants to go to Austin to take a ballet class.
We then went to the Round Rock Express game. She was not into the game at all. She was more into the food -- she had chicken tenders with fries, a Sprite, a Cherry snowcone (that I filled to the brim and it dripped all over the place); some cotton candy; a hot dog; another Sprite and some water. We got up and down from our seats more times than I can remember.
She also got a pink bat from the store and some "lipstick" aka chapstick. She tried to practice in the stands and scared those around us. She wanted to climb the wall but by the time the sun went down and we made our way to the play area, they were closing up. She was not happy at all. That's a major point to remember for the next trip.
Sunday's are kids days at Dell Diamond so she got to see a clown and get a kitty kat balloon -- that popped while we were sitting and scared everyone around us. They also gave away RR Express/Mrs. Bairds lunch boxes (only to kids 12 and under--I don't think she's giving that thing up to me no matter how nice I ask).
For our next day out together she wants to go to Austin to take a ballet class.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
happy 6th birthday to us....
Sydni, Caleb and Jacob turned six years old on Wednesday, August 9. Diane and Keith took us and the kids to Chili's on Monday to celebrate their birthday (Diane had to work on Wednesday). The kids loved it and enjoyed their birthday ice cream. They didn't get sung to so that was a bummer but otherwise a great meal.
Granny Gran, PoPo and I took the kids to eat at Sirloin Stockade on Wednesday -- one of their favorite places. Our waitress was so sweet and she sang Happy Birthday to them. They kept looking for her and saying "I don't think she's coming back..." We had cupcakes for them and they blew out their candles at their exact birth time.
Jacob -- 10:50 am
Sydni -- 10:49 am
Caleb -- 10:51 am
Granny Gran, PoPo and I took the kids to eat at Sirloin Stockade on Wednesday -- one of their favorite places. Our waitress was so sweet and she sang Happy Birthday to them. They kept looking for her and saying "I don't think she's coming back..." We had cupcakes for them and they blew out their candles at their exact birth time.
Jacob -- 10:50 am
Sydni -- 10:49 am
Caleb -- 10:51 am
We were supposed to have a family birthday party on Saturday but all three kids came down with a viral infection so we were forced to cancel their party. Diane was planning on having a birthday party with their school friends in early September so we are going to combine the two. They weren't deprived though since they got to open up tons of gifts on Saturday from all of us.
And, Aunt Lola made them a delicious cake -- I kept saying "I'm glad it wasn't any good" trying to convince myself that I shouldn't have a piece but Caleb kept saying "It was -- It was good!".
Some of their gifts (in addition to all their school clothes and school supplies from Granny Gran and PoPo):
Sydni:
- Fairytopia/Mermaidia doll
- Tinkerbell doll (known to Sydni as Twinkerbell)
- Easy Bake Oven (over Diane's objections)
- Heart locket (of course, it wasn't the exact one that Sydni wanted)
- Princess CD
- Paintable tea set
- Cinderella clock
- Tinkerbell dress up outfit
- sleeping bag
- Princess Activity door hanger and activity pad
- Barbie Diaries DVD
- Faiytopia play things
- Leapster cartridges
- Video chair
- Scooter
Jacob
- Flying Superman
- Bionicles
- Cars Legos
- Magnetic Legos
- Spy Camera
- Yugi-O figure
- sleeping bag
- HUGE water shooter
- Flat Ball
- Flat Ball (again)
- Spy Night goggles
- Nerf basketball light-up
- Scooter
- Power Rangers
- Saduko game (for TV w/Checkers)
Caleb
- Lightning McQueen Car
- Power Rangers Megazord
- Red Power Rangers (talking one)
- sleeping bag
- Scooter
- Bionicles
- Bionicles books (to add to his collection)
- Car Legos
- Power Rangers gloves
- Nerf dart shooting game
- Remote control truck with jet ski
- Remote control Caterpillar (small version)
- Remote control Caterpillar (large version -- exact same as above only larger scale)
- Remote control convertible
- Binoculars
Monday, July 31, 2006
trying to get to sea world.....
Caleb called me today to let me know that he had a lot of money so he could go to Sea World. I asked him how much he had so he and Sydni proceeded to count out their money; six pennies, six nickels, five quarters and six dimes. I told him that comes to $2.21 -- he thought that was so much money and did he have enough? I said, well it takes around $50 to get into Sea World so you're still short....and that is only if you are going to get in by yourself. So I told him how many quarters it would take and how many nickels it would take so he and Jacob and Sydni are off now trying to scrounge up enough money to go to Sea World. I really hope he gets to swim/train with Shamu one day because he is enthralled with that beautiful creature.
One of these days we are going to take the kids to spend the night there -- either with the penguins or the sharks.
One of these days we are going to take the kids to spend the night there -- either with the penguins or the sharks.
caleb's day
Caleb and I had another one of our days together. Of course, he wanted to go to another Round Rock Express game which was fine with me -- I really enjoy those games. Luke Scott got called up to play for the Astros so we were sad to see him not there but excited for him. That's one of the players that Caleb remembers because he always plays great. Morgan Ensberg was sent down to RR from the Astros so we were able to see him play and he was really good. It was a tough game and the Express lost it but at least Caleb got his treats that he has been patiently waiting for: camera, bat and ball. That boy loves disposable cameras -- he can't wait to get that film developed!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
honky tonk....
The kids are quite the singers -- they all know the Brooks & Dunn song "You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl" and love to sing it. A couple of years back, we watched the Country Music Awards on TV and I was goofing around singing that song when Brooks & Dunn were on stage. The kids loved it so much that I had to go out and buy the CD. For a while there any time we got in the car they always would say "we want to hear Caleb's song" because Caleb is the one who was completely obsessed by it.
Then they forgot about that song for a while and started to really like the Beach Boys. #4 and #21 are their favorites.
They are into both of them equally right now. When they sing "Honky tonk", I will look in the rearview mirror and Caleb will have his eyes closed and just singing along; Sydni will sing and move her little head around as she does it; and Jacob belts it out.
On the B&D album, they will also ask to hear "Caroline" since that is another one of Caleb's favorites. I would sing "Caleb" instead of Caroline and Sydni asked me the other day how they got Caleb's name in the song. I felt so bad having to tell her that it wasn't really Caleb on the song but that I just sang it like that.
Then they forgot about that song for a while and started to really like the Beach Boys. #4 and #21 are their favorites.
They are into both of them equally right now. When they sing "Honky tonk", I will look in the rearview mirror and Caleb will have his eyes closed and just singing along; Sydni will sing and move her little head around as she does it; and Jacob belts it out.
On the B&D album, they will also ask to hear "Caroline" since that is another one of Caleb's favorites. I would sing "Caleb" instead of Caroline and Sydni asked me the other day how they got Caleb's name in the song. I felt so bad having to tell her that it wasn't really Caleb on the song but that I just sang it like that.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
vacation time....
The last couple of weeks have been vacation time for the kids. They started out in San Antonio with Diane and Keith to have fun at Fiesta Texas. They all loved it -- but could have done without a couple of the fast rides. I think Jacob is the only one who truly enjoyed the water log ride and the "fast" roller coaster. Caleb and Sydni will pass on those next time.
Then it was off to Galveston to spend some time at the beach. Grandma Sherry met them there. Jacob had an accident before vacation that had him scraping his knee pretty bad and it affected his ability to be in the water (the salt water at least) so he didn't play at the beach. Caleb had a near miss with a jelly fish so he was a little traumatized; and Sydni didn't like all the shells she had to walk on so she preferred to stick to the pool.
It was off to Houston next to visit Uncle Greg and Cousin Chelsea -- and their dog Misty or Missy or something like that; they had fun swimming and playing there and got a kick out of Uncle Greg swimming with them.
As if that wasn't enough, they came home on Sunday and we left on Monday to South Padre Island. This time Granny Gran and I joined the kids and Diane for that trip. They were very anxious to get there and the fact that we kept trying to find shortcuts there didn't help. Once they saw palm trees they knew we were close but not close enough. They finally saw the water and the causeway and were over the top with excitement. We went to the beach the next day and had fun boogie boarding and playing around in the ocean -- at least the boys did; Sydni was still a little shy of the ocean because of the shells and stuff so she preferred the pool and making sand castles...she never actually got in to the ocean. Caleb loves going out in the ocean but after the near jellyfish attack he was a little leary and anytime he saw something move he thought it was a jellyfish. I had to lie a little to him and tell him the jellyfish had all stayed in Port Aransas and were far far away so that he would relax a little. Jacob's knee wasn't affected by this salt water so he had fun playing and going crazy -- he likes making sand castles too so he did that quite a bit. Diane and I kept trying to sneak in time on their boogie boards but they always ended up wanting them back. After spending half a day at the beach, they all decided they wanted to play in the pool so Granny Gran and Diane took them back to the hotel to play there. Since I had payed for the umbrellas and chairs, I was determined to get my money's worth so I stayed at the beach and read a good book for the afternoon. The next day we went to San Juan to meet PoPo and go to church at the Our Lady of San Juan Shrine. The kids loved it there and got a thrill out of lighting candles and praying. They all had to bring back candles for home so they could pray at home. PoPo then headed back with us to the hotel for more pool time and beach time (only Jacob and I ventured out to the beach for a few hours but it was fun). The next day we headed back home and took our sweet leisurely time making it back. I also have to say that we really liked the location of our hotel -- La Quinta -- it was right on the beach and the staff was very nice. The kids especially loved the vending machines....
Next year I told Diane we could save the trip and just drive the kids around for a couple of hours and put them up at a hotel in Georgetown or Round Rock and let them spend a few days at the hotel pool and it would be the same to them. I told them I'm heading to SPI by myself next year -- but Jacob said he would go with me. Granny Gran asked him if he would help me get there and he said "sure, just follow the palm trees".
Then it was off to Galveston to spend some time at the beach. Grandma Sherry met them there. Jacob had an accident before vacation that had him scraping his knee pretty bad and it affected his ability to be in the water (the salt water at least) so he didn't play at the beach. Caleb had a near miss with a jelly fish so he was a little traumatized; and Sydni didn't like all the shells she had to walk on so she preferred to stick to the pool.
It was off to Houston next to visit Uncle Greg and Cousin Chelsea -- and their dog Misty or Missy or something like that; they had fun swimming and playing there and got a kick out of Uncle Greg swimming with them.
As if that wasn't enough, they came home on Sunday and we left on Monday to South Padre Island. This time Granny Gran and I joined the kids and Diane for that trip. They were very anxious to get there and the fact that we kept trying to find shortcuts there didn't help. Once they saw palm trees they knew we were close but not close enough. They finally saw the water and the causeway and were over the top with excitement. We went to the beach the next day and had fun boogie boarding and playing around in the ocean -- at least the boys did; Sydni was still a little shy of the ocean because of the shells and stuff so she preferred the pool and making sand castles...she never actually got in to the ocean. Caleb loves going out in the ocean but after the near jellyfish attack he was a little leary and anytime he saw something move he thought it was a jellyfish. I had to lie a little to him and tell him the jellyfish had all stayed in Port Aransas and were far far away so that he would relax a little. Jacob's knee wasn't affected by this salt water so he had fun playing and going crazy -- he likes making sand castles too so he did that quite a bit. Diane and I kept trying to sneak in time on their boogie boards but they always ended up wanting them back. After spending half a day at the beach, they all decided they wanted to play in the pool so Granny Gran and Diane took them back to the hotel to play there. Since I had payed for the umbrellas and chairs, I was determined to get my money's worth so I stayed at the beach and read a good book for the afternoon. The next day we went to San Juan to meet PoPo and go to church at the Our Lady of San Juan Shrine. The kids loved it there and got a thrill out of lighting candles and praying. They all had to bring back candles for home so they could pray at home. PoPo then headed back with us to the hotel for more pool time and beach time (only Jacob and I ventured out to the beach for a few hours but it was fun). The next day we headed back home and took our sweet leisurely time making it back. I also have to say that we really liked the location of our hotel -- La Quinta -- it was right on the beach and the staff was very nice. The kids especially loved the vending machines....
Next year I told Diane we could save the trip and just drive the kids around for a couple of hours and put them up at a hotel in Georgetown or Round Rock and let them spend a few days at the hotel pool and it would be the same to them. I told them I'm heading to SPI by myself next year -- but Jacob said he would go with me. Granny Gran asked him if he would help me get there and he said "sure, just follow the palm trees".
Thursday, June 29, 2006
jacob's turn....
Jacob's one-on-one turn finally came on Sunday (June 25). He really wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese and the RR Express game; but since the other two had just gone to the game, we took all three kids to Chuck E. Cheese for the afternoon. We were there for about three hours and had a ball. Caleb, Sydni and I almost fell off the WaveRunner. Jacob made a friend there -- some 4-year-old kid who played all the games with him...he told me his name but for the life of me I could not understand what he was saying.
We took off for the game late so we didn't get to spend time in the play area before the game. But, we did have time to hit the gift shop (boy the kids love that place!). Jacob got a foam finger and one of those swirly things that has the balls going around and around. We sat up in the handicapped section (not sure how we got those tickets but they were good seats so no complaints) and there was one woman in particular who was enchanted with Jacob. She just got a kick out of him. He would wave the finger and then eat his popcorn or his sno-cone. He woo-hooed a bit but he wasn't too interested in the game. He REALLY wanted to go play so we went to the play area and he was there for a bit. I like that they have that stuff for the kids but really, do they have to keep it open during the games? That defeats the purpose of actually watching the game which I really wanted to do. When we were coming back from the play area he noticed the suites up on the top level. He wanted to go sit up there. It told him we didn't have tickets to go up there but he was insistent -- I had to take him into the gift shop to get his mind off the suites. I told him he could buy one thing for $1; he said "yeah, I'm only going to buy one thing". He went to a RR jersey and said "this is too big!" and thank goodness because it was $70 bucks. He found some baseball cards for $1 so he got those. When we got home, he opened the cards (he wouldn't open them at the game or in the car because he didn't want to lose them) and said that the baseball players were going to come to his home now because he bought the cards. How cute is he!
We took off for the game late so we didn't get to spend time in the play area before the game. But, we did have time to hit the gift shop (boy the kids love that place!). Jacob got a foam finger and one of those swirly things that has the balls going around and around. We sat up in the handicapped section (not sure how we got those tickets but they were good seats so no complaints) and there was one woman in particular who was enchanted with Jacob. She just got a kick out of him. He would wave the finger and then eat his popcorn or his sno-cone. He woo-hooed a bit but he wasn't too interested in the game. He REALLY wanted to go play so we went to the play area and he was there for a bit. I like that they have that stuff for the kids but really, do they have to keep it open during the games? That defeats the purpose of actually watching the game which I really wanted to do. When we were coming back from the play area he noticed the suites up on the top level. He wanted to go sit up there. It told him we didn't have tickets to go up there but he was insistent -- I had to take him into the gift shop to get his mind off the suites. I told him he could buy one thing for $1; he said "yeah, I'm only going to buy one thing". He went to a RR jersey and said "this is too big!" and thank goodness because it was $70 bucks. He found some baseball cards for $1 so he got those. When we got home, he opened the cards (he wouldn't open them at the game or in the car because he didn't want to lose them) and said that the baseball players were going to come to his home now because he bought the cards. How cute is he!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)