Run Like the Wind

Erin's and Melina, pre race

Erin ran her first road race Saturday. It was a 1K race and she was really nervous about it. On the way to her school that morning she asked me how you run. I told her that you find the fastest girl and keep pace with her until the end and then pass her right before the finish line, her reply was, "okay"! :)

Erin's behind the girl in the blue shirt (late start)!

We got there to warm up and there were about 20 girls in the kindergarten heat. They started each grade about 30 seconds apart and kindergarten was the last one to start. When they said go, Erin was still standing at the starting line, she was about five seconds behind everyone. However she looked really (can I even say too) natural running, but there were so many people going into the finish shoots I didn't even think she came close to placing.

The final 50

She was so excited she finished without walking. We stayed around for the school carnival and right when we were leaving I head her name over the loud speaker. Erin came in 2nd in her heat! She went up to get her medal and stand on the podium and the kid was beamming (so was mom)!
It still amazes some days how well she does, she is my living miracle, my daily reminder that the Lord is in control in all things.

Big Animals, Little Man

This is Isaac's new buddy. They play at the playground every afternoon, Ike loves hanging with the older boys!

Just outside of League City a couple of miles we have a wildlife park. Its one of those places that takes in illegal animals from homes that no zoo wants. In my opinion its much better than the zoo!

They have all kinds of deer, goats, antelope, bison, a camel, they even have a rhino (you don't feed him from the tram :) and lots of other random animals.
You get a bucket and feed gigantic animals from a tram pulled by a jeep. My favorite are the ostriches. They reach their head into the center of the tram, its hysterical to watch them, food flies everywhere, however Ike was a little worried.Isaac's favorite was the African cow with the gigantic horns (which made me a little nervous, considering there was a piece of grated steel between us and him.

The Great Outdoors - Texas Style

Last weekend we went camping with five other families. We had 12 adults and 13 kids under the age of 7. You should have seen the park rangers face when I gave her the numbers. She was nice enough to offer a group of campsites far away from the lake. We went to Hunstville State Park, north of Houston about an hour. We go camping about once a year and always with Ethingtons. Every time we camp it sheets rain and last time we went to Hunstville four years ago it sleeted (which is impressive considering it was April in South Texas). The joke is always we bring the torrent rain and they bring the bitter cold. However this time the weather was perfect, high of 72, low of 60 and NO SKEETERS!

Huntsville is a natural mecca on the outskirts of the concert jungle. Its located in Sam Housotn Nation Forrest, the campsite is situated under towering pines around a large lake. Its a kind reminder that Texas is beautiful, its just requires a minimum two-hour drive.
We got in a little early on Friday so we drove up to road to the Sam Houston monument. This is situated right on I-45 and the thing is a massive piece of fiberglass (everything is bigger in Texas right). They had a little visitor center and you can walk up to the monument. The granite base alone is probably 12' high.
We set up camp and started a fire as families trickled in. After a week about complaining how she hated camping, Erin soon was engrossed in finding flowers and sticks. Eliza was busy chasing the squirrels and Ike just rolled (literally, the boy was fifthly) around in the dirt. Erin and Eliza got their own tent for Christmas (thank you Academy $12 sale). We figured they would not last an hour in it alone, however they stayed the whole night!
That night we put the kids to bed and shot the breeze. Amber and I decided to drink water out of the spicket (there was no non-potable signs). It was fine until someone pointed out the yellow and red sediment. We figured we would both end up in the ER, however it just looks like we got out monthly dose of Iron.
Saturday morning Erin faced her fear of alligators and touched a baby one. We spent the afternoon out on the lake on our kayak and bank fishing. All in all it was perfect trip, the kids are already begging to go again!

Trouble Trouble....

I'm not sure who gives me more trouble these days...Thing 1 or Thing 2 :). Eliza has always been hard on Ike but now he is strong enough to fight back. A few nights ago Eliza took something away from Ike and he went up and gave her a two-handed push, enough to make her stumble backwards a few steps. And the look on his face was priceless, there was fire in his eyes.That was officially the moment I realized I was saying good bye to my sweet baby boy and hello to the terrible twos.

Ike loves salsa, he would drink the stuff if possible. He always looks like he is in pain while eating it, we have to take it away at some point.
Eliza still loves to bake, she made Jared chocolate chip cookies for Valentines day. I turned around to see her sneaking raw cookie dough. This is her "I'm so innocent look". When I see this look I know trouble has already arrived!
Eliza also loves to climb on anything and everything. Erin has started climbing trees (she can now climb the firemans pole at school and ring the bell) and Eliza is right behind her. So now one day I will have not only one, but two kids that fall out of a tree, I wonder if the ER has a two for one deal?

I love how kids improvise, why sit on a swing properly when you can use it as a trapeze?

Happy Valentines Day

We had a wonderful Valentines day! Jared and I went out Friday night to Texas Road House and then ventured over to the church adult dance (which admittedly was just as awkward as any youth dance). Luckily we had a group of friends that went which made it fun, until they held the male strut contest. When Jared saw there were old married women lining up to cat-call them he ran out of the gym, I honestly didn't know someone could move that quickly :)

He surprised me on Valentines day with a dozen roses and a giant cheese cake, I got him clothes.

Erin spent all week perfecting her Valentines box for class. She was so proud of it and did most of it herself. I cut out the legs and the eyes. She came home beaming that the school counselor thought it was so cute she took a picture of her with it.

Project #1 - Installation of a New Garbage Disposal

Right before we left for Christmas our disposal died. That in itself is not a big deal, but we dismantled it to see if it could be fixed and then realized that the dishwasher connects into the disposal. We capped one pipe so we would have half our sink to do dishes.

After some quick research we ended up with the Waste King L-2600 Legend Series 1/2 HP Continuous Feed Operation Waste Disposer. Amazon had it on sale for $56.00.

Why the 1/2 HP and not the massive 1HP you ask. I compost so we don't put a ton of food down the disposal (there are studies that putting food through the waste water system can cause eutrophication). So we just needed something that handled a few scraps left on plates and the occasional fork. Plus the 1/2 HP is a lot smaller, saving room under the sink.

Installation: WAS A BREEZE! This is the first garbage disposal I have ever installed.(Jared was so sick and I didn't want to wait a few more days). It took me about 40 minutes from start to finish. Waste Kings directions were easy to follow. Their design requires no screws, it has a gasket system that just slip on and twist to seal and is a one person job.

It been going strong for a month without any leaks.

The Great Project List

I decided to make a list of things that need to be done this year (primarily home improvement). You know the things you let slip. I am a list person, lists make me giddy, so thus I am hoping that proclaiming the large to-do list on the side of this blog will, well guilt me into getting something done. I also like to learn how to do thing so this may document my experience and hopefully help someone else not make the same mistakes :)

Hard Freeze

One of the few perks of living on the Gulf is I don't have to deal with crappy winters....until this year. It has been down right frigged the last few weeks. Last Thursday we got to participate in state mandated rolling blackouts (which ironically didn't seem to "roll" through the high end neighborhoods). We had almost a full day of 10-15 minutes of power each hour. The state had 55 plants out of 550 go offline because of the "extreme" weather. Thank goodness our third-world neighbor Mexico has a stable grid and was willing to support us.

Erin's school was on the same power schedule. The district would not let them close since the school did not have any phone service (and were one of the few school affected). By the time I picked Erin up at 3pm the school was 60 degrees and the teachers (who had to entertain kids in the dark all day) looked like they needed a stiff drink.

I love how all the other children come barreling out of school dressed like they are embarking on an Eskimo expedition and Erin runs out in a t-shirt. The girls got some good Nordic blood in her :)

Then last Thursday night the temps dipped into the low 20's and after raining all day it...ohhhh... froze. 1/4" of ice completely shut down the city of Houston. No civic building were open, NASA closed, no schools, no Walmart. We got a call at 5:15am from the city saying the interstate was already closed at all entrances and exits due to accidents. Being a northerner it seemd a little extreme, but then again there was no way in heck I was going to go out on the road with 5 million people who have never driven on ice. So it ended up just being a nice relaxing day.

I have been trying diligently, and failing miserably, to keep my tropical plants alive. This is what my yard has looked like for the past week. So I have to say this is the first time in year I would like it to warm up...just a bit :)

Moody Gardens Aquarium

Last Thursday Eliza's preschool took a field trip to Moody Gardens in Galveston. Ike and I decided to tag along for the day. At first Eliza was very adamant that I was not to go. And then I realized she was more excited about riding the bus than actually seeing the aquarium. So when I told her Isaac and I were just going to drive and meet her there, she was all cool with it :)

I carpooled down with a really neat gal, another Trooper School mother. She has two daughters, junior and senior and then they adopted Cooper as a baby, who is in Eliza's class. She was really down to earth and pro big family (which outside the church is fairly rare) and just all around really nice...now if I could just remember her name :)

Eliza was not overly impressed with the aquarium, but Ike loved it! His favorite was the penguin exhibit and he made friends with one who would just follow him back and forth on the other side of the glass. They had a good game of tag going.

Quotes by Erin

Just to archive..... Sadly Erin's vocabulary and comprehension have greatly increased and she has become a more compassionate towards her siblings. Now on to Eliza's quotes!

"Eliza, if you don't behave mom is going to sell you when our baby brother is born." "Erin, knock it off, you'll give her a complex." "No, mom....It will just make her confident."

"I will only love my baby brother if we name him "Luke the Skywalker.""

"Erin, what do you do if someone you don't know comes up to you?" "I spray them in the eyes with mace so they burn!"

"Mom, does Eva like Walley like a good girl or a bad girl?" "What???"

"Dad, when you get really old we are going to sell you!".

"Get out of here you crazy creature!" "Erin, don't call you sister a creature, its not nice." "But mom, she is a monster!"

"Mom, did your car die?" "No, Erin!" "Mom, I bet your just stuck in the grass, maybe that nice policeman behind you will push you out." "I don't think so Erin, that nice police man is writing mommy a speeding ticket." "Sweet, I love tickets...but can he still push us home?".

"Dad, your not really a girl, just a pretend girl"

"One day I am going to marry myself so I get ALL the gifts!"

"Dad, I want to wear my new raincoat". "But Erin, it's not raining out". "Here's the deal, I'll put it on and you can spray me with the hose o.k."?

Rainy Days

Last week I think it rained almost everyday (a mothers worst nightmare). My kids just get unruly if they can't play outside. So finally one day we decided to walk to pick up Erin. I'm not sure why I even put a rain coat on Isaac. He jumped in every puddle, by the time we got home he was soaked from the waist down. But it was worth the smiles.

Houston's Farmers Market Bike Tour

Bayou City Outdoors cycling tour
Britt and I checking out the produce (yes I wore that out in public, it was cold!)

Last Saturday Britt and I braved the cold (36 degrees) to join a local outdoors club on a 20- mile bicycle ride tour of a few of the cities farmers markets. Jared was sweet to take the kids so I could partisipate in what I think they call...a hobby.

The day started off chilly in the Heights (which I have never visited but is a kickin' side of the city). Our first stop, which was by far my favorite was called Canino's Produce Market. It was this huge open air, three part market. The best was the back room where you could barter and name your price. Their prices were fantastic. I got a pineapple for $1.00, red peppers were .50 each. They had lots of exotic fruits and beans from central America, it was my dream market! Unfortunately (or fortunately for Jared) we were on bike so I couldn't buy out the place :)

Then we rode to downtown Houston on part of the cities bike trails and visited two other smaller markets. Both were pretty yuppie, fun to visit but most things were out of my budget.

The morning was really enjoyable, minus my back tire falling off, but that is a story for another day). The group we road with included everyone from avid bikers to old lady on their cruisers with the big basket on the front. Everyone was very chatty and welcoming. If I lived closer and had time for a hobby I would think about joining the club.

The Great Christmas Trip North

(Break from shoveling).

Wow its been a while, time to play blog catch up! Erin turned six in November. December flew by without notice. Eliza and I baked twenty loaves of banana bread to give to neighbors and friends. Erin completed her first semester of Kindergarten with flying colors and Isaac changed over night from a baby to a toddler.

(Shot overlooking the west side of the family farm).

We spent two weeks up in Iowa visiting family for Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa Fenton's house was covered with snow, they already had over 28” of snow and it snowed another 8” on Christmas Eve Day. The perfectly spotless blanket of white made for a beautiful Christmas morning. The natives seemed blind to the scenic beauty of it, my dad handed us a shovel and said “go see if its still beautiful when you are done”. For good reason, it get tiresome day after day. But for us it made for a perfect week. Eliza learned to love sledding, the faster she went the louder she laughed. Grandpa piled huge mounds of snow to build forts. I found my first pair of CC skis in the hay loft and Erin was a natural. Ike didn't care much for out the out doors (he was embarrassed about wearing his sisters pink princess boots). So he lingered inside making friends with Sam, the gigantic cat.

Dad took Jared and I out to the farm to shoot some rather large firearms. I got a new gun for Christmas (S&W .40). Its was only 8 degrees out that morning and windy but we couldn't pass up the chance.

We spent the week hanging with my brother Max and his wife Jodi, making Christmas cookies with Grandma and seeing aunts, uncles and family. The girl cousins all went sledding at the school hill. One of the best present we received was from my aunt. She took all my grandmas quilt blocks and old fabric and made all three kiddos quilts. We all got finished quilt blocks to hang on the wall. They turned out beautiful! Over all it was such a fun relaxing week enjoying the quietness of NE Iowa.

We then drove to Jared's parents home, which was the opposite of quite. For the first time in years all nine members of Jared's immediate family, five in-laws and kids were together. It was so good to get together and we spent many late nights hashing out game after game of Ticket to Ride. I hardly saw my children at all that week as they had someone at their beckon call to play with them. And they had a blast playing with their cousins. I read the whole Chronicles of Narnia series with my down time. Erin and Eliza spent the week playing dress up and dolls and Ike flashed his dashingly handsome smile to make sure he was being fed a constant supply of cookies. Ike decided it was time to talk. Within a week he went from saying nothing to almost a dozen words (one being cookie).

It would have been a perfect vacation minus Erin got sick on the way home. She threw up five time, so we drove straight through on the way home. Eliza and Jared were sick the night we arrived home and mom was thrust out of her restful vacation to into loads of puke laundry and having to carpet clean the van.

And now 2011 commences, I wonder what it will have it store for us!

The Happiest Place on Earth

I thought this photo was eerily awesome. There was a storm rolling in just as we left the park.

We drove two days to Florida to attend the last flight of Discovery. She has flown 37 missions and we had hopped to see her last journey into space, however she just was not ready. Over the course of the week they had a few fuels leaks, a weather delay and finally they scrubbed the launch until early December when the next flight window opens (we won't be going back, this was our only chance to see a flight). We were really disappointed, but in the mean time we had a wonderful and much needed vacation.

We stayed at the Liki Tiki Resort, it was a villa resort with condos with washer/dryer, separate bedrooms and fully stocked kitchen, It was incredibly nice to have some room (and two T.V's) The resort had a mini water park which the girls loved. I know you are all thinking, what Renshaws actually dropped some cash? Have no fear, we didn't jeopardize our frugalness (not sure if that is a word), we booked through condosdirect.com and got the villa for $50.00/night taxes included. Would highly recommend them, great place to stay and about five miles from the Disney gates.

And of course you can't go to Orlando with little princess-obsessed girls without hitting Magic Kingdom. We ended up going on a Thursday, which was perfect. We didn't wait in line more than 10 minutes and we were able to do the whole park in one day and the weather was beautiful.

Erin loved the princesses, Ike loved Its a Small World and at the end of the day Eliza discovered Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster and was hooked (surprise, surprise, Eliza like a thrill :) We made it from 9am to 7pm.

(ps, we love Eliza she is just anti-photographs right now).

Swiss Family Robinson Tree House

Ike stole Minni's chair from Eliza, point for Ike and man was he proud!

Jared is by far the most excited in this photo to ride the Astro-Orbiter

No ones eyes should be this blue :)

Erin and the castle