My Mom and I took the girls to the Butterfly Pavillion and they both thought it was great! They actually sat still long enough while they were watching all of the butteflies for me to take these pictures!
The Buttefly Pavillion has many other insects on display, as well as an interactive aquatic section. The picture below is of Maya watching bees crawl from their hive to the outdoors.
Joe and I had a little getaway last weekend! We headed to Austin, TX to attend the Wyoming vs. Texas football game (rivalry of Joe's alma maters!). Since we left Austin 7 years ago, we had not been back, so it was fun to see where we worked, went to school, our apartment, and where we did most of our running around Town Lake. Most of all, we went for the FOOD! We dined at all of our favorites including Rudy's BBQ, Chuy's Tex-Mex, Amy's Ice Cream, and Fire Bowl.
The Cowboy Joe Club put on a tailgate before the game and we were really surprised to see so many Wyoming fans in attendance! We enjoyed visiting with everyone, seeing some old friends, and showing our Cowboy spirit! Glenn Templeton did a show at the tailgate and was pretty good! Here are some pictures from the tailgate and then our view from the stands. They sure stuck us in some crappy seats, but it was fun to be with all of the other Wyoming fans. The Texans were pretty nice to all of us and the band even played the Wyoming fight song, which surprised everyone. It was so hot and humid! After the game, we headed to 6th Street for some spirits and live music!
My Mom stayed with the girls and everyone had a blast! Thank you so much, Mom! It was really nice to get away and have some quality time with each other, but I really did miss our girls and was excited to get back home!We went to a home Wyoming game over the Labor Day weekend. Here are some pictures of the girls from the game. Maya was really into it this year -- clapping and watching everyone! Gabi was pretty excited too and loved the band!
We decided to camp out in our backyard one night. Joe and Maya joined us for some stories and then just Gabi and I slept in the tent. Gabi had a great time. We read more stories by headlamp :-) and then listened to and identified all of the sounds we could hear as we fell asleep! She slept all night and awoke around 6:30 with the sun! She even slept through Rocky (our cat) jumping on top of our tent at some point during the night. It woke me up and freaked me out, but didn't even phase her. We're definitely planning another camp out before it gets too cold.
Here are some shots of the girls riding the train at the zoo a few weeks ago. The zoo is always a hit -- Maya is getting more and more into it every time we go!
My Grandma Genie passed away on August 23rd. It was so sad to see her go, but we are all comforted to know that she is now with her beloved husband, dancing the night away once again. We attended her funeral in Alliance. It was nice to see all of my family. Here is a picture that was taken of us after the funeral.
Maya had her 15 month appointment last week. She weighed in at 23.5 pounds and was 30.5 inches tall (both 50th%ile). Her head is still in the 99th%ile (18 inches). Her personality is definitely developing and is very silly. She loves to dance, stack blocks, read books, give hugs and kisses (especially to Gabi), and giggle.
School is going fine for me. I have it pretty easy this year with only 2 small classes of AP Environmental Science. My students have been awesome so far and it has been nice getting off work at 10am. Joe has been busy with jobs and getting ready to open his office in Buffalo. He's headed to Jackson to meet with some Wyoming architects soon, so that should provide some good networking.
The summer flew by and now fall is upon us. My Earth Boxes and garden did great this year. We have had tomatoes and cucumbers coming out of our ears! I put a canteloupe plant in just for kicks, but it was fairly prolific! Here is a picture of the girls enjoying the first one. There are two more just about ready to pick!
Maya had her 15 month appointment last week. She weighed in at 23.5 pounds and was 30.5 inches tall (both 50th%ile). Her head is still in the 99th%ile (18 inches). Her personality is definitely developing and is very silly. She loves to dance, stack blocks, read books, give hugs and kisses (especially to Gabi), and giggle.
Gabi is almost 3 and is pretty pumped about it! She is going to start preschool 2 days a week after her birthday. Singing is still one of her favorite things to do -- most songs she has memorized, including "Shake Your Grove Thing" and "Hey There Delila." We can't belive how fast she picks things up. She knows most of her books by memory too and will "read" to us.
School is going fine for me. I have it pretty easy this year with only 2 small classes of AP Environmental Science. My students have been awesome so far and it has been nice getting off work at 10am. Joe has been busy with jobs and getting ready to open his office in Buffalo. He's headed to Jackson to meet with some Wyoming architects soon, so that should provide some good networking.
I decided to start a new blog: wyomingishome.blogspot.com. It won't replace this one, but will mostly be used to document our move to Wyoming, eventually building our house, and some of the lifestyle changes and goals that will occur as a result. Mostly, I am using it to force myself to see the "big picture." I've been getting pretty bummed lately because our house isn't selling, I don't want to say goodbye to friends, I don't want to leave my students in the middle of the year, not knowing how the move will affect all of us, etc., etc., etc.... So, I'm trying to focus on the positive and long-term! Hopefully it isn't too corny!
Take care! Thanks for checking up on us!
Tara
Playing in the water area...loved the aprons so she didn't get soaked...she loves water!
Maya is all about taking things out and putting things away and stacking things! Her fine motor skills are really good! Now if she would just walk more.....;-)
The mini-grocery store was Gabi's ultimate favorite. She filled up her basket, ran everything over the scanner, and put the items in her bag. 
Trying our turn at Smokejumping!
We also took a hike around Forest Park and walked around the downtown area, stopping for ice cream at Ben & Jerry's! The girls enjoyed riding the lightrail around town.
Watching the sharks in the walk-thru aquarium
Touching a starfish and sea anemone
This puffin was crazy and did get this close (no zoom here). It was prime mating season or something because they were doing all kinds of water dances and feather fluffing!
Sea Lion Caves
We got to walk behind this waterfall....pretty cool!