i've always been a dog person. . .

. . .so it made complete sense to get the girls this little guy:

meet oliver. some friends at church needed to find a home for him and we decided to be that home. he's really shy:

he spent the first couple of hours under our bed. the girls tried coaxing him out but something about their loud, "kitty! come here!", "kitty! pet you?!" and "to the moon, kitty!" made him scoot further back. once hazel and lucy were confined to their room/crib, i saw him cautiously creep out. it took a few more tricks to convince him to emerge, nevertheless emerge he did:

once he felt safer, he bravely began to explore:

he's very curious:

as soon as we got him out of our room, i shut the door (cat hair in my bed? no, thank you!) and he had to find himself a new hiding spot.

it took a loooooong time for hazel and lucy to wind down and fall to sleep. sadly, that didn't keep them from waking up bright and early. the second she was up, hazel was in hunter-mode. it took a while for the two of us to find him:

he seems pretty wary of the kids but lets them have a pat or two:

one can only hope he'll get used to the noise in time. . .

p.s. he's quickly making his way into my heart. i love him already.

our little bug . . .

. . . is four today: 

happy birthday monkey!

r & r

finally! a post! with pictures! and stories! it must be your lucky day. . .

on the very last day of september we had our carpets cleaned. i had planned on hitting the stores and having lunch somewhere the kids could run wild. instead grant surprised me by suggesting a spontaneous trip to the beach. hazel asks at least once a week to go. who was i to say "no"? so we picked grant up from "the forest where the cars live" (aka rice) and drove on down:

 it was by and far the most relaxing trip to galveston we've had.

the beach was nearly deserted. the weather was perfect: sunny, but not hot. the water was perfect: refreshingly cool and comfortable. 

 mud was at a perfect consistency for getting lucy's feet stuck:

 and for re-enacting the dinosaurs' demise:

 wah wah wahh:

then hazel found a shell:

 not just any shell, an occupied shell:

peek-a-boo!

the hermit crab was reallllllly shy and took ages to come out:

. . .waiting. . .

oh look! he's waving "hello":

um. . . . now heeee's loooooking at me:

 hermits weren't the only wildlife:

 once again the beach did it's job:

 kind of:

in other news:

 for those wondering how soccer is going for hazel:

we missed one practice (that was beach day) and one game. we gave hazel the choice to go and both times she quickly teared up and squealed, "no!" we brainstormed and decided to make her go, even if she refuses to play. i told her the deal: we're going, but you don't have to play unless you want to. last thursday was a blessedly tear-free practice. she wouldn't join the team in their drills but did kick the ball around with one of the coaches. we had hopes for saturday's game:

sadly, she spent the first half sitting on my lap wearing my sunglasses. i got her to interact with the team during half-time (there were juice boxes to be had) and even nudged her onto the field when the second half was starting. bad idea. the tears came quickly and it was all i could do to keep her there. we stood on the sideline for the rest and i occasionally asked if she was ready to help her teammates out. no go. maybe next time?

trente et un

today is grant's 31st birthday. in honor of that i've compiled a list of 31 things i love about him. in no particular order:

1. he's older than i am.
2. the way he keeps the kids out of my hair when i've had a bad day.
3. his height.
4. he's an extremely hard worker.
5. he rubs my feet almost every time i ask him to.
6. his eyes that change from green to brown.
7. his sometimes unexpected goofiness.
8. his thrifty ways, even (or especially) when they're at odds with my high-maintenance ways.
9. that he claims i'm not high-maintenance.
10. his crooked nose.
11. his handsome smile.
12. his ability to make me feel special.
13. the attention he gives to the girls.
14. he's incredibly smart. . . 
15. and amazingly modest about it.
16. his excitement whenever he sees a predatory bird.
17. the interest he shows in my day.
18. his quirky wardrobe.
19. the way he cuts his own hair.
20. his long, dark eyelashes.
21. that he makes dinner almost as much as i do.
22. his joy in getting the girls to say silly things, like "ham-bird" and "badger".
23. his steady beliefs in a unbelief friendly environment.
24. his hugs and kisses.
25. his wicked bike-riding skills.
26. his enthusiasm and encouragement of my running.
27. the way he rolls over when i tell him he's snoring.
28. his ability to wear the towel shirt without looking like a weirdo.
29. that he never gets annoyed when my eyes glaze over while he's talking of research projects.
30. his increasingly gray hair.
31. his plans to grow his gray hair out and wear it in braids á la willie nelson style.