Pumpkin Patch 2009

Here is another late post. Two weeks ago, my parents and I took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound right after Riley's soccer game. I had carefully planned out what the kids would wear so that they both would look cute in their Halloween clothes. The part I did not plan on was leaving the bag in my car and getting all the way to Flower Mound and Riley having NO shoes. After waiting in about 30 minutes of traffic just to get in the parking lot, I started looking for the bag with all the clothes in it. That was when I realized that we had forgotten the bag. So we left the pumpkin patch and headed to the local Target to buy Riley some shoes. The good news was we got him some Spiderman shoes that he was really excited about. The bad news was we had to sit in about 15 more minutes of traffic just to get in the parking lot. It was super crowded that day! We ended up just taking a few pictures and not staying too long.

Riley & Alex did get their faces painted. Riley chose a bat, after I told him that little boys didn't choose witches. Then we got Alex a candy corn. Except that she immediately smeared the bottom of the candy corn off.

Sweet girl waiting in line for the face painting.

The worst part of the day was Riley wanted to go in the hay maze. Like I have already said, it was super crowded that day and Riley darted out ahead of me. I was not 100% sure that he had even made it in the maze. Then the maze was taller than I was, so I couldn't see any heads. I was worried that he had been taken or would get lost and scared in the maze. My dad did finally spot him in the maze but couldn't follow him the whole time. I think that was one of the longest 10 minutes for me. He did finally emerge full of smiles. He just followed the big girls. Of course he did!

Alex's height

Riley's height

2 in a wagon

State Fair 2009

This post is a little late, but all the pictures were on my dad's camera so I had to get them from him. Anyway we made our yearly trip to the Texas State Fair this year on opening weekend. It has been a long time since I have had to go on a weekend. Usually Keller ISD gets a day off of school during October so I just go then, but this year no days off. Randy was at the deer lease, so Riley, Alex, mom, dad, Papaw, & Nemo loaded up and headed out there opening weekend. It was the warmest day in October, but we enjoyed the sunshine. Alex and I found a fan to cool off in front of.

Riley thinks that every year we have to drive the cars, even though he has a bigger Gator at home!

Riley & Gampa "at the farm"

This year the kids area wasn't too crowded so Riley got to learn all about being a farmer. It was really pretty neat you get seeds, plant your seed, water them, & feed the grain to play animals. Then at the end you take your products to market and they give you play money. The best part was he got to cash in his play money for a real snack! He picked the trail mix. Then even better he got a sample of the Dreyer's dots ice cream. Wish they would have given me some!

Riley & Nemo having lots of fun!

Papaw loves having the kids around, even when they are pouting

Then Alex got to try her first cotton candy. YUM! She loved it, of course! Just as we were about to leave we spotted these paddle boat swans. So even though it was past bedtime, we took a spin around the lake. Nemo & I found out this can be HARD work!

Overall we had a great day complete with Fletcher's corny dogs, Borden Milk, and cotton candy. There is nothing like fair food!

Boo at the Zoo

On Monday night, despite the rain, we took the kids to Boo at the Zoo with some friends of ours. It poured down rain the whole way there. On top of the rain, Alex has been sick and was being cranky. But I made a decision based on want and not logic! We went anyway. Luckily just as we pulled up the rain stopped. So we piled out of the car and got the kids costumes on. Here is Riley & Claire (probably will be Riley's 1st girlfriend!).

Sweet little butterfly not feeling very well!

Mommy was checking out Alex's candy stash!

Daddy really did enjoy himself, even though it doesn't look like it.

We didn't see many real animals, but we got lots of candy and these two were smiles all night!

All of God's creatures! A dragon & a butterfly!

By the way, he is a dragon because mommy called it a dragon costume before I realized that it did not have any wings. Just don't tell Riley!

The zoo's pumpkin patch is filled with artistic pumpkins!

Spiderman!

Claire, Alexandra, & Riley

Another family photo!

Halloween Party & Birthday

Yesterday was not what I call a typical birthday, but still it was a great day. Although not typical for me, it was probably more typical of the usual suburban mom. We started bright and early at Riley's soccer game. I assure you an 8 am game was not in my plans for my bday morning. My son rewarded me with a stellar game. He scored 11 goals. It was a great game considering they only had 4 players and 4 players have to be on the field at all times. Plus I was playing coach for the team yesterday, another interesting role.
After the game we joined my dad for breakfast at Cafe Omega. It was yummy! We concluded the meal with them singing Happy Birthday and bringing me a piece of chocolate pie (at 9AM).
Following our breakfast it was time to find me a costume for our Rennaissance Crew Halloween party that night. We finally decided on this Nascar theme outfit and Randy went as a Nascar fan.
I spent the afternoon at my school's carnival. It was fun seeing lots of people, but I wish we had made more money for camp! After the carnival, I rushed home to get ready for our party. Here is the part that was not so typical for me. My big birthday dinner was a frozen Banquet meal (that cost me $0.88). Then Papaw & Nemo came over to keep the kids while Randy & I headed out to our party.

Shortly after arriving, I had a birthday surprise. A&M actually beat Tech in Lubbock! It has been 13 years since we did that. I was so excited.

Our party was lots of fun. We haven't seen much of our crew friends this year, so it was really good to spend some time hanging out.

This was the vortex that Rob built in his backyard. Really cool!

Overall it was a great day!

James & Jane's Wedding

Last weekend, Randy & I drove to San Antonio to celebrate James' wedding. James was in Company C-2(A&M Corps of Cadets) with Randy. We had a fantastic weekend and really enjoyed hanging out with some different A&M buddies than we usually hang out with.

We arrived Friday evening around 5:30 and had just enough time to change and head down to El Mirador for the rehearsal dinner. The funny part was we took a taxi down to the restaurant because we were not real sure how far down the restaurant was. I think this ended up being the shortest distance we traveled all weekend and the only time that we took a taxi. The rest of the time was spent walking and usually in heels.

Randy, James, & Durward

We had a great dinner of Fajitas & Margaritas and enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. After dinner our group decided to head down to the Riverwalk. We walked and walked and finally ended up in this little Irish bar, where they had a piano player that played this dumb song that got stuck in my head, "What do you do with a drunken soldier?"

Saturday morning we got up too early to not have any kids with us. Then we headed down to the riverwalk for breakfast. We ate at this great restaurant called "The Republic of Texas." Then we headed over to check out the Alamo.
Here was our great hotel. We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard. It has only been opened a little over a month and everyone we dealt with was great. The best part was it was closer to the riverwalk, than the more expensive hotel where everyone stayed from the wedding.

The wedding was held at Randolph Air Force Base. Maybe it is all the uniforms, but I love military weddings. It was short and sweet. Afterward we headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the end of the A&M game. Finally it was time for the wedding reception.

This was the great dress that Randy bought for me. Thursday night while I was trying to pack, I kept complaining about all my dresses. Randy doesn't like any of the dresses that I own, so I mouthed off that he could just go buy me a new dress on Friday morning. So he did! He went to JC Penney's and found this dress on clearance. It fit perfectly and was gorgeous. Sometimes he just amazes me.

The C2 Crew + the new bride

After a full night of dancing and fun, we headed back to the riverwalk. The bride and groom decided to join us so none of us changed clothes or shoes!

We went back to the little Irish bar, where this time the piano player played a song for James & Jane and then followed it with "God Bless the USA" and the Marine Corps Fight Song. Finally the happy, but tired couple decided to retire and the rest of us headed to another bar. This time a English bar. As we walked up, Randy used his Dave Ramsey logic. The door keeper wanted to charge us all a $5 cover charge. Randy told him that we weren't paying a cover and that our group of 16 was going to walk. Thinking it over he went and got the manager. They decided that all women and guys in uniform could get in free. That was more than half our group. I think Dave Ramsey is pretty smart sometimes.

Overall we had a great weekend, but I don't think my feet will ever be the same. Some places are not meant to be visited in heels!

Small Fry Day with the Firemen

Today at Mrs. Tracey's, they went to Small Fry Club at McDonald's. Riley & Alex are usually at my mom & dad's on Wednesdays, since we have our Dave Ramsey class on Tuesday night. This particular week my parents did not keep them. My dad got sick with the flu over the weekend. So he wanted to make sure that he was fully recovered and they had decontaminated the house before the kids came over. All this to say that Riley was at Mrs. Tracey's today. Small Fry Club is a group event for little kids done at the McDonald's on 1709 & Rufe Snow. Today was an extra special Small Fry Club. They had the Keller Fire Dept. there to teach fire safety and "Stop, Drop, & Roll." Riley had so much fun. He enjoyed telling me all about the hats, and the sound of the siren. Small Fry Group
Checking out the fireman up close!
As a side note, you may be wondering where is Alex? Alex spent the day with her daddy at the office and hanging out at home. Since Saturday morning, I have been trying desperately to get her to eat, but she has just not been interested. Then the really stinky and loose diapers started. My gut told me she was sick, but we were all hoping she was just teething. On my way to work yesterday morning, I stopped at Walmart to get some "just in cases". I bought bananas, applesauce, and pediasure. Anything to get some nutrients. She still didn't want to eat. Then the bad diapers spread to one of the other little boys at Tracey's. Then we knew it was not teething. Our latest discovery and the fact that she was whiny & cranky led me to decide to keep her home today. Luckily with all the rain, Randy had time to keep her with him. The good news is she seems to be returning to normal. She actually starting eating & drinking again today. I think she just wanted to make daddy not believe mommy that she really was sick. Either way, I was glad to see her eating her Gerber Pasta & bananas for dinner.

Big boy not so big

Today was an emotionally challenging day. My team is going through some changes at work on how we make our lesson plans. It may be for the better later on, but right now I am having a rough time adjusting. On top of that, I have a student teacher this semester. My student teaching experience was absolutely wonderful, so I want Meghan's to be the same. Unfortunately I feel like I am failing her. I just can't seem to get caught up on my teacher stuff. Then I have so many kids out sick that I feel like all I am doing is getting together make up work. Plus it is time to start kicking off all of Sky Ranch fundraisers and info meetings. I am in charge of Sky Ranch this year, so that means I have notes to write, print, & copy.
Sadly my day did not improve by leaving work. I quickly rushed to pick up Alex, where I was told that my babysitter's son has the flu again! I feel really sorry for him and Tracey. My mood worsened when I called mom to see if she could keep the kids and she told me that they have an appointment to meet with the architect tomorrow. Oh and by the way they found out today, that they have termites. Taking a deep breath, I headed to get Riley at preschool. This was my first time to actually pick him up from school. Can you believe it, he has been at school for 4 weeks now and Randy has done all the picking up? Well Randy was busy at work today, so Mommy finally got to do it. But that meant that Riley would go to afterhours care until I could get there shortly before 5. Finally I found the Fellowship Hall and saw my adorable red head. Then my heart saddened some more when the teacher told me that Riley had been crying off and on several times that afternoon. Because he had never been at school so long, he was afraid that Mommy might not find him or even come get him. Needless to say, I felt awful. Now I know that there was nothing that I could do about it, but I never want my children to cry because they think their Mommy let them down.
I think I am ready for this week to be over and spend some quality time with my kiddos. In the meantime, I just have to make lesson plans for next week, make copies for next week, and actually teach my students!