The Oil Ranch!

For those of you wondering why we would be visiting a place called The Oil Ranch, please remember we are living in Texas.  Contrary to its name, we encountered no oil.  We did however meet a lot of friendly little farm critters.



Baby bunnies!

 



with Pop & KiKi



Hayride & feeding cows

            

 



Serious conversations

 

Uncle Stone - funny guy.

Cousins, Costumes & Candy



Mid-October found us celebrating our cousin, Lilli's second birthday!  Such a celebration!




Avery, Lilli & Kylie

The girls with the GREAT grandmothers

So stylish

This Halloween was our first attempt at trick-or-treating.  It was a blast!  We met up with several other families and went out like a herd, descending on any neighbor brave enough to have their porch light on.  Kylie dressed as Snow White, and Avery as Minnie Mouse.

Scary Faces



Sweet Faces



Friends!
And Avery about to get her eye poked out...it's tough being the youngest!



Loves her Daddy  :)

Our Three Ring Circus



At Barnum & Baily's Circus w/ KiKi & Pop



Facepainting! 

Philip is by far the more fun parent ; )

August-September brought a whirlwind of activity, as I know it does for most families.

• We have officially started "school".  We meet once a week with other homeschooling families to learn in a more structured classroom setting, while learning at home the rest of the week.  Thus far I am very pleased with the routine and the lovely families we have met.  Of course so much of our progress (or lack thereof) depends on my keeping everyone on schedule.  So, I have really come to appreciate that "list-making gene" I inherited from my mother!

Soccer

• Kylie has begun her first season of soccer! I don't know how good she is yet, but she is DARN cute in those shin guards and tall socks! ; ) Her team consists of 9 little girls called the Butterflies, and they sport turquoise jerseys with matching tie-dyed socks!

Attack that ball!

The team

The Savior

• Philip has gone and returned from 6 weeks of filming THE SAVIOR in Bulgaria and Jordan.  There is a certain boisterous joy missing in the house when he's not here, so we're glad to get him back!  This film is the long-awaited capstone to a project he has put ten years of his life into.  I am so proud of his work and the many lives it is touching.  I was able to join him for one week in Bulgaria, so here are a few of the pictures I took. 

Philip had a cameo role as the Roman soldier that nailed the sign on Jesus' cross.



John & Philip having set discussions.

The Lady of Freedom in downtown Sofia.  Erected after the fall of Communism.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia.



Natural spring water that comes out in the city square.  People bring jugs of all sizes to fill up.

Spice Market

Pretty little flower shop

 

 

Lazy Days

So nearly a month after the July 4th holiday I sit here updating this little online journal.  I've decided something mysterious happens to one's time management skills when you have little ones.  I am perpetually busy, yet when asked what I do everyday, I find myself at a loss for words. 

 It's true that I do tend forget a lot of the little tasks that keep us occupied all day, but it's also true that most people don't want to hear the mundane, like - -

"Actually, we changed wet underwear mulitple times, washed the pee sheets for the third time this week, medicated mosquito bites repeatedly, worked on Kylie's handwriting, settled a major squabble over 'Cera' (the triceratops dinosaur), and that was all before breakfast!"

So here is a recap of our Fourth of July!  One day that does stand out this month...

We stayed the night at the farm and the girls collected the morning paper with Gan, one of their most favorite things to do.  It's almost worth going to bed at night if they know they have a paper to fetch in the morning.

Before going to the annual picnic we snuck out to see the freshly baled hay.

Kylie enjoyed a little hoist up...

...while Avery scowled at us from the truck.  She was not about to get up there.

Then we spent the evening at Big Der's. 

We enjoyed great company, a super cookout, and of course...

 lovely fireworks over Lake Palestine.

In Other News...

• I've been reading "Seven" by Jen Hatmaker and finding it a very convicting book about waste and stewardship and in general, just holding myself to a higher standard in daily life.
• Philip has been to Orlando and back, enjoying all he is doing with G2.  They are looking forward to filming The Savior very soon!
• Kylie had a super t-ball season and is looking forward to trying out soccer this fall.  We have also joined a local homeschool group called Classical Conversations.  It follows the classical education model and starting in September we will meet once a week with other preschool families embarking on the homeschool journey.  An exciting challenge for all of us, no doubt!
• Avery is recognizing and testing her little powers and personality, as all 2.5 year olds do.  She is feisty and funny (and sometimes not so funny), but overall such a delightful spirit.  We are rapidly learning that she is our family's litte piece of drama and comic relief! 

Summer Love

Summer is suddenly in full swing and we are LOVING all of these days

full of sunshine, swimming, and fun.  Hard to believe June is nearly finished,

but we've got lots more in store for July!

Kylie's preschool ended with a bang:  Field Day!
They even let Avery participate!

Kylie has started t-ball...her first experience with a "ball" sport!  So far it's going well.  At her first game Philip offered her a drink of water and she replied,
"No thanks, my sweat will keep me cool."
Yes, we have awesomely strange kids  =)

 We're also in the midst of our first round of swimming lessons.  She started off a little nervous,
but has proven herself a fish in the making.

And...we recently had a visit from our Hot-lanta, Georgia cousins (yay!).
We welcomed 'em Texas-style with one of our famous hotdog cookouts @ the farm.
Here are a couple shots of the girlies from that evening.

Memorial Day in H-town

We spent the long weekend at my parents house.  A great time was had by all, as we honored Memorial Day, which was particularly special this year because my brother.in.law, Nick, deployed Saturday for Afghanistan.  An added bonus was being with Uncle Stone for his birthday!

Avery poolside


Lots of water-sliding...

Uncle Stone's birthday dinner landed us at The Blue Nile for Ethiopian food (my favorite!), which Kylie quietly referred to "as piles of poop."

I'm still working on my adeptness with indoor lighting...bear with me!

Monday found our brood at the Rainforest Cafe, a great adventure for the girls!  Thanks, Mom & Dad, for a lovely weekend :)

Erin
In addition to running the girls around, playdates, and flirting with homeschool, I am attempting to grow my photography skills!  Slowly but surely...thus far I have taken one evening class in Dallas and several online tutorials. I have also started learning a new editing software. We shall see where I end up...hopefully not too frustrated ; )

Philip
As always, Phil has a lot of irons in the fire.  He has been out of town at least once a month since the beginning of the year.  This weekend he'll be in LA again for The Great American Pitchfest.  The filming of The Savior is steadily approaching as the funds come in and we are all excited about that!

Kylie & Avery
Kylie will have her first t-ball practice this Friday, with games carrying us through mid-July.  She will also start her first round of swimming lessons this month!  We've transformed the formal living room into a "school room".  Ultimately it's a good designated learning spot, reading, crafts, etc. Although Kylie was less than thrilled when I first moved all the furniture around, she is now in the habit of asking nearly every kid she meets, "What does your dining room look like?"  We are working our way through an English reading curriculum that seems to suit Ky very well and I'm teetering with starting her on some basic Hebrew in the near future.  Avery is ever-chipper and happy just to be included in whatever "my sister, Kylie" is doing!