Another Fall tradition......

The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch! This is the best pumpkin patch in the area in my opinion! We have been coming here every year for the past 10 years--even before we had kids! It is a beautiful Saturday, so we decided to head out early to try to beat the crowds. There are so many fun things--hayride, bounce houses, face painting, playground, haystacks, a hay maze and so much more! We had a ball as usual!

It's that time of year

Time for the state fair! We go every year and the girls really look forward to it! They plan out what they want to see and do--it's really fun for G and I to listen to them work out all the details for the rides they want to ride and the food they want to eat! (within reason of course!) We always go on Tuesday--$3 admission with a DrPepper can and rides are discounted to 5 coupons each. We pick the girls up from school early and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening doing as much as we can. The girls especially love the childrens barnyard, rock climbing at the Jeep exhibit, getting their nails done at the Loreal tent, and riding rides. Oh, and I can't forget the food--Fletcher's corny dogs, Fernies funnel cakes, ice cream, cotton candy, corn on the cob, etc. We've tried some crazy food at the fair in years past such as fried guacamole, but didn't branch out too much this time. G and I especially love seeing the girls enjoy themselves and the experience!

Friday Flashback

I have had Maui on my mind. We are headed there with the family in just a few short weeks. My favorite vacation spot ever is Hawaii!! It is magical! Very romantic, relaxing and everything a vacation should be. I hope I still feel this way about it after taking the girls. I really think they will have a great time, and I'm sure when they are 25 or so, they will appreciate the time, effort and money it took to take them to such a great place!

My love affair with Hawaii began in 1992. Greg and I were dating in Arizona. His brother and sister in law lived on Oahu and Greg was planning to visit them over spring break--this was Greg's last semester of grad school. Of course, I made it my goal to get him to invite me to go with him and I succeeded! This was in March of 1992, BEFORE we were married. We stayed with Greg's brother and sister in law--they were great chaperones--and we had a FANTASTIC time. I celebrated my 25th b-day while we were there. Greg's SIL put together a great photo collage with pictures of Greg and I, and gave it to me for my birthday--I still have it! We spent most of the time on Oahu, but flew over to Maui for a weekend. I was hooked. It was the ultimate vacation for me. We have been back several times but this will be the first time with our little chicks.


Maui 1992, on the shores of Kaanapali beach. We stayed at the Westin and this was right in front of the hotel. (I pried this picture off of a scrapbook page.)


Kauai 2002. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary there.


Kauai 2004. We loved it so much we went again! This was somewhere near Poipu.


Maui 2006. This is on the way to Blue Pool--a huge waterfall on one side, the ocean on the other. Ahhhh....just a few weeks.....

Fun with cousins

Last week my sister and her girls came to visit! We had a great time visiting and the girls really enjoyed playing with each other. It is really fun to see all these little girls together! The big girls painted, jumped on the trampoline, played polly pockets, and watched lots of Barbie movies. The babies rolled and crawled and chewed--they are both so cute! I enjoyed visiting with my sisters and eating lots of yummy food together!


The weekend girl gang.


Painting with watercolors.


Sus and Sophie. I've mentioned this before, but Sus is really good with babies and little kids!

Nice weather

Ahhh, the weather! It has been so nice the past few days! Cool mornings and evenings and gorgeous days with highs around 80. We can't just sit inside when the weather is this nice, so the girls got a friend and took a spin on their scooters around the creek in our neighborhood this evening. The nice weather also meant that it was finally time to get our roof replaced! Lots of banging and a huge mess outside the last couple of days. I think they are mostly done.

On a side note, many of our friends and family have called inquiring about my parents and how they did through Hurricane Ike. I let my parents know that lots of our friends were thinking of them. I know they truly appreciate your care and concern! They are fine! Their home and cabin are fine. My mom says there is a lot of debris to clean up around both properties. There is no power in the area and they expect that it will take a few weeks to restore. Many nearby areas were hit much worse!


Cruising around the creek.


Teasing the ducks. That's right, not feeding, teasing!


Looking for turtles.



Some of our roof mess.

Friday Flashback

It's been a while since I've had a minute for a flashback!
This is one of my favorite pictures of Greg with the girls. It was at Christmastime in Hilton Head,South Carolina on the golf course where my inlaws used to live. Susanna had just turned two and Nan and Sam were 3 1/2. This was, of course, before I owned a digital camera. The scanned in image just doesn't do it justice!

First game of the season

For Susanna. My other two decided not to play soccer this fall (which is fine by me. They were playing down a league so we always had to fight with the soccer association EVERY year to get them on the team/level we wanted. No fight this year was great!) We all went out to support Sus this evening for her first game. The team did very well, but got outscored by a couple of goals. We are getting back into our routine and fall activites--soccer, gymnastics and piano. The first two weeks back to school have been pretty good. More serious homework and projects are starting up so we'll see how things progress.