School Craft

Sheri helped Caleb's 2nd grade class make ornaments on the last day of school.  Caleb's teacher put up a Christmas tree and the kids had a book exchange.  These snowflakes are made from toilet paper tubes! The snowman is made from white and black beads strung on a  pipe cleaner.

Our new favorite thrifty activity!

Sheri saw Toy Story 3 with the boys for $3.00 tonight!   "Reel Family Time" is 75 cent admission for parties of 3 or more every Monday at Cinemark 8 in Round Rock.  You have to buy your tickets at the box office - and perhaps a little ahead of time.
 http://www.cinemark.com/reelfamilytime.asp

p.s. Yes, I love vintage toys, but please do not purchase a  Charlie the Chimp playing the cymbals, for Samuel.  EVER.  Thank you.

What shall we teach them before they're grown?

I am surprised at how many children we know can't swim!  Many of these kids attend dance lessons or play team sports, but have never had a swim lesson. Our family spends a lot of time around rivers, lakes and streams and the faster these two fun loving boys can do some self rescue, the better! Luckily, we live in a neighborhood that offers low-cost classes and year-round swimming. I suppose every family has their own priorities in what they want their children to know.  I've been  thinking of compiling a list of "Things to teach my kids before they're grown".  What would be your top contenders?  I'm not referring to the things everyone teaches their kids; like basic hygiene or how to safely cross the street, but rather things that are important to you and your family. Examples might be: swimming, changing the oil in the car,  how to speak Gaelic, or folding a proper paper airplane. 

Teaching sewing

Sheri embarks on the new challenge of teaching Caleb and a friend to sew.  I found these great stich-a-pal kits at Hancock Fabrics for One dollar! They come with a plastic needle, yarn and foam pieces to stitch together.   We used the needles to stitch on index cards yesterday. Next we will put these cute projects together.   The manufacturer is NICOLE P.O. Box 846 Mt. Laurel, NJ 08064

Samuel turns 3!

“Mommy, I wanna have a Wonder Pets party!” says Samuel. “Really?!? I thought you wanted to have a Thomas Party. We could go ride the train!” replies Mom “ No, I wanna have a Wonder Pets party!” Insists Samuel. “Oh okay…But what about having a dinosaur party? You love dinosaurs!” questions Caleb. “No, I wanna have a Wonder Pets party!” “Are you sure? What about Back-yardigans? ” “I’m sure, I want Wonder Pets” So went the game that Samuel played for a month and half in preparation for the big day.

The party was small but lively. The boys and their friend Samantha ran around the yard rescuing “animals in trouble” using "team work" and wearing felt wonder pet capes! http://www.nickjr.com/printables/wonder-pets-cape-diagram.jhtml) Uncle Andy joined us for a trip to Kiddie Acres- a small old fashioned amusement park. http://kiddieacres.com/ Samuel loved the tiny Ferris wheel, and the airplane ride best. After some “serious” ice cream refreshment we headed home for spaghetti and meatballs, presents, cake, and Wonder Pet chocolate chip cookies!

Presents included a Radio Flyer scooter, a remote control Bounce Back Racer, a Tonka crane, Little People castle and of course… Wonder Pets.

Bluebonnets Plus

2010 Wild Flowers have been the most spectacular ever. Uncle Andy joined us for a wonderful drive around the famous Central Texas “Willow City Loop” in pursuit of the quintessential bluebonnet photo op. The hill country was fertile green and full of calves nuzzling mama cows. The flowers were thick and full and grew more jaw-dropping with every mile. We counted at least 16 species in bloom and the bluebonnets were above the knee.



We stopped at Harry’s in Willow City for some pulled pork sandwiches. One of the locals was sitting outside popping the heads off of crawdads. Caleb, thinking it was pretty cool, ended up getting his first taste of Cajun Craw-fish. They have a great Border collie mix hanging around named Reba. She has a great singing voice and joined us in a verse of Amazing Grace! She is also an excellent fetcher.

Bobble head and Yellow belt

Last month Caleb won a 1^st place bobble head trophy in his rookie karate tournament. Spectators included Papa, Sally, Andy, Mom, Dad and Brother. A few weeks later, he was honored by moving from white to yellow belt!

Caleb's Creations

Caleb lit up the stage at the Round Rock ISD Black History Month Celebration Saturday. His picture book about Harriet Tubman won first place in the district wide K- 1st Grade category! He stepped right up on stage in front of 600 people and read the book to a slide show presentation of his drawings. When asked if he was nervous he looked at mom and dad like we were nuts and told us it was "just really fun!". I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we have another spotlight lover in the family.

Enough Snow to build a Snowman!

Finally, after 6 years in Austin, TX we had enough snow for the boys to build a snowman! Samuel was thrilled to catch snow on his tongue. The sixth graders from down the street planned a secret attack with a recycling bin full of ammunition. They had a blast trying to hit Uncle Andy(visiting from Kansas) and Sheri. We were amazed at how bad of shots they all were- even if we just stood in one place!

Seventh Heaven

Caleb had his first ever sleep-over in celebration of his 7th birthday. He wanted a birthday themed after his favorite TV Show "Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman." This is a PBS reality/game show featuring kids competing on different adventures and challenges. We decided to keep it low key and do-it-yourself. Caleb chose three of his best friends to attend. I wanted to make sure the kids and parents were ready for this mini milestone so I spoke with the moms in person before sending the invitations.

We had a fun time turning the house into "Studio G." We found lots of fun images online to to use for invitations, Thank-You notes, posters, cupcake pics, and decorations. Orange party balloons were the perfect plump shape to turn into silly looking Ruff dogs. Sheri drew on Ruff's face and tummy with black magic marker, added orange straw ears and hung them from the ceiling. We changed the desktop computer screen saver to scroll "Fetch 3000" to represent Ruff's super computer which chooses challenges and calculates points. The TV became the "Ruff! Video Player". Sheri used royal and light blue construction paper and circles from the 3-hole to form a "Fetch!" sign for the wall. We decorated an old boot box with the words Challenge box!. Inside the box Sheri collected several activities and supplies from the Ruff! website.

We watched an episode of the show as kids arrived. Periodically during the party I would call the boys to the kitchen table to perform a challenge. We made toilet paper kazoos, flip-card motion pictures, rubber-band and spool race cars, and baking soda invisible ink. All the activities were well received and everyone got prizes for their efforts. We had an orange ice cream cake with Caleb! written in chunky blue letters spotted with yellow lights to mimic the show's lettering style. Not to over schedule rambunctious boys, there was time for sword fighting, Star Wars movies, pizza, trying out and sharing new toys. After PJ's and tooth-brushing the boys settled down with some serious Nintendo DS playing. It was a late night for all but eventually the kids did fall asleep.

The boys had a secret plan to get up at night to play after Owen and Sheri had gone to sleep. We heard a bump in the house at 5am. Sheri woke in time to force Caleb back to sleep before he and his friends were bouncing off the walls. The kids slept-in late enough for Owen to wake them with pancakes for breakfast. There were several parental reports of rare afternoon naps from party goers. Caleb , of course, was the exception.

Caleb's Creations

Caleb’s science project this year was a solar hotdog cooker. This oven uses a parabolic curve to concentrate the heat onto the hotdog. Clear skies were rare this January but eventually Caleb enjoyed a sizzling hotdog!

Christmas 2009

Christmas 09 will forever be remembered as the year of the gigantic gifts too big to wrap. Christmas eve was a busy day with Owen transforming the boy's room. Owen assembled giant, sturdy bunk beds that we found after months of Sheri searching for the perfect deal on Craigslist. They came with a desk and dresser attached. They are so burly that We decided the whole assembly will double as our storm shelter. The blessing of the bunks came from a family who is struggling and were forced to move from their home. Their loss was our gain, but we pray that God will guide this family to still waters soon. Samuel officially moved up from a toddler bed to a twin and loves his new "Bear cave" The top bunk has become a place where Caleb can seek a little privacy. We decided to ignore the tradition of having a feast on Christmas and left dinner to the crockpot. We took the time to remember Christ and enjoy being together as a family. The boys had to crawl through a series of tubes and tents to get into the living room on Christmas morning. Samuel will have fun with these tents for years. Caleb was thrilled to receive his very own Kayak to use on our Fowler family adventures. Sheri loves her tiny new music player and Owen is enjoying a new more portable telescope that has proved lots of fun for bird watching.

Birthday Party for Jesus

The Christmas season launched off with a fun church event called "A Birthday Party for Jesus". There was a carnival, crafts, nativity reenactment, Birthday cake and ice cream. Events receiving the most popular votes with the boys were: Herding white balloon "sheep" around in the racketball court, a gift box opening relay, and ice cream scoops completely covered with sprinkles. The photo includes our neighbor and favorite playmate, Samantha (aka. Gabriel) who comes to our house twice a week after school.