Even Joely knows it looks bad

Today we went and searched pond scum, so appropriatly I wore the uniform.

Joely came in my room when I was putting it on.

SHE BURST INTO BELLY LAUGHS!!!

She kept touching it like it was some strange textile.

It is.

When I walked out of the room, Quentin said it all in a word,

"Mom?"

I said, "Yes I'm wearing my uniform"
"really mom? Why do they want you to look lame?"

So we went and did the pond ecology at Sheldon Lakes State Park.

The boys learned about the food chain in the ponds and put on waders and skimmed the pond for lifeforms. It was a total blast! They skimmed the pond, and put lifeforms in a metal pan, then they put them in a big table on the outdoor classroom for better examination. They captured them in beakers with magnifying glasses.

Joely originally was on board to wade in the mud until she actually stepped in mud, she quickly sat down and took of her boots, and she was ready to go.
Sadly, Robert had to work this morning so he missed all the fun.

Dirty Socks and feet after the "wading"

Enjoying the fruits of their labors.

Here is David with his precious nymph. A dragon fly female lays her eggs in the water and that is where they hatch. They live as larvae for a spell and then morph into a nymph. They can live as a nymph for 6 months to a year. After that they morph into the dragon fly. They only return to the water to lay their eggs and the cycle goes again and again. An adult dragon fly can live up to a year in our forgiving climate, but in most places it's only 6 months.

Mr. almost a Bullfrog. He's still had a little bit of his tadpoleness and he's just getting used to his lungs. It was real neat to see. We also saw several small alligators, but like Quentin said, "where there are baby alligators, there is gonna be a mama alligator."

A green snake crossed our path too, and I screamed like a little girl. David said, "aw mom it's just a harmless green snake." So I told him, "the mambo in Africa is green and small and deadly."

To which my braniac son said,"This is texas mom."

and Quentin said, "Uncle Rex is in Africa."

The big picture in the title, is a sand table with different paw stamps so you can make animal tracks. My friend Melissa said, "I think this one is an opossum" and Alice said,"no it's not an opossum doesn't have claws" and then Melissa said,"how do you think they hold on when they are hanging upside down?" To which Alice said,"they use their little tiny opposable thumbs" And she's right you know!

All in all it was a great day. We look forward to a fun weekend!

"My Mind Can't Handle the Lonliness"

Said, Alice when I asked her why she was in my bed instead of her own bed.

I wanted to say,
"oh Please save the drama for your mama" but
I am the mama-

So I listened to the drama

And then I took her by the hand

Grabbed her new Shamu stuffed toy (from her weekend in San Antonio with Rob's parents)

and tucked her into bed.

Where She stayed until about midnight

and then she was on the couch.

We Love ALICE

We realize it's her world and

We are all just living in it.

Other than that here's what we've been up to

First off, Joely doesnt' beleive in clothes other than her panties now. She's a nature girl through and through.

This is Robert's "birthday" fire pit. Since it hadn't been put together, I claimed it as a mother's day gift, after Robert and the kids put together my real mothers day gift which was new and FABULOUS book shelves.
I'm realizing now I didn't take a picture of the finished product because I still need to paint another wall. This is Robert working it on Mother's Day Weekend, and yes it is a WHOLE WEEKEND- not just a day.

Ok so last week I was running late and figured, as long as the kids are there by 10:30 so they are not counted absent it's ok (the state mandated tests are over, books are turned in) since they are basically just "phoning it in" from now until June 5th at 11:40-
Anyhoo- David "forgot" they had a lame field trip to visit the new campus he'll attend in 5th grade. So when we got to school at 9:00 all of 4th grade was gone. I decided to take him to the 5th and 6th grade campus, but on the way over there he convinced me it would be better for everyone involved if he stayed home.He went with Joely and I to Walmart and he got his haircut and so did Joely. Joely loves spending time with "DADID or HEN" and on occasion"ASSEE" but she really has something special with her brothers. She was happy to have him stay home and kept inquiring about her "HEN" she makes them feel so good when they get home. She's a wonderful greeter. She stops everything to go running and squealing to the person entering the house. She's like a little yellow lab.

The top pictures of Alice in her recital costume were taken by Arcalee Gautier (Miss Arcalee) she can be hired for families and individuals, her sitting fee starts at 75.00 plus travel allowance. She gives you the CD of the edited images and you can develop your own keepsakes. If you want to get ahold of her, contact her via her retreat business at Texas Roundup Retreats.

You'll be glad you did.

Ok So Arcalee met Robert, the girls and I at the Houston Garden Center and took their pictures. Initially Joely wasn't very receptive, plus she was covered in a rash, she looked like she had measles, but Arcalee won her over and got a few good shots and then she edited out the gross disfugurations- and voila, we get this cutie patootie!

I'm guessing by now you're wondering (if in fact you are still reading) what happened to my poor dejected middle child. I don't know why I don't have many pix of him of late, But here is a shot from the roller skating party last Saturday. This Saturday his den (of which I am the leader) is having their final Den Activity as Bears and I'll make a post dedicated to my little Qbone or Hen as we call him now (thanks to his clone Joely)

Alice at Miss Alex's Art Show

Pictured above is our good friend Alex Pena with a cyanotype she did of Alice and put in her Senior Art Show at Houston Baptist University.

This picture was taken last April in front of our house. Alex came over to pick up her boys and Alice and Robert were blowing bubbles outside. Alex LITERALLY jumped out of their suburban with her camera in hand and took a million shots of Alice. To me the picture looks like Alice is actually conjuring up these bubbles, like a forest sprite. This one she chose to show! We feel so honored, she was only able to choose 5 of her pieces and one was of Alice. Even more exciting is we get this WONDERFUL piece of artwork to keep in our collection once the show is over.

Alex and her husband Robert have two wonderful boys Daniel and Jacob and we are so blessed to count them as our friends. We love the Penas.

It was fun to take Alice to the show and see all the neat artwork. She was a little shy and told me "I feel a little nervous with all these people saying I'm beautiful.."

To see a closeup of the cyanotype go to her gallery and look at her art portfolio. The cyanotypes are on the second page of that gallery.

Alex can make one for you, too she charges a mere $200 for the heirloom piece

you can contact her at

http://www.peatreephoto.com/

Thanks Alex you are a Rock Star!