ArtSparks

Amey Christmas Letter 2014

Merry Christmas from the Ameys! Enjoy our postcards from 2014 :)

Three Years Later...

Here we are at the Texas State Fair in 2011

 And here we are in the same spot in 2014!

(Wyatt still has some trouble looking at the camera. Ha!)

Lila's Art Party {8 years old}

This summer, Lila turned 8. Eight. She is two years away from double digits! Where has the time gone? Her birthday happened just a few weeks after we returned from our summer trip to AL/Ireland, and I knew I would have a hard time pulling a party together to have at home that fast. So, we decided to have the party at a painting place. Then I was not in charge of the activities - just the food and a few decorations. Lila thought it was a great idea too :)

 At the painting place, I was limited to one counter for the food/decorations. So here it is!

We had "paintbrushes" made from pretzels and hershey kisses covered in chocolate.

Art palette sugar cookies (with m&m's for the paint).

A color wheel of fruit!

(Also, not pictured were "Creative Juice" boxes.)

In addition to their finished painting, the girls got to take home a little art caddy.

This was my one time-consuming decoration. I saw a similar over-sized paint tube online and (like with most things), I thought, "I think I could do that." It turned out pretty cool! So cool I was able to sell it to the paint place for what it cost to make (which was great because, really, what was I going to do with a big paint tube after this party?!)

Me and the birthday girl

Here she is working on her painting. She got to choose which painting they painted. She chose "Trendy Tulips".

The painting place gave her a little gift - a small canvas and some paints.

It was fun to watch the girls' paintings come along. I'm sure if it was a group of women, there would be much talk and laughter. But these girls were intent and quiet.

Ta-da!

We were extra lucky to have family in town so Lila's cousins could be at the party too!

Here's Lila's finished painting (and the original example in the background).

Ben's Latest Adventure

In the past few months, Ben has developed a new hobby... geocaching. If you've never heard of it before, it is where you search using GPS for hidden "treasure" or caches that people have hidden. The GPS will get you in the right area but then you have to use your eyes to find the container... which varies in size! Some are pretty hard to find. Inside there is a log where you can sign your name. Often he takes the kids along and they set out on an adventure. Today they ended up splashing through a creek to find a cache, and everyone had fun. These pictures are from the end of April when we went looking for a couple geocaches. I wasn't expecting to find this abandoned railroad (photo op!!), or I would have brought my "real" camera. But I had my trusty phone camera at least!

Wyatt helps himself to a bandaid if he gets a scrape or scratch. So don't let the large bandages fool you... no, he did not get attacked by a dog. Those were probably just the first bandaids he found!

Lila took our picture for us. (I was wearing pants because I knew we'd be walking in the woods.)

There was one geocache we couldn't find, so Piper and I took pictures while Ben and Wyatt and Lila kept searching. (Piper likes to hold her neck sometimes... she's done it since she was a baby. I'm wondering at what age she will outgrow it.)

Playing on a tree while Dad continues the search.

(We never did find it... guess we'll have to go back sometime! I'll be sure to bring my camera!)

Rodeo Day at Preschool

Wyatt's school had a Rodeo Day at the end of March. Piper and I went to help out. Here is Wyatt's class with his teacher, Mrs. Deats, and her sons who also helped that day.

First they did a square dance (in a circle).

Then they had a relay race where they had to put western clothes on.

Piper decided to ride the pony :)

Wyatt took a turn too.

Three-legged race.

Me and Cowboy Wyatt

Story time around the "campfire" where they also enjoyed a S'more.

Barber shop. Wyatt got to shave a balloon with a foam razor :)

Drawing faces on the wanted poster.

Decorating a cup that was used to plant bluebonnet seeds.

Eating the chuck wagon lunch - hotdogs!

Circle time!

Singing with Mrs. Deats - she is such a fun teacher! Piper really enjoys the times we spend with Wyatt's class and getting to participate with them.

Update

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this blog. My three munchkins are growing up fast and keeping me busy. This picture was taken at least a month ago. I think about my blog and get overwhelmed with how far behind I am. So, I'm just going to give a little update on the kids and life in general and try and go from there.

Lila
When I was pregnant with Lila, I remember praying to God that I would have a child who shared my love of reading. Well, He definitely answered that request with Lila! We pick out about 30 books from the library at a time for her. I say things like "please stop reading and eat" or I have to tell her things 2-3 times because she didn't hear it the first time when she was reading. Haha, I remember being at my grandmother's house when I was 10 or 12 and coming out of my book to discover that everyone (grandparents, cousins) were gone. About the time I was starting to get panicked concerned, they pulled up in the car. They had taken my cousins home who lived just a few minutes away. And they had told me where they were going - but I didn't hear them because I was reading. So whenever I find myself repeating things to Lila when she's reading, I try to remember that she is just like me :)

Lila is having a good 2nd grade year. She continues to be friends with all the kids in her class. She doesn't have a best friend, but part of that could be because she hasn't ever had the same kids in her class two years in a row! She does have 2 neighbor girls that she plays with a lot.

Wyatt
Wyatt is going to preschool three days a week. He does really well in school, listening and following directions, and he loves his teacher. Next year he will start Kindergarten, and I think the hardest part for him may be going every day (because he likes his days at home too). For the past three years, he has gone with me to Lila's school when I volunteer, so he is very familiar with the building and many teachers. I think that will help him to feel comfortable starting Kindergarten.

Wyatt loves to play Lego video games. He also loves to build with Legos. Last year he had a Lego birthday party, and he says he wants to have another one this year. Catching a theme? He likes Legos :)  He is doing a really good job learning to read. I bought some Lego Batman phonics books which have been perfect for him - his favorite subject and right at his level.

Piper
Piper is oh so stubborn. I say that, knowing full well she takes after me. Lots of stories of my stubbornness when I was little. So when she furrows her brow at me, I have a hard time not laughing; it's so cute. But I know that stubbornness also drives her "I want to do it myself" attitude. On Mondays Piper goes to a gymnastics class which she really enjoys. She does struggle a bit with wanting to do her own thing instead of listening to the coach. I think if anyone is going to give their school teacher a difficult time, it might be this one :) Good thing she has a couple more years before we find out!

We've made it through potty-training - well, except for the few times she decides she doesn't want to stop what she's doing to use the toilet. But all in all, she's done pretty well with the whole process. She continues to love the color pink, Finding Nemo and recently found a new love for the movie Frozen (and all the songs from it too!)

Ben has traveled overseas more this year than ever before. So I stay pretty busy during those times. The kids go to bed earlier those weeks too :) I signed up to be the room mother for both Lila and Wyatt's class this year, which means I get to plan the class parties - often they are on the same day! It will be nice to have them both at the same school next year. Between time spent at school and time at home, I have a lot to keep me away from my blog, but I'm going to try and do better!