Peek-A-Boo!

Looking at this picture of Lily just makes me happy! : )

Can I Keep Him?

We need more pictures of Hyrum on the blog! Here is a fun one of him petting a dolphin at Sea World, San Antonio.
December 27, 2007.

Grown Up Girl!

Ruthie earned this swimsuit for working hard to potty train.

Good job, Ruth!

Lily, you're next . . .

Fidel Who?

19 Feb 2008. Tuesday. A perfect afternoon. Temperature not cold, not warm, but just right. Zero humidity. Light refreshing breeze. Trip to WalMart with three kids in tow completed with no fighting or threats. Still time to get dinner on the table. Kids chatting happily in the back seat while mom cruises down the highway, listening to NPR's All Things Considered.

I enjoyed the commentator's clever evaluation of Fidel Castro's inevitable immortality. (Not delighted by the dictator's legacy, just liked Andrei Codrescu's take on it. Anyway . . .) Following the piece, the host mentioned that Codrescu teaches English at LSU. Another thing to add to my What's Cool about Louisiana list.

"Hey, that's cool!" I said.

Hyrum: "What's cool?"

Bec: "This NPR guy teaches English at LSU in Baton Rouge."

H: "That's great!"

B: "He was just talking about Fidel Castro." Discussion follows introducing the trems "Cuba" and "dictator."

B: "OK, nuggets, can you say 'Cuba'?"

Hyrum & Ruthie: "Cuba!"

B: "Can you say, 'Fidel'?"

H&R: "Fidel!"

B: "Can you say 'Castro'?"

Ruth: "Cassarole!"

Thank you, sweet Ruthie, for keepin' it real. : )

Giving Valentines

We had a lot of fun, Saturday afternoon, puting the valentines together for Hyrum's class. He looks forward to giving this pop-up card to his teacher, Mrs. Basso. We made it from a kit that my mom sent to us, last year.

Where's Lily?

While working on a project the other day, I realized that Lily had not made any sounds for a while. "Hyrum," I asked, "where's Lily?" We found her asleep on the stairwell landing. What a blessing that she didn't fall down. We thought she looked very cute, very sweet.

Notice the Mardi Gras beads. Again, we're blessed they didn't strangle her. She loves to play with Mardi Gras beads! A strand will keep her happy for quite a while. Too bad they aren't magic and can't keep her little, forever.

I Wanna Be a Cowboy

Hyrum's school celebrated Spirit Week, last week--an opportunity to dress in clothes other than regular uniforms. Thursday was designated for costumes. (A nice alternative to Halloween, which his school does not celebrate.) Hyrum wanted to dress as a cowboy, so Mark took him to WalMart where they carefully selected cowboy garb. Of course they included Ruthie in their fun. As soon as Hyrum hits the door after school, he makes a beeline for his cowboy clothes. Here are H & R riding their coffee-table horse. Ruthie's wearing a beautiful dress that my mom made. The bandana covers the darling collar.