Ribs and a swimming party…

"My favorite moments? Where it's all going swimmingly, the sun's out and
I've got a fire going and a nice snake on the barbecue."
-Bear Grylls

As a good and loyal Texan, BBQ is something near and dear to my heart.  So when school closed on Monday for a teacher in-service day we took the opportunity to smoke some baby backs.  James thought they were ok, but Ashlyn devoured them like it was her last meal.  That’s my girl.

And speaking of girls, it’s always a treat to see the two sisters playing together.  Ashlyn really likes making Isla smile and in return Isla gets a kick out of Ashlyn. This weekend it was time to introduce Isla to the ball pit and Ashlyn was more than happy to show her what it’s all about.

We also had a swimming party to attend this weekend Ashlyn’s best friend Mia.  James was invited to go to and the kids had a lot of fun swimming around in the indoor heated pool.  Ashlyn showed off her competitive nature again by insisting we take off her floatie because one of the other kids there wasn’t using one.  We kept it on of course, but it means it’s time to double up on the swimming lessons this year.

It’s the yearly Snowmaggedon warning this weekend (i.e. we may see a little sleet and some icicles) so we weren’t able to get outside much.  That didn’t stop Mommy from showing Ashlyn and James how to plant seeds in the small greenhouse in preparation for spring planting.  The learning never stops in the Flinn house, whether the kids like it or not.

Rockets, Valentine’s, and a sleepover…

"If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love."
-Maya Angelou

This week the good folks over at SpaceX launched a rocket into the sky and the kids were on-hand to watch as it took off.  It was exciting to watch their reactions.  It started with bouncing up and down on the couch as the pre-launch process occurred followed by awe and wonder as the flames came and the rocket flew.  I love it.

Valentine’s Day is a run day for the kids because it means candy.  It also means dressing them up in red hearts and making them pose for pictures.  Luckily they are so used to getting their picture taken thanks to this blog that it wasn’t a problem.

Spring is close and it was time to plant the first of the seeds in the garden this weekend.  We learned a few things from the activity.  First, James is very dangerous with gardening tools.  Second, both the kids are willing to eat chives picked from the garden, say they like them, spit them out while running back and forth saying “yuck”, and then go back to eating chives again.  I have no words to explain this behavior.

It was sleepover time at Nina and Papa’s for the kids on Saturday and they were all very upset when it was time to get in the van (those are smiles of sadness at leaving Mommy and Daddy for the evening).  From what I hear they were able to get over their initial feelings of loss and have a good time.  It will come as no surprise to learn that Ashlyn’s favorite part was the toy castle and James’ was the trains.

A trip to Freeport…

"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love."
-Ernest Hemingway

We traveled to Freeport this weekend and I wish we were able to make the journey under better circumstances.  Great Grandma Doodle passed away last week so we packed up the kids and headed to the coast for the funeral.  They’re still too young to fully understand what it means, Ashlyn understands the general concept but I don’t know if she comprehends the finality of it yet.  We’ll miss you Doodle.

No trip to Freeport would be complete without a visit to the beach and it turned out to be pretty good weather for it.  The kids had fun running in and out of the water, writing on the sand, and feeding the seagulls.  James was having so much fun he decided it would be better to bring his potty to the water instead of taking a break to find a restroom.

Back at Aunt Elaine’s the family gathered one more time to eat and be with each other.  A fire was started when it got dark and the kids were able to roast a few marshmallows.

I’ll end this one with a picture that needs little explanation, it’s just two sisters having fun together.

Milkshakes and museums…

Mom:  "We're going to go somewhere cool."
Ashlyn:  "I love cool things!"
James:  "I don't."

Ashlyn is still a fan of Elsa from frozen (what five year old isn’t?) and one evening this week she came out this week with her version of Elsa’s braid hanging over her shoulder.  James wasn’t convinced.

Since Isla is nearing the six month mark and has shown interest in eating real food we decided it was time to start introducing solids.  Amazingly, she didn’t reject anything that we put in front of her.  Cantaloupe, banana, mum mum, carrots, avocado, and even a pickle were tried and enjoyed by out baby girl.  I’m not saying she was able to eat it, she mostly just mushed the food around and eventually dropped it on her lap or the floor.  But she seemed to like it, and wanted more, which bodes well for her not being a picky eater in the future. 

Grandpa stopped by for some pot roast on Saturday.  He was able to get her to grin a few times but I wasn’t fast enough with the camera.

With kids even putting icing on cinnamon rolls is an adventure.

With Isla still being as fussy as she is we didn’t want to make plans for Super Bowl Sunday.  This freed us up to do something fun with the kids and so we took them to an old fashioned soda shop around downtown Dallas and then stopped by the Perot Museum.  The kids has a lot of fun there, it was very interactive and kept their interest the entire time.  Afterwards they both stated that their favorite part was the elevator.  Kids.