Can't get enough of Barack!!

Today Erica and I were lucky enough to get to see Barack Obama again! Yesterday we found out they were having a town hall meeting at the convention center in Austin. They were giving out tickets at a few locations including the Clay Madsen Rec Center in Round Rock. Erica went ahead and got 2 tickets even though we weren't sure what we would do with the kids since they're not in school on Thursdays. Luckily our Mom was able to watch them.

There was quite a lot of traffic. The event was scheduled to start at 9:30 and we didn't make it into the convention center until about 9. Based on what the rally was like (30,000 people waiting for 3 hours) we weren't sure what to expect or even if we would get in. When we got there it wasn't crowded at all. There were plenty of places to sit and we even got to sit in the bleachers behind the podium. It was cool. He was right there in front of us, in plain view. At the rally I had to strain up on my tippy toes to get any kind of look at him at all.

It was great. It was a really different vibe than the rally. More laid back. I feel really privileged to have gotten the chance to see him both times. I found myself today not only envisioning him as president, but mourning for the fact that he would only be allowed to serve 2 terms. 8 short years just don't seem like enough. I know, I know- I'm getting ahead of myself a little. There is just something so calming and reassuring about him when he's speaking. He makes so much sense and you just find yourself saying, "Yes, this is what we need to help us change the world- someone like him."

This is what our view of him looked like!!! It was awesome! In case anyone gets to see the coverage on TV , Erica and I are sitting on the top row behind him in the far right corner (from the camera's viewpoint) 2 from the end of the row. We're both wearing white shirts. Our mom recorded it and we could see ourselves a couple of times (really small). Still cool though!!

Special girl, Ellie

This week Ellie is the special person in her class. Basically this just means that we had to put some pictures on a big piece of paper and fill out a little questionnaire. Then they talk about it to all the kids in her class at school. ( I know the color is off on some of the pics- I printed those on our printer and it's not printing color well).

Here are the questions we asked her:

What is your favorite color? Pink

What is your favorite food? Peanut butter and Jelly (Yeah, I know. I was surprised by this answer too)

What is your favorite song? Twinkle, twinkle little star.

What is your favorite book? Cinderella

Who are the people in your family? Stuart, Mindy, Logan and Ellie

Who are some of your friends? Michelle, Reese, Harang, Camryn, Will, Tyler

What makes you happy? Going to Grandma's house.

Cute, huh?

Another funny thing happened with Ellie today in the car. We were driving and listening to the radio. There was an ad on for Barack Obama. She heard them say his name and said, "Barack Obama! You went to see Barack Obama, didn't you Mommy?" It sounded sooo funny to hear that big name come out of her mouth. She pronounced his name perfectly too! Funny girl!

Also, every time Logan hears someone talk about Obama he asks, "Is he the president yet?" I tell him that he's just trying to be the president, but they don't decide until November. Logan said, "November!!!! Oh my gosh, that's forever away!!!" It seems like it sometimes, doesn't it!

Don't forget to vote!!!

The Obama Bandwagon

Toot toot... here comes the Obama Express. Are you jumping on? I am. Yes, I am a proud supporter of Barack Obama, much to my surprise. Many of you may be thinking (as Stuart did) that this is solely due to my sister, Erica and her zeal for him. I'll admit her enthusiasm was quite contagious. But this alone did not change my mind. More than anything it made me curious. What was it about Obama that got her and so many others so excited? She was never a big political person at all. Now she's volunteering and watching every debate, reading, searching websites for any information she can get her hands on. I really didn't have an interest in anyone before, and didn't consider myself a Republican or Democrat ( I don't think you should have to choose). I think you should support the person who you think will do the best job regardless of party affiliation. If I had been forced to choose before though, I would have said I was more Republican than Democrat. This is mainly based on my upbringing and more conservative values. I voted for Bush both times. Both times however it wasn't that I was excited by Bush or anything he had to say, it seemed at the time that he was the lesser of 2 evils. (Looking back I may have been wrong about that.)
At first when I decided to vote in the primary for Obama it was mainly just so Hillary wouldn't get the nomination. My disdain for this woman and her husband runs deep and I didn't want her to be the first woman president. Now that I have become more interested and informed I am very excited by the possibilities that Obama has laid before us. He does seem like he could help us to change Washington and isn't that what we all need and want (Republican and Democrat alike?) Everyone will admit that things in Washington are not working. Maybe breathing some new life into the situation will help. Just seeing the nation come alive with support and enthusiasm for this man (more than any other presidential candidate in my memory) leads me to believe that big things are possible and that it's not a lost cause as I feared before. It still seems weird to me to be supporting a Democrat, but he is the one candidate that has managed to move me. And I'm not alone. Join in, find out for yourself just what he's about and what he can do for our country.

Erica and I went to the rally downtown last night. It was great! Seeing him and hearing him speak made standing in a huge crowd of people for 3 hours seem not bad at all. He gave a wonderful speech (as I expected). I agreed wholeheartedly with everything he said. There is something about him that is getting people's attention. People who aren't normally so interested in things like this (including me). That, I find fascinating and it gives me hope. Hope in a time when there's mostly cynicism. We could all use a little hope, right? If your answer is yes, then Vote Obama!!!

This week and tonight

This week has gone by quickly. Logan woke up Wednesday with a fever. I took him to the doctor right away since I knew that he's been exposed to the flu from a classmate and that if you get it diagnosed early there is a medicine they can give you that helps you get better quicker and lessens the severity. They swabbed his nose and ran the test as well as a strep test but both were negative. So the doctor said to come back tomorrow and they could run another flu test since it can take up to 48 hours sometimes for it to show up on the test. We did, but it was negative again. So we're just dealing with some kind of virus with fluids, rest and TV. It's terrible to see your kid sick. Logan gets those high fevers too. Just a little while ago I took it and it was 105.3. While this would be quite alarming to most parents, it has unfortunately become routine for us. I just got him some cold water to drink and gave him some ibuprofen and it started coming down. Then I made him a fruit and yogurt smoothie.

Now he's painting. He loves to paint. Always has. I have pictures of him when he was 2 painting away. He could never resist the urge to mix up all the colors, so all his pictures were always a big blob of gross greenish brown and his hands were usually covered in paint so he could make hand prints. Sometimes he even painted his feet to make foot prints! I guess he hasn't changed too much!

I feel a little guilty sometimes because I really like him when he's sick. He so nice and calm. He lets me hold him and isn't always running around acting like a crazy person. So even though he's been home with me instead of at school and I haven't been able to do all the things I need to, it's been nice having him with me.

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I also was able to vote this week since my dad was here and stayed with Logan. Everyone better get out and vote. Now is the best time to do it since it's early voting and there's not a lot of people there all the time. Tonight Erica and I are going to the Obama rally in downtown Austin. I'm excited. I feel like I'll be taking part in a little bit of history. If things keep going the way they have been Obama will likely be the democratic candidate for president, and possibly win the presidency. And I can say that I saw him speak once! Isn't that cool? I think it will be really exciting. Everyone always says what a great speaker he is, so I hope to be really inspired and moved tonight. I just hope it's not too cold. I'll take my camera and try and get some good pics to post this weekend.

Hope you all have had a good week! Go vote!! (for Obama of course)

Our fun weekend

On Sunday afternoon we decided to take a bike ride over to the playground and basketball court in our neighborhood. It was fun. The weather was beautiful. There were some kids playing and some people playing basketball. We played on the playground and built sandcastles in the sand volleyball court. We are trying to take advantage of the good weather while we can.

Yesterday the kids had the day off for President's day. We decided to go to the San Antonio Zoo (http://www.sazoo-aq.org/). Apparrently a lot of people had this idea because the zoo was very busy. We had a good time though. We decided to buy a season pass to the zoo. It cost us $32 to get in for the day yesterday and for $60 we could get a season pass which lasts for a year (a great deal if you ask me). So even if we only go once more, it's paid for. I'm sure we'll go more than that though. They are doing a lot of improvements to the zoo. They have a new Africa exhibit which just opened in January that was great. You could see the hippos underwater and it was awesome. They are still working on some other areas. We were in a bit of a hurry so we didn't get to see everything which is another reason I wanted to get the pass. The weather was great too. There was hardly any traffic coming back through Austin and we even managed to get back in time for Logan to go to Karate. It was a nice day to be with our family.

The next 2 pics are some others I wanted to share. The one of Logan is him looking too much like a teenager already! He was actually playing games on the computer like that with his feet up and his cap on backward!

The other is Ellie showing off her Cinderella Valentine Grandma sent her and her crown she got at a birthday party.

Ode to Erica

Ode to Erica and how I love thee...

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My sister Erica has amazing will power,

And even when she runs, she smells as sweet as a flower.

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She made a decision and it really stuck,

She gives it her all and never passes the buck.

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She has got amazing conviction,

She's da bomb, that's no contraditction.

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She's bold and sweet, beautiful and kind,

In a world like this, that's an amazing find.

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You all only wish you could have this kind of sister,

Today she ran a half marathon without a single blister.

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She's really inspiring to all of us,

She helps to inform us without making a fuss.

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She really admires Barack Obama,

She wants to help change the world, you go get 'em Mama!

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Erica, I'm so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. You set a goal for youself and stuck with it, no excuses. I only wish one day I could grow up to be like my big sister.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

Logan's Notes

My son is constantly making notes for everyone. If he does something wrong he ineveitably writes a note to tell them he's sorry. He also writes notes if he feels you've wronged him. The note may tell you your a "bad mommy" or some such. I took some pictures of some of his latest notes that I thought were worth sharing.












The first is a note to Ellie. It says, "Der Ellie you are the best sister Iv efer had. Love Logan" Isn't that sweet?

The other day he got mad at me for punishing him and purposfully broke a clay pot on the back porch. After I talked to him about it he went in his room and wrote me this note. "Der Mom I am sorry I broce your pot Love Logan"

Then on Friday, I was sitting in the chair and he told me to stand up and then said, "Ok, sit down". I did and sat on a note folded in half. Here's what it said,

This was the front.

When I opened it, it read, "roses are red vilits are blue you are my pupit (puppet) I love you to, your secrit idmirer" I asked who's this from? He said I don't know, you must have a secret admirer. I think they talked about this in his class. I thought it was very cute. He finally did admit that the admirer was him. When Stuart got home Logan told him that I got something from a secret admirer. Stuart was like, "What?". I said don't worry, it was just him. But did he have to be so surprised that I could have an admirer? It's possible, right?