first splash of the season

It's May in Texas, so that means the splash pads are open. This morning the Wheat children celebrated the beginning of another hot summer season at a birthday party for one of Scout's kinder buddies at the Pease Park splash pad. This was a party I was actually happy to attend (I've become very discriminating after dragging three kids to birthday parties for the last four years) because it was at 10:00am, and the party planners served coffee and breakfast tacos. The kids stayed busy ducking in and out of water shoots, blowing bubbles and drying off on the adjoining playground. The parents stayed busy drinking coffee and gossiping on the sideline (or was that just me?).

the wee olympics, part 2

Meanwhile, in second grade...

Or--as it turns out to be the most exciting event I've photographed at Lee Olympics the past three years--the Tug-of-War Files. Put me on the sideline of a soccer or lacrosse game any day of the week, and I'll stand there quietly while my child and his/her teammates run up and down the field. Put me on the sideline of an intense tug-of-war match, however, and I'll be the loudest one out there. Unless Alex happens to be standing next to me...

P.S. Is it me, or does Catcher seem a little too relaxed for the level of intensity that's required in a serious game of tug-of-war?

the wee olympics

On Friday, after a week of heavy downpours and thunderstorms, the sun shone brightly on the campus of Lee Elementary School for its annual Lee Olympics (you might remember such an event as "Field Day" when you were a wee one). In honor of Scout's inaugural year as a Lee Olympian, I give you the many faces of Scout (including excited face, game face, proud face and perhaps a couple other unique expressions):

And then we have our action shots...

in a galaxy far, far away

I promise I took a picture today. Seven of them, in fact. I can't show you those pictures, however, because I deleted them from my camera after I thought I had uploaded them to the computer. I had not uploaded them, and once I realized I had inadvertently deleted them, the moment was over for me. I wasn't about to send Catcher and Alex back into the kitchen to stand side-by-side, adjacent to the outlet, faces aglow by the light of their electronic devices. Alex wasn't particularly proud of this techno-moment anyway.

Instead I deliver you snapshots from our weekend when we stumbled across Stormtroopers and Jedis-in-training at the Bob Bullock History Museum. The place was so crowded we had to pay $8 to park in the garage, which I'm fundamentally opposed to when you can find free parking on the street, but it turns out the fee was worth it when all three children arrived just in time for the last (FREE!) Jedi training session of the day.

the thinker

Last night was Friday, and that means--until further notice--Family Game Night at the Wheat House. In lieu of a game, however, the children and I decided to tackle an 850-piece United States puzzle. It's one that we've started before but have never managed to finish. Catcher dragged it out yesterday afternoon, and by 6:30pm (when it was about 1/3 assembled) we decided it would count as our game night activity. I had to put on the breaks at 7:30 to get the girls in bed, so it sat on our floor half-together all night.

It wasn't a bad idea, though. We woke up to a cloudy, rainy Austin this morning, and everyone* was eager to get back to work. Catcher, the thinking man, lead the charge and kept the troops in line until we finally finished the thing in the early afternoon.

*Tille was not so eager to get to work. She was more eager to put on her plastic mules and stomp around threateningly close to the puzzle and fingers of the puzzle workers. At one point she threw a fit and destroyed the Hawaiian islands, but Catcher stayed cool and got everything back in place for us.

the break, part one

Well that went fast. I'm sure I'll be eating my words during our second week of winter break, but the first week came and went before I even realized what was happening. Gone is the toddler/preschool vacation when your days are endless and your brain is mush (I suppose my brain is still mush but for different reasons). The children have finally reached an age where our days are wild yet interspersed with moments of relaxation...if you can count nine seconds of zoning out as "relaxation."

Honestly, though, here's my laundry list of things we accomplished the past week (not counting the four or five loads of actually laundry I've done): painted a piano and two chairs, made four dozen cookies, attended a cookie party where we shared our four dozen cookies, delivered part of those four dozen cookies to the local fire station, watched The Force Awakens with Catcher, attended Christmas Eve service at the church where Scout was a lamb (or a sheep, depending on who you ask) in the Nativity Story, prepared a crustless zucchini quiche and stollen for Christmas brunch, wrapped some presents, stuffed some stockings, visited our fourth Santa Claus of the season and enjoyed the annual Tuba Christmas concert on the steps of the Capitol. I also managed a couple of trips to the gym and a five-mile run on Christmas Even morning around the lake with Alex.

The children have not yet tired of their Christmas presents, so I hope we can sail through the next few days to the new year. Or else I'll have to search my mushy brain for some old tricks.

arcade of lights

They call it the "Trail of Lights," but when you're inside it feels more like an arcade of lights. It's an Austin Christmas Tradition of which our family has never partaken until last night. We were invited to tag along with friends who had a "premiere" parking space, access to the sponsors' "hospitality tent" (which means free hot chocolate and cookies) and early entrance into the showcase. We also walked in through a private entrance, so we didn't have to stand in line with the masses. The only thing missing was Alex. He's in Nebraska, but he's also watching the new Star Wars movie on opening day, so don't feel too sorry for him for missing this little light show.

The trail itself was almost like a teeny-tiny Disney World. Or am I over thinking that? I guess instead of a minuscule Disney World, it's more like a scaled-down carnival. There was a Ferris wheel and carousel, but those weren't free--even for those of us with a blue wristband--so we passed on waiting in line for 30 minutes (I pulled the "guys, we just got back from Disney World" card when the children threatened exploding into tantrums). But there's one thing Disney World does not have that the Trail of Lights does: a serape-clad cowboy riding atop a Rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer-inspired jackalope. That's right; we're in Texas.