Nine Years and counting...

"You were born together, and together you shall be forever more...
But let there be spaces in your togetherness
And let the winds of heaven dance between you."

-Kahlil Gibran

Texas State Capitol

My kids have been begging me to take them to the Texas State Capitol building all summer. We finally had an unscheduled day coincide with a day that I had energy, so we headed out this morning for a little field trip. The kids were so excited and wanted to get all dressed up to go - Leah even insisted that I wear a skirt. I think this was due in part to Lincoln's association of the Capitol with the temple - apparently the statue of Lady Liberty on top reminds him of "King Ramoni" on top of the temple.

We had a good time dressing up like cowboys and early settlers in the Visitor's Center and pretending to ride in a covered wagon. Unfortunately, my camera is still MIA so I don't have any pictures to share. Leah loved listening to the stories on the old-fashioned phones in the O.Henry exhibit and they all had a great time going up to the top of the rotunda (or at least the 4th floor) in the Capitol building. In fact, they wanted to go higher because they could see a spiral staircase going all the way to the top, but I am very grateful they don't allow that... my feet were getting that uncomfortable, tingly feeling just looking over the balcony.

On the way back down, we stopped in the House gallery where Leah insisted on listening to a resolution being presented. Unfortunately, the boys weren't so interested so I took them outside to wait while Leah listened to the whole thing - luckily, it was pretty short.

They had a great time and hopefully now they'll know the difference between the Capitol and the temple!

Getting Ready for School

Leah will be starting Kindergarten in just a few weeks, so we are trying to get her settled into a routine to help her be a little more prepared. This is easier said than done since she is my little night owl. I've been waking her up at 7 every morning and making her get dressed right away and eat breakfast before she does anything else. These last couple of mornings have been a little rough, but hopefully it will get better as we go along.

She's very excited about starting school and shopping for school supplies. She picked out her backpack last week and now we're waiting for the school to open again so I can take her to look around and see where her classroom will be.

Hopefully I'll find my camera before school starts so we can get some good pictures of her in all her school gear.

How Lazy Are You?

Tonight I fed my kids Cheerios with ice cream for dinner.

Somehow I don't think this is what was intended when we were counseled to prepare simple meals on the Sabbath.

Ironically, it was the only thing I've eaten today that didn't give me indigestion.

Double Digits

Wow! I just realized that we have less than 100 days to go until baby #4 arrives!

I guess I should have realized we were entering the home stretch because I've started to covet my husband's flat stomach. You just hit a certain point where you can't seem to remember what that was like and aren't entirely sure you'll ever get to experience it again. So here's to setting a lofty goal.... 3-4 months in the future!