Hunter

Here's the newest picture of Hunter and Elizabeth. As you can tell, they've changed quite a bit.

Hunter figured out a new way to ask for toys. He announced this morning that today was white pony's birthday. I was fine with that. I didn't think I needed to really do anything about it. Hunter, however, thought differently. He ask if we could go to Sam's Club and buy pony's cars. ( He found some cars that , I have to admit, are the perfect size for pony) He's asked for these cars several time and obviously has not been successful in acquiring them. When he asked today I told him he had to talk to dad about it. When I dropped him off at school, he asked if I could take pony and get her birthday surprise. Well, I guess since the cars are for pony and not Hunter and it is her birthday I'd better run right over and buy those cars for her. We'll see what Rich says when Hunter asks him.

We survived hurricane Ike. We just got the edge of the hurricane so we got some rain and wind on Saturday. It was no where near the worst storm we've had. The biggest tragedy was that Rich got charged $10 for not having a full roster in one (he's in 3) of his fantasy football leagues because the Houston game was cancelled. Let us all bow our heads in a moment of silence for Rich's huge loss. I just love fantasy football.

Preparing for Ike

Well, we're getting all ready for hurricane Ike to hit sometime tomorrow. We've been out battening down the hatches or at least all the outside toys and furniture. We've got plenty of food and water and batteries. The weather people are predicting 40-50 mph winds and 4-6 " of rain with the possibility of tornadoes. It should be an interesting weekend.

The twins finished their first week of school and I'm such a bad mom because I forgot the camera every day. Maybe we'll get second week of school pictures instead of first day of school pictures. They love it just as much as they did last year and are happy to go 4 days a week. I feel like my life revolves around school now. I guess I better get used to it since my life will revolve around school for the next 15 years.

Anna cries everyday when we drop Hunter and Elizabeth off at school. She so wants to stay. I keep reminding her that she has to be 3 and potty trained and then she can go to school. She really doesn't care about that stuff though, she just wants to go to school.

I started an exercise class this week. My friend is an aerobics instructor and she started a free class at a local park. It's 3 days a week and so far so good. It hasn't totally killed me, but I can tell I did some work. Hopefully I can keep up with it.

On a funny note, the kids and I were eating lunch today and Hunter heard the garbage truck. He announced that he wanted to be a garbage man when he grew up and Lizzie followed with "I want to be a princess when I grow up and have tap, tap shoes". But Anna was the cutest. She simply stated, "I grow up I could be a cow" and then followed with "I grow up I could be a pony". Isn't it great to be 2 and truly believe that you could literally be anything you wanted to be.

The funniest thing happened at dinner. Hunter has this blanket (Rich refers to it as the small pox blanket) that is gross and old and basically its just pieces of a blanket. We were eating dinner and Lizzie was saying something. She reached down and brought up Hunter's blanket, daintily wiped her mouth and put it back in her lap. It was perfectly executed if she were only using a real napkin. Rich and I both just about died laughing. I guess that blanket is good for something.

So, Rich and I are hooked on this Showtime series called Dexter. It's about a guy who is a blood splatter forensics specialist for the police department. He also happens to be a serial killer who kills people who are murders that have gotten off easy or have never been prosecuted. It's a very interesting show, but not for the week of heart. It's pretty graphic and gory. If blood and guts don't bother you I recommend you check it out. Season 1 and 2 are on dvd and season 3 starts on Showtime on the 28th.

Labor Day Weekend

I just thought I'd give everyone an update on the Clark family.

Last Friday I went to a special sing-along showing of the movie Mama Mia! Mama Mia! was originally a stage musical that was written using Abba songs. My friend and I both love Abba music so we got another friend and went. It was fun, although not as much fun as I expected. I thought people would be up and singing and dancing, but everyone just sat in their seats and quietly sang along. It was nice just to be out and away from the kids and having fun with the girls. We did go for chocolate cake after the movie and then sat in the restaurant and talked for a couple of hours. You can't beat that.

On Saturday we let the kids use their hard earned money to buy little stuffed ponies at the "cowboy store". There is a store here called Cavendars that sells all things cowboy. Rich likes to shop there and the kids have found these little 3" stuffed pony toys that they love. Hunter loves them the best. He likes to put them in cars or trucks and drive them around. If we tell him he can pick out a toy he always tries to find some sort of vehicle for pony to ride in. He also gets really frustrated if he finds a vehicle that he thinks pony will fit in and pony doesn't. Anyway, he now has black pony and white pony. We spend alot of time trying to keep track of the ponies. Lizzie lost hers at Walmart the same day she got it and Anna's is hanging around the house somewhere.

Sunday was a typical Sunday. We did have an interesting lesson on the perils of pornography and what constitutes pornography. We're still talking about that one.

Monday was fun. I cleaned the house in the morning and let the kids dance to some rocking Abba tunes. (I've had Abba songs stuck in my head for days). Everyone was happy and then Lizzie decided that she couldn't dance with Hunter any more. She whined about it for awhile and I tried to get her to dance on one side of the room and Hunter to dance on the other side. Finally she came over to me and she said "Do you see why I can't dance with Hunter? He's got stupid moves." Can I help it that Hunter is 100% white boy?

We had our friends, the Davis's, over to swim in the afternoon. Well, Melanie and I took the kids swimming and Rich and Steve stayed home and played video games. We all met up later at some other friend's for dinner and a couple of games of Settlers of Catan. Fun was had by all.

Hunter and Lizzie went to Meet the Teacher Day at preschool this week. I think most of you know that they go to a preschool that is part of an Early Childhood Education course at a local high school. Their teacher, Ms. McCutchen, is awesome. The class has really grown this year. The twins afternoon class is full (a first) and there will be 5 student teachers in the classroom. I think they had 2 or 3 last year. This should be a good learning year for Hunter and Lizzie.

I can't leave Anna out of the picture. She's still got 2 year old attitude. Her newest thing is when we tell her it's sleepy time she says "It's not sleepy time it's wake up time". And anything I say to her is "rude, rude, rude". It's just so hard to discipline her with a straight face.

Hunter and his ponies in the Tonka Tow Truck.

BBQ and babes

We had a BBQ with our friends, the Davis', on Saturday and Rich made me take pictures of him smoking. He smoked 2 chickens and some pork ribs. The chickens turned out great. They were so good that the kids snacked on chicken all night. The ribs were good too, but a little dry. Rich is going to baste them next time. He is really into this smoking thing. I guess he just needed to find something to replace his cigarettes.









Hunter really wants to learn how to play Settlers of Catan. I think Rich told you the story with the wheat thins. Hunter bugs Rich every night to show him how to play. Rich decided to start teaching him about all the pieces and what they mean and what they do. I think we might look at the kid version and see if it's something Hunter can do. He's such a funny boy.

I took Hunter and Elizabeth to the Dr. today for their yearly checkup. They needed to get their hearing and vision tested before they start preschool and they needed to get some shots too.

The vision test was pretty funny because they had some weird shapes on the chart, like a teacup and a hand. I was kind of worried because they weren't getting any of them. After the nurse took them over to the chart and talked to them about the shapes they did fine. The nurse said they did better than most kids.

The hearing test was funny too. They use a machine that looks kind of like an ear thermometer. When the kids hear a beep they're supposed to raise their hand. Lizzie was funny because she would say "I heard that one" when she heard the beep. At first Hunter didn't want to play "the stupid beep beep game" but then he played the game and he actually raised his hand.

The funniest part was after the shots. They both of course cried and were offended that I would allow someone to hurt them in such a horrid manner. They got to pick a toy and a candy and that made them feel a little better, but Hunter told the Dr. that he needed crutches and then decided that crutches wouldn't do it and he needed a wheelchair.

I finally cut Anna's hair last night. It was getting so long and always in the way. It's still way cute and she still has her cute little blond curls. I should take a picture.

I thought that we would get though this without much ado, but our sweet little Anna has caught a case of the terrible two's. She is so whinny and she likes to hit her brother and sister (they probably deserve it) and I probably shouldn't tell this story because now everyone will know that Rich and I, on occasion and when provoked, will utter profanity. (I know you're all shocked and amazed that 2 saintly people such as Rich and I would do such a thing) On Saturday Lizzie and Anna were playing on the stairs and all of a suddenly Anna let's out with a "Damn it!" and she hit the stairs and dramatically drops her head down. Rich and I both looked at each other and Rich asked her what she said. With a ton of attitude she said, "A Wizzie make me mad again". I never figured out what Lizzie did, but I guess she'd finally pushed Anna over the edge and I guess we'll have to keep our language in check.

Oh Children!!!!!!

Lovely Sunday evening

We had such a nice night last night.

Our real estate agent had a party at the clubhouse in her development last night. The Clubhouse was nice with the swimming pool behind it and a play ground behind the pool. There was tons of food at the party and a jump house too. Hunter and Elizabeth spent most of the time jumping. Anna isn't quite brave enough for the jump house yet.

When the kids had enough of the jumping I went and got them each a drink. As I was walking back to them Lizzie pipes up with "Mom, I need some liquid". I gave her a cup and she said, "This liquid tastes like orange juice". I have no idea why she decided to use the term "liquid" or where she heard it, probably from Rich.

We walked over and let the kids play on the playground for a while and then we noticed a paved walking trail that went over a little creek. We walked over and looked off the bridge and then walked along the little creek. There were hundreds of minnows in the creek and the kids got a kick out of them. We followed the trail for a bit and then walked back down to the creek. I was with Hunter and Elizabeth and they had a cute little conversation. Lizzie saw a tree and said, "Hey, that's bamboo". (It wasn't bamboo) Hunter said, "Oh, pandas live in bamboo". Lizzie replied, "We must be in China". I guess I missed the day in geography when we learned that China was really close to Murphy, TX.

Anyway, the weather was super nice and we really enjoyed our little walk and the chance to spend a little bit of time together as a family. We've decided that we should use the walking trails in our development that follow the same little creek (I think) more often.

We're back

Well, we made it home. We left California at 6:30 am on Sunday and got in our house at 3:00 Sunday afternoon. It was a long trip made longer because neither Rich or I got any sleep the night before.

I don't know if Rich told you that my mom had her knee replaced. The surgery went great and her recovery is progressing on schedule. It was pretty painful, but it gets better everyday. At this point she's not sure she wants to have the other knee replaced, but my guess is that opinion will change in a few weeks when she can walk better.

The kids were great while we were away. Anna got sick the night before my mom's surgery and ran a fever for about a week, so she was a little cranky. Hunter and Elizabeth just loved having lots of people to play with. And they of course kept everyone laughing with their antics. My niece, Emily, and her boyfriend, Matt, took Hunter and Elizabeth to Matt's cousin's birthday party. Apparently they had a jump house with a slip and slide attached. The kids had a great time and love Emily and Matt. They had to laugh at Hunter when the we're in the car. The kids were quiet and all of a sudden Hunter says "Look Beth, Fords". They'd passed a Ford dealership and Hunter got excited.

The kids are upstairs right now throwing a birthday party for Hunter's match box car named Sporty. I'm amazed by their little imaginations and the things they come up.

Holly and the kids are in California

This is Rich. I'm not much for blogs, unless they deal with boring legal ethics issues, or possibly fantasy sports. But since Holly is in California with the kids, I didn't want anybody wondering what was going on. Even though the kids won't talk to me (I'll remember that when they want cars when they get older), Holly's been giving me regular updates.

Everyone should know that I'm pretty addicted to Settlers of Catan. Holly's pretty into it as well, but she's not as good as I am (its not arrogance if I state a fact, is it? I have issues with humility, my profession frowns upon it). We've been playing Cities and Knights pretty regularly, and Hunter is absolutely fascinated by it. He always wants to play, but since I always want to win, he gets nothing but non-committal grunts about "when you're older" from me. Still, he complains enough that usually I let him pull up a chair and watch, and he must be picking up bits and pieces, which leads to today's story. Holly gave the kids some hexagon-shaped wheat thins as a snack, and apparently Hunter immediately associated the shape with the game. So he asked Holly's brother (Terry or Jeff, I can't remember which), if he ever "plays this game" as he holds up the wheat thins. Holly's brother was perplexed by the question (Hunter gets that a lot), until Hunter started laying out a Settlers board using the hexagon-shaped wheat thins as tiles. I really got a kick out of that. I guess I'll have to teach him how to play, but I won't let him win. You've got to earn your victory when you play me. The sooner that boy learns that, the better. I'm fairly certain I'll not be nominated for Parent of the Year this year, but I'll survive.

I see that Holly hasn't mentioned it in any of her posts, but let me tell you that Texas is HOT. Its been over a hundred degrees the last couple of days, and we're supposed to hit 106 for the next two days (can't wait to put on a suit in that heat). It was 63 degrees in Oakland when I flew back to Texas last Sunday, but it was 105 in Austin when I landed. That heat will hit you like a ton of bricks when you're not used to it. I am no longer fond of lawn work due to this heat.

One other thing that I should tell y'all about (I'm becoming a local. I pepper my speech with "y'all" and "fixin'" ta"). They don't wear boots and hats in Dallas. I consider that false advertising, and perhaps a breech of contract. One of the reasons I took this job was so I could wear boots and a Stetson with my suit at work. They don't go for that in Dallas. Maybe Houston, certainly the sticks of West Texas, and most assuredly in Oklahoma, but not Dallas. I guess we're too civilized here. Whatever. Give me another year of building a stellar reputation at the firm, and I'll be sporting some American gator skin boots to the office. And yes, in case y'all are wondering, my neck is beet-red.