Texas State Capital

One thing I really value about the fact that my children stay home from school in order to gain their education is that we have so much time to enjoy experiences together. I don't have to plan around their school schedules. Whatever our schedule ends up being, that is their school schedule. I love it. I love that I don't have to compete for my children's time. We experience our lives together.

Over the years however, we have had ups and downs in our satisfaction level with the amount of organized activities we participate in. Cam and I talked it over, and then at our family council a couple of months ago we decided as a family that every Friday we would schedule some sort of a field trip to go on together. 

Now, admittedly, there have been a few bumps in the road. I was sick and recovering from appendicitis for a month to give one legitimate excuse. However, we have already done a few thoroughly enjoyable activities together for our field trips. This past Friday, however, I think is my favorite field trip thus far. We took the kids to the visitors center Texas State Capital.

Cameron and I weren't exactly sure what the kids would think of this field trip. We were afraid they might find it dull. Neither he nor I had ever been to the state capital building (even though we live about 20 minutes away from it!), and were unsure what to expect. We didn't know whether there would be tours, or whether we would have to constantly tell them not to touch things, or whether it would be a lot of reading and listening and not much exploring. We went in willing to try it out. We figured worst case we could pick up and leave whenever we wanted (or needed) to.

We were very pleased when we arrived at the visitors' center and the kids were instantly thrilled with what they found! There was a ton for the kids to look at, touch, and explore!

I think one of their very favorite things was all the dress up clothes provided. There were cowboy clothes, there were old fashioned clothes, there were all sorts of things to try on! They dove right in and enjoyed every second of it.

River wore the cowboy vest practically the entire time we were there. Cam and I are already looking around to get him one for our dress up box at home. I'm sure it would get plenty of use.

There was an area with a press to make the state seal on little papers they provided. The kids LOVED that and kept writing notes and then imprinting the seal on them. It made me think we should have a family seal made so they can use it to imprint letters as "officially" from the Alverson home.

We read different stories about the early days in Texas that were posted here and there. The kids loved to hear them. Maddy especially enjoyed them. She absorbed as many facts as we put out there. I have had her bring up random facts about Texas numerous times since our visit. She has a great memory, and a real love for learning!

The thing, however, that Maddy was most enamored with was the telescope. There are two telescopes pointing from the visitors' center to the capital itself. You can see the statue on the top of the dome. The thing that prompted such fascination in Maddy was the bird that had landed on the statue. Truly, there was a live eagle way up on top of the star. The bird almost looked like it was part of design! Maddy just couldn't get over it. She is still talking about it nearly a week later.

Kingston also thought the eagle was fascinating. At least, I assume that's what all the babbling he was doing was about. He'd never seen anything like that, after all. 

There were a number of movies to watch at the visitors' center as well. Unfortunately we were running late and didn't arrive until about 30 or 40 minutes before closing time (we waited until the afternoon so Cameron could finish work and come with us). The great thing about that is we left while the kids were still enjoying themselves. They were all saying how that was the coolest place ever!

We will definitely be making a few more trips back to the capital. We didn't even get to walk the grounds or go into the actual capital building. I'm excited to go and do those things with the kids, too. It's really fun to have the excuse to talk about Texas history with them. I absolutely love that they don't see this sort of thing as "educational" and therefore boring. I love how much they love to learn and explore this world around them. Learning about Texas makes us all just love it that much more!

Marble Magic

I love when my kids find an activity they enjoy and stay fixated on it for chunks of time over a couple of days. We have a marble run that I bought from a thrift store when we first moved to Austin. I was really excited because I remember playing with pretty much the identical toy when I was in elementary school. The kids get on kicks where they will pull it out and play with it a bunch, then put it away, then the same thing would repeat about 6 months or so later.

I was delighted when they pulled out the marble run the other day. They get so creative with it. They build together, they build by themselves and race, they play. I love it. It's a great toy.

The other day I was having a difficult time entertaining the baby (who should, I might add, have been sleeping!). The kids brought the marble run pieces in and started building on either side of him to see if he was interested. He definitely was. It was very cute!

He watched them for a long time! The sound of the marbles coming down the run was really rhythmic, too. River said they were making music. I must admit it was even a tad soothing.

It was a joy to watch them as they experimented with the different designs. Their eyes lit up each time they found a way to make the marble go faster, or further along the run. It made me want to be a kid myself again. I am so glad my children are able to enjoy these simple joys of childhood.

Wool Pants!

My amazing friend Peggy knit Kingston a number of wool pants for me to use as cloth diaper covers. She amazes me! It's so much fun to have all of these soft wonderfully adorable pants for my already adorable baby.

I love them all. I want more.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day at Krispy Kreme

Yesterday was a very special day. International Talk Like a Pirate Day holds a special place in my heart. When else can you talk with a pirate drawl and say awesome catch phrases such as, "Shiver me timbers!" and "Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum!" and be completely justified? It's a very fun day.

Only adding to the level of fun, Krispy Kreme Donuts had a promotion going on where if you came into the shop dressed as a pirate they would give you a free DOZEN donuts. Yes. DOZEN. EACH. Now, the combination of free donuts and dressing like pirates was enough to entice our crew to fully embrace the occasion.

Once Cameron got home in the evening we told the kids we needed to get decked out in pirate outfits so we could get free donuts. To be honest, I figured I would have to tell them exactly what to wear, and for the younger two that was more or less true. Maddy, however, took it upon herself to make her own costume.

Maddy's costume was darn good -- especially considering she had little to no help with it and threw it together in about 20 minutes. One of my favorite parts was the parrot she had perched on her shoulder. Choice. I was pretty proud of her. Even if I did have to draw the line at her impromptu peg leg because it would most certainly have ruined her only pair of black dress socks.

Britta wore a pair of pajamas I had purchased for her from Gymboree. They made it look like she was dressed in girly pirate clothes. Pink, of course. That, along with the pink patch over her eye, was enough of a costume. She made a darn cute Pirate. I'm sure that comes as no surprise. I told her the dainty white sandals didn't really go with the pirate theme. Of course, to her, that was merely my opinion. To Britta, a pirate wears whatever she wants to.


River's pirate hat and patch was pretty much the extent of his costume, but I feel like he played the part well. On our drive to Krispy Kreme Cameron asked the kids how pirates would be requesting their free donuts. It should have been no surprise to me when River chimed in with a scruffy voice saying, "Gimme a donut, please." Always uses his manners, even as a low-life pirate.

Cam and I focused our energy on dressing up kids and didn't dress up ourselves, though I did wear a bandanna on my head. Kingston nearly got an eye patch, but in the end we decided a Krispy Kreme Donuts hat was more fitting. He wasn't so sure about it though.

We didn't get to Krispy Kreme until about 7:30pm. The place was still hopping. Fresh hot donuts were rolling out as we entered the shop, and the employee promptly handed us each one for free. I will never get over how luscious those things are when they're warm and fresh. We went around to the front of the counter, not quite sure what to do next (was the one the employee handed us our "free" donut?). I was delighted when the employee put an additional three dozen glazed donuts on the counter and said, "Here you go! For the kids dressing up like pirates!"

It was Family Night there as well. Apparently, every Wednesday from 5 to 8pm they have donut decorating and some sort of craft for the kids. Way fun!  So, the kids were able to decorate a donut and color pictures while we were there. It felt like Halloween actually. Sugar. Fun. Costumes. What a great night!

Three dozen donuts. Holy cow! What in the world would we do with all of those delicious donuts? I had visions of dropping them off at people's houses... I really didn't think they would give each of the kids their own dozen. It made me laugh aloud! So, ultimately it ended up being 3 dozen donuts for the costumes, 5 donuts for just showing up when they were coming off the line, and another 4 donuts that the kids decorated (Maddy decorated one for Cameron). Nearly 4 dozen donuts. Yowza!

Thank you Krispy Kreme for making our Wednesday night so deliciously adventurous! The kids had an absolute ball. I'm sure Talk like a Pirate day at Krispy Kreme will be talked about for years to come! Definitely a big success all around!

Bedtime Routine

A couple of months back at our first official family council (now to be held on the first Sunday of every month), we all discussed our needs and wants when it came to bedtime. I don't know about your family, but in our house bedtime has always been a bit frazzled and frustrating. Cameron and I decided we needed to figure out a better way.

After doing some research, we told the kids they needed at minimum 11 hours of sleep each night. On average the kids wake up in the 7 o'clock hour. A bit of math later, and they determined that in order to get enough sleep they needed to be asleep by 8 o'clock. This was rather good news to them since in the past we'd always shot for a 7pm bedtime. Well, Cam and I were fine with pushing their bedtime back as long as we could make the whole thing a more pleasant experience.

Once we determined what time they needed to be asleep, we made of list of everything they wanted or needed to do before falling asleep. They said they needed to brush their teeth, dress in their pajamas, use the restroom, get a drink, say a family prayer, and say their own prayers. Then they said they wanted to read a story aloud, and have some time to read to themselves. We went through together and estimated how long each task would take (with a bit of "delay time" built in). Then, we counted backward. It was at that point determined that if they wanted to have enough time to do everything they wanted in their bedtime routine, we needed to start that routine at 7pm nightly. They were totally on board!

The first week or two were amazing. The kids had never bee so cooperative when it came to bedtime. They picked Coraline by Neil Gaiman for their read aloud book. We didn't miss a night of reading for over a week! It was awesome! It really made the difference that the kids had taken part in the planning of their nightly routine.

Now, a couple of months later, things aren't going quite as smoothly. However, Cameron or I still read aloud to them almost every single night. Our latest book is Tom Sawyer. Though we have to clarify some of the details, the kids are loving it overall. It's been great to take that time together. I'm glad we have been able to start this important nightly ritual while the kids are still so young.

French Class

Okay. To start this off I must get it out of the way. How many of you, when you read the title to this blog post thought, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"? To jog your memory: "I get it! French class! Ha!" There. Now, if you don't remember, go watch it to refresh that dusty ol' memory of yours.

Madalyn has, for a long time, told us she really wants to learn to speak French. We told her we would look into the best way for her to do this. Part of us thought it was just a phase, and before long she will have entirely forgotten about wanting to learn French. As it turns out, we were pleasantly surprised when she was still asking about it quite a while later. After looking into several options and not having found one that felt quite right, we were thrilled to find mention on a homeschooling yahoo group of a lady who did small group French lessons for both kids and adults. Neat! We looked into it immediately and were thrilled to find that one thing she offers is a once a week class for kids about Maddy's age. The class is held about 20 minutes away, so a bit of a drive, but worth it considering it's otherwise a very good fit! The price is very reasonable for a once a week class that lasts from September through December. The class size is very small in this case (only three little girls total), so Maddy will have very close interaction with the teacher, Madame Isabelle Bettler.

Today was Maddy's first day of class. She was so very excited!  Maddy and I made a French beret a few weeks back (after she pleaded with me for a few weeks to find the time). She wanted to wear it to the class. Last minute she decided she would ask her teacher whether they actually wear those in France before coming to class wearing one herself. I didn't mention to Maddy that they probably don't wear hot pink hats there in any case.

"Deux"

Madame Isabelle (as she told Maddy to call her) is a native French speaker. Her accent is beautiful, and she is very nice. Maddy really enjoyed her first class, though she was a bit intimidated. They mostly played games and practiced counting by the sounds of it. Maddy is a bit discouraged because the other girls seemed to catch on a bit more quickly than she did. She said she is nervous to talk in front of people. I'm really glad she's taking this class! Speaking in front of people is something that can take practice to get comfortable with.

Madame Isabelle sent home a CD with some fun French songs and conversations on it. Maddy insisted I put it on in the car immediately. We listened to it on the drive home and once we arrived as well. I love her enthusiasm. I promised her that tomorrow we will sit down and practice counting and also look up some of the words from her homework (it's a single page that has her answer a few questions). I told Maddy that our goal for tomorrow should be to learn to count to ten so well that we can teach the rest of the family at dinner. She is feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I think it will turn out well. At the very least I am glad we were able to provide Maddy with the opportunity to pursue her interest in learning French!

Two Years in Texas

This picture was taken in July after a rainstorm.

Today our family celebrated the two year anniversary of closing on our house. It seems like both yesterday and long long ago that we signed those (many) papers and got the keys to the very first house that is OURS.  I can honestly say I have zero regrets. No buyers remorse whatsoever. I am still as in love with this place as I was the day we bought it.

To celebrate the occasion we had a Texas themed day. Cameron started the day off right with Texas shaped pancakes. One of the things we noted almost immediately after moving here was how many "Texas" things there are around. We had Texas shaped waffles in the hotel we lived in for a month and a half. We could buy Texas shaped pretzels at the store (which, of course, I did), and the list goes on. I love how proud everyone is of Texas. It's very contagious.

We made Texas shaped cookies (also, we made cookies shaped like houses). They were, by the way, SO tasty. I love a good sugar cookie. I also love that as the kids get older we have to help them less and less during the cookie making process. I still roll out the dough, but they decorate the cookies without help now. I love how they end up little works of art.

We ate Texas BBQ for dinner (in the form of smoked and shredded pork sandwiches). Our first meal in the state with the kids was at Rudy's BBQ. If it wasn't Sunday we probably would have just taken them there to commemorate the occasion fully. These sandwiches were great though. Stubb's BBQ sauce gave them just the right Texas touch.

We have a tradition of taking a picture of the family in front of the house every year (this would be the third picture). Unfortunately, the sun was shining in the worst way on the front porch. So, as a compromise, we took some pictures in our backyard. We do have the intention of taking pictures in front of the house tomorrow though. Hopefully we're able to remember.

We asked the kids a few questions both this year and last such as, "What's your favorite thing about our house?" They had a bunch of different answers to our questions, but to the question, "What do you dislike most about being in Texas?" All three older kids answered that they disliked that our families aren't here. They sure miss their grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and cousins. I'm glad, however that the thing they dislike most about where we are is that they can't share it with all of the people they love. We miss you all!


Aside from missing family, moving to Texas was probably the best decision we've ever made for our little family. The kids have awesome friends here. The people are wonderful. Cameron has a great job that he is thriving in. We love the trees and the nature here. We LOVE our house and yard. Really, we're super happy and hope to have many more house anniversaries to celebrate in the future.

Red Velvet Wonderful.

Have you ever had red velvet cake? If not, you're missing out. It's freaking delicious. Red velvet cheesecake. Red velvet cupcakes. Red velvet cake ice cream. Red velvet Ritas italian ice. That last one is incredible by the way. Finally, red velvet sandwich cookies. Yes. You read that correctly.  Two red velvet cake cookies with a cream cheese pecan frosting sandwiched between. It's a little bit of red velvet heaven.

My least favorite part about red velvet anything is the "red" part of it. It really is just red food coloring for the sake of red food coloring. These would taste exactly the same without it! Next time I make these, they will be just plain "Velvet Sandwich Cookies." To heck with those red food coloring pushers out there. They will have to con someone else into using that stuff.

The recipe I linked to made WAAAAY too much frosting. Mind you, this stuff is amazingly delicious, but it really did make probably three times the amount I needed. I only got 14 sandwich cookies out of the recipe total. The amount of frosting I made would have easily frosted a small country. Well, at least all the cookies in that country.

The cookies were incredible. They were, however, extremely rich. We all had two. I wish I'd saved my second for the following day... or a few days later. They were so very tasty though.

So, in short, if you haven't tried red velvet cake, do so immediately. If you're going to make your own, I highly recommend you jump on board with my protest and promote the up and coming "Velvet Cake" instead. Who needs that red fake stuff anyhow?