Things I find

I'm not sure... future teacher or future librarian?

This horse was Lucy's big gift from Santa. I admit I was one of those bad parents that tried to persuade her to choose something else. Something smaller would be good (since we are trying to de-clutter before the big move) or something that I thought she'd play with more (like a doll with hair. All of the ones we have are bald or have cloth hair and she loves to fix mine). She would not have her mind changed. But I am here to admit, I was wrong. I have found that horse tied to the top of bed posts (kind of looks like its hanging from a noose... yikes), chairs, strollers, you name it. Whatever the game of pretend, it often involves this nameless horse.

I love a parade

In San Antonio, we have a 10-day party called Fiesta! It is basically an excuse to have a big party. I think part of it is to celebrate the victory at the Alamo, but I don't even think the locals know the reason behind it for sure... but one thing they know...its a big party! There is a day off school/work and everyone wears bold colors and crazy flower headbands with curling ribbon down the back. We try to hit a few fun events every year, but we've never gone to one of the three parades. When I heard that it was possible to get free military tickets to the River parade, I was on a mission to get some! And I did! That is a long story, but let's just say, I was quite proud of myself. We left the two youngest with a baby tender, and took Lucy on a little date.

The River Parade is sponsored by the Texas Cavaliers. They raise money for San Antonio children's charities, some of which George recognized. The boat floats mainly represented those childrens programs they've helped.

We had good seats in the Arneson River theater. This is were the TV broadcasted and the judges sat. They had pre-parade entertainment of dancers and mariachi band. David Robinson was the grand marshall. Except for a group of crazy 14 yr old girls a couple rows behind us, I'd say it it was great. It was even better when we moved down a row and the girls could no longer walk in front of us (must have been some serious soda drinking because they left the row about 10 times).

Lucy enjoyed herself and to no one's surprise, her favorite floats were the ones with the San Antonio princesses on them. She was disappointed that she couldn't "run and get stuff" that they were throwing off the boat floats. However, at the end they shot confetti and streamers and she ran and gathered some up (for herself and her siblings). In the car she said she was so happy that she got finally got something and it would have made the parade much less fun if she hadn't. Who knew trash could have such a great effect? One other great thing about our seats was that it was at the first of the parade so we were able to zip home without hitting any traffic. Bonus!

Viva Fiesta!

Two pieces of Good news, wait its three!

Our house is under contract! Yay! The ten day option (appraisal and inspection time) ended on Wednesday. It has been such a relief not to have to clean my whole house every time I leave. Remember the people who came and saw my muddy children? They asked to come back three hours later. I was thinking it was because they were so distracted by what was going on in the backyard that they didn't really see the house. However, the next day, they put an offer in! We are very grateful. And grateful for our muddy (and memorable) children too.

The other piece of news is sort of old news, but nonetheless, it seems time to share it. Our next station will be Hickam AFB in Honolulu, HI! We are really excited! The all-powerful assignments people told us in February that was where we were headed, but nothing was official. They told us it was "official enough to tell our friends and family" but still, I know how fast things can change. And they still can change. But at this point, it seems to be as "official" as the military gets. So...no more coats for a while! Visitors are welcome!

Both of these pieces of news have been great in other ways. I am hoping the "greasy ponytail" look will be much less common. Or at least now I don't have an excuse as to why I look so frazzled. I am also hoping my conversation has broadened from topics that were continually on my brain: selling our house and Young Women stuff. Looking for housing options in HI has now been added to the list so I am still not back to having quality conversation, but I hope, for the sake of my husband, friends and family, that its coming. We've just started the busyness of getting medical clearance for our family to go overseas and figuring out what need to ship and I spend WAY too much time on the internet looking at housing. Other than that, life is back to "normal" and it feels good.

The last bit of great news (that I almost forgot to share) is that George once again has a front tooth! Its been missing for over 3 years. He said goodbye to the flipper yesterday and the permanent one is in. That is cause for celebration!

A walk in the Bluebonnets

ONE of the many things we will really miss about TX is the beautiful wildflowers. My friend shared a great spot to take some photos, so we threw the kids in the van and started snapping. Here are a billion photos (some taken by Lucy and this one directly below on timer). Enjoy!

We were definitely not the only ones with this great idea. There were about 10 cars lined up on the side of the road and picture takers all over the place. Does it ruin the beauty of it all to tell that this field was next to Home Depot?

A Pink Play

Lucy's class had a field trip on Thursday to see "Pinkalicious" (the musical) at the Magik Theatre. Thanks to the generosity of a kind neighbor who took the babies, I was able to go along. The book is a hit at our house and I expected the play to be as well. It didn't disappoint. We had a wonderfully PINK time!





Meeting some of the characters after the show...

Dr. Wink and mom

Pinkalicious and Allison

Peter