Springwoods

Another park day at one of our favorites. Riley climbed this huge tree, and had some girls down below worrying about him, hoping he didn't fall off. He's a pretty good climber!

Forestry Try It

Regan's Girl Scout troop learned about forestry, and earned the Forestry Try It. The girls had a list of items to find in the woods, like an animal's home, scat, different kinds of leaves, animal tracks, etc. They had fun down by the creek looking for everything on their list, and making art with the leaves they collected.

Riley and Sydney

She loves her Riley!

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Look Ma! No Cavities!

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North Texas State Meet

What a weekend! Regan and I got home from the girl scout sleepover at the museum, she headed out to play, and I headed to bed! I took a little nap, then we loaded up for Garland, Texas and the North State Meet. Riley had to get an 82 score in order to move up to level 6, so that was his goal.

The kids rested on the way, we honored an Aldridge family tradition and stopped at the Czech Stop in West, Texas for kolaches, and made it to Garland in time for the 6:30pm warm up. Then it was hurry up and sit.

Finally the session started close to 8, and awards weren't over until almost 10. It was a very late night! The boys were exhausted. Riley did really well on the rings, and on the floor, and had a couple mistakes on the other routines, and so his overall score was almost 78. He's kind of bummed he didn't make the 82 cut off, and not sure he wants to continue in competitive gymnastics. He's tired of spending 9 hours a week or more in practice, having sore ankles and knees, and me always yelling at him to be careful climbing a tree or whatever because he has a meet coming up!

Then after the meet, we headed home, but first a stop for dinner, and so we didn't make it home till almost 3am, with some very tired, very dirty kids, and a very exhausted mom and dad. Needless to say, our Sunday afternoon consisted of a really good nap!

But we're proud of him, he gave it his all, and did a great job! Whether or not he continues in gymnastics, we still couldn't be more proud!

Big Ideas

Regan's Girl Scout Troop had a sleepover at the Austin Children's Museum, for an event called Big Ideas. It was a lot of fun, the girls got to have a lot of free time in the museum and play with the exhibits. We ate pizza for dinner, then the girls had a scavenger hunt through the museum to learn about different women inventors and pioneers. Then they tried their hand at making alternative carriers for 6 packs other than the plastic rings that can hurt animals in the wild. Then we took #6 recyclable plastic and made Shrinky-Dink jewelry out it (our favorite event)! They also made animal shape tangrams, and a secret code wheel. Then it was bedtime, we got to sleep in and around the exhibits, which the girls thought was cool. We slept in the Mexican family exhibit! Then the next morning they had free play again until after breakfast when it was time to pack up and head home. It was lots of fun even if mom didn't get a whole lot of sleep!

Night at the Museum

We have arrived!

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Bunny Update

I called the Austin Wildlife Rescue to check on the bunny, and he made it through the night so his chances are great! They had to remove his ear, and he will be with them for a while so his head can heal completely and they can make sure he doesn't get an infection, can hop and eat normally, and then they will release him somewhere they say is "safe" for rabbits. The kids were so happy to hear that, and I think Riley will actually mow again, just much more slowly next time.

Earth Day!

Well, it turned out to be a big coincidence, but I finally got my garden in today, on Earth Day. I have been planning forever, but had to get the cinder blocks, the soil, the plants, all loaded in the back of the truck, back the truck into the backyard to unload, mow the grass, go back to Home Depot to get all the stuff I forgot the first time, come back, and assemble in the rain. Well, it was drizzling, but not full on raining.

I'm excited to try it this way though, I have peppers that I've heard you shouldn't plant next to other things so they don't contaminate them, they are in their own separate holes, and I have 3 different types of tomato plants (if it were up to me, we would have ONLY tomatoes, and every variety of them, I just LOVE garden fresh tomatoes). We also are trying watermelon for the first time, and I got several herbs, stevia, mint and basil. Oh, and we're trying arugula, since one of the kids most favorite meals of all time is Chicken Arugula Pita Pockets. At least I can grow half of that!

Riley did really well helping out, he sampled each of the herbs, really liked the cilantro, and the stevia! He can't wait for the tomatoes, like me, he's a major tomato lover, and I think he will help out a lot with this.

But, the sad news, Riley got to mow the lawn for the first time ever, and he accidentally mowed over a baby bunny. It chopped one ear almost all the way off, and the other ear it cut the tip off. I about gagged, and realized I may not know my true calling in life, but it certainly isn't to be a vet, or a doctor or nurse of any kind. I called Austin Wildlife Rescue and they said to bring it in, since it was still alive, and somewhat dazed, poor thing. It was very bloody, and you could kind of see the scalp. Believe it or not, I did get pictures, but I will spare you here.

We rushed him down to the rescue center and are praying that he makes it. They said we could call tomorrow and check up on him. Riley is traumatized and never wants to mow again. Poor guy, he's so sensitive to these things.

But anyway, we came home, and finished up the garden, just in time for a good rain, and I grabbed some buckets out of the garage and made my own little white trash rain collection system. We have a leaky gutter, so I just put the buckets under it and voila! In about 30 minutes I had 2 buckets full of water for the garden! Next up is a compost pile and worm bin. This is science class in real life!

Riley's Gymnastics Picture

Here's the new picture of the year. Hot off the press! Last meet of the season is this Saturday.

Skate Park, Again

This has become our regular Monday haunt I think. We call it "PE" and say it's school related! The kids have so much fun though. Regan and her friend Emma have found a huge tree in a clearing that they have dubbed their "fort" and they even cleaned up the trash around it for "Earth Week" so that was nice! They play pretend games and run around and just love the fort. Regan has asked me if they could sleep there even. Not a chance, but I'm glad she likes it.

Riley brings his skateboard and sometimes his rollerblades or scooter, and this time he brought his unicycle. He was getting better, but then hasn't touched it in a while, so I was glad to see him getting out there and trying again. He got pretty good while we were there, going the length of the basketball court and back. I, of course, took video!



Also of him sliding down the slide on his skateboard, which was pretty funny.



And then we got home, and we've had this ongoing battle with Regan about her training wheels. She absolutely does NOT want them off her bike, and said she could most definitely ride around her college campus with a bike with training wheels, no problem. I keep trying to get her to TRY to ride and she refused. Then, a glimmer of hope when she said she would TRY it IF me or dad would hold on and never, ever, ever let go. So we have been trying. One of these days maybe she will let us let go, but for now we hold on tight while she pedals, and looks around like someone else is driving. She has never really had very good driving skills, so maybe keeping the training wheels on a bit longer might be a good idea.

Camp Champions

Regan went on a Girl Scout camp out to Camp Champions, without me! Mainly because it was also the same weekend as our church's Gattiland Lock-In, and David and I have our usual late-night-date. So, Regan was a big girl, and went with the Girl Scouts without me. Which was good practice because this was only 2 nights, this summer she will be going for 5 nights! Anyway, here are pictures from her awesome, but rainy, weekend.

Epic Mess!

Had a blast in Kid Celebration today! Theme is EPIC stories, and today was Noah, so the kids got to make an EPIC mess, and loved every second of it!

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Tristan's Birthday

CAKE!!

David and I had a date night since Regan went to Girl Scout camp for the weekend, Riley went to Tristan's birthday party for a while, then to the church's Gattiland lock-in. But we had to stop by the party and give Sydney some cake! She loved it, had it all over, and then I got to give her a bath. It was fun, she loved the cake, and the bath! And Tristan turned 12 years old, I can't believe it, our boys are growing up!

Then David and I went to see Date Night (hilarious!) and had a late dinner at Magnolia Cafe which is open 24 hours, and awesome!

Lake Pflugerville

Tristan had some unexpected time off from school this week, so he came and spent a day with us, and we headed to Lake Pflugerville, which is less than 5 miles from our house and we've never been!

After our adventures in Barton Springs on Monday, I told them to grab their bathing suits just in case they wandered into the water, and sure enough they did. It wasn't nearly as warm as Barton Springs water was, and that's saying something! But they played around a bit, and then decided we needed to go run around at a park to warm up, so we headed to Pfluger Park, which is the park that Kenzie used to play on when she was a baby. Brings back a lot of memories when I go there.

So they had a good time, got wet and dirty, and we got home and cleaned up just in time for church!

Barton Springs

The kids had their last science class today and instead of the usual place, the Nature Center, today it was held at the Splash! exhibit at Barton Springs, home of the Barton Creek Salamander! The kids loved it, they were told to wear something they could get wet, and that's all they need to hear to ensure a good time! They went down to the creek, took water samples, checked the water temperature, caught some bugs, went back to the lab and tested the water for bacteria and looked at their bugs under a microscope.

They had a lot of fun, and when I picked them up, we got a snow cone, then headed back to the over flow part of Barton Springs, and the kids had fun playing in the run off. There was a pretty good flow of water, so they would go up to the waterfall and sit down and let the current slide them down the creek. They saw some turtles but a man was nice enough to bring one over, Riley held it, and as soon as Regan held it, it peed right on her!

All of this was accompanied by a man on the Didgeridoo. Gotta love Austin! Keeping it weird today for sure! Then we headed to the play scape to run around and hopefully dry off before getting back in the car. They came home dirty, tired, and happy, exactly how a kid should be!

Sun Crest Farm

I've been checking into this farm for a while now, they have home school classes and Regan has been wanting horseback riding lessons FOREVER!! This was a Girl Scout event, and the girls had a blast!

First they learned about what the horses eat, and how often. They saw several different types of hay and oats. They got to tour a horse trailer, a really nice horse trailer with living quarters in the front! (That is where Regan has decided to move to). They scooped poop out of a stall (for some reason that was a big hit).

Then they had the girls brush the horses, and pick the dirt out of the hooves, then saddle them up, showed them how to get it all on right with the blankets, the saddle, the bridles and all that. Then they walked them to the arena and got them up, and let them ride around the arena. Finally, after they got comfortable, they got to trot. That was Regan's favorite part, she was a trotting machine! She loved it, and she still hasn't managed to wipe the smile off her face!

We were there for 4 long hours, and Regan enjoyed every single second of it, and can't wait to sign up for home school lessons!

Park Day

I have to say, one of the very best things about home schooling is park day on Fridays! We have a small group of friends that we know, but we try to hit up some fun area parks and let the kids run wild! And run wild they do. This is one of our favorite parks (I say that about every park we go to) but this one has wide open spaces, just a touch of water in the creek, so no soggy wet clothes for the trip home, and lots of fun playground things, and most importantly, hills to roll downs! The moms can sit and enjoy the weather and talk and get a small, much needed, sanity break.

Bluebonnets

Regan wanted to take pictures in the bluebonnets in her fancy dress, but of course as soon as we pull up to our spot, it started sprinkling pretty good. We took a few pictures, but will have to try later, the ground was soaked from overnight rain, and we were already pretty wiped out from church. But, here's a cute one.

Easter at Celebration

Church was awesome today! We usually attend the early service, and work the 2nd service. David had his hands full in the parking lot, and I had my hands full with the kids in the back. They had a tent set up for all the kids, it was standing room only! We had over 360 kids, and we usually have about 150. Then the fun began! A helicopter candy drop. The church has one every year for Easter, but this was the first time I got the privilege of working one. It was controlled chaos! I love the picture I got of the helicopter dropping candy, the kids starting to run, and Pastor Shawn telling them to wait, or trying to tell them to wait, he was about to be mauled! It was a lot of fun, and I know there were a lot of decisions made for Jesus today which was ultimately what it's all about! I just *love* being a part of Kids Celebration!

Happy Easter!

It's usually hard to get the kids out of bed for church on Sunday's, we're kind of used to sleeping in a bit these days! But, you mention the Easter Bunny paid a visit in the middle of the night, well, that got them moving! Regan got The Squeakuel on DVD and some clothes for her stuffed animals, Riley got a new WWE figure, and of course, loads of candy. And then Regan wanted to model her new outfit. She got a fancy dress for Easter that she loves, and Riley got a new shirt for Easter, but it got misplaced, so we will have to take pictures of him in it later!

Easter Dinner

Leo and Linda came in on Wednesday for Easter, the kids were so excited to get to spend more time with them. We didn't really do anything special, but watch Leo cook! Leo taught David how to make MawMaw Ida's famous bread, and that was a big hit!

On Saturday was the big Easter dinner, where everyone came to eat. It was fun, and we had a packed house. David made brisket and pulled pork, I made potato salad, Leo made what I heard was really good shrimp, and black eyed peas, and we had 4 pies, Alex made this yummy strawberry-banana cream thing, just a lot of really good food!

And after dinner we played Buzz on the PS3, and that was hilarious! And the really good thing is, we have a lot of leftovers, I don't have to cook for days!