The Whole Enchilada

This past weekend in Las Cruces was the Whole Enchilada Fiesta. I guess the reason why they have it is this person makes the biggest enchilada in the world (it's in the Guinness Book of World Records - who knew there was a category for enchiladas?). The making of the Enchilada takes place on Sunday, so we didn't see that. We weren't really sure what to expect but we heard there was a parade on Saturday morning, so that's the only part of the celebration that we attended. Maybe next year we'll have to venture out and participate a little bit more. We ended up right at the beginning of the parade. Here's Rachel blocking some of that great Las Cruces sunshine.

David and Josh waiting for the fun to begin.

The parade featured several marching bands - NMSU & each of Las Cruces' three high schools. Josh was plugging his ears for this part.

The kids got kick out of this miniature little horse (or pony? I'm not sure).

The also loved these cars with their funny doors - some of them could raise up and down around the tires.

Emma enjoyed her lei and candy.

We had a fun morning! I was considering getting there early and running in the 5K race, but my knee has been bothering me lately and I didn't want to stress it. I'll have to try for that next year.

Here is Rachel with the hair bows I made for those of you who wanted a picture of them in action.

Curly Hair Bows

I learned how to make these fun bows at a church craft activity (Super Saturday). Rachel wanted one tied onto an elastic for ponytails, and I made the other two on metal clips for Emma. They sure take a while to make, but they really are cute. Rachel helped me make the bows by twirling the ribbon around the dowels. She already wants to make several more sets. There is a tutorial online if you are interested in making some of your own. I just used different clips and I tied the bunch of ribbons together with a piece of flat ribbon. I used two 10 yard spools of thin ribbon - it's supposed to make 2 very fluffy bows but I divided it into three and they still looked great. It's a fun project!

A Star Wars Birthday

Josh loves all things Star Wars, the legos, the video game, and the movies. So, when his birthday rolled around, I knew that he would love getting some new Star Wars stuff. He loved the action figures he got (some of which helped decorate his cake) and the ship. He also got some Star Wars dishes. I guess the one thing that didn't go along with the theme was a Spiderman water bottle, but he loved that anyway. The great thing about this age is you can get them almost anything - and you know that they will appreciate it. He actually asked for a scooter (we already have a few, though technically they don't belong to Josh, but he already rides the ones we have all the time) and a Superman cake (because he had one a couple years a go). He also wanted some Lego Star Wars sets. He was absolutely thrilled with everything he got even though it wasn't what he asked for. Sometimes you don't know you want something until you actually have it. I think he'll be rounding out his collection with the birthday money from grandparents. Here are some pictures from his family party. He turned 6.



Happy Birthday Josh!

Emma's Homework

Thanks to Starfall, which Emma can sit and play on for long periods of time, she knows almost all of her letters! I know some kids are practically reading by age 3 - but for Emma this is a pretty big accomplishment. I didn't even realize that she knew her letters until she was pointing some of them out to me. She loves to sit and type. She calls this her "homework" and she demands to do it quite often. Rachel got this shot of her in action.



I'm glad that she loves to learn!

The Great Egg Drop

For school, Josh had to come up with a container that would safely cradle an egg as it was dropped off the roof at school. We packed it in a small gladware container surrounded by cotton balls, wrapped it in toilet paper, and then (this part was Josh's idea) taped a grocery sack on the top to act as a parachute. I really had my doubts that his egg would make it through unscathed. Parents were able to attend. I forgot my camera so I had to make do with my cell phone. I took a picture of his teacher dropping it off the roof but for some reason, it was set on really low resolution so that picture didn't turn out. Josh's egg landed softly and I really think that the parachute helped. I was really surprised that his egg did not break!


The funniest egg container was brought by a dad who brought some office supplies to school that morning and the kid just put his egg in a padded envelope. He didn't even seal it! The egg broke and splattered all over the side of the school. Another kid packed his in kix cereal (which the kids were all eating when he opened his box). And another kid's egg made it through okay only for him to pick it up and break it on his head - I'm glad I wasn't the teacher who had to deal with that mess. It was a fun activity for the kids to do and Josh was really excited that his egg did not break.

Science project

In school David had to do a "mini" science project. The teacher basically wanted the kids to show that they know how to apply the scientific method. She stressed more than once not to do any thing elaborate. I wonder how many kids are going to show up at school with a table top display and a working model of the space shuttle? :) I know that teachers can tell when the parents actually do the work. So, while I did find some fun ideas on the internet that would be fairly easy and simple, I decided the project should be something that David came up with himself. The example the teacher gave was "who has better balance? boys or girls?" and they tested that in class. David's current interest is baseball so I asked him to think of something that had to do with baseball. He came up with "What rolls faster, a baseball or a tennis ball?" I thought it was perfect, and the teacher will know that he really did it by himself. They have to display their information in a file folder and explain each step of the scientific method. We worked on the project at home when he was recovering from his surgery. He really had a lot of fun! We "raced" the balls against each other at different inclines.


David's hypothesis was correct - the baseball won every time!

Fun with Paper mache

As most of you know my kids did a little paper mache project recently. It really was David's idea and he made the cutest turtle. The directions were for a piggy bank and David modified them to make a turtle. I was proud of them for wanting to spend their time on something "non-electronic" and proud of my self for allowing them to make such a mess in the house. They were so proud of their creations! Here is the work in action.



Here is David with his finished project.

They really love doing art projects - the messier, the better

One Brave Kid

On Friday, Sept 5, David had surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. He was only a little nervous and was a very brave kid. He only complained a little about not getting to eat that morning. When I told him that he wouldn't be able to eat breakfast on the morning of his surgery he said "I'll just have to wake up early and eat BEFORE breakfast!" I thought it was funny because it was the exact same thing that Rachel said when she had her eye surgery. Sorry kiddo - no food! He did great. Here he is smiling and waiting before the surgery.

This is after a little versed. This made him very sleepy and a little loopy.

After the surgery he did great! There wasn't any crying. In fact, when I said I wanted to take a picture of him, he smiled for the camera.

We are still recovering but it is going pretty well. The day of the surgery, he came home and got dressed and even asked to ride his bike! He still has a pretty sore throat (and I know it will get worse before it gets better, I've done this before) I am really hoping his sleep improves and he will not be so tired during the day.

Drippings Springs

Ever since we moved here, I've wanted to go visit the Dripping Springs National recreation area. It's supposed to be filled with beautiful scenery, breathtaking views, and (the best part) it's only 12 miles from where we live. Labor day was the perfect day for this. The night before, there was a heavy thunderstorm. There was a chance of rain for Monday, but we woke up to a crisp, refreshing, beautiful morning. The temperature was about 75 and only big white fluffy clouds dotted the sky. We packed up a picnic lunch and headed out the door. Our first stop was to the picnic area. If you are going to take your kids on a hike, you've got to fill up their tanks first!


Here is a shot of the mountains by the picnic area.


At the visitors center, we found out there were a number of hikes we could take. Also, the sign about what to do if you encounter a cougar, was a little unsettling. Anyway, one hike was about a half a mile each way, but not much to see. One was 1.5 miles each way and you got to see the drippings springs and some ruins of an old resort that was up there. Another hike was much longer and steeper, but it led to an amazing waterfall. We opted for the one in the middle. We thought that the kids could probably handle 3 miles. Also, all the rain we had been receiving lately was sure to make the dripping springs do a little more than just drip.

Here are David and Josh by a cactus.

Pictures of the mountains along the way.

Of course with the kids, we had to take a lot of breaks.

Emma got a ride most of the way.

We finally made it! You could hear the water before you could see it, and that was a good motivation.



All in all, it was a great day. The kids only complained a little about the hike and how they were tired, but they all said they had fun. Here are all of the pictures from our outing.