Hurricane Ike

Well, for only being a category 1 (at landfall) hurricane, Ike, left quite a mess behind making millions lose power and water. We were lucky to only have lost power. Our house was spared from any falling trees. Apparently, the size of this storm and the amount of rainfall contributed to trees toppling, not because of high winds, but because the ground was so saturated. Having grown up in Puerto Rico, I've experienced many hurricanes before and I can tell you that in comparison, this one was wimpy. Not once did I hear the wind howling or see flying debris...imagine the devastation had the hurricane been stronger! Now I can appreciate why in Puerto Rico, by law, all houses have to be constructed of cement and rebar. I guess the three little pigs can really teach us a thing or two! Below are a few shots from our little corner of the world....

Robbie & Jack check out the scene from our front door. They had MAJOR cabin fever!

While Jack & Jeff slept in, Katja, Robbie, and I got on our bikes in the light rain and checked out the damage to the neighborhood. We soon discovered streets blocked by trees and pedaled through water that reached the top of our tires. At one point, when the water got too high and the current too strong, we had to get off our bikes and walk them until we reached shallower areas.

Some of our neighbors were not as lucky as we were....

Jack and Jeff checked out the scene outside on foot.

Uprooted trees were common due to over-saturation of the ground.

No power = No school for a week
As you can see the kids were devastated by these news.

Yet another uprooted tree...

The Evacuees!

After too many nights without power, and thus, air conditioning, we were rescued by Nana and Grandpa in Oklahoma. They booked the kids and I on the first flight out of Houston Hobby after the hurricane and spoiled us for a week. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! We totally enjoyed this unexpected vacation, which included Jack's first plane trip. I will post pictures of our visit there soon. (Notice Katja did not evacuate without her viola.)

Labor Day

Relaxing was the order for Labor Day weekend. We had a family day in the country behind Michelle & Chris' Outback Western Wear store. Their air conditioned event hall provided a nice respite from the heat and humidity of the day. Paco smoked his BEST EVER brisket while all the cousins ran wild outside playing with their big wheels, balls, bats, golf clubs, etc.... Robbie played photographer for a while. Any close ups that follow were taken by him and edited a bit by me.

Close-up of Katja by Robbie

Close-up of Papa by Robbie

Close-up of me by Robbie. I was so disgusted by my crow's feet, dark circles and wrinkles that I "photoshoped" most of them off!!! LOL! I wish I could do that for real....

Close-up of cousin Baz by Robbie

In addition to taking pictures, Robbie had a blast racing his little motorcycle in the open wearing his hockey helmet, and Jeff's work gloves. That's crazy, eh?

Even Jack got to ride the motorcycle with daddy. As you can tell by the smile on his face, it was quite the thrill for him. He points with his little index finger and says "go-go-go."

Naked, Again! Jack simply can't attend a family gathering without gleefully streaking naked at least once. This time he was chased by auntie Michelle's dog Cosmo who followed him everywhere and even kissed his....(harrrumph.) You just gotta LOVE those "Michelin" baby legs.... Yummy!! I could just kiss them, and pinch 'em, and take little bites..... which begs the question, how is this child only in the 30% (23.6 lbs) for weight while in the 75% (32.5 in) for height? I guess some recessive genes sneak in there somehow. Robbie, meanwhile, is in the 96% for weight and 61% for height. No surprises there!

Victory!

Robbie's football team won their first game of the season by over 30 points. Robbie never sat out.  He played tight end on offense and defensive end on defense.  His most notable accomplishment, a fumble recovery while playing defense.  He was soooooo- pumped!

Is that the cutest little football player ever, or what??

Football Fever

Yes, I finally gave in and let Robbie sign up for football.  He is playing in the local youth football league and has finally found his calling (much to my chagrin.)  He plays on both offense and defense. The coach is still moving kids around to see where they fit best, but it looks like Rob will play tight end on offense and defensive end on defense.  

I'm sure it will come as NO surprise to anyone to hear that Robbie enjoys plowing through the lines to get to the quarterback... and is successful almost always.  Unfortunately, in this league the quarterback hardly ever passes so by the time Rob gets to the QB, the ball has been handed off to a running back....  

Robbie actually hangs on to his coach's every word... Literally!

1. When his coach told him to "take down" his oponent, Robbie physically picked up the kid in front him (who was taller than Rob), threw him to the floor, and then went after the QB. The kid on the floor was so mad, he got up, ran after Robbie and pushed him from behind.  Robbie (much to my surprise, relief, and pride) did not retaliate, and thus, the play resulted in a penalty for the other team.  :)
   
2. When playing offense, and his coach told him to push the kid in front of him back away from the quarterback, Robbie pushed the kid back about 25 yards before the play ended. The crowd erupted in laughter and cheers and yelled, "Go Robbie!"

Coach told me that he fervently hopes we like football A LOT, because he predicts plenty of it in our family's future.  He says that Robbie listens ("Robbie Yanko?", I asked.  " Yes", he assured me.), follows directions (ditto), and learns fast (with that, at least, I could readily agree!). Below, you see Robbie all in black during a practice scrimmage against another team.  If you look carefully, his right hand is about to strip the football from the oponents arms.  This ultimately resulted in a fumble which Robbie's team recovered. :)

Jack can't wait until he's old enough to play football himself, and is drinking LOTS of milk in hopes of soon growing into Robbie's shoulder pads! LOL!  (I just looove those chunky little legs!)

Back to School!

Well, the first week of school has come to an end....  The kids both like their teachers and have friends in their classes so everyone is happy.  You know the kids are getting older when you not only have to remind them brush their teeth in the morning but to also put on deodorant!! Sniff, sniff....

One Cool Baby...

Jack and I spent some "mommy & me" time together playing one Saturday. One of our stops was what we now refer to as the "peek-a-boo" fountain at Market Street. It was a typical Texas hot summer day, so Jack loved cooling down by running from one water geyser to another.

I just loved watching the myriad of expressions on his face...

Yes, he even tried drinking the water! He was so cute to watch. I love seeing life through his eyes. It gives me a new appreciation for the simple little pleasures life has to offer and we adults overlook in our rush to get the next thing done....

As I chased him around the fountain, I noticed his baby foot prints and couldn't resist taking a picture of the "pitter-patter" of his little feet.

While at Market Street, we ran into baby Annemarie. She was a "shleepy-angel" and thus, not in the mood for frolicking in the water with Jack. However, she looked like a little princess in an outfit we got for her, so of course, we couldn't get away without snapping a picture. She's quite the light sleeper, though. Just the sound of the shutter going off roused her enough to open her eyes. Luckily, she dozed off again shortly thereafter...Katie looked ready to draw blood otherwise!

Lazy Days of Summer

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!!!!! Grandpa Bill celebrated his latest birthday surrounded by all his grandchildren (minus Jack who was sleeping at the time) at the Yatch Club in Walden. It was a great evening, and all the kids got to boogie with the birthday boy! (Sorry the picture is so small....low resolution, blah, blah, blah....)

Well, my kids are taking the saying "lazy days of summer" to heart! That is, when they're not at some summer camp or another. Robbie loves reading the new graphic novels for kids. Snitch loves to cuddle with whoever is lounging about.

When she's not on the court playing volleyball, Katja can be found swimming or finding more appetizing ways to cool off. Bluebell chocolate chip was a favorite treat while visiting Nana & Grandpa in Oklahoma!  Now that we're back home, they are having to adjust to fresh fruit instead for snacking.... (Can you believe Katja's tan??? Robbie, who spends the same time in the sun as she does, looks pale in comparison.  She, of course, takes her olive skin complexion and easy tanning quite for granted!)

Jack got to bond with Grandpa Bill in Oklahoma for about a week. He was EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING! It will probably take Nana a week to De-Jack-Proof the house now that we're gone!  The "touch" lamp was the only casualty of the week...sighh..............

Where the baby go???????
Peek-a-boo!!!!!!

Jack loves playing with his older siblings. He is so spoiled with attention from all of us. He has NO idea how good he's got it!  I love to hear all three giggling and having fun, which happens quite a lot these summer days. It just makes my heart sigh with delight.... 

And Baby will Make Three!

Congratulations to one of my dearest friends in the world, Andrea, and to the man that FINALLY won her heart, Paul!  They are selling their "pad" on Notting Hill, (as seen in the movie with Julia Roberts & Hugh Grant), England to move to a house in order to set up the much awaited (by me and Big K, i'm sure) Nursery!!!  Auntie Millie will start looking at airfares into Heathrow and start baby shopping very soon!!!!  Blessings to all!

Cancun & 4th of July

Basking in the Mexican Sun

Below, Katja and Robbie pose with a friendly iguagna at the Royal Sands resort in Cancun Mexico where they spent the last week of June and the first week of July. This was the first time for them to be out of the country during the 4th of July. Katja ended up singing the National Anthem on stage during a resort 4th of July celebration for the gringos who were vacationing during the holiday.

Week #2 of vacation was spent at the Sunset Lagoon Resort, also in Cancun. Here mom, Katja, and Jayce walk in the resort prior to dinner. It is an annual tradition at the resort for everyone to wear white to dinner one night. Jayce wore his first "guayabera" (see below). Jack got one as a souvenir from grandma. His is light blue. It looks so darn cute on him with his leather sandals!

4th of July

Jack enjoyed his second 4th of July parade infront row, from his stroller. We had great seats at Market Street across from the movie theater. Thanks Shelly and company for saving us seats! It was a great location as it was VERY hot after a while, and the water fountain by Tommy Bahamas was right behind his just waiting to cool Jack off from time to time! (Sorry for the fuzzy picture below...my good camera had not arrived from the repair shot yet... :(

Family Photos @ Northshore Park

Many Thanks go to Tracy Robinson for taking our family photos earlier this year.  Now that school is out I can finally get around to figuring out which ones I want to frame.  The family pic on the right and the ones below are some of my faves. Tracy- why you haven't set up your own studio yet is beyond me!