Simon hits the big 3.5

We celebrated Simon's 35th a few days earlier whilst we were all together. He left our hotel room at 7 am stating he'd be back in half an hour. As soon as he left we sprang into action (and out of a sleep cycle for me), decorated the room, piled up some presents and decorated a sponge cake that travelled all the way from Houston. I did try and explain the concept of hiding and jumping out to surprise Simon on his return however, the kids insisted on hiding in cupboards and under the doona when they heard the door opening! Something to work on for next time!

Simon got a great surprise and delighted, I think, in the attention from his family.

We love you Dad/Simon - may you have a Happy Birthday tomorrow. We are with you in our hearts on your special day and always. Mwah xx

Tampa Florida

We've just spent a lovely 5 day break with Simon in Tampa Florida. The Transitions tournament was held at a lovely resort where we stayed in a mini unit and had access to a kids playground, mini golf, a fantastic pool and sandpit area. It housed the tournament course so Simon was able to dart out to the pre-round warm up and come straight back to the family. These shots here show the Nature Park, so to speak, in the middle of the resort with a swampy/lake type area kit with alligators and bird life. I was in awe of the setting - the water, the trees. The 'gothic' landscape was a cross between eerie and peaceful. The stuff hanging from the trees everywhere is called Spanish Moss. Initially I thought it was a plant debris blown onto the trees but it actually grows on the host tree and whilst it doesn't kill it it can decrease the hosts growth rate as it limits the amount of light to the trees own leaves.

Howdy partna

Move over Woody, there's a new kid in town and he's bad, real bad.

Liam's preschool had Rodeo Day (as it is the season here right now) - Liam had a ball eating Trail Mix, riding horses, milkin cows and especially loved wearin' his cowboy boots. Yee ha!

2 years OS!

March the 8th marked our 2 year anniversary since landing on Texan soil. An extremely long and short span of time on different levels. We celebrated with a lavish feast (see photo) and joyous singing.

Crawdads

Its taken 2 years but this weekend we got to partake in our very first Crawfish Boil - very southern. Crawfish, or 'crawdads' to the locals, we think would be equivalent to our yabbies. Boiled up with potatoes, corn, onion, sausage and cajun spices it was then tipped onto a newspaper covered table where the eating began!!

We had a great time with our friends, a few bevies and our dead crustacean friends. Much to the disgust of my friend Alice (in red) I did not suck the juices from the crawdad head - sorry (she still hasn't forgiven me for making her eat vegemite).

Let's bowl, let's bowl, let's rock n roll

I titled this for Meegs - any other Grease 2 fans will know what I mean.

Had a family outing and I don't mean to sound like my parents but since when does it cost $45 for one game of bowls?
Seriously.

Next I'll start my sentences with "Back in the day . . . "

We had a great time (shoes haven't changed, still dorky) and the best wo-man one!! Yeah baby.

Choc chip biscuit - Texas size!

Here comes the sun do di doo doo

We got a glimpse of some nice weather (16-18 degrees) on the weekend so enjoyed ourselves with a picnic lunch and fun at the park. The kids rode their bikes, played on the equipment and I even read a page or two from book! Lovely.

Texan Day at school

This is Ashley with her friends Ella and Conrad on their way to celebrate Texan Day at school (its rodeo season right now). They had to make sock ponies as their homework.

See what I mean?

Precious!

Spotlight on kindness

Every month or two Ashley's school has a Spotlight ceremony on different attributes: courage, responsibility, respect etcFebruary was Spotlight on Kindness. One child from each class in the school gets chosen and this month it was Ashley

The 'kindness kids' all came together in the main hall area and the parents got up one at a time with their child and had to say some kind words about their child. Simon was gutted not to be around but on his behalf I told everyone how proud we were of Ashley and how much we loved her. I explained how when I think of Ashley and kindness, whilst I think of lots of things, I always came back to our last visit to Australia. We visited Nana Mary (Simon's nan) and she of her own accord wanted to help her and guide her through the nursing home halls with her hand outstretched. It was an innate gesture, small but for a 4 year old - heart warming. If I can find the picture I'll put it in the next blog.
Well done Ashley we are very proud of you!

Billy Bear

For the second time this school year Liam got to take the class' Billy Bear home for the weekend. His other toys got the flick for the duration of his stay but they readily accepted him back when B.B had to move on. The kids (aka mums) have to write a journal of their stay and stick in photos and the next day at school they read it to the class.

Snow - again!

For the 34th time in the past 120 years it snowed in Houston,Texas. And for the second time in history it has snowed twice in the same winter. For some of you, I know, this snow looks a bit pissy but it was fluffy, white and wet and made for a good afternoon of fun!