Six Flags

In November Russ and I went to Six Flags - San Antonio with some friends . . . and NO KIDS!

Russ really likes roller coasters and wanted to see if I felt the same way.

I endured most of them, but he certainly enjoyed the day a bit more than I did.

It was a little cold and rainy, which meant we were a little chilled and wet.

But it also meant the park was pretty empty. Short lines for all the rides. 

Oh yeah!

SCREAM shoots you up in the air and then goes up and down for a bit 

before dropping you straight back down. 

IRON RATTLER is a huge wooden coaster with a crazy initial drop. 

The first time we waited in the line I decided not to ride.

I wasn't going to ride the second time either, but I had promised Ashlyn I would, so I did.

(Russ took Ashlyn on the Iron Rattler over the summer, not having been on it previously, and not realizing what an intense coaster it is. Ashlyn was not a happy camper.)

GOLIATH is the park's suspension coaster. I had never been on something like it before, and I didn't actually like it. Everyone else was a fan though. They went like 5 times. And were able to sit in the very front seats for several of those trips.

There were a few other rides we went on as well. It was fun to just be with adults for a day, and not to worry about kiddie rides or keeping track of the girls and making them happy. 

Halloween Happenings

Here are some pictures from the fun Halloween stuff we did this year!

Oct. 25th - City of Bryan hosted Howl-O-Ween

at a big dog park not far from us

People were encouraged to bring their dogs (and kids) in costume 

and there was a dog parade and other activities for dogs and children.

 While the older girls waited in line to get their faces painted, McKell made friends with this giant dog. In this picture she is sharing one of her fruit snacks with him (I think she had already tasted this one to make sure it was yummy). 

Hayride

  

The driver of the tractor walked by just as Kaylee was taking our picture, 

so he decided to do a little photobombing.

Oct. 29th - Ward Halloween Party and Trunk-or-Treat

I volunteered to provide some of the cupcakes for the cupcake walk. I like doing fun holiday food things, so I found an idea online for these cute witch hat cupcake toppers made from cupcake wrappers. 

McKell surprised us all by leaving her costume and hat on the entire evening.

She did not surprise us by loving all the treats she received.

Here is Russ in his thrown-together-in-five-minutes Gru costume.

(from the movie "Despicable Me")

Oct. 30th - Halloween-themed Dinner 

(we like so many fun Halloween dinner foods, that we have to make some of them Oct. 30th and others Oct. 31st)

mummy dogs, "orange" pumpkins, and carrot fingers

Oct. 30th - Pumpkin Carving

The finished product - Jack-O-Lin the Jack-O-Lantern!

(Russ and I agree that this is our best Jack-O-Lantern yet)

Oct. 31st - Halloween

Off to Trick-or-Treat!

(all costumes based on "Despicable Me")

fluffy unicorn, Mago, Edith, and Agnes

Out with the Old, In with the the New

#1: Glasses - Brenna got her first pair of glasses in August 2012. They came with a 2 year warranty, which we used, a lot. Sunday night they broke again, and we decided it was time for some new frames.

   

#2: Preschool - Brenna started half-day preschool right after she turned 3. Because of her cerebral palsy she was accepted into a special education program and placed in an inclusion classroom (meaning she was with traditional general education students as well as other students like her who required some sort of extra assistance).

They set goals for her each year and hold an annual review meeting to discuss completion of the previous year's goals and new goals for the coming year. Her annual meeting was scheduled for October. I got a call a few weeks ago informing me that Brenna's teachers and therapists indicated that she had mastered all her goals from the previous year, and that they didn't have any new goals for her.

Good news because it means everyone working with Brenna did what they were supposed to do in preparing her to succeed in the school environment and get ready for Kindergarten. Bad news though, because it means Brenna no longer qualifies for special education services, and therefore, can no longer attend her preschool.

I was surprised that they could just dismiss her in the middle of the school year. I was very sad at the thought of her leaving teachers who love her and know her and help her. I cried a lot that day. But we were able to find another (private) preschool program in the area with an opening. She'll start there next Tuesday (Nov. 4th). She has been going to school every day in the afternoon, but now she'll be doing T/Th all day instead. This new preschool has a heavy focus on physical activity (it's at the same location where Ashlyn takes gymnastics), which I hope will be really good for Brenna, since physical ability is her biggest weakness.

So yesterday was her last day at Carver. I was very sad as I drove over to pick her up and attend the meeting where they formally dismissed (or graduated) her from special education. It has been a wonderful school for our little girl and she has grown A LOT in every way. I am thankful for all the teachers and therapists and bus drivers and workers who have loved her and taught her.

   

Birthday Boy

We usually just have birthday GIRLS around here, 

but once a year we get to celebrate our one and only birthday BOY. :)

Russ recently returned from a trip to Spain, 

so when I asked him what he wanted to eat for his birthday 

"Spanish food" was the answer.

The girls didn't eat much that was on the table, but Russ was pretty happy with everything.

This is the potato tortilla I made. It seems like an easy dish,
but the process took A LOT more time than I anticipated.
At least it turned out well in the end. :) 

No shortage of helpers when it's time to open gifts. 

For dessert he wanted another Spanish dish called quesada.

My gift to Russ (and, truthfully, to Brenna and McKell as well)
was a double bike trailer. Now everyone (except Mom) can enjoy
a bike ride for family night, or a trip to the park.
Sometimes the little girls even go with Russ to take Kaylee and Ashlyn to school in the morning.

And the whole family is benefiting from the popcorn popper Russ received. :)

Happy, Happy Birthday to our favorite guy!

Six Flags

One Saturday in September we took a day trip to Six Flags in San Antonio. Russ has been several times with Kaylee and Ashlyn, but we've never gone as a whole family before. 

I was hesitant to bring McKell, since she likes to do her own thing (as in, run away) and isn't always happy riding in a stroller. But we decided to try it out, and she actually did really well. It was pretty hot and humid, and she didn't get a nap at all, but she didn't have a major melt-down until we were walking out of the park to head home. 

Ashlyn took me on her favorite roller coaster (Kaylee doesn't do coasters).

This is Kaylee and Ashlyn's favorite ride - the Sky Screamer. I'm not a fan of heights, so I decided not to accompany them.

We were worried about the park not having many rides for Brenna and McKell,
but there were plenty of things for them to go on.

McKell was really excited about everything, and after every ride she said, "Like it, train. Like it, car. Like it, swings. etc." For at least a week afterward she would randomly say, "Like it, Flags. Like it, train. etc."

Here's a picture of the one "big" roller coaster I went on. It's pretty crazy. The whole ride seriously takes less than a minute, it just goes really fast around tight turns and upside down over and over.

All the kids enjoyed playing and cooling off in this water area at the end of the day.

Franklin Drive-Thru Safari

On Labor Day we decided to explore the Franklin Drive-Thru Safari, which is about 40 minutes from our home. You pay a per person entrance fee and you can walk around and see lots of animals in pens, and also drive your car through the area where all sorts of animals are roaming free.

We opted to pay extra for a guided tour to take us around the drive through area. Totally worth it, since we could do more off-road exploring and we learned about the animals as we went along. Also, we would have missed our very favorite animal otherwise - a tiny, tiny newborn striped-tail lemur clinging to its mother's belly. You can't even imagine how adorable that little guy was.

We were riding in an open jeep, so we really got up close and personal with all the animals (a little too personal for my liking in the case of this guy, who left drool on my purse - ewwwww).

This picture should give you an idea of what it's like as you drive down the road.
You can buy a big bucket of feed for $5 and the animals know you've got the goods,
so they come right up to all the cars that come by.

Clearly I didn't listen to our tour guide as well as I should have because I can't remember if that animal is a buffalo or a bison, but he was big. Like, really big.

This fenced area houses bunches of goats and some baby animals (camels, for instance).

McKell was pretty fond of poking her finger into the side of this little snake she found.

We had a great time! We promise to take you if you want to come visit us. :)