He is always fun and busy and happy...

I saw this picture while I was looking for some other ones. This is from last January. I just can't believe that our little fun boy will be starting school this Fall and nothing will ever be the same...

In the Backyard

We had the longest and most beautiful spring since we have lived here. Usually, the hot and humid days arrive at the end of March and are here to stay till late October. This year however, they did not get here until May 1st. The kids had so much fun playing outside in the cool and fresh afternoons. A few weeks back while doing yard duties Richard found a nest in the rose bush on the side of our house with a bird in it. It did not even blink when we got close to it to look and take pictures. It nested for three weeks or so and just this Saturday, we saw a little birdie which was ready to leave the nest. This is not the first time we have had a nest in our back yard. We usually get one or two nests in our tomato plants. But we never had one that has allowed us to get so close to it and take pictures. This diligent and brave bird was there every day for three weeks, and Samuel even announced it to be officially part of our family :).

Samuel playing Baseball

This year we signed up Samuel for what he's been playing intensely in our backyard for a couple of years now-baseball. He plays at the Dad's Club here in Pearland and his team is The Blue Jays. It has been fun for all of us. I thought it was going to be like his soccer which he played for two seasons. With all due respect to soccer fans, including my own family, soccer has never been exciting to me and apparently neither to my son. Richard, as a dedicated and obliging dad coached his team both seasons, but Samuel never really got into the game. The best thing Samuel liked about it was that his dad was the coach. To be fair to soccer, Samuel might have not been ready age-wise yet. Going to his baseball games now has been a very different experience. This is serious ball playing. They even keep score! And it is FUN for me too, which is a good thing since I have to drive him to the ball park three times a week! He has at least one game a week, and then practices the other days. Samuel is one of three five year-old boys and the other nine are six years old. They all have a season or two behind their backs. He has a pretty steep learning curve since all he knew how to do was hit the ball. He did not know the rules of playing on a team and his catching needs some work. However, he is improving speedily and is having tons of fun doing it. Here are some photos: (Note the smile on his face in the last picture where he had just steped on the home plate seconds before the ball was passed to the kid guarding home base.)

2nd Day

The first day of our trip we drove for twelve hours only through Texas, for those of you who don't have an idea of how sweeping this state is. The second day of driving we crossed New Mexico, Arizona, and finally reached our destination in California. The speed limit for most of our trip was 80 mi/h, which was a little unnerving at the beginning. I had forgotten how low our speed limits in Houston are. Driving on an inner city highway faster than 70 mi/h was scary to me. I don't think that one person in CA drove below 85.

The uneventful second day was only marked by the fact that we had to stop at three immigration checkpoints in NM and AZ. We were asked if all people in the vehicle were American Citizens, and then we were sent on our merry way. We wondered how those stops were useful, since they never asked for any identification. Just took my word for it. They certainly slowed us down and extended our driving time with ah hour and a half. It was somewhat reminiscent to crossing borders in Europe, but not really. If you have no legit papers, you ain't going anywhere! We saw our tax dollars in action - allocated to questionable highway patrols.

Here are some more pictures of the most exciting parts of our drive- statue of a dinosaur, cacti, more cacti, small bushes, no bushes at all...and our little Esther trying to listen to a movie.

1st Day

Last month, Feb the 13th through the 21st, we drove to California in our new car. We thought it was the right time to take our five year old Samuel and two and a half year old Esther to Disneyland, and while in the area also to Legoland. I visited Disneyland for the first time while a freshman in college. It was fun, new, and exciting, but the whole time I thought it would be even better to bring my own children here one day. I could not have been more right about something in my life. The kids had no real idea of where exactly they were going. Samuel knew he would be riding roller coasters and Esther would see Miki's sister, Mini. (We thought appropriate not to correct her as to the true nature of their relationship.) But unless one has been to Disneyland, one does not have an idea of how grand and amazing this place is.

We had a great trip! We stayed with Richard's aunts in Carlsbad, which is an hour drive to Disneyland, so our trip was on the less expensive side. We also enjoy Chris & Patrice's company which contributed to the greatness of our trip.

The kids did amazingly well in the car. Samuel was occupied watching movies most of the time. For him watching more than one movie a day is a treat within itself. Esther watched here and there, but most of the time she looked at books, colored, cut her and her baby doll's hair, put sticky notes all over her seat and car door, and snacked on pretzels and Ann's bunnies a lot! Richard and I drove, read, talked, listened to XM radio, and caught up on some sleep. For us two, the drive was a much awaited quite time, which is a complete luxury these days. With little kids, driving instead of flying is not as bad as it might sound. We did not seem rushed or agitated, or worried about the unpredictability of flights these days. We did it all at our own pace, and we stopped to eat and walk whenever we needed.

It took us exactly 24 hours of driving. We stopped half way to lodge for the night. Aside from Esther cutting her own hair, and I annoying Richard with CNN and Oprah Radio, we have no complaints.

These are some of the pictures I took the first day of the vast land that lies between Texas and California. Note: Most were taken while the car was in motion.

Finally!

Esther finally looked into the camera and smiled! I have waited for this moment since about two years ago. Unlike Samuel, she's been camera shy. I hope this is the beginning of pictures full of open eyes!!!

A week ago we returned from Disneyland, so I'll have many pictures posted soon.

Tutu

We have a girly girl, and I love it!

Esther's first braids

Esther's fashion sense

This is what happens when Esther decides to dress herself. The "water shirt", as she calls it, was handpicked by her from the hunting section of a sporting goods store. And needless to say, it is her absolute favorite shirt. And the bandanna and pants, I have to admit, I bought at a sale before she was even born. I wish I had known better. When this girl makes up her mind about what to wear, there is not much I can do, unless I want to take a screaming child grocery shopping with me. I have learned my lesson-never buy anything that I would not like seeing her wear and most of all stop taking her to clothing stores with me. I hope I remember this when she is a teenager too.

Give it up, please... or not

Samuel is still in denial that his Dalmatian Halloween costume from when he was two years old does not fit. What do you think? He is pretty happy wearing it around even if he can't button it in the back! We'll give this one up.