Let Me Try

The kids are really into grapefruit right now, breakfast, snack and anytime in between I am being handed a grapefruit to cut as they are already reaching for the Stevia. So this afternoon after we got home from getting everyone from school I am busy getting Brooklyn settled with her grapefruit and I turn around to this...

He had grabbed another grapefruit out of the fridge and then a medicine dropper out of the drawer and gone to town giving this poor grapefruit a flu shot - just like he had this afternoon. "It just pinched a little mom!" The girls and I had quite the laugh! And check out the concentration and the tongue out - Carter only does that when he is REALLY serious about something. This could be in his future and no worries the grapefruit was returned to it's fruit drawer unharmed!

October Visitors - Comings and Goings iStyle

October was full of company and we loved it!!! Well we loved every visitor EXCEPT the stomach bug, that one could have stayed away for sure and isn't welcome back. In fact if you didn't come you should have because we wouldn't have even noticed an extra two or four people around. It was a full month and as I sit here typing this tonight the house is eerily quiet! My stomach hurt when we said our last goodbye at the airport today and knew that the visiting was coming to an end (well at least until next month). But there is something so fun about having people in town this time of year. The start of fall, fall school activities, kids fall sports and just all the extras like pumpkin patches, baking and getting ready for holidays that everyone who is here gets to be a part of. I left the airport having had all of my family here at some point for the past two weeks and realized the one thing I miss most when they aren't living near - besides being a part of my kids lives and daily activities, I miss the LAUGHTER. We did everything we normally do but with more laughing and antics than normal when each one of them were around. I loved watching my kids laugh and it brought back how much we laughed as kids. So thanks to my Fam for the laughter and memories and of course LOTS AND LOTS of pictures. We miss you already and it will take me awhile to catch up with each visit but I can't wait to get to it!

Mr. Doc - the Canadian friend who comes in town every year to play in the golf tournament -
the kids look forward to him being here every year!

Poppy & Carter at the pumpkin patch

Carter & Uncle B waiting for KK to get out of school 

Why these three pictures of our visitors - because Carter couldn't keep up with all the comings and goings. For the first few days he called my dad (Poppy) Mr. Doc, and then when my brother got here he kept calling him Poppy. It was quite funny. 

More October Happenings - iStyle

Seafarers Gala where Pat was recognized as Man of the Year

This little miss celebrated her birthday with the perfect kind of party - at the NEW American Girl Store in Houston. Lots of fun pictures to share of this night!

A common scene at our house this month - so thankful it was the one week
in between all of the company

B's first day back to school after being home sick for a week - poor thing was so sick. Her pediatrician wanted us to get a blood test to rule out anything more severe because she took so long to bounce back. She was as brave as she could be (with Tim and I holding her down but she did it and all was fine). As bad as I felt for her it was so nice having her around for the week to read to and take care of and cuddle - I miss this one a ton, now that she is in school full time!

A common sight this month

Another common sight - more blood and lots of shots in fact Carter started practicing at home -
post to come!

L-O-V-E

Double L-O-V-E - lots and lots of orange.
Doesn't get better than tutus and orange

Blissful morning! Perfect weather when we can to walk, jog, park it and play outside. 

All The Much

This one...

has my heart!

When he says:

I love you all the much mama

I love you all the night long mama

Let's get this party started (the latest and greatest)

B-tar (for guitar)

B-nana (for banana)

Check on me LOTS (repeat, repeat, and repeat again)

I can't go upstairs, there are monsters up there - I not scared anymore

Let's play ball

I so brave

I miss KK lots (after she is out of the car for 2.2 seconds)

What we having for breakfast in the morning

17 Hours

17 hours was exactly how long we had in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. Tim was invited to a Monday Night Football Game from the company he buys all his engines from and how could he say no??? We had another date/meet up at the airport and from there it was the quickest longest 17 hour date we have been on!

Just enough time to...

find an In & Out - of course it was the first thing we looked up on our phones when
we were on the rental car shuttle!

The Gaylord Hotel was incredible. Wish we had more time there but we loved walking around and checking everything out - what a set up!

Had to capture a picture of one of the many trains throughout the hotel for C man 

we had great seats - but it was near impossible to watch the field with the giant screen looming above 

anytime - even a quick 17 hours with this man is the best date ever!

And thanks to awesome friends who watched our kiddos so we
could go together!

Some Of My Favorite Things

So having children is a blessing but I do have to say having two little girls who love to write little notes and leave them around the house is an EXTRA blessing. This is a common sight around our house and for that I am so thankful! This was all just in the last three days. I kinda beat myself up for not capturing more of this and taking more pictures but then I realized I would have to post way more often to capture all the notes and we all know with not even having posted our Padre trip (who am I kidding - we just realized it was a year ago that we were in Disneyland and those 

pictures have yet to appear)...so I am just happy to find and capture even these few little notes scattered throughout the house. It makes for a lot of papers and piles but for that I can smile at what is taking up space. 

Thanks girls for being writers and always knowing how to make this mama smile. 

 Brooklyn had written this in my grocery notebook tonight

Poor Brooklyn has had the stomach virus since Monday night so we were giving her some crackers and gatorade and Kennedy wrote this on her napkin - smile 

one of Brooklyn's many many creations - she literally sits down every morning at the craft table - she has made us get our money out of it for sure - and creates something. This happened to be a picture/toothbrush holder that she proudly taped to Tim's mirror for his toothbrush. Notice her latest love in drawing on the left side; two trees with a hammock 

 B left this for me in my bathroom - hearts, love them!

I often find notes from K on Mondays before I leave for Bible Study. She is almost ten years old and I have been doing this study for almost 7 years and she still doesn't like when I leave so she gets her therapy in writing - I will take it! 

Brooklyn drew this for Tim on Monday Night Football - GO Texans!! 

 She is the most appreciative and expressive child ever - very thoughtful and always telling others.

And notice she dated it!!! I told her awhile ago I am not the best at dating things right away and how important it is so she takes it upon herself to date them.

See - so thoughtful and appreciative.

And Vern is what Tim calls anyone who is around, his little nickname for the kids 

Love Brooklyn's "I Like" and so glad it's still her daddy and not some boy yet!

I will pull these out again when they are teenagers and they have stopped talking all together I am sure but in the meantime I will enjoy every little pile and note around.

Brooklyn's Kindergarten Open House

We had a date with Miss Brooklyn to attend her Open House a couple of weeks ago. It always falls during the week that Tim's friend Doc is in town playing the annual Member Guest golf tournament. So Mr. Doc is on Carter duty that night and then Tim and I and the girls all head out on a date. She was so excited to show us all the goodies for Open House. The kids worked hard on all of their art, projects and fun fun writing and books to show off. I had a perma smile on my face the entire night. I loved watching Brooklyn show us proudly all that she has been working on. She loves school and things are really clicking with her learning.

 Showing daddy all of her work

 So proud of my girls! They are hard workers in school

 Her writing journal - first day of school - LOVE the hula hoop!!

She has been writing some cute cute stories in the rest of her journal. It's fun to see the ideas they come up with based on the words she knows how to spell - I remember Kennedy doing this at first too. But I love seeing her sound out words and write how she hears them. You rock B!

Mrs. Bruns 

 Mrs. Suggs

 Love Love Love this stuff! Brooklyn is still saying she wants to

 be a "clothes maker" when she grows up.

And what Open House date would be complete without a stop for ice cream after to celebrate...

the silly faces of this energetic sweetheart!

So fun to spend some time out with our girls and talk to them - they both are really growing up and it's awesome and bittersweet all at the same time. It was a little quiet without Carter running around but we made sure to love on him as soon as we got home.