Warm Winter Fun

Summer 2009 Revue

Summer fun under the Texas sun....in 2009.

Location: Texas Hill Country. close to Bandera, TX. L-R: Rio 18 months, Ines 5 yrs, Momma too old to mention.

Ines and Rio enjoy the Hill Country views with their Momma.

Location: Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo in San Antonio, TX.

Ines loves this mission-style wood gate.

Location: The San Antonio River Walk area. San Antonio, TX.

The Pep tries to hail a horse carriage.

Location: The Alamo. San Antonio, TX. L-R: Titi Joann, Ines, Abuela Josie, and Rio.

Checking out the Alamo.

Location: Houston, TX. Percival (Percy) the family dog.

Percy waits for his time to travel.

Location: Chisos Basin Area. Big Bend Park, TX. Rio on the hiking trails.

Rio enjoying the sunset on the Window View Trail.

Location: Santa Elena Canyon Trail. Castolon Area in Big Bend Park, TX.

Ines enjoys the trails with her cousin Carmen.

Farewell P-K! Hello Summer!

Summer at Hermann Park...

Ines: hat, Old Navy blue bucket; shirt, Circo rainbow hearts; skirt, Arizona purple plaid. Location: Mary Gibbs & Jesse H. Jones Refelction Pool, Hermann Park.

Ines wades in the fountain and

Ines: socks, Little MissMatched pink plaid "Marvelous"; shoes, Circo metal "Misaye" mary janes.

shows off her latest dance moves to Rio.

Review on her last day of P-K:

Ms. Jolene hugs Ines. Location: Willson Montessori, PK+K classroom.

On her last day of school, the Pep warmly hugged her teacher Ms. Jolene and

Ines signs Jengo's yearboook. Location: Wilson Montessori School playground.

signed yearbooks saying good-bye to all her schoolmates.

Last day of School! 

back row(L-R): Ashka, Jengo ,Carl; middle row(L-R): Ines, Shaun, Jacob, Mikey, Nicky; front row(L-R): Thomas, Isobel, Scarlett, Sofia, Mason. Location: Wilson Montessori playground.

Ines enjoys a snack with her PK+K Wilson Montessori classmates.

A Cocoa of Their Own

Ines and Rio thrilled to meet and promptly name a pony of their own after the Pep's beloved storybook horse, "Cocoa" (from the Cowgirl Kate & Cocoa series).

Scene: Ines and Rio at the Houston Rodeo Parade horse corrals. Ines wears Gap blue corduroy jacket, Lands End blue pants, sheriff cowgirl hat; Rio wears Under the Nile white pilot cap, Gap blue jacket rides in a blue suede Maclaren Techno Classic.

The Pep poses with a goat in this very APRIL FOOLSish picture...how many odd things can you spot?

Scene: Ines feeds a goat while at the Houston Rodeo. Ines wears Garnet Hill red/white striped crocodile shirt, LLBean black pants. Goat wears silver link neckchain.

Ines and Rio try out their new summer ride.

Scene: The Pep and Rio fit, just right, in their InSTEP "Quick-N-EZ" trailer. Ines wears Pink Sanrio "Hello Kitty" bathing suit; Rio wears blue American Apparel "John Lennon" shirt, Okie Dokie denim shorts.

Foolish Links:

Goat that's good to eat: "...Love Goat Meat."

Fake trees: IPhorest.

Wormey Tomfoolery: to Norton or not to Norton...

Pep Narratives

In lieu of covering the Oscars and drooling over the beautiful dresses at the red carpet Ines opts for her own fashion. She has her own unique sense of style and poise - when in character.

Herein a lesson on how Ines labels all her dresses and favorite clothing items:

1. Names some of her clothing after her favorite characters or activities. e.g. Running fast shoes, Kiki the witch dress, WordGirl jacket.
2. Designates acts or scenes to specific ensemble outfits. e.g. Sheeta floating, Madeline making Büche de Noel, Eloise goes to school.

Here is some evidence of Ines' recent Madeline craze. All dressed up in her version of Madeline's schoolgirl attire. Scene: Ines wears Olive Juice Kids blue cotton dress with navy piping, straw hat, Naturino blue mary jane shoes.

The Pep's fascination with Madeline extends as far as periodically taking snapshots of her favorite scenes:

Scene: Madeline and the Gypsies, photo by Ines; "Madeline at the Eiffel Tower," photo by Ines.

And little Rio is the ever rapscalian Pepito!

Scene: Rio wears Love Child white/black striped pjs with red star patches; Esprit orange socks.

Ines as Kiki with her cat, Gigi, and flying broom. Scene from Kiki's Delivery Service.Scene: Ines wears Old Navy black satin shift dress; Disney's "Snow White" red bow headband; Stride Rite white/purple mary jane shoes.

Ines lounging in the beaches of Puerto Rico with her pet Frog - revisiting her ancestry.

Scene: Ines wears Gymboree "Miami Beach" bikini, white feathery head scarf, Pylones yellow daisy sunglasses, The Children's Place purple/white gingham sandals; Sassy frog; Togu yellow, red dots ball.

Ines recreates some art. From Cindy Sherman's Untitled film still #13.

Scene: Ines wears a white with black polka dots silk head scarf, mink collar, ZenT white T.

Related Beauty

Only today! Prof. Rio will be giving a seminar on Natural Beauty in honor of the pioneering naturalist, Charles Darwin, on his 200th birthday.

Scene: Rio wears Gap multi-striped pointed cap and blue jacket; Zutano yellow pants. Location: Tiny Boxwood's Cafe; Thomson+Hanson nursery.

The incredibly growing Rio:
Exhibits his running power with the littlest legs in the playground.

Scene: Rio wears Carter's brown "teddy bear" overalls; Circo white/green raglan; Gap blue/Khaki reversible sun hat; Umi "Future Style" green/orange sneakers. Location: Donovan Park.

The evolution of a young lady:
Ines shows grace under pressure while being chased.

Scene: Ines wears white/red striped Garnet Hill "crocodile" long-sleeved Tee; Garanimals red jersey pants; Pumpkin Patch red zipper jacket; Naturino red "floral embroidery" patent leather mary janes.

Sexual selection case study: Ines/Ernesto.

Scene: Ines at age 4; 2008. Ernesto at age 4; 1979.

A great big Happy Birthday shout out to grand Tio Blanco (1/23), great cousin Yaz (1/29), our 16th Pres. Abraham Lincoln (2/12) and Charles Darwin's 200th!

Selective Links:

from Worm to Man?: 1882 Almanac
BIG Darwin exhibit: Natural History Museum, London.
Naturally debased: J.Pheonix as Andy Kaufman.

Triple Happiness and a verklemmt

Ines and Rio finished celebrating the Inauguration by watching the Neighborhood Ball.
The iconic image below was inspiration alone for Ines to waltz with her Papa.

Scene: Michelle and Barack's first dance. Photo: Ines.

Ines adds a bit of flare to her first dance with Papa.

Scene: Papa dips Ines during Beyonce's last stanza.

During this week of festivities there were several birthdays to celebrate too!
we extend a Happy Birthday shout out to Bisabuela Emma!Scene: Bisabuela and Rio smile for the camera.

a special 21st Happy Birthday shout out to Tio John! Scene: Ines and Tio John enjoy an outdoor Disney show. Location: Magic Kingdom, Buena Vista, Fl.

And a very peaceful and loving Feliz Cumpleanos! to Bisabuela Mercedes who is very far away, in the PR, but who is still very close to our hearts.