Blake's Field Trip

I went to go hang out with Blake on his fieldtrip at the aquarium.  I wasn't an official chaperone because I had Asher with me.  So, we just went around with Blake and checked everything out.  They were able to feed some of the fish, and touch a starfish and other animals.  It is more of an interactive aquarium.  It is kind of a mixture of animals and displays.  They also have a big bouncy house area where they get to blow off some energy.

LibraryPalooza

When Kylee find out that James Dashner was going to be at Brandeis High School for the Library Palooza she wanted to go.  Kylee, Brayden, and Tatiana ended up going, but didn't go until closer to the end of the event.  They made it in time to listen to him speak.  They said it was interesting to hear him.  He showed his high school picture.  He told them that he used to be an accountant and he hated it.  He also talked about how he had worked on the Maze Runner series, set it aside for a while, and then went back to it changing the beginning.

I ran to buy some books to get signed and got back just as the line was starting to form.  Most of the people were there also for James Dashner, so that line quickly got long.  I had arrived right in time to nob be too far back, but things were kind of chaotic.  At first our part of the line was not moving and people behind us were passing us up, but they figured it out and redirected the line.  They handed out Post-it notes for people to write their names to speed up the signing process.  Kylee and Brayden chose which books they wanted signed and put their names on them.  When it was our turn, Kylee and Tatiana went fist. Then, it was Brayden's turn.  James Dashner looked at the Post-it note and asked, "Who is Brayden?"  When Brayden identified himself, he looked up, saw his sweatshirt, and said, "Oh, a UT fan" and made a face.  Afterwards the kids looked at their books and he didn't even include their names, just his signature.

This experience motivated Brayden to read the books and he loved them.  

Julia's Birthday Party

Julia's 9th birthday party had a cat theme with decorations in her two favorite colors blue and purple.  Julia has a love of cats, so we did a cat themed activity of making a cat collar necklace.  We couldn't find a cat piñata, but we felt it was more fitting to do a dog piñata since it was something the girls would be hitting.  Kylee helped make the cake.  We rented a bounce house to help keep them entertained.  It was a little chilly outside in the evening.  The girls had fun at the party.
Presents:
Amanda Potter - skipit, minecraft figures
Allison and Madelyn Prince - pens, diary, and duct tape craft
Morgan Hennesey - princess drawing pad
Herrera Family - Glow dry erase board
Macy Salmon- Stuffed animal raccoon and candy
Caroline Bradford - Glitter pens, chapstick, and candy
Adia- Leona stuffed animal and another kitty?

Dinosaur Tracks

We wanted to get out and enjoy the weather on the holiday and go on a hike to the dinosaur tracks in Government canyon.  It turned out to be a pretty big hike, almost 7 miles.  Brayden invited Sam Thrower to come along.  It was neat to see the dinosaur tracks.  They were roped off, so we had to see them from a distance.  There was a volunteer there sharing information about the dinosaurs that made the tracks and about how long ago.  It was fun to see.  Matt carried Asher on a pack.  Matt went up ahead and tried to catch up with the older kids.  I stayed back with the Julia and Blake.  They started dieing and getting worn out.  Julia was wishing that she had wings and could fly back to the car.  We took a few breaks. 

Matt racing the older kids to the end

Savannah Loop

President's Day Weekend we decided to take advantage of living so close to Government Canyon and went on a short hike on Saturday.  It turned out everyone else also decided it was a great weekend to go.  

We went on a short 2+ mile walk called the Savannah Loop.  It was flat and very easy.  The kids had a fun time climbing on a log that went over the path.  Asher did pretty well in the hiking pack.  

Christmas Vacation

Matt was on call for the week of Christmas so we stayed in San Antonio for the Holidays.  He had an OK week and only had to stay late on Monday night until midnight.

We went to Six Flags on Friday, but there were not very many rides open.  Even though there were not very many people the lines were long because the options were so limited.  It was still good to get out and do something with the family.

The older three kids went on a bike ride in our neighborhood with Matt.

Gabbi came back from El Paso to train with the O'Connor swim team.  She stayed with us because her family was still gone.  Kylee and Gabbi went to the New Year's Dance and Matt chaperoned.

Dec 28 - Sunday
Matt had to give a talk on Obedience on Sunday because he was in charge of giving the talk assignments.  He gave a great talk.  Later that day we made the Gingerbread house and train.

Asher was sad because he was not allowed to eat all the candy being used for the Gingerbread house.  The house wasn't too solid and fell apart before long.

We played Headbandz as a family for a couple of hours and there was lots of laughing. We had never played the game before, so we were getting the hang of it.  Blake left and came back with his card upside down, so we knew that he had taken it off looked at it and put it back on.  Matt's turn he figured out it was something in the living room, but he couldn't figure out what it was.  He stood up and asked if he was facing it in all four directions and couldn't figure out why he wasn't facing it until later when he realized it was the clock.

Dec 29- Monday
We had Stockwells and Adia over for s'mores around a fire in the back yard.

Dec. 30- Tuesday
Tuesday we went to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens to see the Lego exhibit.  There were a whole bunch of really big Lego sculptures on display around the garden.  Adia came with us.

Dec 31 - Wednesday
New years eve we stayed home as a family, made pizzas, and played the Ticket to ride Europe game we got from Chantelle for 2 hours.  Afterwards we had root beer floats and brownies with ice cream and watched The Princess Bride.

Studio C

Last year Stephani Stockwell asked Kylee if she had seen Studio C and she hadn't.  She looked it up, watched it, thought it was funny, and told Brayden about it.  They started watching clips on the computer, and Brayden showed Julia and Blake and they all started watching.  Lately they have been doing Studio C marathons on the TV with YouTube and have started working Studio C quotes into their everyday interactions with each other.  They also like reenacting the skits, many of which they have learned word for word.

The first one Brayden saw was "Help Me" and Kylee's first was the "Miss Oregon beauty pageant".  All the kids have gotten into it and have even shared with friends.  Matt and I have recently watched them also and have really enjoyed them.  They are clean and really clever skits.

Everyone's Favorites
Dad - Valley, The Smith Farm, Horror Movie
Mom- Couchville, Shotgun Court, Shoulder Angel Basketball
Kylee - Valley, The Smith Farm, It's a Wonderful Life
Brayden - Scott Sterling Soccer, Couchville, Edgar Allen Poe Christmas
Julia - It's a wonderful life, Valley, Bad Boy Rap
Blake- The mess up with all with the wrong people in the characters, Valley, Shoulder Angel with the president and security guards

Other funny ones are Twins, Diabetes Intervention, and Candy Land

It has been really funny to hear the kids quoting the different quotes and have everyone in the family understand.