Books, baths, and Mr. Mule…

"Mommy!  The bathtub overflowed!"
-Isla

We’re a fan of books around here.  Ashlyn’s reading continues to improve and now she’s even writing her own books.  This weekend she read her first full book to James and Isla.  It was a rhyming book about a girl whose Christmas started poorly but ended up being great because she got a puppy.  James was proud to finish his first chapter book this week and is already on to his second.

The girls decided to take a bubble bath and I suspect they may have put just a little too much bubble mix in.  When they turned on the jets the tub overflowed with bubbles, spilling out onto the floor.  As you can see from their faces, they were very upset at the mess they made.

James was in his first school play where he took on the role of Mr. Mule.  He wanted a part without any lines but ended up with one that had more than most.  He got all the lines though and seemed to have a fun time of it.

Games, puppies, and bouncing…

"I think it's wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly."
–Steven Wright

Sadie is still technically a puppy, but is no longer a tiny dog.  That hasn’t kept the kids from playing with her and I think Sadie enjoys the attention.  Most of the time anyway.

Game night is becoming a somewhat regular occurrence.  It’s a great way to get everyone at the table together to have some fun and learn a few things along the way.  Isla loves the circular game below and wants to play it multiple times a day.  James likes almost any game and will often pick one out of the closet and bring it to the table to play.  Ashlyn has found a new art based game that she really enjoys and we’ve had fun a few times with it so far.  I hope this becomes a regular thing.

These are just two random pictures from Valentine’s Day.  I missed them in the blog post but liked them so wanted to include them here.  Enjoy!

We purchased a membership at the local Urban Air since it seems to be the one activity all three kids consistently agree on doing.  They took off as soon as they were able and ran, climbed, and bounced over everything they could.  And there wasn’t a single argument, thanks bouncy place!

Puppets, more Valentines, and a dog park…

"My fashion philosophy is, if you're not covered in dog hair, your life is empty."
-Elayne Boosler

Isla has recently discovered puppets, and quickly created her own puppet theater in her room.  She practiced for awhile before inviting the family to attend the grand opening of the theater.  Everyone was required to attend, even Sadie.  The show was a moving tale of animals looking for other animals before inevitably being tossed out the window.  We laughed, we cried, and we gave the show a standing ovation at the end.

Nina and Papa came over to deliver some belated Valentine’s bags for the kids.  The bags were filled with candy and slime making kits, which are two of the favorite things in our house.  Needless to say the kitchen table was quickly covered in plates, cups, spoons, and slimes of every color.

We also decided to take Sadie to the dog park to socialize with other dogs.  We only have a few small dogs near the house and Sadie tends to tackle them when she sees them.  Sadie doesn’t qualify as a small dog at the dog park so it was a good opportunity to meet other larger dogs.  She was squeamish at first, but started to warm up a bit until a big dog named Hank invaded her personal space a little too much.  The kids had fun running around and playing with the other dogs.

Valentines, walls, and a pig…

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

This is our first Valentines with two kids in school which meant a lot of red paper and heart stickers.  They took full advantage of the opportunity to make a mess but the end result was a nice selection of cards for teachers and friends.

Ashlyn was invited to a friend’s party at a local rock climbing place and it seems she may have a future career in rock climbing.  She was able to overcome some of the difficult obstacles and get to the top of several walls.  And she had a great time doing it.

A Peppa Pig center opened up in Grapevine a few weeks ago.  Isla love Peppa so Mommy took her to see what it was all about.  Isla had a fun time running around in Peppa’s world but I don’t know if there is enough there to warrant a second visit.

Skating and karate…

"When I was 3, my parents strapped on a pair of Playskool plastic roller skates to my feet,
and that's where the story begins."
-J. R. Celski

The kids got the chance to go the local skating rink to skate with their friends.  They took full advantage of the time, even Isla who still needed to use the trainer.

James tested for his green belt this weekend.  He had to do a 21 step form, show three sparring combinations, and free spar for one minute.  He did well, and all signs point to him getting his next belt.  Afterwards we celebrated with some ice cream, because what’s better on a drizzly winter day than Marble Slab?

James’ class celebrated 100 years of school by encouraging the kids to dress up as 100 year old kids.  We had a plan that included a bow tie and silver hair coloring, but the bow tie didn’t fit and the coloring didn’t work.  Oh well, he still looked pretty awesome in his pants and suspenders.