That popsicle might poke your eye out!

The big dead tree has been a source of much discussion over the past two years. After Hurricane Ike, we have had weekly cards with quotes on our door. Well, we finally got the right quote. We knew at the time that we might be moving soon and we needed to improve the front yard. I have been asking Chuck to take out the giant bush for 2 years and he finally did. The dead tree was so tall that you could see it from far down the street in either direction. It was massive.

 After Chuck took out the bush, the ice cream truck came by. The boys had taken off their safety goggles, but Chuck still had his on. Ha ha!

Kittens!

The director of Nicholas's pre-school had a littler of 8 kittens. The mom was a calico and the dad was orange and white. We had been talking about either adopting a grown cat or getting 2 brother kittens. It was hard to resist the "Free Kittens" sign as I took Nicholas to school one day back in April. This is Tiger. He was the most laid back cat. He was such a doll. We chose his litter mate, Shadow, because they had been connected since birth (always playing and sleeping together). Tiger developed a really swollen abdomen and I took him to the vet only to find out he had F.I.P. We had to have him put down a week later. It was really, really sad.

Shadow is extremely laid back and docile. He lets us hold him like a baby. He is really sweet. Not wanting Shadow to be lonely, we got another one of his brothers and named him Cupid. There were two orange and white kittens left so Pam brought them back up to the pre-school. I took Patrick out early so he could pick out his new cat. Cupid is quite a little lover, too, but a bit more needy. If he is left in a room by himself he cries until we come and get him.

Spring (and some other weird happenings)

Nicholas...

(Can you see the tiny flakes of snow on my hood?)

Last night we went to see the HSO here locally and they had several very recognizable numbers. Nicholas really impressed me with his knowledge of the instruments and his interest in the names of the composers for each song. For instance, when I said Bizet, he said "Georges Bizet?". He knew a lot of the songs from Baby Einsteins and Little Einsteins. I was so proud of my almost 4 year old! He was also really funny when we were listening to the "Overture to Orphee aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld)" by Bach and he looked at me and said, "Mom, this song always makes me cry" and then fake cried and laughed at how silly he was being.

Yesterday he said to me in the car...

N:    "Mommy, I have dream that Luna will be quiet."

Me:  "Really, a dream...you had a dream?"
N:    "No, Mommy, I HAVE a dream."
Me:  "What is you dream?"
N:    "I have a dream...a dream to be 5".

   Nicholas says the craziest things sometimes such as when I recently went into the bathroom to check him after going #2. He said "That is not my poop, Mom. It is yours. Your poop came out of my bum."
   He has gotten better about yelling out weird things in public such as "I don't like that baby. Tell her to stop looking at me!" or "Mommy, why is that lady following us. Tell her to stop following us!" (This usually involves someone in heels walking behind us at the mall or Target. It is really embarrassing. I am glad we are making improvements in this area.)

Patrick....

The first picture is from "Go Texan" day at school. The boys got new boots and western shirts. Nicholas had pictures done at his school on a pony coincidentally the same week. Patrick is a Lego maniac lately. Free styling Legos are the way to go. He designs all kinds of vehicles.

Ear candles! I talked Patrick into doing them. He has one problem ear that produces a ridiculous amount of wax. They really help! This particular day we had been to the Earth Day festival and the kids had their faces painted. I was proud when Patrick came home the next week with a book from the library on how to make toys with recycled materials. He made several different toys using toilet paper rolls, string, clay, fabric, balloons and dried beans. He has always been the innovator in the family.

Bluebonnets!

On the way up to take pictures, Nicholas fell asleep AND we got rear ended in Chuck's new car. A Jeep Wrangler ran into us which is ironic since Chuck rear ended someone in his Jeep last November. It was a hard hit and Nicholas slept through the whole thing! Everyone was ok except for me. I hit my head on the improperly adjusted head rest. I had a bad headache in the back of my head for about 5 days, but it finally got better. The tow hitch was ripped off of the car and the axle was bent. I has all been repaired now. When we got to the area on the side of the road to take pictures, Nicholas would not participate. Finally after a bribe from McDonald's, we got some shots on the way back. We have beautiful wildflowers all over town this time of year.