Lauren's reading progress

Lauren just finished reading her 5th book. Dot and Mit. It is a wonderful story about Dot and her cat. She should get #6 today at school. -Bill

Emma in Jeans

It's been 2 1/2 years in the making...Emma is finally able to wear a pair of jeans! She was so excited and I can't believe how much older it makes her look.

Lauren's Piggy Bank

Bill and Lauren decided it was time to empty her piggy bank and take the money to a real bank. I mentioned she should take some of her money and give it to church at Sunday school, to which Lauren responded "Yes, so they can pay for the doughnuts that they stopped serving". Glad her priorities are straight. Not sure how to write that on the offering envelope...

SXSW 2009

This was the first time we have been to SXSW since moving to Austin in 2001. On Saturday there was a free kids concert so we decided to make a picnic lunch and make a day of it. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. The girls saw one of the Biscuit Brothers walking around and got to talk to him. They were very excited when they made it to the stage. The Biscuit Brothers have a show on PBS but are local to Austin. -Bill

back on the trails

On Sunday we went for a hike. This was the first time that Emma went on the trail with the spring so she was excited. We let the girls play in the water for about 30 minutes and they were very muddy when we left. But at least they had fun. -Bill

Texas Bluebonnets

After church this morning, we stopped at the entrance of our neighborhood to take pictures of the girls in the bluebonnets - a Texas tradition every spring.

The New and Improved Golf Cart

Bill and a neighborhood friend spent almost 6 hours installing the lift kit and new tires on the golf cart. But, it was worth it - the cart looks so cool! The next day, Bill installed the seat belts for the back seat so now the girls can safely ride in the back without mom - they think that is super cool!

Helping Daddy

Last weekend, Bill raked leaves in the backyard and threw the filled bags over the fence. The girls enjoyed taking the bags to the garage.

Just Like Grandpa Denny

The girls found stickers and decided to be just like Grandpa Denny!

I'm Now "The Man"

It is official - I am now a supervisor at 3M. When the directory is updated with the little button "DR", that doesn't mean I'm a doctor, but that I have employees directly reporting to me. In my case, that would be 1 employee, but hey, we all have to start somewhere, and one is plenty for me. I now have 30+ classes I have to take so I know what I can and can't talk about, what I can and can't make my employee do, etc. Looking forward to all that training! -Jessica

Happy St Patricks Day

Pictures of us at Fion listening to live music and eating Irish food. -Bill

2 days of wasted rice

Dinner on Monday was supposed to be Mongolian Beef. The rice cooker was set for 5:30 like always. on the way home Jessica told me that her friend Delia invited her and Emma over for dinner so I would be on my own. Since Rice without the Mongolian Beef is not that good I threw it away and had leftovers.

Today we decided to try again so I set the rice cooker and went to work. Since it was St. Patricks day Jessica and I went to our local bar and had a drink. While we were there they were setting up for a Irish buffet dinner and a band was setting up. We decided that we would stay for dinner and since the kids school was a 2 minute walk I went and got them.

Tomorrow we will try again. I hope we don't waste 1 1/2 cups of rice again..... -Bill

Emma loves cupcakes

Here is a picture of Emma celebrating a friends birthday at school. She loves her cupcakes. -Bill

Playing in the kitchen

Lauren and Emma made a train out of a box we got from Costco earlier in the day. They even decorated it with markers and stickers. -Bill

Ice Cream Shop

We went out for ice cream on Friday after dinner because the girls had a very good week at school. Emma decided to eat the side of the cone in the middle of still eating the ice cream on the top. -Bill

First day on the boat

On Sunday the weather was perfect, 85 degrees, and we decided to take our first boat trip. We picked a pontoon from the fleet and it was perfect. The girls loved it because they has plenty of room to run around. They got their feet wet and wanted to go in the water but it was 65 degrees so we will do that once the water warms up a little. The last picture is of a helicopter that kept following us for a while. -Bill

nice day at the park

We went to the park this weekend to enjoy the wonderful 80's. We are glad spring is here!! The girls love to play with the rollie pollies and let them climb all over their arms. -Bill

Lauren read her first book!!

On Friday when I went to pick up Lauren she had a small book in her cubby. The teacher said that she read it on Friday and we were supposed to take it home and continue to work with her. Once she could read it all the way through by herself in under 4 minutes we could take it back and get the next level. When we got home she read it to me and did it almost perfectly. Today we requested the next level and should get it soon. I have a video of her reading it but am having issues uploading it so I will try to get it up this week. -Bill

Kite Festival

We went to the kite festival last week. We have gone for the last 3 years and this year it was not that great. They moved it to a smaller area at Zilker park where there were a lot more trees. Trees and kites do not mix. We only stayed for about 30 minutes before we left. The girls were happy to see a few kites and drink their juice boxes. -Bill

Fun at a Party

Last weekend we took the girls to a friends birthday party from school. It was at a Gym and there were tons of activities and also a clown. -Bill

Finger painting

Here are some pictures of the girls fingerpainting last weekend. They love getting messy! -Bill

Emma Loves Stickers

She will sit and play with stickers for 30 minutes at a time. Mostly putting them on a piece of paper but sometimes on her or others. Especially when they are sleeping. -Bill