How Close is Too Close?

Wil and Maisy LOVE their little brother Alton. Is it possible to love someone too much?

It's good when siblings are close, but how close is too close?

Is this too close?


How about this?


And this?



Wil and Maisy sometimes serenade little Ace with a variety of beautiful tunes, as caught on video:








Let's just say that sometimes Alton is overwhelmed with love from his brother and sister.

AIFL Shakeup

So, Michael Johns is gone. He was picked by half of the AIFL League to go ALL THE WAY! As a result, some people fell and others rose in the standings this week. My Bro Brian was the huge gainer, moving up from 7th to 2nd. Can you guess who was the only guy to guess the bottom three correctly? Yeah, Chad S. He's got the crystal ball workin'.

So, AIFL's that lost Michael Johns, are you going to make a big change for the coming week, or are you going to hold tight? Think about it, and try not to lose any sleep. Until next Tuesday!

By the way, WHO VOTES FOR KRISTY LEE, SYESHA, AND CARLY? How are they on longer than Michael Johns? Amazing.

Idol

So, who's going home? You have an extra day this week to send us your bottom three picks and any changes you want to make. As you ponder, here's my boy D. A. singing one of my all time favorite songs . . .

Have you Heard?

When was the last time you had an urge to see dead birds in a drawer? If you're like me, that urge hits quite often. Well, let's just say that my aviary corpse craving was satisfied as we went to visit the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney.

The museum is off of highway 5, kind of on the border of McKinney and Fairview. We had a great time, even though the museum is less than spectacular. The kids truly enjoyed themselves, and so did we! Here are some pics:

Maisy and Wil became real scientists, complete with lab coats. They were able to walk inside a dinosaur, discover buried fossils, see real live poisonous snakes, and look through a microscope.


My favorite room was full of "stuffed animals." Think taxidermist, not teddy bear. We could see dead birds in a drawer, dead frogs in a drawer, or dead bobcats behind glass! Wilson and Maisy were able to see a real dead cardinal. Gooooo Cardinals!

It was so fun that Maisy could hardly bear it!


After we left the animal morgue, we walked some cool nature trails. It was great, but not very stroller friendly (sorry for the jostling, little Alton). We saw some exotic marsupials and tropical birds in one of their little exhibits (kind of like a mini zoo), and then ventured down to a little pond full of turtles and birds.

The rain soon came and we had to head back. We really did have a great time, and I would recommend the place for a day out with the youngsters. It's not elegant, but it's educational and fun.

So the next time Texas roadkill doesn't satisfy your dead animal needs, head on over to the Heard Museum. Remember, you Heard it here first!

The Race is Tight

So, Chad is pretty good. He's the only one so far this season to guess the entire bottom three correctly, including who's going home. He's pretty much dominating. However, there are only 60 points separating 2nd through 7th. Some people's recent changes are really paying off!

On a personal note, it was fun being in the top ten while it lasted . . . I created this! Shouldn't I be good at it, or at least average?

AIFL

Good night of American Idol tonight! I very much enjoyed it, especially little Davey's performance. How about that Dolly Parton? I remember my mom had one of her albums when I was young, and I remember her singing some of the songs that I heard tonight. My mom's singing voice rivals that of some of the contestants. Just ask anyone sitting near us at church!

Anyway, please submit your bottom three choices, who's going home, and any changes you want to make to your top 8. This week you get 30 points for every correct bottom three choice, and 60 points for picking who's going home, for a total of 150 points if you get it perfect!

As for the changes, it's the same as last week. It will cost you 50 points for switching two people in your top 8, and 100 points for adding a new person in. Good luck!