Renaissance

For my birthday, Ben took me and the kids to the renaissance fair. It was great, I really love to watch all the people and see the different costumes, and who could forget the food. This is the first time that we have been to a well established fair with the kids and I never put much thought into the rides before, until now. Of course they wanted to go on the rides and try almost everything. We did have to put a limit on that one, but they had lots of fun. Plus we got to watch part of the joust; they were having a “qualifying match,” and then were going to meet back up at 6pm. I will say that the fair in Utah was new, but their joust was way better, they actually did it for real, unlike here at this fair, where it really looked more like WWF. Oh well, the kids loved it and got to yell for their knight.

The very exciting part of our day was the bird show. For years, Isabelle has loved birds. I know what is years to a four year old. Anyway, we passed by just as they were starting and decided to sit down and watch. Cooper and I sat at the back while Ben took Bear and Isa up close so that they could see better. Well Bear, being Bear tried to rush the stage when the falcon was flying around, which was noticed by the lead guy who was doing all the talking. So when the Bald Eagle came out, he called Bear up on stage with the bird. Needless to stay Bear was stoked. He even got an eagle necklace out of the whole deal. The guy asked Bear what kind of bird it was and he told him, and I think he was impressed that Bear knew, considering he’s just two. I was funny, since I was sitting in the back away from them, I decided that I would nurse Cooper and then the guy starts walking over and talking to Bear so I figured I should jump up and take some pictures quick.




The other interesting part of our day was the rain. That’s right it could not be a Texas weekend without rain. At least for the last month and half, it seems to have rained almost every weekend. But in true Texas fashion all you have to do is wait ten minutes and the rain will pass. So that is what we and many others did. Bear thought that the rain was great. He jumped in puddles, playing in the mud and got all dirty. So did Isabelle. Although she was even dirtier because she actually fell down in the mud, while carrying the umbrella, and not watching where she was going. I watched it all happen from under a tree. Cooper was the only one who was dry, but he did not seem to notice either way.

Overall I think everyone had lots of fun, despite the weather and mud. I can hardly wait until the next one. One day I hope to dress up again. I know I was one of those, but that was all pre-children. I just need to convince Ben to dress up as well. The kids are a done deal; Isabelle will dress up for anything.

Pool Slide

Who needs a water park, we you can create your own water slide while filling up the swimming pool. After T-ball we went to help Penny get her pool ready for summer. Ben really wants to go swimming. So he helped power wash the bottom and clean out all the gunk, and then started to fill it up. Well Isabelle can hardly say no to water, so she quickly figured out that she could slide down into the deep end and that it was pretty fun. Bear joined in and so did Ben. The best part I think was when Ben would send Isabelle sliding around and up the curve of the pool; it looked like so much fun I decided to join them. I borrowed a swim suit and slid down the pool. The only draw back was that clothing does not slide as well or as quickly as skin.

Three and Four year olds playing T-ball has to be one of the funniest things kids can do as a group. My two kids were no exception. Isabelle wanted to play “catcher and pitcher” and Bear just wanted to be close to Dad, so he “played” first base. Once Isabelle calmed down enough from all the excitement of t-ball for her first at bat she hit the ball right down the third base line. Waited to see if any one was going to pick it up and then ran to first base, I’m sure had she been playing as a older kid she would have at least made it to second before the ball was caught. Not many four year olds can send the ball in the opposite direction when playing, it was pretty cool. Bear did great hitting the ball too, but since he bats right handed he sent it right to the middle of the field and then pretty much took off running towards first base, Dad was the first base coach. He just did not like his helmet so at his second at bat, he had to try to take the helmet off before making his way down the line. It was pretty funny. All of the batting helmets were so big on the poor kids, but most seemed pretty of with it except Bear.

Right when they were getting started and meeting the other team, Bear decides this is a good time to start heading out to the “out field.” It took Ben about a minute to realize that he was making his way, out of the game and he had to run and catch him, yea that’s Bear. Isabelle quickly found out that if you play in the pitcher spot, you can pretty much touch the ball every time. She would “catch” the ball after it was hit towards her, show everyone and then send it off to first base. Usually the ball would actually make it to first base but only after everyone saw that she had the ball. It was kind of cute, then she would do a little dance move once she released the ball. It was so cute!

Ogi Bagobi

Here is our newest family member, Ogi Bagobi. He hopped, hopped, hopped right down into Penny’s pool and she thought Barrett would love to have a pet toad. So here we are with a wild toad living in our house, day one. So far so good, we’ll see how he does the rest of the week.

One more thing

Sunday was a very busy day for us. Ben wanted to take the kids to Little League day at the ball park, Isabelle had her last soccer game finally and I had to go take pictures. Plus we still had family in town from the dance recital so it was crazy fun filled day. First the ball park! Any Little League team in the metroplex could come and walk around the field for the day and be down at the player’s level. It was pretty cool. I think Ben almost enjoyed it more than the kids; they are still a little too young to know the importance behind it yet. But we got lots of pictures of them going around. Barrett was told several times not to go near the dugouts, although I think they were being over cautious, because I did not think he was trying to check it out or go in. And he was told not to stand on the grass. That one was valid but at least he did not jet away, he was only two steps in on the grass if that far, I think he toes might have still been on the dirt. All in all it was pretty cool. Ben took a picture of Cooper and I that was not very good so I’m not going to include it here. You would think the one picture I ask him to take of me he would have tried a little harder to make it turn out well.

After we made our way around the field, Isabelle and I left to go to her last soccer game. She did great! I could hardly believe it. I kept asking myself where was this kid in the previous four games? Why is she just now showing off her true colors? Although I must stay that there were only five kids total on our field, several kids did not show up so there were not as many kids around to chase after the ball, but still she finally found her game again and was very excited about it. At the end all the kids received a participation trophy with a moving ball. Boy was that the hit, all the kids loved to play with the ball and spin it around. Then they took a big group picture, which was not as good as last time but hey, you work with what you can. I think she finally had a lot of fun.


Once Ben came home from the game I was off to take pictures for my class. That was pretty fun, I had a couple of hours away from all the kids and house work, now to determine if any of the pictures were any good. We’ll have to wait and see what the rest of the class thinks when we meet again. Hopefully this time my disk will work, I had trouble the last time and had to turn them in later.

Dance

Isabelle had her first dance recital on Saturday. All her grandparents came in to see it and as well as a few extra family members and even one of her friends. She did a very good job and looked wonderful in her full hooker makeup. By the third time around of putting makeup on this kid I think I finally have it down, considering I hardly wear any makeup at all. Anyway their little show was pretty good and watching all the other acts was interesting. Some of the kids were cute and funny, while others were serous and focused on what they were doing. She had two dance parts, a tap portion and a ballet portion. She did great on both and I think she was pretty excited about everyone being there to watch her perform. No stage fright for this kid.

Wiskey and Trees

This post is going to be pretty random. I wanted to blog about the service two weekends ago but last week just went by so fast. Did you see it; I don’t even remember it, it went by too fast. Anyway, we’ll start there. We had a military service for Grandpa which was nice, and I thought he had a 21 gun salute but no it was just 18. Apparently only high up mucky, mucks get a 21 gun salute. Either way it was still loud but very moving. Grandma was presented with the largest flag ever for a person, and they play Taps with a real bugle, and not a record. I guess they don’t always have a bugler to play which is kind of sad because it sounds so much better. After the service we all went back to Grandma’s house to finish off a bottle of Whiskey. Every one except for the kids got a shot, and then there was just enough for most people to have two shots. A few of use did not take the second shot for various reasons. It was pretty cool though, after we were all done we turned out glasses upside down on the train that held the drinks and his urn, we place a flag in the bottle and there was a tribute; quite a nice way to remember such a wonderful person.

Before I get on to more exciting things I just wanted to share this one picture. It’s not very good but here’s the story. My flash card and camera record the number of pictures I take in a continuous order. So here is my 10,000th picture. Now in the big scheme of things this might not seem like a lot, but I would figure for the everyday person, that is a lot. Now for a professional photographer this would be just a drop in the bucket. I tend to try to take better pictures once instead of hundreds of pictures to get a few good ones. We’ll see how long that lasts for me. Here’s to the next 10,000. (of course it started over at one)

Haslin Robert Libby

Haslin R. Libby, 93, of San Antonio, Texas, formerly of Hesperia, CA died Thursday, April 23, 2009 at his home in San Antonio.

Mr. Libby lived in California for 40 years after moving there in l965 from Kankakee, IL with his family. He retired after 21 years from North American Van Lines as a driver, first of household goods, then for their Electronics division. Mr. Libby also proudly served in World War II with Company B, 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division. During his time of service he received numerous recognitions and was the recipient of the Purple Heart Medal for action seen in the European theater.

He was born August 19, 1915 in Alvin, Texas, the son of Harry and Bertha Smith Libby, formerly of Kankakee, IL.

He is survived by his wife, the former Angelina Brown Libby, whom he married June 5, 1948 in Douglas, AZ; three sons and a daughter, Donald R. Libby and Jessica Libby, Kenneth Libby and Janice Libby, Michael Libby, and Colleen Libby; nine grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren.

Deceased are four brothers, William, George, Lawrence and Finley; and two sisters, Marie and Julia.

He was a member, while in Illinois, of the Illinois National Guard and the Civil Air Patrol. In his youth he was also a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in memory of Haslin to the 94th Infantry Division Association, c/o Harry N. Helms, Jr. 609 Dogwood Dr., Downingtown, PA 19335.

All Smiles

Look who is looking at me. Cooper has the best smile; he looks so much like Isabelle did when she was a baby. Maybe one day I’ll get a kid that looks like me, other than the nose. Isabelle of course could not pass up a chance to be in a picture as well.

Freedom of Opinions

As a Catholic I am the first to admit that I do not agree with everything the Catholic Church states. After all, I have used birth control before, I do think it is a woman’s right to choose, and I’m for homosexual marriages just to name a few. Some how the Church still lets me come and make my donation every week, I guess where money is concerned they turn the other way. With that being said I am sad to hear about members of the Catholic community, and possible others putting up a stink about Obama coming to speak at Notre Dame for their commencement ceremonies. Just because of his belief systems and those programs that he supports are not directly in line with the views of the Catholic Church. Personally I would be terribly excited to hear Obama speak at my school during graduation from college. I’m sure that not every student who attends any of the hundreds of Catholic supported schools throughout the country are all Catholic. And God forbid if any of them have beliefs other than what the Church spouts to be the “truth.” I would think that more many of the students and family members who will attend the ceremonies this will be a once in a lifetime experience to hear the President give an address in person. What do these nay sayers hope to accomplish with their petition, to have the school uninvited the President of the United States from speaking? I for one feel that college is a time in your life to explore different ways of thinking and hear open discussion of political thoughts and ideology, not a place to close the doors and hinder free thought. Just because Obama is coming to speak to a Catholic school does not mean they support all his positions. I would think that the majority of the students would be happy to hear Obama speak and these protestors should just let it go and deal with the choice the school and the country has made.


In other news, the Republican Party seems to be quietly restructuring its members to create a “perfect party.” The most recent member to leave is Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Apparently if you are a moderate Republican, that’s not enough, you need to be a full blow conservative republican beating down the doors to over zealous. Which since we live at a time where we currently have only two major parties, things are going to have to change. After all I really do think a two party system is out of date, and once the populace realizes this the members of our governing bodies can make changes to better accommodate those who roll in the middle. I’m not a big fan of putting people into certain categories but I guess some things cannot be avoided. I wonder what the citizens who voted for him think about his defecting to the Democrat party. Do you think he’ll win reelection the next time around under a new party? Who else will his defection draw away from a party that is slowly losing the edge on developing new interest in an old system?

Roll Over, What??

In some amazing Cooper fashion, he has started to roll over from his back to his tummy. I can hardly believe it. He has been rolling up on his side all week long and today he finally took the plunge to go the distance. Of course once he's on his tummy, he cries like that was not his orininal purpose in life and wonders how he got there. Oh well, at least it's lots of fun for me. Ben was even here to witness his exploits. Now if only I could have seen it, just the after affect. I'll try to catch some pictures or video of the kid and his antics but it might take some time. He's getting so big! (sniffle, sniffle)

Eight Years Ago

On this day eight years ago Ben and I got married. I am so luck to have found such a wonderful, understanding, supportive husband as my life partner. I feel blessed everyday that we came together to forge our relationship. For the experiences that we have had and those yet to come, I am grateful for our love and happiness together. Ben’s love has brought me many great joys, and I know that we will have many more to come, together as husband and wife.

Kick, baby kick

I just love it when babies discover something new. Today Cooper figured out how to make his bouncy seat move. Along with bouncing himself he also made the figures at the top move back and forth for further entertainment value. He really went at it when he kicks his little feet. Never mind the fact that his seat no longer makes sound, vibrate or lights up. Really it is just a seat. So I figured I would make a quick little video to show you guys just how much fun he was having.

Juicy, Juicy

The sweet, red juices drip down your fingers after that first savory bite. Another bite comes as you relish in the sweetness of the fruit. Each piece better than the last one, sending you to a new flavor filled experience. Fresh strawberries are wonderful right off the vine. Today we found out just how wonderful and sweet they really are. The kids and I went to a “you pick” strawberry patch, were we got almost four pounds of fresh strawberries, home grown. I truly believe that fruits and vegetables are the best when they are home grown, the taste is just so much better than what you can get at the grocery store. That’s why I always like to go to the farmers market or my own garden to supplement our groceries. Today as we munched on fresh picked strawberries right off the vine, (after we paid of course) I was reminded of just how true that is. I can hardly wait until our garden is really going and we have fresh veggies every night. But for today I we get to relish the taste of strawberries.

Oh yea here is some of my spinach, direct from the plant to my table. I used this home grown spinach in my Asian Noodle Salad from PW today, yummy!

Happy Easter

We had a great Easter weekend. We went down to San Antonio for the weekend and had the chance to visit with some of my cousin’s who I had not seen in a very long time. Grandpa Libby is not doing too well, so extra people came in to see him and spend some quality time with the family. The kids had so much fun. Isabelle played soccer with grandpa Don, and had a great time trying to get the ball in the goal. She kept telling him to get out of the way, it was funny.






We even went to the Texas Transportation Museum, mostly for the trains. They did have some old cars there, and a few old fire engines but Bear really liked the trains. They have a model train set in the back and Bear got to direct the horn and make sure he told the gentleman when the train was clear so they could switch tracks. He thought that was pretty cool. Our tickets included a very short jaunt up the railroad track on the train. We rode in the caboose. I think everyone thought that was great, even though it was pretty short.



Of course we did the traditional Easter egg hunt. The kids hunted for eggs inside the house and outside. Right before we left for church it was pouring down rain, and then we had a beautiful day. Alexis, Brittany, Isabelle and Bear all had fun looking for eggs and each kid came in with a pretty big haul. Both Alex and Brittany had to empty their baskets and go look for more.



And of course since the sun was actually out, the kids had to swim. Even though none of the adults went in the water unless they had too, the kids were all over getting in and swimming around. I knew we could hardly keep them away. Bear had some fun learning to stay close to the steps. I have not been able to find him a floaty swimsuit like last year, so I think he will just have to learn this year how to swim. I see swim lessons in the near future.



Overall it was a great weekend. We all got a chance to sit around a visit, work on our poker game and just catch up. It was great. Adam went out with his cousins and uncle to play pool, and had wonderful time. The rest of us old folk stayed at home to watch babies and play cards. Grandpa Libby did great while we were all there and told wonderful stories, which everyone will remember for years to come. I hope we can all get together again soon, I miss having all of the family around.


Happy Easter!

Lets Play Ball

The smell of hot dogs, popcorn and beer, waft by in a slight breeze; just as the crowd yells as the ball is hit to the outfield, as the batter rounds the bases you sit by and wait to see if he makes it to the next base and be safe. Today is opening day of baseball season. Arlington plays host to the Texas Rangers, one of the two major league teams in the state. The other team is in Houston, but we do not go there, well maybe once for Ben. So I have not decided if I dislike baseball season or football season more. Ironically I think its baseball, you can pretty much see a game seven days a week, and I’m sure some days at least two games. Where as football is only on five days per week, with one day showing two games. That is unless you have the channel which will play all the games for you at one time or another, thank goodness we don’t. At least for baseball we don’t need it now that we are back in Texas, Rangers games are aired pretty much all the time.

Needless to say Ben is pretty excited about opening day, the start of a new season, a fresh start for the team; it should be an interesting year. The kids are excited by extension, after a preseason story time at the ball park; the kids have been practicing singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. I think if we practice enough I can take them up there to sing on the big screen for the whole crowd. What an amazing experience that will be.

Plus the kids should both be starting T-ball in May; Ben is probably most excited about that one. Practice has all ready began to train them up, and figure out which hand they actually throw the ball with. He wants to know that so he can get the right glove for them. Plus it’s probably good to help them with their throwing skills and of course bonding with Dad. Anyway, in the Home Season Opener for the Rangers, they started off pretty good with a win of 9-1 against the Indians. We’ll have to see how they do with the remaining games of the series. I’m pretty sure we’ll catch at least one Rangers game if not a few more in person this year. After all baseball is the American pastime.

The Onesie

As a joke one of my college friends at a wedding shower gave me an onesie and toy as a gift. He then told me or asked that each kid we have should wear this onesie at least once and to send him a picture. So with that in mind each of my kids has worn this onesie starting with Isabelle. My Mom reminded me that I should probably put Cooper in this outfit before he out grew it, which was a pretty good idea since this morning when I snapped him up, I had to pull from the back to make sure it would fit. This kid is long. Anyway to make a short story longer, here is Cooper in “the onesie.” Probably a little bit before Isabelle and Bear (since he is only two months) but hey we got him to wear it. He looks too cute.

March Review

For the month March I have chosen to review Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Let me just start off by saying that I really enjoyed this book and hope that more people will read it and open their minds to the importance of education to make change. While hiking down from a failed attempt at K2 Greg took a wrong turn and ended up in a remote village in Northern Pakistan. The village welcomed him in and helped him to recover from his journey. While there he noticed that there was no school building for the children to study in, and promised to come back and build a school. From this one meeting he worked to open the doors to Pakistan’s poor by providing their children, especially girls, with an education. Greg Mortenson feels that education of both boys and girls will enable the people of Pakistan to do more for themselves, and their children.

The book continues to show the trials that he faces in trying to build his first school; from raising money, making sure supplies make it to the remote areas and building the right relationships in a culture vastly different from America. Not only did he help to raise funds and build schools, but also water support, a bridge and relationships into Afghanistan. This story is an amazing journey of one mans vision to bring education to a people who might not have had the means to do it themselves. Plus his schools give the people a choice in how they want to be educated; by empowering the girls who will become women to do more to help their communities.

I highly recommend this book, and hope that you too will read it and experience Greg Mortenson’s vision to see education for the children of Pakistan.

Random Thoughts

Just a short update, Cooper is a healthy baby boy. He weights 12 pounds 11 ounces and is 25 inches long. He is so tall, for a baby. I wonder how tall he will be as he gets bigger. Anyway, I think he is doing great, and so does the doctor. Now if only I can get him to sleep through the night. As my vent for the day, the lady at the doctors office who sets appointments was very frustrating. If only she could just answer my questions, instead of asking the same question over and over. Does she not understand that I want to get my stuff taken care of in a timely fashion so as not to have to worry about what my two other kids are doing or not doing. Apparently that did not matter to her, she could really care less if our conversation move on or if the kids tor apart the office. Needless to say I'm sure my level of frustration is not fully coming out here, but I could really do will less of her.

Oh yea, the bunny had a friend, and he/she wondered into our trap last night. We figured it had friends, but the friends took a while to check out our garden. I would not think it was the same bunny but who knows. Without being able to tag the bunny, we have no way of knowing.

As an aside, I'm finally able to watch Twilight again on DVD. I've only had it for a week. And still I have not been able to watch it all the way through. The kids would just not leave me alone, plus we had things to do. Anyway, too much fun. Probably not as fun as a Twilight party.