Cintiq Sketching

Katharine was especially proud of this picture that she sketched up on my Cintiq yesterday:

Dollhouse Entertainment

Maya and Katharine had a virtual play-date earlier tonight over Skype on our iPads.

Of course, Katharine had to set hers up like a big screen TV inside her dollhouse.

Up in a tree

While the weather outside is frightful, here are some pictures from just ten days (and an additional 40 degrees) ago that I hadn't posted.

The kids and I went on a bike ride with Jeramy and Maya to a favorite park of theirs. Katharine and Maya went up a tree, and Lukas rode down grassy hills. Lennon and Kassidy stuck to the traditional playground fare of slides and swings.

Queue up Iria's gasp....

 now

From me to me

If I was going to buy myself a Christmas present, it would be the LEGO Star Wars 'Death Star' set.

And then I would work on it with the kids over the holiday break, spending quality time with them hunting down tiny wedge pieces and acting out movie scenes as the build came together.

So far, everything is off to a great start.

Bag(s) one complete, nine more to go!

Gifts from Katharine

Everybody received custom-made gifts from Katharine this year.

Lukas's was one of my favorites- she assembled a bunch of loose LEGO pieces and drew up some instructions for making a build. One mini-figure was included.

For me, she thought up a new twist on the classic "give my Dad a tie" gift.

She cut off the bottom of the tie, sealed up the bottom, added some Velcro, and turned it into an iphone holder. Iria's glass cozy is also shown.

Christmas Snow

The early evening light makes it look more like a blue Christmas than a white one, but we actually got around two inches of snow after many hours of rain and thunderstorms.

I don't think that we got any snow at all last year, so this was a nice surprise.

Unfortunately, they had to go outside barehanded because all of their gloves are now way too small for them.

And Lukas was the last one in (as usual).

Oops

Here is Iria playing with Kassidy's blocks- but I think I jinxed it when I set up to take the picture...

Christmas Day

Here are the kids up bright and early (having fun imitating Kassidy).

Iria took the picture, because I was most likely still asleep.

They were very kind that morning, and I didn't get the usual "Bounce on Daddy" treatment.

I eventually made it down, and we opened the stockings came first.

On to the presents.

Keira received a lot of  'My Little Pony' paraphernalia and her first doll house.

Katharine snagged a blanket, doll house, 'Momster High' doll, and a few LEGO sets.

A video game and LEGO's for Lennon.

Kassidy received quite a number of car toys (naturally).

Another game and bricks for Lukas.

On to the feast.

Baked ham and spaetzla, which turned out to be a great combination!

Christmas Eve

Not a creature was stirring...

except for Lukas!

Happy Birthday, Lukas!

Lukas turned 7 years old today.

Here he is posed on his new bike (he would have been wearing a helmet if he was riding).

Lukas chose pizza for his birthday meal.

And Iria baked him a cool Death Star cake.

His big birthday present was the aforementioned bike, and he also received some Lego sets and an action figure (no surprises there).

Lukas Facts:

Favorite color: green

Favorite number: 7

Obsessed with Legos and bike riding

Sometimes he acts out stories with his fingers when he is bored

He is very mellow and good natured

He always knows a lot more than he lets on

When he grows up he wants to live in an apartment with Lennon, play video games, and be a zoo keeper

Favorite food: pizza, apples, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, hamburgers, Greek yogurt

Favorite school activity: story time

He hates wearing long sleeved shorts and long pants

Has been observed snuggled up with Kassidy at night

Favorite heroes: Batman and Luke Skywalker

Scared of: chainsaws and witches

Favorite season: summer

Favorite holiday: Christmas

Favorite book: anything by Mo Willems

Favorite TV show: Ninjago

What gets him in trouble: not listening and bad choices

Sometimes he will suddenly read something out of the blue that surprises

He wants to ride a motorcycle when he grows up

Favorite dance style: Hip-Hop

He really, really hates peanut butter and Nutella

Nuts, Trees, and Cookies

This past week we have watched Katharine dance in the Nutcracker,

decorated the tree,

and baked cookies.

A certain holiday must be getting close!

So 'Keira'

Here she is walking around with pink and purple goggles after creating a card that involved around 50 staples.

Mistletoe Sales

Lukas, Lennon, and myself put in four hours at the Garden Ridge in East Plano selling mistletoe for the cub scouts on Sunday.

12:00 PM - Hats on, and ready to sell!

1:00 PM - Boredom starts to kick in.

2:00 PM - Reinforcements arrive (Scott, from Lukas's den).

3:00 PM - Hat-head sets in.

3:30 PM - One of the last sales (we sold around 50 bags in total).

3:45 - Finger wars and napping.

4:00 PM - All finished (finally)!

"My Favorite Part Was... Everything"

Today I took the kids to the new Perot Museum of Nature And Science in downtown Dallas.

It is an amazing space, and we barely touched on everything to see and experience inside.

Here are some highlights:

The earthquake simulator.

Touching ice in the water exhibit.

Lukas interacting with a mist tornado.

Katharine gets a geology lesson from the staff.

The kids play weatherman.

The kids get a lesson on plate tectonics from the staff.

A fracking exhibit (this is in Texas, after all)

Kassidy checks out a car (of course).

Keira finds a cheetah.

The kids play a life expectancy game. 

Fun for all ages... except if you eat too many TV dinners or don't wear bike helmets.

This was a movement exhibit, where they got virtual lessons in hip-hop dancing and Taekwondo.

The kids built robot cars and raced them.

Lunch felt overpriced (or maybe it was just because I had to order six meals), but the food was decent. 

I would probably bag it the next time, as there is a nice place to eat outside.

Keira snuck over a pack of butter, and was obviously not paying attention during the life expectancy game.

Playtime in the children's museum, where the kids donned hard hats and worked construction.

Keira picked flowers at the pretend market...

and made some snowflake ornaments at the craft table.

Kassidy found another car (of course).

At the sports exhibit, the kids got to race virtual Olympic athletes, cheetahs, and a T-Rex.

Speaking of T-Rex'es, Lukas was blown away in the dinosaur hall.

Kassidy, not so much.

But she liked the meerkats.

The kids got to build a dinosaur out of different body parts on one of the walls.

Upstairs at the bird exhibit, they tried out various objects that are shaped like bird bills...

and controlled an eagle's flight in 3-D.

Outside was a frog garden with a little stream that you could dip your hands and feet into.

All in all, a great visit- and there is still a lot more left to see.

The title post is a quote from Katharine, and I am sure that the kids will be going back again soon.