Easter Bunny Photo

Today I finally found the time to take all 3 kids and get the traditional Easter bunny photo a the Baybrook Mall. In years past I have been organized enough to take it further in advance of Easter weekend. I used to have the photo done and the extras already in the mail to the grandparents. It's funny how going back to work and being busy with life stuff changes that. Akorren asked me, "Why do we have to take a photo with the rabbit?" and I told him because it has become a tradition, something that we as a family have done for several years now since living in Texas and it serves as a memory for family and friends who love and care about you. It gives them a glimpse of what you are like at this moment and time near this holiday.
So with his question of why I ponder how long am I going to have all 3 of my kids together, the girls wanting to look like 'twins', getting dressed up to sit for a moment in time with a bunny, still holding the belief that he will bring them eggs and treats on the holiday. How long will this moment last? For the meantime I will enjoy this time just go with it.

Johnson Reunion March 27, 2010

The last family reunion was in IN over the summer in 2008. It is hard to believe that 2 years went by already. This year Glenn & I got to play host. Since we decided not to host it during the middle of the hot summer here in Texas, we knew we would have a smaller turn out. A big exciting thing for this reunion was the fact that Glenn would do tours of building 9 on site at Johnson Space Center. It was a really big deal for much of the family. I loved it because Glenn got a chance to show them some of the neat things he gets to do in his job as an astronaut trainer. It was a joy to see my husband proud of what he does in his work and to share that with his family. Many who went on the tours with him got to meet various astronauts and see things only a few get to; training modules and equipment used to help get up into space. It was a nice few days with every one who could make and surprisingly we did have pretty good turn out with about 30 people on the Saturday of the reunion.

We spent part of the day at Challenger 7 memorial park, Glenn set up to have a canoe, and 2 kayaks for the family to use up and down the river. We also had a friend cook a real Texas BBQ for us with brisket, shredded pork, chicken, sausage, and all the fixins'. After several hours at the park we went swimming back at the hotel where everyone stayed and then the crew came over to our place for Wii play time, karaoke and general story and gab time. It was nice just to be together. We all enjoyed the time we had together. The kid cousins have formed friendships and bonds as each reunion comes around it is time to remind us how important our family is and how much we love them even if we only see them every few years. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2012.

Zhi's B-day Party

Today Zhivanna had some friends over the house to play. We borrowed a friends Karaoke machine and along with Merlova's amp had some microphones hooked up for the kids to sing into. Instead of her expecting gifts from her guests, she asked that they donate money for her to make a contribution to the American Red Cross to provide relief for the people of Haiti. Since her theme was going to be Rock n' roll/ Disco we got her a guitar to play around with. She is crazy about it and has already made up a few songs about "loosing getting to watch TV" and how "words can hurt", I wonder if I have an lyricist on my hands here? This coming week she will get to try out piano and see if she likes it. We had fun with all the friends who came to play with us, thank you all.

Zhi and her B-day cake

Here is Zhi at Grandpa Herman and Grandma Lois's place after going to the art show reception for the Texas Rodeo and dinner at Mongolian BBQ. What a happy girl. Happy Birthday to our 6 year old!