Pearland BMX

Last week Samuel and Richard went to do some BMX racing.  We have friends from our church ward, who have been doing this for a while and really enjoy it - dads and sons alike.  Before they went, I made sure that Samuel had pads and a helmet,  gave them an egg salad sandwich and sent them off.  Richard was saying that he should not eat before he goes but ate anyway.  He said afterwards that he lost that sandwich after a few rounds around the track.  Samuel on the other hand, as picky as he is, slipped away without touching his.  For once not finishing his dinner was a good thing.  

Apparently I had no idea what I was sending them to.  Samuel had a blast and could not stop talking how he made so many jumps and rode on a wall!  That raised my mommy red flags.  What?  Richard explained, and they both asked that we go with them next time and see for ourselves how perfectly fun and safe it was.  So the girls and I went on Wednesday.  I was nicely surprised.  This track is run well, and I think completely by volunteers.  What a great way to get dads and boys involved in something fun together.  What a great way to engage boys in a high energy sport for very little money and thus keep them out of trouble.  Richard and Samuel rent their bikes and helmets for an incredibly low price.  It was fun to watch them. The late afternoon sun light and the colorful helmets and outfits contributed to some fun pictures.  One of our friends kept a close eye on Samuel and rode behind him on every round.  Daddy's legs are not up to par yet with Samuel's quick and skinny legs that can just keep going.  Samuel did very well, but still needs to learn to get off the seat.  I am sure with time that will come.  

Esther always enjoys watching her brother playing a sport, as long as she has some snacks and drinks.  There was also a playground on which other little girls were killing time while their brothers were racing.  As for Maggie, she had a nice long nap before I took her out of her seat to enjoy the cool and dry April evening.  We have been so lucky to get a true spring, and not jump straight from fall into summer. 

This season we missed the sign up for baseball, which Samuel has played for two years now, and were incredibly disappointed.  But as the wisdom goes, when one door closes another opens.  If we had not missed the deadline, we probably would not have had time to introduce Samuel to BMX racing.  Once baseball season starts, there is little time to do anything else.  

Here is more info on the track if you would like to check it out: http://www.pearlandbmx.com/.  I just read on the website that the THE TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR 2012 WILL be at PEARLAND BMX!!!

Moments to remember

So many moments in our children's lives get forgotten way too soon.  Especially in their first year of life when they change so rapidly.  I can't have enough of the little simple moments of their day to day living.  Like the way they travel around their bassinet when they sleep.

Or the way they chose to dress for pre-school and leave me speechless.

Or that they did this.

Or that they couldn't have enough of their toes even when covered with pantyhose.  

"Neglect a Chair"

As a third child Maggie is going to use and wear many hand-me-downs.  I love hand-me-downs, and I will never turn them down.  We wanted to splurge just a little though and give her one thing that was only hers.  So here it is.  A friend of ours calls it "The Neglect a Chair".  I have to admit that will probably happen on occasion in our family too.  Luckily for now the ExerSaucer has been curios enough for Esther and Samuel too.  As soon as I put Maggie in it, they descend upon it showing her how everything works.  We have had it for a month, and they still do it.  So much for doing her own discoveries as a third child...

Much love to go around

Samuel's and Esther's favorite pastime these days is resting and cuddling with Maggie.

Thoughts on Maggie

Magdalene is six months and a week old.  She is becoming more mobile and expressive.  As you can see she managed to get herself under the armoire.  She giggles and blows lots of air.  We still have not heard her cry aside from the first night home.  She sometimes whimpers when she gets hurt, but that does not last long.  She gets very excited when we pick her up from her bassinet.  She moves her legs and arms up and down so fast that Esther says that she will fly out!  We still have not moved her to her crib in her own room, even though she's been sleeping through the night consistently for the last four months.  When we actually do, we will miss having her in our room.  She is just so accommodating.  We often forget that she is even there.  By having such a calm demeanor Magdalene is a good influence on the rest of us "loud people".  Samuel said something so sweet the other day:  "Maggie is so cute, I just want to cry."

Happy Easter!

We hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.  We enjoyed ours by spending much needed time together. The children and daddy had Good Friday off, so early that morning we headed to the Kemah Boardwalk.  We arrived right when it opened and avoided the long lines and heat of midday.  Maggie had her first train and Ferris wheel rides.  Esther was brave enough to go on a ride all by herself.  Our absolutely fearless Samuel dragged Richard and me on rides that made our stomachs churn while he was laughing hysterically.  On Saturday morning the children had friends over and in the afternoon we colored eggs.  Our church meeting on Sunday was filled with inspiring sermons and beautiful choir songs of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection.  In the afternoon we shared our traditional Easter dinner, consisting of leg of lamb, rosemary red potatoes, and green beans, with dear friends and family.

It has been a long time since we have been able to spend so much time as a family.  We even had Richard come home early from his church meetings on Sunday. And the cherry on top was a beautiful dry weather which facilitated a wild and fun "easter bunny non-believing" Easter egg hunt!  After so many years of resisting easter egg hunts, I finally succumbed, but on the condition that there absolutely isn't such a thing as an Easter Bunny.  Samuel and Esther filled up all the plastic eggs with candy, and Aunt Rebekah hid them in the back yard.  Then we released them and their friends to run wild and find some eggs.  Esther exclaimed that this was the best Sunday ever!