T-Ball Madness--Spring is here!!

So much has been happening in the few months since I've updated this blog. I have done two 10K's in training for the triathlon's I'm doing in the next few weeks. We've been to a couple of Zoo's, there have been lot's of creatures hatching and being born around us. 9 of the 12 eggs in Finn's Preschool class hatched. The class Guinea Pigs had a baby, OOPS they thought they were two girls! AND, George is fostering Cinco a Golden Retriever who he is nursing to health (has heartworms) and hopefully we will be meeting Cinco VERY soon! Luke and Finn both have BUZZ haircuts for summer and it's really paying off on Finn's Baseball Game playing! Since his haircut he received his first GAME BALL of the season! Life is good here at the Dowe house!

Hansel and Gretel, the Happy Ending! Thanks, Scottish Rite!

Finn and I had a date to go see Hansel & Gretel at the Scottish Rite Children's Theatre! We "doubled" with Grant and his mom, Amanda! Had a great time because nothing ever ends bad at Scottish Rite Children's Theatre--no witches in the oven or anything! After the play we went and had Ice Cream THEN went to dinner--Yes, in that order. Life is short, sometimes you need to eat dessert first!

Sunday afternoon canoeing

It was such a beautiful day

we grabbed some sandwiches and went down and canoed all over the lake. The boys paddled their little arms off. I got some great video, will try to upload if I can figure it out on this thing. Finn had such a great time on the water he didn't want to leave. We saw tons of turtles (some with algae on their shells), ducks, geese, and swans to name a few. Today is February 1st and it was 75! We actually got a little toasty on the water! We went down to Texas rowing and under the Mopac bridge where some people were playing Kayak basketball. They even had a hoop hanging from the pillars of the bridge! There was one guy rowing standing up like a windsurfer on his floatation device (not sure exactly what it was). He reminded me of the Italian gondala guides. It was a great, fun Sunday afternoon! Happy Superbowl Sunday!

Whee Luke's 3!

These last few days have been a whirlwind for us. Luke had his birthday party on Saturday and the kids had a BLAST at Little Gym. Also, Dan and I took a little getaway w/his siblings to Lake Tahoe, we were only there for 3 days but it was beautiful. We had our fill of good food and scenery for sure. The kids are BOTH on Soccer teams now and are loving it.

Florida Trip

I got to see my Great Aunt Annie in Florida. Jamie and Mandi went with me and we had a great time. It was a quick trip--just the weekend but it was better than nothing! My cousins Amy and Johnny were wonderful hosts!

Katie and Diego's visit

We are going through withdrawls. Seriously, we miss our twin neice and nephew so much after their visit from El Paso. The twins are 10 years old and are so much fun to hang around--the boys just LOVED all the playing and attention from the "Big kids". Diego got picked for the Shamu show at Sea World and was the star in front of thousands of people! We did so much, went to the Wildflower Center for Dragonfly Nature Night, rode the Zilker Zephyr, went to a birthday party, went swimming, and generally just had a wonderful time! Diego made friends with the frog that lives in our front yard and he would visit him on occasion when the sun went down. They caught minnows and tadpoles in the pond at the Wildflower Center. Katie got her face painted and we made crafts. Good times!

Finn earning his White Belt

Finn earned his White Belt this week by leading the class in the Star Block Combination. He did such a great job, we are so proud of him. We learned that his white belt is to never touch the ground (but if it accidentally does to just pick it right back up), never wash it, and we need to tie it in this special knot before every class. He is to learn how to tie the knot and do it himself as soon as he can. Also, the top of the knot signifies his teacher and the bottom of the knot is Finn and the bond that ties them together is Karate. I have to say his Karate teacher, Iris Frills is simply outstanding. She is so great with the kids and there is an air of respect in the room. We are lucky to be a part of her class. Also, she is seeing about starting a class for 3 year olds in the fall, if it happens Luke has informed us that he would like to take Karate.