Christmas is Coming!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! The turkey leftovers are in the fridge, the garlands are up, and Dash, our elf on the shelf, has arrived. The kids were very excited to see him this morning. We read our Elf on the Shelf book at breakfast to remind ourselves of his story and "the rules" of having an elf in your house. We remembered the places Dash tried to hide in years past and the letters he wrote the kids when they were especially good. The kids can't wait to see what Dash does this year! 

Croissants!

So... I went to a croissant making class at Sur La Table a few weeks ago with some friends. We had a great time and ever since then, I have been looking for an opportunity to try out my new baking skills.  This past Tuesday I made a batch for our St. Anne's Society Baka sale. And today, I've baked enough for the Faculty Lunch at school. We are definitely having these for Thansgiving dinner!

Race Day

Our first race: the CK5K! Madeleine did the 1 miles walk/run and I did the 5k run. I'm slow and steady... finished in just under 30 minutes. Next race: a 4.4 mile leg of the Dallas marathon relay in December. 

Baby Soccer

She's super excited to be on the team, but there isn't much actual soccer playing going on with this one. 😊

Halloween Decorations

...are finally up! Here's the inside display. I'll post the outside pictures tomorrow when its light out. The kids are really excited to have all the SPOOKY decorations up! 

Camping in Arkansas

We are taking a long weekend to camp with the kids at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. A cool front came in last night and the weather finally feels like fall. We spent a few hours yesterday paning for diamonds - we didn't find any diamonds but quite a few other minerals like quartz, calcite, and mica. The kids love rocks right now and jump at the chance to play in the dirt and collect more samples. Madeleine has been using the park roads and paved trails to practice her bike riding. The other two have joined in as well with their bicycle and tricycle. Later today we plan to paint our pumpkins and roast some s'mores. We love camping!

Princess Charlotte

This girl LOVES to dress up and when she saw that this costume came with a wig, she just had to have it. I'm sad to say that the dress sheds glitter like crazy, so I'm not sure how much dress-up time I'll be able to stand. But she sure looks cute in it! 

Gardening

So after having a really bad crop over the summer, we decided to redo the soil and all the plants in our raised garden bed. Brannon consulted with a very knowledgeable worker at Northaven Gardens and came home with lots of soil additives and a variety of plant seeds. All three kids helped with mixing the soil and planting the seeds. I'd say James' favorite part was digging with the big shovel and Charlotte loved the watering of the seeds. We can't wait to taste our onions, potatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, and beets. 

Decorating Update

I'm a little late in posting this, but here are the "Back to School" decorations I came up with for the hutch in the breakfast room. 

Another First Day!

Today was Charlotte's first day of preschool. She is starting a 5 day program from 8:30-11:30 at Lakewood Montessori School. She did great! No tears or hesitancy at drop-off and huge smiles at pickup. And yes, she picked out her outfit all by herself. 

Mommy Multitasking

So... I signed up to run the Dallas Marathon Relay with some friends. They have graciously agreed to let me have the shortest leg of the relay since I've never run a race before, but 4.1 miles is still farther than I've ever run before. So I'm currently doing a race training program through the RunKeeper app. to help me get to being able to run 4.1 miles. That means I'm running about 4 times a week (in addition to my other workouts).  How do I fit so many runs in my schedule? Mommy Multitasking like this: 

Mommy gets a run, plus an extra workout from pushing the extra 50lbs, while the 3 year old gets a nap!

1st Day of School

We survived! Madeleine started 2nd grade yesterday and James started kindergarten.  Both came home with smiles on their faces!

Last Day of Summer

Today is the last day of summer for our kiddos. We spent the afternoon swimming at the UP pool with friends.  Everyone came home thoroughly tired - yeah!!  We will be setting the uniforms out before we go to bed tonight and hopefully will get some good "first day" pictures in the morning. 

Not Too Excited

School starts for Madeleine and James this coming Monday - Madeleine will be in 2nd grade and James will be starting kindergarten. Today was "Kindergarten Roundup" for the incoming class. The kids got to meet their teachers, see their classrooms, and hopefully become more comfortable with their new school before their first big day. Despite knowing that his best friend will be in his class, James is less than enthusiastic when it comes to starting kindergarten. Today, he did not want to have his picture taken, go back with his teacher to the classroom or participate in the pep rally.  Y'all need to say some prayers for he and I that we make it through drop off on Monday morning without any casualties (me or him!). I think the expression on his face here about sums it up. 

Headed Home

We left Vancouver early this morning for the drive back to Seattle to catch our flight. It took us about an hour to make or through the border crossing this time. We stopped for lunch at a park in a little town along the way. We are twenty minutes from the airport and I look back to see this:

Really? Y'all couldn't wait until we are settled at the gate waiting for our flight or until we are actually on the plane? Dragging these three through security is going to be painful!

Vancouver So Far...

Well, I've tried numerous times to get my phone on the wifi at the apartment we've rented so I could post pictures, but it just isn't working.  I can get on the wifi with my iPad, but not my iPhone and JeanMarie isn't here to help me so I'll just have to upload the pictures when we get back in the states. It is crazy expensive to use the data feature on the iPhone when you are out of the US, so I do not have access to the internet, email or texting on my phone.  :-(

So here is what has been going on since my last post:

Friday

We drove south of Seattle for an hour and a half to take a train ride on the Mt. Ranier Scenic Railroad.  It turned out this little railroad has the most working steam engines of any railroad in the US (six engines) and they have some really unusual engines too.  Brannon and the kids loved exploring the musuem and talking to the engineers that are actually restoring and maintaining the locomotives and railcars.  All three kids got to climb into the steam engine that pulled our train and ring the bell - we had  to carry Charlotte kicking and screaming from the train.  She really wanted to ride the train some more and couldn't understand why the ride was over.  I think it made her third birthday a special day!

Saturday

In the morning we walked over to the Space Needle to catch a "Duck Tour" of the city.  These tours are done using WWII amphibious vehicles - you ride around on what looks like a open-air bus for a while and then they literally drive straight into the water and become a boat.  The driver was very entertaining with lots of jokes and music as he drove around the city, giving out information and fun facts about various landmarks and Seattle in general.  The water portion of the tour included a cruise around Lake Union to see Seattle from a unique point of view and get an up-close glimpse of the houseboats along the shore.

After our Duck Tour, we headed north to Vancouver.  The border crossing did not take long at all and was very uneventful.  We arrived at our apartment around 5:30pm.  We have rented one floor of a three floor house on the corner of Commercial Drive and E 1st Ave.  Each floor has their own entrance and is completely separate from the other two floors.  Our apartment has two bedrooms, a full bath, kitchen, dining room and living room.  It also has a washer and dryer.  What it does not have is air conditioning and well insulated windows.  Commercial Drive and 1st Ave are both very busy streets with lots of traffic including motorcycles and emergency vehicles.  It has taken a while to get used to the noise at night.  Vancouver has also been unseansonably warm the past month so the apartment is warmer that we would like.  It is ok at night with the help of strategically placed fans, but it would be much nicer if we had actual air conditioning.  But I will say that it is easy to get around town from this location and there is a grocery store within walking distance.

Sunday

We attended Mass at the cathedral downtown and just hung around the apartment and relaxed for a bit before going to see Despicable Me 2 at a movie theater.  The kids loved it!  It was the first time I've ever bought movie tickets for five and wow, does that ever add up fast!  We met up with Al and Sandra that evening for dinner.  They had lots of suprises for the kids of course, and some extra special things for the recent birthday girl.  She is still playing with the mylar butterfly ballon they got for her and I hope we don't have much of a fight on our hands when we have to explain we can't bring it home with us on the plane! 

Monday

We spent the whole day on Granville Island.  The morning was spent shopping in the various toy stores in the Kids Market (we picked up some interesting games for the kids).  We met up with Al and Sandra for lunch and then walked around and window shopped for a bit until the stores closed.

Tuesday

We took the scenic highway north along the coast toward Whistler and stopped at Britannia Beach to tour the famous Britannia Mine.  There we learned about mining for copper in the early and mid 1900's.  Our tour guide was excellent and very knowlegeable.  She was able to answer Brannon's detailed questions about extraction methods and pollution effects but was also able to engage the kids and keep them interested in the story of the mine.  James enjoyed trying to work all of the old machinery while Brannon and Madeleine spent a LOT of time panning for gold and other minerals.  Charlotte even got in a good nap in the stroller while Brannon and Madeleine panned for gold.  They finally kicked us out at closing time.

Wednesday

This is the day that Brannon has been waiting for all week - sailing day!  He chartered a 33 foot sailboat and captain for the day.  Al and Sandra joined us at the docks on Granville Island at 8:30am and we boarded with our snacks, picnic lunch and drinks at 9am.  After the pre-sail checkout (which was very detailed - we learned all about the various safety, power, and water systems on the boat), we set out under motor for the bay.  We motored for an hour or so out of the bay, past all the anchored tankers (which are HUGE), out north toward Howell Sound and the good wind.  Once under sail, the boat started to heel (tilt to the side) and we discovered that we had water in the cabin below deck.  Quite a bit of water, in fact.  The captain and I worked on figuring out where the water was coming from while Brannon sailed the boat.  After much rooting around under the floor of the cabin and bailing while the bilge pump was running, we concluded that there was a leak in the fresh water tank.  The captain wanted to return to the dock, but since we had the water level under control and there was a finite amount of water in the fresh water tank (30 gallons), I assured him I would bail and monitor the water level so Brannon could continue to sail.  The kids had a blast playing in the cabin below while the rest of us stayed up on deck to view the beautiful scenery.  The weather was fabulous, although the wind was probably lighter than Brannon would have liked.  He had a blast though and has spent all his free time since yesterday looking at boats online and reading about sailing around Seattle and Vancouver.

Thursday

Today we drove to the Cleveland Dam to hike around, tour the salmon hatchery there and have a picnic lunch under the canopy of the forest.  We watched several people fishing in the stream, but no one caught anything while we watched.  You could see lots of fish in the water though, and some of them were very large.  I'm sure Dad and John would have caught something if they had been there.  We had dinner with Al and Sandra at their favorite fancy restaurant in downtown Vancouver - I had escargot for the first time, as did Madeleine and Charlotte.  James was not interested in trying the snails (no suprise there).  On the way home we stopped at a playground so the kids could get out some of their pent-up energy.  They fell right asleep as soon as they laid down.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Vancouver - we will leave early Saturday morning for Seattle to catch our flight back to Dallas.

More Fun in Seattle

Enjoyed the view from Kerry Park last night. Spent the morning at the Pikes Farmers Market and the afternoon at the Seattle Aquarium.  We managed to buy only two flowers (which the girls just HAD to have from the flower market) and a Hot Wheels car from the miniature car shop. We did get some fabulous tasting peaches and cherries to go with our picnic lunch too - I really enjoyed seeing all the fresh produce at the market and sampling some of the fresh fruit.  I have no idea how many miles we walked today, but I know it was a bunch!

Seattle, WA

We are in Seattle now, on our way up to Vancouver in a few days. Our first stop in the city was the Children's Museum. The kids are having a blast exploring the exhibits - they've been bird watching, built forts, explored other cultures, and shopped at the grocery store. I think their favorite thing so far has been the Imagination Studio. There they sculpted clay, did glitter/glue art and constructed things out of recycled materials. I made Brannon a hat, which so far he has declined to wear around the museum.  

I'm hoping the fog will clear out by the time we are done here so we can actually see the famous Space Needle!

Trip to the Beach

It's vacation time at the Marlowe house! We spent the last full week of July at the beach in Florida with friends - 8 kids and 6 adults in one house, but it was great! 

We drove from Dallas to Seagrove, FL on Friday and Saturday and stayed at rental house with the Rosselli's and the Comeaux's. The drive was fine, but I'm pretty sure that's the longest drive we will ever make! The kids did great in the car - I had plenty of books, games, and movies to keep them occupied.  I remembered a lot more fighting on our road trips growin up, but mom assures me that having a DVD player in the car is one of the greatest inventions ever. I think I'd have to agree with that!

The weather was decent - it probably rained a little more than we would have liked, but it keep the temperatures down and the kids didn't seem to mind playing together in the house while we waited out the storm. In fact, James probably would have preferred it to going back in the sand ever again. But in typical James fashion, once you convinced (I.e. dragged) him to go to the beach, he had a blast. Charlotte's favorite thing was playing in the sand, but by the last day she wanted to spend most of the time in the water. Madeleine loved playing in the surf and floating on the surface with her goggles on to watch the fish swimming below. 

We cooked all but one meal at the house, dividing up the meal responsibilities between the three families. Luckily, the three moms involved love to cook and the food was great! The last evening we drove down to Seaside to explore and have dinner at the food trucks. And of course we had to get some ice cream and visit the local toy store. 

It was a great beach vacation - I'd definitely do it again! 

 

Vacation Bible Camp

This week the kids and I are doing VBC at Christ the King. My good friends are the directors of the camp this year and they have done a great job organizing everything and everyone. I'm leading the craft station this year and finding it much easier than the job I did last year (yay!).  This is Charlotte's fist year as a camper and she did fairly well yesterday. She was a little clingy every time she saw me, but would eventually go back with her group of preschoolers. Today is Day 2 and the kids all seem excited to be going back!

 The theme this year is "Kingdom Rock" so our first craft was to make crowns. Of course James couldn't just be a king, he had to be a ninja too. 

Last Day of First Grade

It has been a good year for Madeleine at Christ the King, but she is ready for summer break to begin! This morning the kids went to Mass and then signed each others' yearbooks. Then summer break began! First thing we did? Hit the UP Pool for a picnic and fun in the water!

Madeleine being picked up at carpool... Summer break is on!

In case you didn't know...

Random fact: 8 boxes of Trader Joes granola/fruit bars fit perfectly into an Austin peanut butter cracker box. 

Tball Time!

This is James' second tball game... He had two solid hits and even tagged a runner out when he played first baseman. He's loving it! 

Maiden Voyage

Introducing the Wagaboo... My new boat! Brannon and the kids bought me jewelry for Mothers Day, but I decided I'd much rather have a small boat I can take the kids fishing in so I took the jewelry back and went boat shopping. We launched her for the first time this afternoon. And on my inaugural fishing trip, I caught 9 sunfish and 3 bass. The kids are looking forward to going fishing tomorrow! 

Last Day of Swim Lessons

This past Monday was the last day of swim lessons for the kids. They've been taking lessons since January and have made a lot of progress...Madeleine and James can both swim across the pool with a freestyle stroke and Charlotte is great at kicking and jumping in all by herself. Charlotte was very sad that swim lessons were ending, but all three are excited that the community pool opens this weekend. I am sure we will be visiting it frequently this summer. 

Pool Party

Saturday afternoon Madeleine attended a birthday party for three girls in her class. They had a pool party at a grandparent's house with a DJ and cute flip flops as party favors. They girls had a ton of fun swimming, dancing, and jumping off the rocks into the water. The backyard was a fabulous place to have a party - we are so lucky to have such great friends in our class!

Mini Beach Vacation

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Bass Pro World on Lake Ray Hubbard. 

The main purpose of the trip was to buy me a little boat to take to the lake so I could take the kids fishing. The kids loved looking at all the animals and fish aquariums while we were there and had lots of fun playing in the boats. I think their favorite thing, though, was playing on the little sand beach outside the restaurant. They probably spent at least an hour digging and building sand castles while Brannon and I sat on a bench enjoying the view of the lake. It was a fun little mini vacation for the afternoon. 

Jim & Christie Long Reception Pictures

Here are a few pictures from my cousin's wedding reception this past weekend...

Aunt Peggy, Dad and Mom

my cousins Colleen and Jim with the two flower girls from their wedding

the Gormley/Stanley clan in attendance

Aunt Peggy with six of her seven kids

Mama's New Shoes

Brannon bought me a new pair of running shoes (no, they are not Mother's Day Present, thank goodness). He says he was going for subtle. :-P

Strict Mommy

I found this on Brannon's side of the bed this evening... I guess she did not like being disciplined for fighting with her brother and then for slamming her door when she was sent to her room. I find it rather amusing that she thinks her Daddy could make me less strict. Baby, I was born this way! :-)

American Girl Party

Madeleine and Charlotte attended their first party at the American Girl store this weekend. Both girls brought their dolls dressed in matching dresses and had dinner with their friends and dolls. Charlotte was so excited to be included with the "big girls"! And by dumb luck, I left my wallet at home and so we managed to get out of the store without buying a bunch of new stuff! :-)

Thursday Tennis

JeanMarie and I took a tennis lesson together this morning (before it rained, thankfully!).  We ended the lesson with a little match and she is somehow under the impression that she won.  Of course, I would hate to have to bust her bubble and let her know I intentionally lost so she wouldn't feel bad...  We both laughed when the coach asked: "Y'all aren't very competitive, are you?"  :-)