Our bookworm

Hiking at Huntsville SP

Beck and I went hiking at Huntsville SP again recently.  It was fun to see the changes in the leaves since we'd last been there.  

I had given him a little After Bite stick to put on his ant bites, and he was super thrilled to use it, though it doesn't look like it in this photo. :)

 We were supposed to meet up with friends and there were some phone issues, so we didn't end up connecting, but Beck and I left arrows on the path in case they came our way.  He loved this!!

 My leaf collection:

 Watching all the bees and butterflies on the cosmos:

 Taking a quick dip:

Around Here

 This guy is super cuddly in the mornings.  We can always get some "love time" out of him early in the day.  :)

 Getting their outdoor-shower on....

And outdoor shower....

 Earning his keep...

 I went to South Carolina with friends a few weekends ago and Matt thought of great things to do with the kids while I was gone.  You know this IMAX movie about African animals was a big hit with my crew....They love the Museum of Natural Science!

Wings Over Houston 2016

Saturday was the long-awaited airshow!  We hadn't been since Quinn was 2, and Beck is in love with all things aviation, so it was the year to go!  We've been reading aviation books and watching videos and asking questions in preparation for the show!

We parked at a park-and-ride and got to ride a schoolbus to Ellington Field.  

We got there right as the airshow started, so we watched the program for a bit.  There was a Pearl Harbor reinactment that had a lot of fire and pyrotechnics that blew the kids' minds.  Quinn didn't love all the smoke...We had been talking about Pearl Harbor over the last few weeks, so they knew a little what to expect, but the "bombs" still rocked their world.  

The weather was great, but it was definitely sunny.  Beck found some shade next to some people's chairs....

After watching the show a while, the kids were getting antsy, so we went to check out the static displays.  We got to walk through a Marine Chinook and one of the guys let Beck wear his flight helmet!  

 There was a Harris County SWAT....vehicle.  I don't know what it is called, but it was crazy rugged.

 We went through a C-17.

 Got some free samples of crazy Mt.Dew flavors....

We saw the F35 that was so famous from our Ft. Worth trip, and Matt got to see their amazing helmets that he'd learned about in Popular Mechanics.  Beck got an autographed picture from the crew.  

 We took a picture by a P51, which is the plane Matt's Grandad Lahmeyer flew.  I used to always take Matt's picture by a P51 and mail it to Grandad when he was still alive, so we took the kids' picture by it for old times' sake.

Matt's favorite was the super-stealthy Stealth Fighter. :)

 Vintage firetrucks....

 Watching the F35 fly and enjoying the shade of a giant C17

And the highlight--the Blue Angels, which were amazing!!

Quinn wasn't that thrilled, she was having sensory issues that day and thought it was too bright and too loud....

And Beck was getting over being sick, so he wanted held most of the day.  :)  

All in all it was a great day and we enjoyed seeing the aircraft and even some friends we ran into!  Beck is already making plans for next year.

Q at school...peeking into her 2nd grade class.

 You can see the little cushions they sit on.  They're filled with air and have little nubbins on one side or are smooth on the other.  They help improve posture and also provide sensory input for kiddos who crave that during the day (kinda like a mini bootie massage?).  You can see students also have the choice to sit on a large ball if they prefer.

 Q's pumpkin she painted.

 She chooses her own clothes with input from me only when she is violating the plainclothes, no tank-top dress code....And some days her choice of outfit is....interesting.  At least she is original!

 In big news, she finished knitting her flute case this week!  This is her second finished project (the first was her bunny) and she has been working on it in handwork for months--actually even part of last year.  She chose her own yarns and has knitted and sewn the whole thing herself.  She is so very proud of this huge accomplishment!!