Road Trip

 We had our first ever experience with Buckee's on our trip.

Where the kids chose...carrots for dinner.

 And cheese,

 And carrots.

 Well Ben at least embraced the idea of road trip food and had a hot dog.

And happiness reigned for the first leg of the trip.

While We Roadtrip

Extreme randomness found on my phone.

 We're off.

We hope for many hours of this.



Perry, Thrust, Or Well, Whatever

 No Candy or treats, please,

They went straight for the weapons at the Renaissance Festival.

 And so as we waited for the joust, we became the pre-show.

 Amazing that he wonders why he would be ganged up on when he announces he will take them all on.

 And a good gentlemanly battle.

And it was the best show there.

In Our Midst

It was with great interest that I watched Nicholas pretend to punch in the code that he can barely reach to the daycare classrooms  the other day.  When the door opened, I figured he had caught one of the moments that the thing had not hooked all the way closed.

They rushed in.

Then, when he did it again the next day, I asked.

"Nicholas, how do you know the code?"

"I watch.  I'm like a spy."

But of course.

Superhero City

Horse Play

 "We're Cowgirls Mommy!"

"Um, are you putting makeup on the horses?"

"Yessss!
"Yes, we're making them so pretty."

And the cowgirls, dressed as a Mermaid and Tinkerbell were off.

The Mermaid had a bit of trouble mounting.

Conversations with Alida

Elaine: "Mommy?  Did God make everything?"

Me:  "Yes, God made everything."

Alida: "Yeah, Elaine!  He even made the bumps in the road that make us go ahahahahah when we go over them.  That's so fun.  We couldn't do that if God didn't make them."

Houston Zoo

 Go ahead children, stick your head in the lion's mouth.

We remember doing this as kids too.

 But this was the real reason  for going,

Alida found her zebra again on the carousel.

 And Patric a turtle.

 And we pet some really fat goats.

No, not pregnant, confirmed with the keeper.

Just really over-fed.

 Nicholas's favorite.

Not so much mine.

 We did see some real animals.

But, we're not kidding ourselves, this is why we paid admission.

Veteran's Day 2011

 A few of us got together at the local elementary school today.

That is a Marine Helicopter Pilot who served in Vietnam sitting next to Patric's hat; his kids live in our neighborhood and their grandson was singing in the choir.

He and his wife were the most charming people.

Likewise, Patric and I were escorted to our seats by a very charming fifth-grader.

And the program this school put on was pretty darn impressive--from an honor guard to raise the flag, 2 minutes of silence for the fallen, history, music, and so many flags.

 But the boys had eyes on daddy right after the show.

And they were quick to find us in the throng.

 And then we were treated to lunch with the boys.

During which we had this bright observation from my eldest child:

Nicholas: "Mommy, what are you doing here?  You're not a Veteran."

I didn't go straight across the table at him, although the scene played out in my head.

 And after the boys were tucked back in their classrooms for the day, Patric and I got a chance to look at all of the posters from the families here honoring their loved-ones who have served.

But this may be the most sweet gift of all from the neighbor kids. 

Unpacking Uncovered

 Some unknown foam crafting paper.

Paper?

 The boys quickly decided what it would be good for.

Battle of course.

And their daddy was quick to assist.

HAHAHAHA--No

Not on the Christmas list: the My Twin doll.

It's Over

The week long candy free-for-all is over. 

Seems like you guys hardly put a dent in it, even with all of the time you spent around that bowl.

Reserve Weekend

Replacing National Guard Weekend

It's still a mess.

However, this one included unpacking the last box and sifting through the last of the crazy.

We're moved.

It's official.

Safety First



Conversations With Alida

Grandpa: "Alida, I'd really like you to show me your backyard."

Alida: "Yeah!  We have two!  One out there (pointing to the backyard), and one out there (pointing to the front door)!

Before Halloween, There Were Grands

 The weekend before Halloween, we had a great weekend with Grandma and Grandpa airplane.  We celebrated Grandma Airplane's birthday,

 And Nicholas learned a little chess,

 And grandma got schooled on Angry Birds.

 And there was pumpkin carving (ahem, in the living room).

And on top of Veteran's Day crafts for school, we spent most of our time riding bicycles, going to a birthday party, and enjoying the company.

They might not think so, but it was a very relaxing weekend for us!

Halloween

 Three families, hot dogs for the kids, and plenty of candy.

 Big Smiles

 This year Elaine decided to be the vampire.

 18 kids between seven houses on our block.

This is two houses worth.

 The neighbors from down the street came out to play.

 Big Smiles.

 A Witch!

And a candy coma by the end.