DMA; Blue and Gold

I have a friend that is a docent (tour guide) for the Dallas Museum of Art. She took us to the museum and gave us the 'sesame street' version of the DMA. She was talking about lots of different pieces of art. Once she gave a description and she asked, 'would you like to hear a cool story about this person.' Ah, Ryan says, 'No, I just want to see more art.' Huh, great. But they did see lots of art and have been cultured. Alex loved the museum, Ryan put up with it and Macey hated being stuck in her stroller the whole time. But have you taken three children to a museum? Stress is your constant companion as you keep the kids away from everything! This museum is as kid friendly as a museum with expensive and priceless pieces of art can be. They have a section for children to make, create and explore.

Ryan made this awesome 'fridge' art.

Macey made a great lego tableau that I did not capture, but here she is at the velcro/felt board.

Alex with a big smile!

This week we went to the zoo, the museum and it was also our Pack's Blue and Gold. This pack has the tradition of having the boys create their own cakes. I (and some other mothers) were put out that we had to do this too, but it turned out to be OK.

Here is Alex's creation.

Here are the cake tables.

Alex recieved his Wolf Rank. Hooray!

He also earned his Conservation patch and 3 arrow points. You are awesome my son!

Our banquet had a Fiesta theme. It really turned out awesome.

Here is a chili pepper photo station. Cool, huh?
Next week will be just as packed as we celebrate our youngster's 9th birthday and have 2 soccer games. Busy, busy, busy!

Zoo

President's Day was a make-up snow day, and since we have had no ice or snow, the kids got the day off. We chose to go to the zoo. Our friends, Rosa and Andrew C. came with us. Alex and Andrew are on the same soccer team. We love this family and are so glad that we found them!

It was a cold day, which explains the zoo's promotion, Penguin Days, $5 entrance fees during Jan and Feb. Cold or not, we had a great time!

Our car was packed with kids, so I went ahead and rented a 'safari jeep' stroller instead of bringing my own. It was a two seater. After all our lunches and bags there was enough room for sister!

I love this bench. Ah, when I have a backyard that I can make into a flower garden I know exactly what accessory I want!

Here are the kids being crazy together.

This Koi pond was awesome because of the glass viewing panels on the side.

Of course you can't just see the animals. A park in necessary. I love the zoo because, for the most part the boys can be wild and crazy. I love a $5 entrance fee because if all they do in the reptile house is read the labels to find out which ones are venomous or not then we haven't wasted any money on educating them!

Andrew is a little bigger than an Emporer.

Ryan is the same as an emperor. R just went through a penguin book marathon. He didn't spend that much time watching the live ones. Too bad I didn't take the time to say, 'you have to watch them for as long as I spent reading books about them.' Next time, maybe! Unfortunately, there is no place to visit a giant squid, our latest animal craze.

We rode the monorail to get off our feet for a bit.

And finally, the boys all wanted to ride and push the stroller. Here they have just crashed into a wall. Luckily no one bonked heads. A fun trip that ended in nice warm sunshine!

Sports at the Blacks

Football first. We were in need of a reason to invite over the Delucias and Bentleys and the Super Bowl was a great excuse. The boys played and made a great amount of noise.

A picture of part of our guests. I got one of the D's, but it wasn't so flattering. If Dan had been the photographer there would have been 5 to choose from. I guess I should follow your style instead of whine when we have to take so many!

Ah, but our friend John made me Key Lime pie and Dan cheesecake. Do you see these beautiful creations? Yum, Yum, Yum! Yes, he is a professional and we are glad to exploit his talents!

Sophia and Macey Girl having a grand time together.

Soccer: No pictures for this segment, but Alex had his first game last week in 30 deg weather. I missed it, but he had a great time. They lost 0-3 to last season's championship team (last season they lost 0-5). Progress my friends!

NBA Basketball: Again no pictures, but maybe Dan put some on facebook. Dan got tickets at the last minute on Wednesday and rushed all over town to get Alex and head downtown to watch the Mavericks play the Nuggets. A win for the the Mavs and for Alex and Dad time.

Homecourt basketball: Occasionally I'll shoot hoop with Alex after school. The drawback is that sister always wants to play but I'm not tall enough or strong enough to lift her and a full sized bball to the rim. So I had Dan go pick up this hoop off of craigslist. Macey will have to learn how to be aggresive 'in the paint' if she wants to keep her brothers off HER court!

Happy Valentine's Day

Mornin'. We have started off our day very sweet. The boys each got a card and candy and a Lego Minifigure. However, with the minifigures being a mystery item, Dan by chance got two girl figures: a pink astronaut and a geisha. Alex took it well understanding chance and probability, Ryan asked for another one. Macey girl got an Abby Cadaby (same size as her Elmo). She loves it and was making it dance in the car when we dropped the boys off at the front doors this morning (it is above 40, so they should have walked, but I gifted them a ride this morning!)  Dan got a card and a running jacket, and Dan got me a personalized card, carnations and a box of Reeses' cups (brilliant!) For lunch the girls are going to the Olive Garden with Dan. It is a drizzly day, but warmer than it has been. The rest of my day includes cleaning bathrooms (the best service I can give my family!) and a Cub Scout den meeting. Yikes! Yes, I'm worried about the ADHD kids and the candy they will be getting at their school parties. I hope the angels are standing by me today! If you are reading my blog, chances are I love you, so XOXOXO and many fun wishes to you.

Valiant 8 Field Trip

I have a fabulous class of primary kids. They need positive reinforcement to keep them going, so I have a reward chart system that once they fill up the chart we get to do something special. Our second such event turned out to be a field trip to the Dallas temple. It is less than 15 miles away and some of the kids couldn't remember walking the grounds, so that is what we did.

We borrowed a 3 ring binder from the temple that talked about the construction and features of the temple. One interesting fact: there are 40,000 marble tiles on the facade and Relief Society sisters hand polished each one before it was mounted.

We had a picnic lunch on the steps by the front spires.

I took a lot pictures of the kids to make them keepsake blocks for birthday presents.

Here is my class minus just 2 members. We missed them, but we had a nice visit none the less.  In just a few years this crew will be coming here together to serve.

My crazy class.

Alex asked to have his picture taken right here in front of the temple. I am so glad that I teach his class. I love that he is getting a good dose of gospel instruction from me weekly since I don't do a good job of doing it daily.
I love the temple. I love the service I do here. I love the peacefulness I feel inside and out. I love that I was married in a temple for eternity and that my children are promised to me always because of it. I love my Savior and I hope that I can grow up to become just like him.

Closing out January

Cub Scout uniform inspection.

Girls (Sophia and Macey) eating treats at Pack Meetings.

Genius Night creativity.

Ryan's boat and dock.

Alex at soccer clinic.

I took the kids to a science discovery center. The 2 themes were Amusement Park fun and Sports. There were a lot of experiments, games, and learning tools for all ages. We had fun watching the deomonstration of dragon's fire! No great pictures though. Just this one of Ryan all dressed up.

100th day of school (already?)

Sister being her beautiful self!

Macey's awesomeness

Some of you wanted pictures of Macey in her princess outfit. She changes her clothes too quickly for me sometimes, but I thought I would post some of her 'best' images from the last few months.

 Mittens for socks?

 Sunglasses for TV viewing?

Sleeping in a hockey goal?
Ah, but this girl loves to sing. The other day while I was jogging she sang 'Jingle Bells' for 20 minutes. Too bad the boys taught her the lines 'Ryan smells, and Alex laid an egg.' Or ''Jingle all the butt cheeks.' This below has become her new favorite. It cracks her up!