Tooth

On the way home from our visit at Texas A&M, Lauren pulled out her other front tooth. She was very excited about it. The next morning, she told us the tooth fairy not only left money, but also left a note with a jewel, explaining the jewel had been left for Emma and Lauren was to share it with her. Lauren said she gave Emma the jewel and threw the note away. (P.S. - the note and jewel were a surprise to mom and dad! The tooth fairy is real!)

Texas A&M Vet School Open House

On Saturday we drove to Texas A&M because their Vet School hosts an Open House every year. You can go through various labs and learn about different good and bad bugs associated with small and large animal breeds, you can see actual cows, horses, goats and sheep. They had a petting zoo, a milking cow demonstration (Lauren was up front and got sprayed from the udder!), a horse with its skeleton painted on it to show movement, and a fistulated cow. A what?!? If you were to tell me I was going to wake up on Saturday morning and stick my arm into a live cow's stomach, while it was eating hay, I would have mentioned something about you being crazy. Well, it was I who was crazy and did just that. They say having a hole in the side of its belly does not hurt and equated it to an ear piercing. And that cows have no pain receptors in their stomach, so us searching around in there also is not hurtful. Emma asked why the cow was broken and its juices were falling out. I think the kids liked it because they did ask questions and talked a lot about it! Lauren found a tent for a group that rescues poodles and wanted to stay there for a while, and Emma found her Longhorn and also a momma cow and her 6 day old calf. They were also amazed by the police horse!

UT Women's Softball Game

Through girl scouts, I've been added to a mailing list for discount tickets to a variety of sporting events, mainly UT athletics. It's great because it gives us a chance to see sports that we may not typically choose ourselves, at a drastically reduced cost at that! This time, we watched UT women's softball. Found a great place in the stands behind home plate which was also in the shade and enjoyed it a lot! The girls thought it was neat and mimicked the pitcher's arm for a while after the game. Bill also bought peanuts because he said it was "required" at any ballpark games.

Soccer

The girls started soccer this spring and were so excited to not only play, but use their new soccer cleats and shin guards (thanks Grandma Luci and Grandpa Denny for the early birthday presents!). We enrolled them in a program which is non-competitive and works on developing the basic skills for soccer. Emma is really intense out there getting after the ball and driving it to goal! Lauren is attentive and practices the drills, but we do catch her every once in a while doing a cartwheel or round-off when the coach is elsewhere!

Getting Schooled

Both Emma and Lauren had a chance for parents (and grandparents) to come and see what they've been learning and working on at their schools. Emma was excited to show us her math skills adding and subtracting little animals, then writing the problem out on her sheet of paper.

Lauren worked on a research project to learn all about monarch butterflies, then wrote and read her report to us. She also shared her report and life cycle artwork with Emma's classroom who started studying monarchs this past month. It was so cool to see Lauren wanted to share what she'd learned with her sister!

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day

Lauren and I visited UT in February for "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day", as part of a girl scout activity. We had a lot of fun designing the perfect bubble wand, bunny copter, and gum drop dome. It was awesome to watch her think through the "problem" and come up with her own solution, and watch her face light up when it worked how she had envisioned.

Who is that Masked Child?

*South by Southwest freebies...fake moustache and t-shirt proclaiming "person wearing a free t-shirt"*

Our Holiday Visitors - A Photo Gallery

We were so lucky this Christmas to have Great-Grandma Lavis and Aunt Dee Dee come visit us! The weather was great and we did so many fun things!We played go-fish almost every day...and Cootie too!
Grandma Luci and Grandpa Denny gave the girls Rip Riders for Christmas - they are really fun! Lauren and Emma also still enjoyed riding bikes, and Lauren ended up with a nasty road rash to show for all the fun they had over break!Lauren and Emma enjoyed time with Grandpa Denny, while Great-Grandma, Grandma, and Mommy ran away down the street to The Lake Austin Spa for a day of sheer relaxation. We each had our own treatment, then met up afterward for lunch at the Aster Cafe. It was certainly a highlight of my vacation to have both my mom and Grandma with me at one of my favorite Austin locations!
Another highlight of our holiday was attending Austin Ballet's The Nutcracker. It was a wonderful show!

Christmas Advent Event

I am so behind on my posts, I'm just now posting about our Christmas activities! We participated again this year in our church's family advent event, and it was even more fun because we had our two family friends and Grandma Luci and Grandpa Denny there too!
Needless to say, all the activity...and sugar wore Emma out!

Glamour Girl

Lauren and her girl scout Daisy troop did so many neat things for others in their community this year, that we decided to "pamper" them! They went to a kid's salon and had their hair, nails and make-up done. They also picked out a fun outfit then paraded on stage and had a dance party. The girls really enjoyed themselves!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...Feb?

The winter storm which has hit much of the U.S. made for an exciting Friday for us! School was first delayed two hours, then quickly canceled for the day due to snow and ice covering the ground. The girls could not wait to bundle up and get out there to play!