A Look at the Cooks

Monday, June 13, 2011

Something About Her Eyes

There's just something about the look on her face that makes me believe she can see right into the depths of my soul. And looking into her eyes, I believe I can see all that awaits her as she grows up from a little girl to a big girl. I stopped short of teenager or woman, because the thought of her growing up that much is a bit overwhelming for me.

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
And even though you want to
Please try to never grow up

"Never Grow Up"
-Taylor Swift

Sing Us A Song

For the longest time, we wondered when Austin would start talking in earnest. Yeah, sure he was saying things like no, Mommy, Daddy, milk-ah, and bahffles, but when would sentences start streaming out of his mouth? Somewhere along the way he decided that singing was more important than waxing prophetic about things like his diaper and his blanket. So now, we often hear the strains of "A-B-C-D-E-F-G..." and "Happy Birthday" coming from his lips. Sometimes it's just nonsensical lyrics being belted into the most readily available microphone, because you know, every good artist needs a mic. The photo above captured Austin as he was hanging with the folks in the lawn seats in between sets at the River Glen Amphitheater. He likes to keep it real, and mix with the people who got him where he is today. Yes, that's a fuchsia and teal iCarly microphone. One of the roadies left his Heavy Metal Mater microphone back at the studio. You know that guy won't make the cut for the 2012 tour.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Going to the Zoo

Oh dear, the entire month of May has come and gone and I have so many blogs to catch up on. I'll start with our trip to the Houston Zoo.

It started with Meerkats in the morning light.
I think the one on the left should lay off the kibble.
Maybe we caught him on the end of a big sigh.

Then we were off to meet the baby elephant.
So very cute.

Here kitty, kitty, kitty.
I would not want to change his litter box.

Just hanging out monkeying around.

Stretching out to say, "Hi"

Oh yeah, we took the kids with us!

As Austin cried his way through the exhibit, Brenna kept saying to herself,
"Just go to your happy place and everything will be okay."

Drumming up some fun.

I'm pretty sure the cows are that way.
They have cows at the zoo, right?

Manual dexterity in progress.

All those cool animals around and this is what
holds his attention!

Look who popped up in Prairie Dog Town.

Our beautiful swan princess.

Peeking over the fence.

Just his size.

Baby buffalo busting. Is that legal?

Friday, April 29, 2011

Besties

There's nothing like posing for pictures with your BFF.

There's nothing like having a post ballgame snack with your BFF.

And, there's nothing like a good squeeze from your BFF.
We're so glad that Jordan lives on our street.

Hopped Right to It

The Easter Bunny Gang ready for the hunt.

And away they went.

They searched high...

...and they searched low.

Austin was "all in" this year. No bush was too scary.

I can't believe these girls missed these eggs.
They're right here on the ground.
What? They fell out of my basket?
Darn small kids basket.
Next year I want the gigantor basket.

Her basket over-floweth.

Hey, I'm pretty sure I had more eggs in this thing.

Yep, according to my tally, I'm 3.5 eggs short.
MENNAAAAAAA!
(Menna is how he says Brenna)

Don't look at me.
I can't help it if he can't hold onto his eggs.
If they're on the ground, they're fair game.

Spoils of the hunt.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Splendor in the Grass

Here's another photo taken by our neighbor and friend, Wendy. Austin absolutely loves rolling around in the grass... short grass, tall grass... it doesn't matter. The first time I saw him do it I thought, "Oh boy, he's gonna be itchy all night", but it doesn't seem to effect him. I'm not quite sure how to categorize the look on his face, but I love the intensity with which he is staring into the camera. I also like way the light hits the tops of his head and shoulders.

One of the things we love about our new neighborhood are the people. It's so nice to live in an area where people actually spend time outside and enjoy each others' company. With the nice weather recenlty, we've made it a habit of going outside between dinner and bedtime. We may be the only one's outside at first, but eventually we make enough noise, and others join us. The adults chat, the older kids ride bikes or play chase, and Austin tries to sneak into the street when we're not looking. What is it about the street that is so appealing? Why would anyone want to crawl around in dirt and engine residue? Oh yeah, I forgot... he's a boy. It's in his genetic make-up. Well, we've got to take advantage of this wonderful weather, for soon the heat, humidity and MOSQUITOES will arrive, and we'll be holed up in our houses with the kids wreaking havoc on our living rooms. Sigh.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Quarry Work

On our Spring Break trip to Arlington/Haslet, we spent a few days with my parents (Fred and Margaret AKA Granddad and Nana). One day when Austin was napping, Granddad took Kassadie and Brenna outside to the massive backyard that sports a playground, work shop and lots of, get this, rocks. It just happens that every mailbox on the street has a lovely brick or stone enclosure, and theirs is just a plain old mailbox on a post. When Granddad discovered all the natural rock in the yard, he decided he would put it to good use. It was just convenient that some cheap labor came along to aid in the endeavor. Yes, Granddad put the girls to work digging up rocks for his decorative mailbox enclosure. It went a little something like this:

Gather the "proper" tools