ode to childhood

02.05.09
well the girls were so stinkin' cute yesterday that I decided I better post something even if it's short! the weather was so nice, that i couldn't resist letting them "build" a blanket tent on their swing set. they were out there all afternoon with their favorite "blankies", pillows, stuffed animals and a snack. i love how it takes so little to entertain and appease them.


















sooooo........since it has been so long since posting, thought i'd include a few extras from "recent" past months like....

10.11.08 state fair of texas/museum of the american railroad - i don't know how we do it, but somehow we seem to always choose the weekend of the ut vs. ou game to make our annual visit to the great state fair of texas. for those of you not from/living in tx, this would be THE biggest, most-anticipated college football game of the season between long time rivals, the longhorns (university of texas) and the sooners (oklahoma university). let me tell ya, wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder people everywhere! (translation=a bit of a headache). so this year, we took a detour and headed over to the museum of the american railroad, which is also on fair park grounds. because everybody was so involved with the game, there were no lines and we got some cute pictures of the girls.

{micah & girls in front of the fountains on fair grounds}


{an amtrak train}






{interior of a "modern day" amtrak}


{standing in the boiler room (where the engineers' also sat) honking the horn the old-fashioned way--pulling the cord to ring the bell! not so easy because of it's weight}




{the boiler}


{cute picture}


{train from yesteryear}


{gives you an idea of how huge the engine alone is}


{last but not least, the caboose!}


{"little hands on the farm" sponsored by borden or dreyers, i think}


















{the "real" reason we go to the fair}















10.12.08 the lil peeper ~ don't know 'bout you but as kids, we used to call the teeny tiny baby frogs "peepers." well, we happened to find one and the girls loved the chance to hold him. if you look closely, in one picture you can see the little critter mid-jump.















10.15.08 "cooling off"-- apparently it was a very hot day. just for the record, i did NOT coach her on these "moves." where does this kid get this stuff?! i laughed so hard when i caught her...what a riot. i love that you can see her outie.













10.28.08 eating lunch w/ abby -- this became a fave thing to do during abby's kinder year at school






{w/ her teacher, mrs. wilson, and schoolmates}





10.31.08 halloween
{10.24.08 the ward party}




{10.29.08 a halloween party at our house--the girls had been "begging for a party" for awhile so i rolled it all into a "friends' halloween party"; here is pumkin rolling part 1}


{pumkin rolling, part 2--note avery in the background}


{pin the tail on the "scaredy cat"}


{the "gaggle of friends" part 1}


{the "gaggle of friends" part 2}


{time to get their hands on the treats!}


















{10.29.08 "nimble" aves at gymnastics (TLG)}









{10.31.08 halloween night with grandma}





















11.01.08 a little*spunk*
{note crayons in shoe}





11.03.08 dancing queen(s)
{one of the girls' fave things to do is "perform" for us! it's pretty hilarious!}





11.07.08 my birthday
{eating at pf changs china bistro}













december highlights
{11.28.08 telling santa their Christmas wishes at valley view mall}










{12.06.08 Christmas at the dallas arboretum}




{some fun candids of the girls}












{we had lunch at the DeGolyer Garden Cafe and the girls decided to try lemons for some reason?}




{12.09.08 - 12.28.08 Christmas in utah; playing in the snow at gma/gpa schultz's house}




{we attempted making a snowman....mommy's not very good. we ended up with a snowmound.}




{hangin' out with aunt bethaney}




{making grandma cole's "famous" Christmas cookies with aunts gwenn & geniel & families 2 days before Christmas. according to gwenn, grandma cole used to make these cookies by the hundreds--no exaggeration--around the holidays and take them to hospitals, shut-ins, nursing homes and so on. truly the spirit of Christmas!}






{dinner at geniel's on Christmas eve}




{just like avery's doing here, i remember putting olive's on my fingers as a kid at holiday dinners!}




{grandma & grandpa skidmore}




{william & geniel}


{gettin' their groove on.....}






























{taking a break?.....}


{k, i'm done...}




{singing Christmas carols}




{the singing turns into yawning}




{will and geniel}






{cute pictures of abs and michael}








{opening pjs & "fancy" blankets Christmas eve at grandma & grandpa schultz's}









(post script: although it was in fact (almost) a year ago when i started this post, "better late than never" really and truly does apply. without the option for "late" inevitably it would be "never" for me. in hindsight, as i'm about to hit "publish," it's clear to me that this is an extremely long posting. o, well. might as well get used to it.........)