Gulp

Hunkering Down and Taking It ....... (wink, wink, L)

Well, the hurricane craziness is officially back in Houston. School has been canceled for tomorrow, and we're all ready to face the storm. Our plan is to stay put, unless we lose power and things look bad. Then we'll reassess, and possibly head out of town. Traffic is already bad--it took me almost twice the time it usually does to go the 10 miles from my school to Claire's today. The gas stations I saw were either packed with lines, or empty because they had run out of gas. Jason stopped by HEB on his way home yesterday to get a few more gallons of water. Expecting a fight, he was shocked when there was plenty of water left; it was the quickly depleting supply of Coke people were panicking about. We've got our supplies ready, should the need for canned goods arise. And I'll recreate our little tornado nest in the bathroom so we have a safe place to get to quickly with supplies already stocked. Things are definitely getting interesting......

(And for those of you wondering, Claire had a fantastic day at school today! Practically no tears and she ate all her lunch! Yay!!)

A Much Better Day

Claire had a great time at school today! Marie said she was a bit upset when they first got there, but quickly transitioned well and had a fun time. She enjoyed going to music class and painted a pretty picture. Let's hope Thursday goes just as well!


Here are just a couple pictures of her being silly this afternoon. Look at all that hair!



And thanks to everybody who couldn't resist those raffle tickets! Hope you win that mystery vacation package!

A Beautiful Day in College Station

We took a quick trip up to College Station today. We sold the Murano to a family up there and decided to make dropping it off a family trip. This was Claire's first visit to A&M since becoming mobile, and she had a great time walking all around. It was so quiet and peaceful on campus, and the weather could not have been better. After we wore her out there, we grabbed Layne's to go and took it over to our friends Jim and Kim's house. Claire had the best time climbing and exploring all over their house and in their yard and even made best friends with their 2 labs (I'm guessing the handfuls of chocolate chip cookies didn't hurt). We had a great family day--the first we've had time in a really long time!

Taking a stroll

With Daddy and Sully

Putting a penny on his shoe for luck

A great day

Marching by Heldenfels like the Corps boys we were watching

Claire's Second Day of School!!

(I promise I won't recount everyday of her educational career.....)

Claire had a rougher time of it today. She was happy to get there and start playing, but then went downhill. The theme this month is "My Family", which is nice, except for the fact that just saying the word "mommy" or "daddy" when that person isn't in the immediate area causes tears for her. She was fine when I picked her up, though, and says she had fun and wants to go back, so that's a relief to hear. And in other news, we're now officially private school parents--we already have our first mandatory fundraising event....Anybody want to buy a raffle ticket for 5 bucks?? You could win a $4000 "vacation package" (hmmm) or a laptop!!! Anybody? Anybody???? :)

Claire's First Day of School!

Claire had a great time at school today. Marie took her this morning and said that she never cried--they got there and she immediately started playing! According to Ms. Eddy, Claire had a great morning, then got a little teary this afternoon (I'm guessing she was just worn out). And, the most amazing thing happened--she actually slept on her nap mat! I was shocked to hear it. Claire said she had a fun time playing with all her new friends and can't wait to go back on Thursday. Hopefully this is the start to a great year at school!

Here are some pictures from Marie of this morning:

Playing at the kitchen

Reading with Nathan

Hogan (at the table) and some other kids in the class

Claire with Ms. Eddy

Family Reunion

We took a quick trip up to Oklahoma this weekend to party with Jason's family at their annual family reunion. There were close to 100 people there, and Claire thought they all came to see her. She was a bit shy at first, but soon realized that she was the cutest kid in attendance and used that to her full potential. She even talked Grandma into buying her a little playhouse and work bench (as you can see, no gender stereotyping goes on in this family). We flew back home on Sunday and spent most of today getting Claire ready for her first day of school tomorrow!! She seems to be very excited about getting to spend the whole day with Nathan and Hogan without the mommies.

The immediate family

Investigating her new toys

Trying to keep up with the big kids

With Grandma

Just us

Hanging out with Dad