Henry O Flipper

The boys have been super busy at school studying Presidents (such as Zach's favorite Abracam Linckin). They have also been studying famous African-Americans, such a Henry O Flipper and bringing home lots of nice artwork. I thought the Henry project was worth sharing.

Henry Ossian Flipper (21 March 1856 – 3 May 1940) was an American soldier and the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Yep - those are awesome werewolf ears on Henry!

Spring has Sprung

Hard to believe that just two short weeks ago we were whining about the cold, miserable weather. I found myself today actually complaining that it seemed a bit too early to be muggy. The weather here has been fabulous and it means that after being cooped up for the first half of February, we are now free to roam the hood.

The boys and I (along with JT's favorite classmate Alexa) took a long walk to the park this Sunday, stopped and played in the creek, and then decided to fly kites for a while. These were all unplanned events so you get some stellar phone shots.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, it may be official, I think my camera may have died. At first I thought it was a battery issue but I just can seem to get any batteries to work. Anywho, while I work on the camera issue (yes, I admit I would  LOVE to purchase a new camera but I am not looking forward to paying for a new camera) the best photo I could get for you today is this one.

Zach is beyond excited about Valentines day and his class party. I know you can't really see but he is wearing his button down shirt (he has had this outfit planned now for about 2 weeks) and yes he has a flower tucked in his pocket. I am not sure why but some little girl gave him a fake rose last week so I cut it for his pocket. And yes, that was something he requested.

I have some photos of how we spent our Valentines weekend; it has to do with baseball but they are stuck on my camera and I am not sure the ones I took with my phone are any good. I can let you know that our team took 2cd in the tournament. It was a long weekend but lots of fun.

babies

I know we are all being babies about the cold here in Austin but seriously the average temp for this time of year is the mid-50s/low 60's. It is hard for us to adjust to 20 degrees. It is also really hard for Jet and Cora. Jet hasn't gotten a good walk in over a week. He has spent some time outside but not the kind of time he likes. And Cora usually goes out on a late night prowl around the backyard but has been reduced to stealing legos from the bin and tossing them about the living room in the wee hours of the morning.

And it finally got so cold here, that Cora slowly migrated from her perch on the back of the chair to cuddling up close with Jet.

Sorry that I keep taking poor quality photos with my phone but my fingers are too cold to type out all my excuses.

not as good as new york

JT was not as impressed with 1" of snow as he was with feets of snow in Oswego but they did cancel school today so 1" isn't so bad after all.

The city has completely shutdown and we were all mesmerized today by hours of new coverage showing accidents and pictures people posted to facebook of the miniature snowmen they have created with an inch of snow.

And for the record, we have 30mph winds for two days and that is why the furniture is all knocked over.

get out your party hats, it is birthday week

Last year, Rick and I celebrated our monumental birthdays (35 and 40) with a weekend away and what was supposed to be our first and most awesomest weekend away without kids (need I even begin to discuss how impossible it is to get away when you have two kids?). That weekend was instead the start of the crappiest year the two of us have spent together. Hence 2010 was dubbed the Year of Crap. Needless to say, I have been eagerly awaiting this year’s Birthday Week.


Birthday week started off on a tough note. Rick’s grandma passed away. Her passing is sad but also welcomed as she hasn’t been herself these past few years since Alzheimer’s had taken over the person that most people remember. We spent a brief 48 hours with the family in Oklahoma saying goodbye to grandma. The events leading up to the service were filled with drama and some silliness most of which Rick had to get involved in. It almost got to the point where it seemed like people were forgetting exactly what had happened and that we need to be together to celebrate the life of someone that was special to everyone in the family.


I foolishly pride myself on not attending funerals, I have lost all 4 grandparents and I did not attend any of their ceremonies. Hindsight, I wish I would have been there not because I now like funerals but to be there for my parents. It was heartbreaking to see grandma’s remaining brother and sister cope with the service.
During Grandma Pauline’s service, the minister made the statement (and I paraphrase): If you think Pauline is up in heaven looking down at you and helping, forget about that because she isn’t. Pauline helped you all she could when she was here with you. Grandma is now in heaven, focusing on herself.

The minister’s message and the events surrounding grandma’s passing made me think about the year in crap in a new light. It made me think about how despite the year of crap, the thing that has really helped are the friends and family that have been there for us even when it was as simple as me wanting to talk about what was going on. I am not even sure if some of those friends completely realize how crappy things have been or that they were helping but they were. We aren’t 100% back on track but we are getting there and I just don’t know how possible it would have been if I had just sat around waiting for someone to take over. We once heard a show where the guest told the host that there is a 100% chance that you will die. Our time here is short and I think we often forget that. We waste too much time on silly, petty things and too much energy on things we can’t resolve. As we start 2011, I hope to focus less on those small things and hopefully spend more time with friends and family and just enjoy being here and being able to help others while I am here.

Birthday week isn’t filled with anything too wild. We do have reservations at Wink for Saturday. A friend from high school will be in town tomorrow so it will be fun to see her after several years and meet her daughter and husband. I imagine (and hoping) there will be some sort of decadent chocolate dessert and fingers crossed some gingerbread pancakes.

And so despite the delay, I am ready to start 2011 and what I am offically dubbing the Year of Optimism. I am starting by remaining optimistic that we will not lose power again for 3 hours in 20 degree weather. It is amazing how quickly it gets cold when there is no heat running.