Vlogging, drill team, Chinese, a family mustache, and more strep thoat...

Yeah!  I think I've figured out how to load video!  Look, Ma!  It's a Vlog!

Little Miss is the blond with a ponytail in a white t-shirt.  What I haven't figured out is how to edit video from my camera, so there's quite a bit of "down time" when her group isn't dancing, but then they come back in at the end.

I ran out of space, but I did get some of the "Tooty Tot" song/dance.

We started off last weekend with a drill team mini-camp.  Little Miss seemed to like it, but did confide that cheerleading is more fun.  They had quite a turn out, and it was a lot of fun to watch a few teenagers try to organize and teach a dance routine to a large number of kindergarten through second graders.  Cat-herding would probably be easier...but not as cute!  

After that, we had a crafty afternoon.

Walmart had some cute kid-craft kits, so we tried the "rainy day" collection.

Sunday was Loverboy's birthday.  Molly and Papa took us to Niester's for after-church brunch.  Little Miss's inner librarian came out and she had to organize the jelly cups in Dewey decimal order.

Thank goodness Molly had the birthday cake covered.  My man's not afraid to loooove a pink-iced cake.  The pokey-hole in the front was from a certain Little Miss Can't Wait's finger.

We kept the celebration going Monday.  After cheer class we hit the Chinese buffet--hit it hard.

Then we all had fun with the toy vending machine mustache Little Miss had to have.

Little Miss and I had a good time at the volleyball game (our team swept all 3 games) Tuesday night...then our week took a turn.  The littlest Nockinbird woke up with a fever and a headache at 3am Wednesday and a doctor's visit later...hello, strep throat.  Poor little thing has been miserable.  And about scaring Mama to death with crazy high fevers.   Hopefully, we've got that under control tonight and, fingers-crossed, will all get at least a few hours sleep.

Oh!  And Happy Fall, ya'll!  Maybe we'll get out of the mid-90s for a high...sometime this season.

Accidental delight

The last time Little Miss and I hit the grocery store together, she wanted ice cream AND ice cream cones.  We almost forgot the cones, but made a hurried trip down one more aisle, popped a box in the cart and we were off.  A couple of days passed before she was in the mood for ice cream cone dessert, but when she finally was...we couldn't find the cones!  Loverboy, thoughtful man that he is, "helps" by putting up the groceries...and then Little Miss and I get to play the "If I were Daddy, what's the least obvious place I can find to put up the groceries" game.  The ice cream cones were on the top shelf of the pantry, on top of the avocado shaped guacamole bowl, lying on its side, so only the unmarked bottom of the box was showing. 

But!-- Find them we did!  Then I opened the box..and there are the smallest ice cream cones I have ever seen.  So miniaturized that they actually qualify for the description "cute".  Had I actually looked at the box, the quantity number--60--might have clued me in.  Or the words "actual size."  But it was a fun surprise- surprise.

Little Miss gives them a thumbs-up. 

Nockinbird Fun Time

After cheer practice, the Nockinbirds, plus Molly and Aunt Toni went to Little Miss's school social at CiCi's.  She does so looooove the mac 'n cheese pizza.  And cinnamon rolls.

Yesterday, we went to our first Build A Bear Workshop birthday party.  Aunt Toni hostessed a party for Keala's fourth birthday.  Oh. My.

The calm before the storm.

Don't they look cute?  Two sets of twins in there.  Oh, my. 

They've picked their bears--now off to the stuffing machine.  I don't know where they find people to work at this place--especially the ones who are in charge of the parties.  Amazingly cheerful young people.

The hearts and wishes have been tucked in, now for the stuffing of the bears.

The bears have been stuffed, now to the "bath"!

So "unbearably" cute.  I'm not sure how our party leader got the others to pretend to take a nap.

All the bears were declared to be girls, and all but two were named for their creators--Little Miss's is named Brownie (and by the time we got home he was a boy who liked pink shirts).

Lots of bear-kissing going on.  Shortly after followed the bear-pummeling of the (good-natured) birthday girl.  Again, how the party leader reined things in was impressive.

The March of The Bears Upon The Heads.

The ringing of the birthday bell.  Now the bears were stuffed and it was time for party goodies in the food court...once we got everyone herded upstairs.

Aunt Toni made everyone their own flowerpot of "dirt" complete with a flower and gummy earthworms.

We were missing the good-natured party leader from Build A Bear by this point.

The "chinese" yo-yos were a hit, and used for hitting as well.  The tables around us cleared very quickly as the sugar-high kicked in.

Lolo didn't get any "dirt," so she made a grab for a party guest's little brother's snackies.  He looks worried.

Then it was time to schlepp all the supplies/kids/bears/loot out to the cars.  Sugar-highs still in high gear.

The cutest little snuggle bear.

We had started out with a new look for the party, but by the time we got there, we were back to pigtails.

Also before the party, we found the Legos store.  Wow.  We loved the Lego buffet wall.

Working our way back to Saturday now, Loverboy had a UT game in Austin, so Little Miss and I braved a Build and Grow on our own.  Thank goodness it was an easy project.  I prefer to work behind the scenes/camera and leave the manual labor to Loverboy.

The project was a dog leash hanger--too cute!

We celebrated  our building success with lunch out with Molly and SarahBeth at Chili's.  I recommend their chicken and green chile soup--yum.  Then we hit the Holly Daze Craft Bazaar at the convention center in town...let's just say I'm glad we only had to pay to get in with a can of food.  Lots of Tupperware, Scentsy and Homemade Gourmet stuff.  Some big bead jewelry.  Cowgirl clothes.  It was actually easy to not spend any money.  Though I did like some of the new Tupperware...

And what's a Saturday without a trip to our favorite library?  My baby looks so grown up, reading, actually reading to herself.

(No) Labor Day

The joys of a Monday off--a trip to Walmart, laundry, chopping veggies, cooking some in-advance dinners, making chocolate chip cookies (that made everything else worthwhile), a nap, an I Love Lucy marathon.  Good stuff.  Loverboy's still down...but less out today.  He and Little Miss had some quality lego time.

This is her creation...all on her own.  It looked to me like a cityscape.  A city very devoted to color and alternating stripes, but still, a cityscape.

This is the picture Little Miss wanted to take.  Maybe we'll start a mother/daughter photography project--our different takes on the same subject.  She wins the first round.  I like her perspective, the use of lines, and the negative space on the right third of the frame.  Stiff competition from a five year old.