Little ghosty ghost

Henry was gearing up for Halloween as he wandered the house with a blanket over him complete with all kinds of spooky sounds. We were playing peek-a-boo under the blanket. Then, I went into the kitchen to get dinner done and he came wandering by walking full speed and howling. He must have walked into every wall or corner more than once. It was hil-ar-ious. I attempted to adjust things for better vision, but he wouldn't have it. He wanted the full cloak and was prepared for the consequences of head bumps and all. I so wish I had a video... soon I hope we can get a little kodak with videos to post. Our last one has been retired for sometime now.

School Days

Jim has this adorable tune that his dad used to sing at the beginning of the school year. He now sings a few bars of it every year for us too.

"School days, school days,
Dear old golden rule days.
'Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic,
Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick."

First day for Ayla went great. She has really taken to the life of junior high. She's liking her teachers and only got turned around once to find herself in the "8th grade wing" bumping into "huge guys that just plow down the hallway".

Yesterday and today were volleyball tryouts. Ayla has never tried out for anything really. It's always been if she wanted to play, they let anyone play. Now, she has to demonstrate some skills to get by. So, big thanks to her WAYA coaches last year, Sports Country counselors, and everyone that helped her at UT volleyball "bootcamp" this summer. SHE MADE THE TEAM! They have an A/B team and a C team. Ayla made it to the A/B team. She's so excited! (except for the fact that one of her best friends made the C team ;(

Big shout out BIRTHDAY wishes to Uncle Hal! We love you big dog!

That's MR. Henry

Aunt Abbey and Uncle Edward gave Henry this handsome robe last Christmas (thank yall, he LOVES his robe). I kept meaning to snap photos of him looking all dapper and clean.


and yes... he likes getting his teeth EXTRA clean with double the toothbrush power.

New loves

Henry has fallen in love... with the little tomatoes from the garden. I've never seen him so excited about a food. Any time of day just popped straight in his mouth. He lights up when he sees the bowl full of them on the counter. If you give him one, he'll carry it around like a precious jewel before finally devouring every bit of it.


He's also quite fond of the garden grown watermelon we have been snacking on for a week. It's was terribly delicious.

His other new love (and trick) is to sneak into the bottom drawer of the frig, where all the fruit is kept, quicker than lightning before you can shut the door. He's usually sinking his teeth into a giant apple, peach or plum before you even notice he was there. He fondles the grapefruits, but I haven't witnessed him trying to bite one yet. I can't wait for the sour face. I know, evil mom.

Ayla has been consumed lately with "Oh my gosh,I'm going to middle school" thoughts for weeks now. Only 2 more weeks until all these thoughts will be reality. She's beside herself with excitement and apprehension. Her good friend Faith is coming for a visit today and will be staying until the weekend before school ... a good distraction indeed.

I'm so sorry for such a long drawn out pause here in blog-world. I keep thinking I can at LEAST sneak in a short post with a few pictures... but I realized I haven't been taking any pictures the last 5 weeks, so there was nothing to post. My class is over on Tuesday, so our family blog should resume a more regular posting once again. Thanks for your patience... check back in a week.

Yummy veggies!

Fresh from the garden...

I'm feeling we're all over the place during the summer. With me back on school schedule, Ayla is bopping between sleepovers and camps, Jim's working and playing hard and Henry is doing his fair share of visiting all kinds of friends and family as well.
I treasure this photo of seeing us all together in one place.

It's been just busy busy crazy around here. As many of you requested...here are some fun photos from our trip to Pennsylvania visiting our deBeaumont family. I baked a scrumptious homemade carrot cake from the same cookbook I made Ayla's first birthday cake from. Henry loved it!
Grandmom and Henry.
First jello.
the big guy.
Grampop and Jim.
One of Henry's birthday presents from Grandmom was this adorable froggie pool complete with sprinkler spray. Henry totally dug it!
Grampop and almost all 11 grandkids (missing Michelle, recent high school graduate, way to go Michelle! and Davey, recent hip injury from dirt bike accident survivor)

Henry turned one!

I seriously can't believe that our little baby has turned a year old! He is such a fun loving little boy. Happy Birthday Henry!

... and now they are 7th graders

Sixth grade has been a mixed bag for Ayla. She was incredibly excited about it until she started bringing home obscene amounts of homework, projects and strict tasks of responsibility. They held the students hard to their rules in efforts to "season" them for the riggers of middle school. She stayed the course and came out with flying colors.

Here are a few pictures from their 2 1/2 month project called The Living Museum. They selected, researched, wrote papers, and summarized their knowledge into a 5 minute animated speech they gave to the younger grades. Ayla was Joy Adamson. Faith was Princess Diana. (Complete with one of Dody's vintage formals and pearls!)






So on June 3rd we celebrated with a very uplifting and sweet 6th grade graduation ceremony. Complete with 2 choir performances (only the 2nd time I've been able to see Ayla perform with her choir!), speeches and awards. Ayla was honored with numerous achievement awards and pins; including 2 year service with Safety Patrol, the ONLY one in her homeroom that maintained TOP Honor Roll all year, and one of the recipients of the Presidential Education Award in recognition of Outstanding Academic Excellence (signed by the President himself, the Secretary of Education and their principal). Following the ceremony was their school dance. Parents gathered across the street for food and drinks. The girls just could not stop gushing that it was the BEST NIGHT EVER!



The next day, also being the last day of school, was a field trip to Barton Springs. We joined up with their group after Henry's nap. It was Henry's first visit. I felt like I was baptizing him in the holy waters of Austin. We are so incredibly lucky to have such a beautiful and natural place in the heart of our city. It is THE most refreshing place in this world.




It wouldn't be Austin without some serious "Keep Austin Weird"-O's... like this sweet girl and her mermaid tail. Just be glad I spared you a photo of "the naked guy" sunbathing not far from us. ;)

Henry's favorite new game is throw and chase the ball.

Thanks cousin Stacy for the great pics!