Caleb's Fifteen Seconds of Fame

Caleb performed "Strega Nona" in the Lone Star Storytelling Festival in October. The festival included about a dozen youth tellers who trained for five months to be the opening act for the professional tellers. Caleb was the youngest teller, but it didn't seem to make him nervous training with middle and high school students. Since he thrives on having an audience, I was pretty confident he would do a fantastic job performing, but I must admit I got pretty nervous when he accidentally belched in two of his rehearsals. (Guess he got carried away in the story and forgot his manners.) Thanks to Gas-X on the day of the festival, he hit his performance out of the ballpark when it really mattered. The day before the festival, Caleb gave two performances for a few hundred Frisco fourth graders who came out to see the story tellers on a special field trip. The day of the festival was rainy with a smaller crowd, but it was still great to see him perform. He even got in a few extra performances at his elementary school since the 3rd grade teachers happened to be studying "Strega Nona" and several asked him to come perform for their classes. Caleb had such a great time he's already searching for material for his audition for next year.

Our whole family has "Strega Nona" memorized

Working the audience

Big Anthony after eating too much pasta

Caleb on stage with his coach, fellow student teller, and professional teller

Uncle Danny got to perform with an Emmy Award winning musician

This man made Caleb's day by asking for his autograph

Atlanta Trip

On our way home from the Smoky Mountains, we stopped for a little sight seeing in Atlanta.
It was wonderful getting to see our Pennsylvania friends the Pruitts. Sarah cooked a pizza lunch for us and John showed us the amazing patio he built in their backyard.

Caleb and Ted went on a tour of CNN studios.

We visited the Coca Cola Museum. At the end, they had a room with free samples of every kind of soda imaginable from all over the world. The kids had a blast trying as many as they could. We don't normally drink soda, so it was a surreal experience. The look on Sierra's face says it all.

The light and water show at Olympic Park

President Sierra at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum

This is where Martin Luther King was pastor during the Civil Rights Movement.

Madeline making a pterodactyl puppet after seeing a funny and educational puppet show about dinosaurs.

The Georgia Aquarium--here's a sample of why it's the biggest in the world.

Smoky Mountains in Tennessee

Our family had a great time on our trip to the Smoky Mountains. It was just over a 14 hour drive, but fortunately the kids did very well in the car and Madeline is finally getting old enough to entertain herself with her little DVD player. We caught the end of the fall foliage, and the kids loved having a chance to experience autumn. We took lots of hikes, and as always the biggest hit was tossing rocks in the river. Caleb celebrated his 9th birthday while we were there and was delighted to receive a Wii. We spent lots of time relaxing at the timeshare (thanks once again to Ted's parents), drinking hot cocoa by the fire, and enjoying the beautiful deck overlooking the mountains.
On the deck at the timeshare

Caleb on his 9th birthday

Madeline's little pioneer cabin--she kept running back when we tried to leave

Leaf collecting

Mountain vista

We saw quite a few black bears on the hiking trails and even in the trees. This one crossed right in front of our path.

Sunset at the timeshare

Caleb's birthday celebration

Morning sunshine

Cherokee Museum

Clingman's Dome--the highest point in the Smoky Mountains

Sierra loved pulling moss off the rocks

Madeline and her "magic wand"

Tossing stones in the river

Wonderworks Museum

Our favorite pancake house--Caleb almost managed to eat three large strawberry pancakes with whipped cream on top

The mountains had perfect climbing rocks

Halloween

Our family was traveling on Halloween, but we did attend a couple pre-Halloween events. Sierra dressed as a rainbow, Caleb as Zeus, and Madeline as Sleeping Beauty.

Dallas Arts District

Dallas got a new opera house, and the city celebrated the event by offering free admission to the downtown museums. We had a wonderful day enjoying musical and dance performances, outdoor sculpture, and the beautiful fall weather.
Sculpture Museum

Buddhist monk making a sand mandala in just one day

Musical concert at Guadalupe Cathedral

Dallas Botanical Gardens

How many clicks does it take to get the perfect family picture? Okay, I will settle for a decent one. How about if we just get one where no one is crying or sticking a finger up their nose? Our family spent a beautiful day at the Dallas Botanical Gardens. Uncle Danny agreed to take a few pictures of our family, which soon turned into 300 just to get a few that turned out. (The kids haven't figured out yet that if they cooperate the torture of being photographed will be over faster.) We realized after a little trial and error that the kids were much happier being photographed when they could splash around in the water. A big kudos to the most patient uncle ever--he even managed to get some great shots. (I've included some of the best on the blog site header and sidebar.)

http://www.djphotography.comze.com/

Madeline Turns Three

Madeline (our BABY) turned three on August 10th--where does time go? She seemed a little shy at first to own up to her new age, but by the end of the day, she was an old pro at sticking up three fingers. We celebrated with a simple family party and some fun presents--chalk, a comfy blanket, and a Hello Kitty umbrella from our family, a doll house family from Nana and Grandpa, and her favorite CD of Barbie songs from Grammy and Papa.
Madeline makes the best funny faces. She brings so much laughter to our family.

The sad tale of Madeline's kitty cat birthday cake... The book behind the actual cake has the photo in the cake book Madeline carried around for a couple months before her birthday. She wanted me to make a cake like the one in the book. Anyone who has ever seen me attempt to create something artistic knows that I am truly not just being humble when I say that I have no talent. But I really did think I could pull this easy cake off. I thought chocolate frosting would taste better than an orange tinted vanilla frosting (chocolate always does), and I didn't realize how much she had counted on her cake being an authentic orange kitty. She kept saying, "No, this isn't my cake. This cake looks like a bear." And maybe it did look more like the bear in the cake book than the cat. It's a pretty sad commentary on my cake decorating abilities that I can't pass muster with a three-year-old. All was forgiven once she had her first bite.