Aaron and Lily's Blog

Check out that bad boy!

2009-01-26T06:23:00.001-08:00

Aaron and Lily's cousin Will wins Best Looking Car at Boy Scouts Car Pinewood Derby! Go, Will!

Twin Day at School

2008-11-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

So our twins got to "play twin" to another .... they chose a friend in class and they dressed alike on annual twin day at school. Here's Aaron in his class.

Giving thanks

2008-10-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Lily, Aaron and I were in a bad car accident coming home from piano lessons. A car with no lights on pulled right in front of us on a 2-lane road while we were doing 50. Miraculously, we didn't hit it. It hit the car coming the other dircection toward us. That car spun out of control and ended up behind us. But, neither it or any cars behind us touched us. It was truly a miracle and I am so thankful that we are here now. Everyone else in the two cars were taken to the hospital. Thank you, God, for taking care of us.

Mommy-Son Dance '08 - "Around the World"

2008-10-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

Lily gets her ears pieced!

2008-10-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

Aaron gets braces!

2008-06-24T14:03:00.001-07:00

Last day of school fun!

2008-06-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Multicultural Day

2008-05-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

And BaBa helps present Persia.

Lily and the American Girl

2008-05-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

Lily had a Brownie troop activity at the American Girl shop. We invited LaLa so she could see the marketing madness behind the American Girl phenomenon. We ended up leaving the store with a new American Girl -- Mia -- for Lily -- courtesy of LaLa (an early birthday present!)

Aaron's first grade teacher gets married!

2008-05-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

And we're honored to be invited. This was Lily and Aaron's first wedding. Aaron blushed when we took his picture with his former-teacher-now-bride!

Lily's reading nook

2008-05-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

The scene of many an evening reading session for Lily and Aaron.

Visiting our new friend Liam

2008-03-25T22:55:00.001-07:00

It was wonderful getting to know Liam and his mom Collette we met through "Auntie Liz." Our Study Circle class made Liam a "prayer wall" to help him get through hospital challenges he's had lately. We look forward to playing with Liam again soon!

Happy Naw Ruz!

2008-03-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

It's the end of the Fast. We celebrate with family!

The circus comes to town

2008-03-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Visiting with our friend Aaron has become an annual tradition!

And they're off!

2008-03-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

The race to find the eggs!

Snow in February???

2008-03-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

We were overjoyed!

Practicing our presentations

2008-03-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

We chose a hero for the day at school. We had to prepare a written report about that famous person and then present the report to the class. Aaron chose his namesake Hank Aaron. Lily chose Anne Frank. Here, they practice in front of the bathroom mirror.

Happy Intercalary Days!

2008-03-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Or - Happy Ayyam'i'Ha! These are the days set aside for service projects, gift giving and general fun. Here, we have a presentation at our Ayyam'i'Ha party. And, we help stock the shelves at our local food pantry. (And - go to a water park with our family!)

Lily as a princess -- Daddy Daughter Dance '08

2008-02-19T20:41:00.000-08:00

Aaron's class sends him "get well" wishes

2008-01-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

Aaron's been out of class sick for a few days. Look how his face lights up when he opens an envleope of lovingly-created "get well" cards from his classmates. Thank you each and every student in Ms. Chamberlain's class. And, of course, wonderful Ms. Chamberlain herself!!!

Happy Birthday, LaLa! We love you!

2008-01-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

The inventor

2008-01-03T19:56:00.001-08:00

Tonight, Aaron was doing inventions before he went to bed …stringing up contraptions made of pencils with a string made to work like scissors … attached to a flashlight and a cowbell … then, a spinning top that he could fling into his laundry basket.

After he proudly showed us these (bedtime overdue) he pronounced:

"I'm not going to be an engineer, but I will be a great man."

Missing you in OK

2008-01-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma Baha'i Winter School

2008-01-01T21:28:00.001-08:00

Prayer bead making, new friends, a serene setting, a spiritual jump start for all.

Long live cousin togetherness!

2008-01-01T21:23:00.001-08:00

Beautiful setting for Oklahoma Baha'i Winter School

2008-01-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

Have you seen my Pa?

2008-01-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas presents from Mama Jean!

2008-01-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

The pay off

2008-01-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Aaron and Lily did chores to earn their much-coveted Cody Maverick dolls. They went to Build-a-Bear shop and proudly assembled them.

School holiday party

2008-01-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Nutcracker Ballet -- The tradition continues

2007-12-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

Our guests celebrate a multispecies wedding

2007-12-18T19:32:00.001-08:00

Aaron and Lily wanted to hold a wedding ceremony for Aaron's stuffed bear (Bellbee) and Lily's stuffed dolphin (Dolphinie). Lily prepared a PowerPoint presentation (complete with embedded music) about how Dolphinie and Bellbee met and how they decided to get married. We invited our dear friends Jamal, Evan and Adrian to the wedding rehearsal ... and then Meraf to the actual evening wedding. We said prayers, Lily threw flower petals (really torn up napkins), Aaron was the ring bearer. It was a wonderful wedding.

Helping with an amazing tradition

2007-11-10T20:52:00.000-08:00

A very nice Aggie gentleman in our town named Jeff T. has been staging a most incredible light display. He wires his entire house, lawn, etc in thousands of lights for Christmas and then choreographs it just so to create a breathtaking ballet of holiday lights. When Aaron saw it last year, he kept saying "How did he do it? How did he do it?" and then, when we told him who was behind it, he said he wanted to go to Texas A&M and be an engineer so he, too, could do this. I e-mailed Jeff last year and asked if he could take on an "apprentice" of sorts. He was kind enough to let Lily and Aaron lend a hand today (along with his family and neighbors) with testing and stringing lights. He even took them behind the scenes to his immaculately-kept garage to see how all the lights are stored! We are very thankful for Jeff T. (pictured here in the maroon shirt) and his talent!

Bree pulls out Aaron's tooth -- again

2007-11-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

She couldn't take his dangling tooth. This is the 2nd, maybe 3rd, time Bree's come in for the assist on Aaron's tooth (she's a paid assasin of the tooth fairy!)

Bee Movie

2007-11-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

Lily and Aaron put on their stingers after seeing Bee Movie.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-04T19:06:00.001-08:00

Bree and the Green Hairs

2007-11-04T19:03:00.001-08:00

Celebrating the Baha'i Center with BaBa

2007-11-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

It's the grand opening of the Baha'i Center and we celebrate BaBa and the hard work that led to it.

Aaron is a Wolf Scout!

2007-10-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Aaron is about to be a Wolf Scout. Today, Daddy went to the Boy Scout store and bought Aaron's uniform, hat, etc and first project: building and painting a little boat. It brought back memories for former Boy Scout Mike ... they will bond together beginning with tomorrow night's meeting!

Lily and Aaron visit a (mock) refugee camp

2007-10-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's a mock refugee camp that Medecins Sans Frontieres has set up in a park in the middle of Dallas. They are traveling with it throughout the U.S. to educated more people about their important work. Here, we see how a refugee family has to survive on one small packet of dried food per day.

The school play: Rock and roll through time

2007-10-14T21:24:00.001-07:00

Balloon Festival!

2007-10-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Our annual tradition of getting up around 5 am on the last day of the Balloon Festival and driving there to watch the balloons lift against the sunrise!

The FAB 4

2007-10-01T18:35:00.001-07:00

We can't get enough of the cousins! AND this will be the only year they will all be at the same school.

Lily plays teacher

2007-09-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

She plays teacher every day ... having her mom as a willing student in her class. Here, she teaches me about time and numeric values.

Aaron reading ... and growing!

2007-09-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here is Aaron passing the time at the Natatorium while Lily swims. We are so proud of our little buddy.

Something funny - the other day: He was lying on the couch with his legs in the air ... talking ... and he suddenly stopped and said, "OHMIGOSH!!!!! I HAVE TEENAGER LEGS!!!"

We find an organic blueberry patch!

2007-08-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

While driving back from visiting Leo, we came across a blueberry field. There was simply a bowl on a wooden table next to the patch -- with some dollars folded in it. There was a sign next to the sign stating how much it costs per basket ... and to leave however much money for what you pick. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Visiting Leo

2007-08-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

We visited Cornelia's horse, Leo, at his home in the countryside.

Taking the Metro to the see the Nationals play ball!

2007-08-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Touring the monuments and the Smithsonian

2007-08-11T20:59:00.001-07:00

We go to Washington, D.C.!

2007-08-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

Remembering our little haven in Broken Bow, OK

2007-05-31T16:26:00.000-07:00

A little fun at Braums on the way back

2007-05-31T16:17:00.001-07:00

Fun at the lake and around town

2007-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Canoe on the river, goofy golf, race cars and more ...

2007-05-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Boating and tubing on the lake

2007-05-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Rock fishing, bug hunting and a lot of laughter and games at the cabin

2007-05-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

So much fun with the cousins.

2007-05-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

We did mondo puzzles, raced cars, took hikes and had a great time.

We go to Oklahoma!

2007-05-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

All of us are in our beautiful cabin -- the second year in a row. And we don't want to leave.

Sping blooms and so do we

2007-05-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

The school play!

2007-05-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Good times in spring

2007-05-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

We celebrated and learned about Purim with friends and spent time with our family.

The fun continues

2007-05-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Fun included end of season soccer party, Apple Camp with Daddy as our teacher, our friend runs for U.S. Congress and recess at school!

Fun times with the family

2007-05-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Spring fun included Aunt Kimbetty's birthday, an Easter Egg hunt with BaBa and Aaron makes the swim team!

Spring Break 2007 :: We go to Galveston

2007-05-28T18:18:00.001-07:00

Spring Break 2007 :: We go to the Childrens Museum ... and stuff

2007-05-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Spring Break 2007 :: We go to NASA's Johnson Space Center

2007-05-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

In March

2007-04-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

March fun included Lily and Aaron reading reading reading ... and Gigi's romantic gift from Mike for their 15th anniversary -- a red iPod with the inscription, "Red Square beginnings. 15 years, never ending"

School Open House

2007-04-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

We get ready with our neighbors/buddies, walk to school to open house, take pictures with our wonderful teachers and show off everything we know for mom and dad.

These are the days of Ha!

2007-03-05T05:13:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Ayyam'i'Ha just like the character Maggie in the book "Maggie Celebrates Ayyam'i'Ha." That's a four-day holiday in the Baha'i faith where we do service projects, give presents, spend time with family and friends ... and more. Here, we ran up to the tallest hill in our town to "embrace" the sunset -- loudly saying the prayer for "Ayyam'i'Ha" -- "My God! My Fire! My Light? These are the days of Ha!"

Once upon a Daddy Daughter Dance

2007-02-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

Daddies and daughters dance

2007-02-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

A Fairy Tale Evening

2007-02-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

Daddy Daughter Dance: "Once Upon a Time"

2007-02-17T20:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, LaLa! We love you!

2007-01-22T21:24:00.000-08:00

The joy of a snow day!

2007-01-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

Daddy stayed home with us because they cancelled school due to icy roads. We had fun playing with the neighbors on an inflatable sled!

Bring on the ice!

2007-01-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

We get a day off from school due to icy weather!

A Jiffy-Pop night with the cousins!

2007-01-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

More fun at Baha'i Winter School

2007-01-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

The Red Carpet Ball and Celebration on New Year's Eve

2007-01-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

At Baha'i Winter School, we went to a red carpet ball and then brought in the New Year's together! (But poor Aaron was so tired ... all his friends tried to wake him up for New Year's eve but he wanted to keep sleeping!)

Learning in a beautiful setting and open prayer mic night

2007-01-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

Four days of classes for mom and dad and Lily and Aaron. We filled our brains and souls with new learning and treated our eyes to beautiful scenery. We also each stepped up to the microphone to say our favorite prayer on karaoke/talent show night -- only we turned it into open prayer mic night.

Baha'i Winter School

2007-01-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

Three fun families have a joy-filled weekend with friends old and new near the Ozarks at Baha'i Winter School.

Catching a ride on the Polar Express

2007-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

We take a ride on an old steam train in December.

Ice skating and Jiffy Pop!

2006-12-22T19:50:00.001-08:00

The holidays start and we try ice skating and jiffy pop for the very first time!

High School Musical!

2006-12-22T19:35:00.000-08:00

Lily's friend Carly treated her to a spectacular trip to see the musical "High School Musical." Lily says: "I got three pieces of confetti,and a backstage pass!I ate lots of yummy french fries."

The Nutcracker Ballet

2006-12-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

We continue the tradition of Mommy and Baba by attending the Nutcracker Ballet.

Auntie Cornelia visits

2006-12-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

We were so happy to spend a little time with Cornelia when she was with us. She called our town Bedford Falls. But we can't wait to visit her one day soon.

We go to jail.

2006-12-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

Our town got a fancy new jail and we toured it! We even went into a jail cell.

Brownies Holiday Party

2006-12-22T18:42:00.000-08:00

We did a service project -- wrapping presents we'd bought for children at a shelter ... and then we had a book exchange.

Cousin Will's Birthday Party

2006-12-12T05:31:00.000-08:00

Will turns five and we have fun at a bouncy castle place!

Daddy TV

2006-12-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

We watch "Polar Express" with Daddy.

7.5 minutes of snowtime fun

2006-12-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

Mommy picked us up from school at noon when the ice storm headed our way. When she realized as the sun was setting that the next day would not bring the expected onslaught of snow, she said, "Quickly! Let's play in the snow! I know it's dark but ... Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Here we are enjoying our nightime moments in the snow!

Basketball!

2006-11-29T20:54:00.000-08:00

Aaron practices with his new team -- "The Raptors'!

We perform at halftime!

2006-11-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

Our school performed "We're all in this together" from High School Musical at our High School's basketball game. It was fun!

At the seat of our state government

2006-11-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

After marching down the parade route, we make it to the capitol, pose on the steps -- then get a tour of the chamber of the House of Representatives.

Capitol Steps

2006-11-22T20:56:00.000-08:00

Getting closer to the capitol

2006-11-22T16:25:00.000-08:00

We are the girl scouts - the mighty mighty girl scouts!

2006-11-22T16:09:00.000-08:00

Marching to the capitol

2006-11-22T13:44:00.000-08:00

We went with Lily's brownie troop to see a State senator get inaugurated as Governor for the Day. We marched in a special parade to the capitol!

Apple bobbing in the air

2006-11-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

A fun party with the neighbors ... and an apple game! We loved extending Halloween this year!

Let the trick or treating begin!

2006-11-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

We joined our neighborhood and became a marauding band of fun and candy seekers on Halloween!