Professional Pictures!!

We took the plunge with a great photographer named Shannon, and we got some really great shots.

If you would like to check them out, here's how:
1) Click HERE
2) Select "clients" from right hand corner
3) You do need to create a log in
4) Find our picture and select it
5) the password is "zilker"

These are really awesome, and I am having a tough time deciding which ones to buy! Who knew trogs could look so good?

Houston, we have a problem!

For Spring Break we headed to Houston to visit the Johnson Space Center. The JSC (thats what those in the know call it) was full of cool artifacts, displays, and tours. We ended up spending a whole day puttering around. Touring the campus really made you envy the people that work there; you can feel their excitement as they describe the work they do. It also made me think back to when NASA was in its infancy, and how electric the atmosphere must have been with everyone working together towards such a fantastic goal. And when you see those tiny capsules at the top of the rockets, you cannot but help feel like those astronauts were total bad asses because there is NO way I would ever agree to take a trip in one of those tin cans. Pride was infectious as we witnessed such amazing achievements in our space program, not only as Americans but as humans. I feel quite strongly that our journey is not over, and it is a shame that our government would like to farm space exploration out to the private sector. Hope everyone had an awesome Spring Break, now bring on summer!

What a shame we have to pass by Brenham on our way to Houston. You know we had to stop for some Blue Bell!

NASA restored the Saturn V rocket, and has it on display in a gigantic warehouse. Seeing this rocket was the boy's favorite thing. It was immense. The capsule was the only part left in it's original condition.

NASA has an enormous underwater training facility. The astronauts train underwater on space equipment, so that they will be ready for their mission in space. We actually saw astronauts training. and they will be going up in the shuttle next month.

On our way home, we checked out Galveston. We found this water marker from Ike. Couldn't figure out why none of the parking meters worked, until Jake ascertained that they had all been underwater!

3/21 ~ World Down Syndrome Day!

Had an awesome trip to Houston, and now Spring Break is almost over. And how will we be spending the last day of Spring Break? Cramming of course. Jake has work, Ethan has to read & create a diorama, and Rhys has a homework packet he forgot about. Lucy is the only one with the day off! So with that quick update, I better get going I hear a diorama calling my name!

I Pledge Allegiance to Thee, Texas

In honor of Texas Independence Day, the 1st graders had a Texas float parade. Two years ago Rhys & I watched his brother in this particular parade. Since that day Rhys has known exactly what kind of float he would have because two years ago Rhys fell in love with an Alamo themed float. It was a no brainer. Rhys was not really interested in the particulars of the float, but you can bet your boots that he personally selected the placement of each soldier & cannon. Afterwards he excitedly told me, "The Kindergarteners loved mine, Mom. They were yelling to see it again." And of course a work of art like that cannot be destroyed, so it has been placed next to Ethan's to collect dust & remind us daily of the things we love so much about our state.

Lucy's New Trick

Lucy loves climbing the chairs and getting up on the table. Today she found something yummy!

Joon was in charge of clean up!

Destination Imagination

Destination Imagination has been a presence in our lives for 5 months!! Jacob volunteered to be the coach for the WES & WPS teams. He held practices twice a week, and eventually 3 times a week to help the kids get ready for the tournament on Feb. 27.
Just a short explanation. Destination Imagination is a competition for children to create an object, and produce a skit around the object. Ethan's team had to build a robotic device that would help someone, and Rhys' team had a to build an object out of paper & tape that would hold at least 10 lbs. This does not sound like much but the kids had to do it all on their OWN!! Just listening to their practices drove me nuts. They had to create their object, write the skit, make all the props & costumes, and be able to move all of it by themselves.
This was a huge undertaking, especially since WES & WPS had never sponsored a DI team before. So Jake had no idea what he was doing, but he did a great job! Jake guided the teams, and helped keep their ideas "do-able". Then he had to teach them how to make their designs a reality by teaching the kids how to use power tools, solder, wire electronics, design a structure, and work together as a team (which alone is a monumental task!!). The week before tournament he swore he wouldn't do it again, but he is already thinking of ways to do it better next year. I have to say that being a part of this experience was very rewarding, and I am so proud of Jacob for all his hard work & dedication to his teams. Cuz I would've knocked some heads off!

Lucy enjoying a donut!

The Rampaging Robots built a robot that activated a time machine. The time machine sent Payton back in time to stop the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Windermere Primary News Team made an underwater sea castle that could hold 12 1/2 lbs. They held their newscast underwater and interviewed the castle residents on life in the castle.