Nerf SuperSoaker House Party

 I was chosen to host a House Party hosted by Nerf and Cheetos.  

So we invited a bunch of our friends over to play, providing them with water guns and sponge bombs and a big yard to run around in..

 As well as plenty of snacks and lemonade to keep those energy levels up.

We had at least 20 kids running around the backyard... which eventually turned into a boys vs. girls battle.  And don't let those little ones fool you... they are without mercy!

8 - Eight - VIII

Our Lincoln turned eight this week!

We celebrated with apple pie and, of course, presents!

The boys all had fun with the animal noses Grandma Marynel sent.

Lincoln was super excited to turn eight... because he was just in time to be able to attend the Cub Scout Day Camp and...

He was able to get baptized!

We had his baptism this afternoon, after a full day of Cub Camp and followed it with a fun family dinner.  Thanks to all who were able to come celebrate this day with us!

We are so proud of Lincoln.  He tries so hard every day to do what is right, and is genuinely distraught when he makes a mistake or chooses poorly.  Eli says that Lincoln is his best friend and loves to wrestle and play with him.  In fact, most people love to hang out with Lincoln - he is very easy to be around and has a great imagination.

We sure do love having him in our family!

 

Inner Space Cavern

Andrew was kind enough to stay home from work one day so I could go on a field trip with Leah's class... there's nothing quite like riding on an un-air-conditioned school bus with forty 3rd graders!

We went to Inner Space Caverns, one of the best preserved caverns in Texas.

Here is Leah, hoping for a cave kiss (it is supposed to be good luck when the stalactites drip on you).

We also were lucky enough to see a bat - usually they stay way back in the caverns, out of the way of the tours.

Toward the end of the tour you can see "cave paintings" of some of the different animals they have found remains for in the cave, as well as the fossilized remains - pretty cool!

 But of course, the best part is the rock candy you eat on the way home.

Family Fun and Fitness

 It's that time again - Fitness Day!  This year Leah and Lincoln had two different days for their fun.

We went to Leah's Fitness Day a couple of weeks ago.  Her class made team shirts to show their spirit - I think it helped them win the tug of war...

Here's Leah teaching the boys how to use the ski-walkers - it's harder than it looks!

Can you believe we were all wearing jackets in the beginning of May in Texas?!?

Pena's Panthers!

Today we went up to school again for Lincoln's turn at Fitness Day.

We helped with the tug of war...

counted his jumps,

and cheered when he made it to the top of the rope!

Peter even took a turn on the rock wall, 

but when we were outside, other projects proved more interesting than the sports activities.

Like climbing the pecan tree and making a sculpture from the pollen.

We definitely had a great time and will be back for more next year!

Music Memory

Leah competed in our school district's Music Memory competition this morning and she was awesome!  The kids are tested on their ability to recognize selections of great music - Leah got them all right!  I'm not too surprised, since she seems to have inherited Andrew's ability to "name that song", usually within the first few bars.

Way to go, Leah!