Ellie

A sweet reward to me

Howdy, Folks

Today we met some friends at the State Fair of Texas! It was a fun morning and not crowded at all(you'll notice in the pics of Rett on the rides there is no-one else on the rides with him...but the were a few out of the picture). Best of all...it hardly cost us anything for a morning of fun at the fair. My dad dropped us off at the entrance and we used a Dr. Pepper can to get in for $3. Once inside we headed to the kids petting zoo and met Wendy and Jenny and their kiddos. We spent $1 on feed for the animals. After petting animals and going through the "little hands on the farm" exhibit we headed towards Big Tex to grab a corny dog. I packed the kids lunches so I got a corny dog for $4.50 and drank my bottled water from home. Once we made it to the midway Rett chose two rides to go on for 5 tickets each ($2.50 each). Tuesdays most of the rides at the Fair are only 5 tickets. Afterwards we walked over to some of the pavilions and sampled FREE quesadilla and bought a $1.50 bluebell ice cream cup we shared. The grand total for the day came to $15. Not bad for a day at the state fail or Texas. Rett's behavior was off the charts today. He was kind, and gentle and even shared with his sister. :) My dad picked us up around 1:30pm. Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way home and I successfully transferred them to their beds where they slept for another 1.5-2 hours. Success!!
Here are a few pics:


The best mode of transportation yet!


Gathering Eggs

My go-with-the flow girl:

High School-ten years later

This weekend I visited with classmates from Bryan Adams High School 10 years after we graduated. There was a good turnout. We had about 100 people show (our graduating class was about 300). Many people looked them same. Many of the people whom I went to high school with have stayed in Dallas so I see them periodically and have kept up with their lives via facebook. So there was no real "surprises". Once Troy and I arrived we mingled a little but then, just like high school, everyone retreated to their old circles of friends. At one point I looked across the bar and could see all the same "clicks" from 10 years earlier. I was trying to be a good sport...but I felt like crap. On Thursday, my birthday, I began to get a sore itchy throat. By Friday I was full-blown sick. I went to PrimaCare and got on a z-pack right away. However, it was too late. I was already very hoarse and sounded squaky when I talked. I tried so hard to save my voice for Saturday night but most of the people I was talking to couldn't hear me over the karaoke in the background and as the night wore on I grew tired of trying to scream. We left around 1pm and as I climbed into the cab I was glad I went and got to see a lot of the people I went to high school with...but I couldn't wait to get to sleep. :)
I didn't take my camera...but here's a pic we took when we dropped the kids off at my parents:

Preschool

Rett started preschool on Wednesday, September 8th. It was pouring down rain outside and we were literally soaking wet by the time we got to his classroom. This year he is attending two days a week (Monday/Wednesday (9-2:30) as opposed to last year when he went only one day a week to Mother's Day Out. I really, really, really like his teacher, Ms. Wilson. She means business and I love that. She has a kind,warm smile and presence about her....but she's not gonna let anyone get away with any funny business. Rett seems to be doing well...he was a little nervous on his first day...but who wouldn't be? She sends a weekly update via email of what the students will be learning in her class that week. I like it because I can then implement what they are doing in class at home. For example, last week they talked about apples. Everything was apples. Their shape, color, size, texture, uses, etc. So at home we talked about apples too. I asked Rett what color an apple is and he said: "green and red". I asked him what shape an apple was and he said: "a circle". I asked Rett what we do with apples and he said: "we eat them, and proceeded pretend to eat an apple with exaggerated bites.". He even told me an apple was a fruit...which I didn't ask him about. Here's a few pics from his first day:

Whoa, have you missed me?

Have you noticed I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks. It's not that I don't want to...it's just that I can't seem to find the time. Our calendar has been overflowing with activities and by the time everyone's settled at night all I want to do is watch tv and go to sleep. This blogging thing is WORK! I have kept a mental list of everything we've done so I'm not going to skip anything...but rather go back and relive it by posting a blog about it. So, stay tuned...I haven't forgotten about you. :)

Labor Day 2010

Labor Day weekend we headed for the lake. It was our usualy crew, The Bever's (me, troy, rett and ellie), my parents, SarahLyn, Mason and Lauren. But, there was a surprise guest: Uncle James! My dad's brother, James, drove his super-cool harley in for the weekend and hung out with us for a bit. It was so fun to catch-up with Uncle James and tell stories about things we did with him when we were kids. Rett was enamored with his motorcycle and kept asking to go see it.
Uncle James' super-cool harley:


Rett got a new fishing pole and caught his first fish in the wee-morning hours with Marmie...


Although, he really just wanted to play with the worms


About to go for a boat ride: Marmie, Uncle James, Ellie


Playing on the bike some more.
Heaven help me if Rett tells me he wants to drive a motocycle when he turns 16!



The gang in their Hootin-Holler shirts (Hootin Holler is our favorite Liquor store at Cedar Creek)

The girls:

Saying bye to Uncle James:

Lake Highlands vs. Mesquite Horn

Football season has arrived! I never thought that I was the type of person that would ever want to go to a high school football game. That all changed when I married the ultimate sports fan and gave birth to his prodigy: the ultimate sports son. I have really come around in the past 7 years and actually enjoy sporting events now. We told Rett that morning that we were going to go see a real football game and he reacted like it was christmas. All day he was playing pretend football and kept asking when we were going to leave. Troy's parents came down from McKinney and we all ate at Picasso's (where we saw two of the other kids on Rett's soccer team) and then fought the traffic all the way to the game. Rett watched the game and asked Troy what was going on. His favorite part was when the team ran through the blow-up tunnel shaped like a wildcat. While watching the game I kept trying to visiualize Rett on the field some day playing football for LH(which is highly likely) and Ellie as one of there cheerleaders(not so sure yet). It still seems a long way off...but it will be here before we know it. Ainsley, Ryder and Piper came to the game too (which was a good distraction).
Here are a few pics:
Watchin' the game:

Sweet Ellie:

Ainsley and Ryder:


When we pulled into the driveway:

Firestation #11

Tuesday we toured Firestation #11. It is one of the oldest firestation's in Dallas (built in 1908) and one of only 4 station's left in Dallas with fire poles (all the new stations have slides). The kids were in awe of the firemen and they gave us a grand tour. Each kid got to climb in the firetruck and sit in the driver's seat and pretend to steer. Then they got out the firehose and turned it on and all of the kids took a turn spraying the hose(rett really loved that part :)). We watched one of the firemen slide down the pole and then they let the mommies try it out! I wore a dress so I didn't slide down, but the boys especially loved watching the pole for someone to slide down. We went upstairs and they showed us where they relax(with a pool table and weight room), then where they sleep and shower. After we thanked the firemen and were ready to leave our sweet friend Wendy surprised us with "goodie" bags she made for all the kids with a fireman's hat, firetruck stickers and a notepad and badge. Rett wore his hat the rest of the afternoon until Bodie accidently steped on it and crushed it. :(
Here are a few pics from our super-fun field trip!


Jenny sliding down the pole:

Playdate in Austin

Monday Rett and I packed up and headed about 3.5 hrs south to Cedar Park, Texas....just a stone's throw from Austin. Our dear friends the Duffields moved there at the begining of August. We carpooled with Will and Courtney. Rett and Will thought it was so "cool" to be riding in the car together. Courtney and I thought it was nice not to have to solely talk to a toddler for 3.5 hrs. When we got to Kate's new house she opened the door and didn't seem surprised at all to see us...even though it was a surprise to her! We toured their beautiful (and BIG) new house and caught up on what's been going on over the past few weeks. Rett, Kate, Will and Elia played and fought and hugged alot. We sure do miss the Duffield's....but at least it's only a day-trip to go see them! Thanks to Bill(my father-in-law) for watching Ellie for the day while we went! :)
Here are a few pics Melissa took:


No one wrestles with Rett like Kate does:



The kids had more fun playing in this "house" and cheers-ing with their suckers!