It's like a new adventure every morning! Where will I find her next?
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Carmen the construction worker
It's the end of the day, time to punch out.
I'm outta here.
It's been a rough day.
Let's go home.
I'm outta here.
It's been a rough day.
Let's go home.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Row Row Rodeo
We continued our now 3-year tradition of bringing someone with us to the Houston Rodeo by taking Court to his first Rodeo. The way his schedule worked out with the tickets available, we ended up going on Saturday, and that is a mistake I don't intend to make again. It was very crowded.
We were denied parking where I initially intended to park, but after experiencing the privilege of paying $20 to park in the mud half a mile away, we finally made it in. Here are this year's members of Team Ropers (I was again denied membership).
We first stopped by the livestock show, where we battled through the crowds to see... a bunch of empty stalls.
We walked some more and eventually found plenty of animals to look at. Court was particularly fond of a specific breed of livestock, namely the Texas Cowgirl.
I think Olivia's favorite part was watching the chicks hatch.
And Carmen had fun looking at everything, and walking all over.
We didn't even bother with the petting zoo and some of the other kids' activities because it was too crowded. When it was time we headed over to Reliant Arena for the Rodeo. As you can see, we got fabulous seats.
The rodeo was actually pretty good, from what we could see on the screens (j/k). We left right before the concert started because we had kids who needed to go to bed, so we missed out on some guy named Jason Aldean. He's probably a wonderful country singer. If he's your favorite, you are welcome to be mad at me for skipping out. I hate how loud the concerts there are anyway and the acoustics are terrible.
We were denied parking where I initially intended to park, but after experiencing the privilege of paying $20 to park in the mud half a mile away, we finally made it in. Here are this year's members of Team Ropers (I was again denied membership).
We first stopped by the livestock show, where we battled through the crowds to see... a bunch of empty stalls.
We walked some more and eventually found plenty of animals to look at. Court was particularly fond of a specific breed of livestock, namely the Texas Cowgirl.
I think Olivia's favorite part was watching the chicks hatch.
And Carmen had fun looking at everything, and walking all over.
We didn't even bother with the petting zoo and some of the other kids' activities because it was too crowded. When it was time we headed over to Reliant Arena for the Rodeo. As you can see, we got fabulous seats.
The rodeo was actually pretty good, from what we could see on the screens (j/k). We left right before the concert started because we had kids who needed to go to bed, so we missed out on some guy named Jason Aldean. He's probably a wonderful country singer. If he's your favorite, you are welcome to be mad at me for skipping out. I hate how loud the concerts there are anyway and the acoustics are terrible.
Court
Amber's brother Court decided to stick it to BYU and make his own spring break to come stay with us for a while. He got to do lots of fun things like ride a train...
...eat at Luby's...
...see (and climb in) giant president heads...
...go to the rodeo (next post), and of course, play with his favorite nieces.
Hope you had a good time, Court!
...eat at Luby's...
...see (and climb in) giant president heads...
...go to the rodeo (next post), and of course, play with his favorite nieces.
Hope you had a good time, Court!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Addendum
This a follow-up to my earlier post, to add some pictures. Here's a picture I took while I was off on my way to work of Olivia sleeping in front of our door.
She has continued this habit and I've found her the last several mornings either here, or on the couch or chair in the living room.
Here's Carmen on our walk to see our new church building.
And here's the new building just a few days before it was officially finished.
We've since attended church in it and it is very nice and has some things I hadn't seen before. All the doors have windows (great for SS/Primary presidents), the nursery has a bathroom with a kid-size toilet, the Relief Society Room has an electric piano/organ hybrid that can play songs by itself, there is tile across the hallway from the kitchen to cultural hall, I think it's wired for internet, lots of little things like that. The one drawback is that I don't think it has a buzzer, so my duties as the 5-minutes-left-buzzer-ringer are apparently over. Did I mention it's 3/4 of a mile away? And that we'll also have stake conferences there? We will be walking to stake conference in a few weeks to save parking for those less fortunate. It's tough living in the mission field.
And finally, here's a picture of the girls playing in a laundry basket in matching shirts. Because it's cute.
.
She has continued this habit and I've found her the last several mornings either here, or on the couch or chair in the living room.
Here's Carmen on our walk to see our new church building.
And here's the new building just a few days before it was officially finished.
We've since attended church in it and it is very nice and has some things I hadn't seen before. All the doors have windows (great for SS/Primary presidents), the nursery has a bathroom with a kid-size toilet, the Relief Society Room has an electric piano/organ hybrid that can play songs by itself, there is tile across the hallway from the kitchen to cultural hall, I think it's wired for internet, lots of little things like that. The one drawback is that I don't think it has a buzzer, so my duties as the 5-minutes-left-buzzer-ringer are apparently over. Did I mention it's 3/4 of a mile away? And that we'll also have stake conferences there? We will be walking to stake conference in a few weeks to save parking for those less fortunate. It's tough living in the mission field.
And finally, here's a picture of the girls playing in a laundry basket in matching shirts. Because it's cute.
Perks
I accepted a calendar invite for a team lunch last week, not thinking too much about it. Getting a free lunch is not so unusual around here. As it turns out, this was to celebrate a major milestone in the project I'm working on and we went to a fancy Texas steakhouse. I stuffed myself with quail skewers, brie-filled mushrooms, and jalapeno poppers for appetizers, a salad from the salad bar, and of course a $40 steak. I opted for the lighter berry dessert instead of the signature 10-inch tall chocolate cake (propped up with chocolate sticks). No dinner for me that night!
I was also recently informed that my group is bringing in a masseuse and I can schedule some free chair massages. We wouldn't want to have ergonomic issues, now would we?
The picture is from the Houston Livestock Show. I grabbed the bag from the Texas Beef Council's lean beef booth because it was so hilariously Texas.
Friday, March 05, 2010
Catch up
It's pretty bad when the post I meant to write about catching up from two weeks of not blogging gets procrastinated another week. Sigh. I blame work for not allowing me as much slacking time.
So my first excuse for not blogging was my Olympic addiction. For some reason, I love to watch all coverage of the Olympics, regardless of the inanity of the event (though ice dancing tested my resolve), and I spent pretty much every night watching the primetime coverage from 7 - 11 or so. It helped that Americans did unprecedentedly well, though I also enjoyed seeing that Korean figure skater live up to the hype and wipe the ice with her competitors (same with Shaun White). I was kind of glad to see Canada win the men's hockey gold, even though the US was on their way to an amazing come-from-behind victory. Also, props to US nordic combined and bobsled, for being relevant.
Our new church building is complete! I got an email from the bishop saying it is officially ours as of today. We will probably be going over tonight to move Primary stuff. Since I got called to be Sunday School President a month or so ago, with the accompanying spot on Ward Council, I have been involved in figuring out who will be using what classrooms and hearing other such insider information. We meet there for the first time on Sunday, and the best news is that we get to meet in the morning instead of during nap time.
A little while ago, Olivia had a string of three nights where she was getting out of bed in the middle of the night. The first night we had fallen asleep with our bedroom light on and Amber woke up to find Olivia playing with her stuffed kitties by our bed, apparently very happy. I slept through that one, but Amber turned out our light and explained that it was sleeping time and I think she put herself back to bed. The next night after I got up and got ready I opened the bedroom door to find Olivia curled up on her blanket in front of our door (which she knows how to open). She was awake, so I put her in bed with Mommy where she of course just wiggled and never went to sleep, and I went to work. The next morning, I found her asleep on the reclining chair in our living room, and she stayed asleep while I ate breakfast and left for work. Since then there have been no incidents. I guess the thrill is gone for her now.
Olivia has also become quite proficient at tricycling and if we make the mistake of suggesting she ride to the mailbox I invariably end up following her around the neighborhood as she pedals along. She tips herself over occasionally, and rides as timidly as you would expect her too, but she loves it and it makes me happy to see her enjoying her big Christmas present.
Carmen continues to be anything but timid, and has recently developed a hilarious laugh -- kind of a guttoral, evil-bad-guy kind of laugh when she gets something she wants (like going outside). I'll have to get that on video while she's still doing it.
Carmen is also extremely fond of damp washcloths. We use them for baths and for cleaning up messy hands and faces after dinner, and once she gets her hands on one, I wouldn't recommend being the one to take it away. I often find wet spots on my pants or shirt where she's held it against me, or even deliberately wiped me, but she's awfully cute toddling around with a washcloth.
Court (Amber's brother) is in town visiting with us now, and we'll be heading to the rodeo tomorrow, and I'm sure there are some pictures I should post, so I'll be back soon.
So my first excuse for not blogging was my Olympic addiction. For some reason, I love to watch all coverage of the Olympics, regardless of the inanity of the event (though ice dancing tested my resolve), and I spent pretty much every night watching the primetime coverage from 7 - 11 or so. It helped that Americans did unprecedentedly well, though I also enjoyed seeing that Korean figure skater live up to the hype and wipe the ice with her competitors (same with Shaun White). I was kind of glad to see Canada win the men's hockey gold, even though the US was on their way to an amazing come-from-behind victory. Also, props to US nordic combined and bobsled, for being relevant.
Our new church building is complete! I got an email from the bishop saying it is officially ours as of today. We will probably be going over tonight to move Primary stuff. Since I got called to be Sunday School President a month or so ago, with the accompanying spot on Ward Council, I have been involved in figuring out who will be using what classrooms and hearing other such insider information. We meet there for the first time on Sunday, and the best news is that we get to meet in the morning instead of during nap time.
A little while ago, Olivia had a string of three nights where she was getting out of bed in the middle of the night. The first night we had fallen asleep with our bedroom light on and Amber woke up to find Olivia playing with her stuffed kitties by our bed, apparently very happy. I slept through that one, but Amber turned out our light and explained that it was sleeping time and I think she put herself back to bed. The next night after I got up and got ready I opened the bedroom door to find Olivia curled up on her blanket in front of our door (which she knows how to open). She was awake, so I put her in bed with Mommy where she of course just wiggled and never went to sleep, and I went to work. The next morning, I found her asleep on the reclining chair in our living room, and she stayed asleep while I ate breakfast and left for work. Since then there have been no incidents. I guess the thrill is gone for her now.
Olivia has also become quite proficient at tricycling and if we make the mistake of suggesting she ride to the mailbox I invariably end up following her around the neighborhood as she pedals along. She tips herself over occasionally, and rides as timidly as you would expect her too, but she loves it and it makes me happy to see her enjoying her big Christmas present.
Carmen continues to be anything but timid, and has recently developed a hilarious laugh -- kind of a guttoral, evil-bad-guy kind of laugh when she gets something she wants (like going outside). I'll have to get that on video while she's still doing it.
Carmen is also extremely fond of damp washcloths. We use them for baths and for cleaning up messy hands and faces after dinner, and once she gets her hands on one, I wouldn't recommend being the one to take it away. I often find wet spots on my pants or shirt where she's held it against me, or even deliberately wiped me, but she's awfully cute toddling around with a washcloth.
Court (Amber's brother) is in town visiting with us now, and we'll be heading to the rodeo tomorrow, and I'm sure there are some pictures I should post, so I'll be back soon.
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