Go Down to the Hoedown

Saturday morning, the kids and I moseyed on over to a Hoedown fundraiser for the local children's library.    I rustled up some outfits for the kids and I do think you might be seeing Miss C's again in a month since it ended up being a pretty cute costume!!

 We were actually the first family there but it ended up being a nice little crowd with some fun activities for the buckaroos:

(click photo collage to enlarge)

Oh, and I was there, too.   Pretty sad that a native Texan had to borrow a hat from her Swedish neighbor, but whatever!

**And yes, as it turns out, my hat is backwards.  Thanks to a certain loyal reader with West Texas roots for pointing it out via email.  See, this is what happens when I have no other adults with whom to consult in such situations!  I blame my 12 years in New York....and a loaner hat that had been squished in a way that made it hard to tell the front and back.   :-)

Orange You Glad We Had a Running Clock?

The game Friday night was Homecoming (which is not a big deal in these parts) which means it's also the annual "Outback Bowl" where the local Outback comes and cooks burgers and chicken sandwiches to sell.  So that's kinda fun.   Less fun is that our awesome kid-sitter who entertained the tykes at the previous 2 games was unable to come so it was back to figuring out how to keep them busy and watch the game at the same time.

I managed to get them to stay in the bleachers for most of the first half!  Hooray!

By the time halftime came around, the score was 44-0.  Pretty exciting!   So, even though I gave up my seat to spend the second half standing way down at the end so they could run around, it was a quick half.  The "running clock" (as in, it stops for nothing.  Well, maybe injury but there were none of those, thankfully) starts when there is a 35 point differential.  So that meant that, even when they finally scored on our second-string defense, it was okay because there was still more than a 35-point spread at 44-7.

Go Rams!

As we stood down at the end of the stadium near the Outback tent, it dawned on me that I bet the team and coaches were going to get all the leftovers, thus making the delicious salsa chicken simmering in my crockpot at home all for naught.   That turned out to be true so, while the coaches did come over Friday night, they didn't eat chicken tacos and didn't even see this week's fridge fun! 

Finally, Some Pics!!

As I mentioned yesterday, there was no (public) school....AND no sports practice allowed.   Someone was very excited to be able to get "comfy cozy" on the couch with her daddy!

Snuggly time couldn't last too long, however.  Even with the drizzly rain, the field trip to the nearby family farm/apple orchard was still on for C's preschool class!

While they stomped around in puddles and watched apple cider being made, the boy and I made a beeline for The Place Where Dreams Come True.   He greatly enjoyed his "maple glazed pumpkin friedcake":

Deal of the Day!   Gotta love the discontinued items at Wegs!

All four of us went back to pick up C when the school day was over.   Her teacher this year was the B-man's teacher a couple of years ago, and she said that B could come read the final book if he would enjoy that.   Um, yes he did (and so did his very proud sister)!

(There are 16 kids in the class usually but some don't stay after lunch and some more went home after the field trip.)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Still Got Nothing

I'm running on empty this week in terms of photos/adventures to share.  So dullsville...and I'm so sorry.  Our big news here today is that the public schools have the day off for Rosh Hashanah so a certain coach got to sleep in hours past his normal 5AM alarm.  Since C goes to a Christian preschool, she still has school and they actually have a field trip to a local family farm-- so guess who gets to go on his first preschool chaperone outing ever?!  (Of course, it's been raining for hours so we'll see if it still happens...)

In any case, when lacking current events of interest (and even better when it's Thursday and it can be called a "Throwback"!), it is totally appropriate to look back on this day in history.  So that is what we will do:

September 25, 2009

Fall Television Forecast

I'm pretty sure I don't watch as much TV as I used to but that doesn't keep me from getting excited every fall that there might be some fabulous new shows.   Here's what I think I'll give a try (in no particular order):

• Madam Secretary (I watched the pilot on Sunday and it was fine. Will likely watch at least one more time.)
• Marry Me (Casey Wilson in a new show from the creator of Happy Endings--who is now her husband in real life-- count me in!)
• How to Get Away with Murder (Shonda Rimes' new show and, since her other ones have had at least an entertaining first season, I'll give it a watch)

Ugh--is that really it?   Let me check my Fall TV Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly....

It's possible I'll record State of Affairs and/or Stalker.   We'll see.  And several of the shows which caught my eye are on premium cable (Showtime/HBO) so we'll just have to wait until those come out on Netflix!!!  My current treadmill show is Season 2 of House of Lies (not to be confused with House of Cards)-- if you are interested in seeing Kristen Bell as the antithesis of Frozen's cute, G-rated Anna--and aren't offended by salty language--then it's kinda fun!

What is on your Fall TV agenda?    

Fun Run

Saturday morning, the kiddies and I left the house bright and early to embark on a new adventure:  a 1K "race"!   We learned about the event from Mr. B's teacher because it benefited the schools where her own children attend.  Since we didn't have anything else to do and a certain 1st-grader loves to run, we figured it was as good a pass-the-hours-during-football-practice activity option as any other!

Looking a little unsure near the starting line:

 Classic.

Snapped by the lady standing right in front of us at the actual starting line:

So excited to see his teacher afterward:

Heading into the bakery for some post-race treats!

It's funny: I was worried about how Miss C would be able to keep up with her shorter legs but it was actually "the runner child" who complained during the race about his legs hurting.  We managed to make it through it but his complaints certainly threw me for a loop.  You just never know!

What we do know, however, is that A VERY LOYAL READER is celebrating a birthday today!  How fitting that he is the only grandparent who knows how to run!   :-)   HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anatomy of a Football Game

Before the game starts:

Halftime dance performance (check out those hips on Mr. B!):



And....the bedraggled after-game pic:

(But it was a happy bedraggled since we won 35-6!   We actually scored 35 points last year against this team, as well.....but they scored 48 then!!!)

all pics courtesy of whichever Ram parent was taking the official sideline photos that night!!!

Friday Football Fridge

I can't remember if I've mentioned in these electronic pages that the BG has started a new thing this year where the varsity coaches come to our house on Friday night after the game.  They eat, decompress, and watch the game film so that they can ensure they have the most accurate stats to report to the news outlets.   I'm in charge of the food (pulled pork tonight!  hope it's tasty!) but generally retire to slumber hours before they go home.

They've taken to hanging around in the kitchen while eating and things always look messier when seen through the eyes of others, you know?  So yesterday, I decided to clean off and clean up the outside of the fridge.

I was much more intentional with my replacement of the magnets:  for this week's game against a high school that is named after a particular renowned theoretical physicist, I got to make use of a fun magnetic finger puppet we happen to have on hand!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Perched High

Miss C hasn't just been napping in weird places.....she also keeps finding herself in fun new locales, from the top of the car to the back of an eagle!

Oh, the exciting life of a 3.5 year old!!

Cotton Candy....Grapes?

I was randomly blog-hopping the other day and read a woman's glowing review of something completely new to me:  the cotton candy grape.

Of course The Place Where Dreams Come True (aka Weggies) would have them yesterday-- wonder how many years they've had them before when I haven't even noticed?  (If that's not a plug for reading blogs, what is?  I learned about a whole new kind of grape, for goodness sake! ha ha!)

They really do taste like cotton candy!   (They are also much more expensive than regular grapes-- these were quite a splurge at $3.99/lb rather than the $1.99 the traditional ones were.)  I found a fascinating article on the NPR website: turns out their flavor is a result of plant breeding, not any kind of artificial junk-injecting shenanigans. 

Anybody else had them?

Sleeping Sister

Every now and then, Miss C likes to take her nap in her brother's bed "as a special treat."   I looked in on her yesterday and found that she'd also made some serious use out of his blanket!

Where's W(emi)ldo?

The Rams played their first away game on Friday night.  The opponent is a perennial state powerhouse so there was no expectation that we would win....which made the fact we were up 14-13 at halftime pretty darn exciting!  Unfortunately, the reality of our team having only 27 players and them having twice that number ended up causing a bit of a problem in the second half when our guys got a little worn out.  Final score: 36-14.

Their stadium is much, much bigger and nicer than ours.  Can you find me?

Once you do, please notice 3 things:

1)  I am holding my phone.  With Big Daddy back in Austin,  I was on the hook for being his not-quite-play-by-play-but-still-pretty-regular-game-updater.  I know he wished he could have been there...especially for that amazing first half!

2)  Unlike a few people around me, I am not yelling.   I have learned that I am a silent, focused concentrator.  I can jump up and wave my arms with the best of them when there's a big play but, otherwise, I'm staring hard.  (Frankly, I'm probably trying to find the ball.  ha ha ha!)

3)  THERE ARE NO KIDS WITH ME!   Another coach's wife and I paid a high school girl to play with our 3 kiddies in/around/behind the stadium.  Best $20 I've ever spent and they had a blast!!!  :-)

When the BG got home from practice Saturday around noon, I hit the road soon after to make the 2.5 hour journey to Anne's house for a high school friend meet-up!  One friend lives about 45 minutes south of me so she came to my house and then rode with me; the 4th friend in the group had a 5-6 hour drive from the north.  It was a spontaneous plan that we feel so fortunate to have worked out, especially sans all our kids!    We were basically together for dinner and then for breakfast (I got home pretty much exactly 24 hours after I'd left) but it was such a fun treat.  I promised I wouldn't post any of the group pics I insisted we take since the photo time was right before we hit the road and we were generally unshowered and in lounge clothes, but I am so thankful for that little adventure!

Flashback Friday

If I had to show you something that happened today (or even yesterday, but I took no pics), it would be this exciting 7:05am development:

 (PONIES, PONIES everywhere!!)

Eh, let's take a look back instead.   Here's a photo from my post on Sept 13, 2008:

We will also be going to a football game this weekend but he certainly won't look like that!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

PS:  Big happy birthday wishes go out to loyal reader Janie G!!!!!!

Her Turn

Miss C got a chance to do some decoratin' just like her brother! 

I pulled out just a couple of random magazines so we were flipping pages and cutting things out as we found them rather than hunting for specific things.   Girl sure loves using some little crafting pinking shears!!

FINALLY!!!

Yesterday was the official start of the preschool year for Miss C!!   For a variety of reasons, I decided to keep her in a Tues/Thurs class.   There isn't a single kid in her class from last year's 2-year-old preschool class (they all seem to have gone to M/W/F) so she's the one seasoned vet in the Turtles class.   She kinda looks like an expert, right?!

Especially when compared to last year!!!

She's staying for 4.5 hours on both days so that's just delightful.  I hit the road for Weggies as soon as I dropped her off and then met a friend for lunch after that.  It's nice to have a free block of time, although I'm sure I'll soon enough be consumed with feeling like I should be accomplishing work/exercise/etc, etc during that time!

When I picked her up at 1:50, her teachers told me she "was a pro"!   Yay, Miss C!!!

Return of the Cool Weather

We were all so relieved to wake up Sunday morning (after big rain Saturday night) to find that temperatures had dropped a good 15 degrees.   The BG's game Friday night was probably the most swelteringly disgusting one I can remember in recent years-- it was still in the 80s even at 9pm when the game was still going on because there was pretty much an injury timeout every 2 or 3 plays due to players cramping in the heat/humidity.  Saturday wasn't any better so we were all pretty excited about Sunday....

....and took advantage of the change by seeking out a new playground for lots of fun!

I looked over at one point and found this sight:  pen and paper in hand, Coach drawing up some plays on a bench:

We were able to coax him into some family see-sawing:

A grandfather and his grand-chickens:

Such a fun weekend!!!    Thanks for coming to visit, Big D!

Too Much Fun

Apparently our weekend visit from Big Daddy was just too much fun-- I apologize to those of you who check the blog at 7:30 ET because I very much had not yet written this post.  We all slept in this morning and I kinda forgot what I needed to do!   (Of course, the poor BG never gets caught up.  Even yesterday--his one day off-- he got up at 5:30am to start breaking down game film and went to bed sometime close to midnight after grading lots of papers.  Ugh.)

ANYWAY.

Friday morning, Big D accompanied the ladies on a Costco trip and then we had a scrumptious Greek lunch.   After naps for all, he was ready to meet B coming home from school:

We headed to the BIG FIRST GAME nice and early and ran right into the Ram!

It was quite a "good" game where "good" = "nail-biting" but we came away with a 46-33 win over the crosstown rival which happens to be a much bigger school:

 Saturday, we turned our attention to the green and gold.  The BG left at 6am and was gone all morning but the rest of us managed to have some tasty treats and celebratory shopping on the agenda:

And then we all met up at the new local gourmet sandwich shop for a very yummy lunch:

There might have been some gummy worms involved in the very serious "Cup of Dirt" dessert!

GO RAMS!

Well....I was hoping to have an adorable picture of the children with their Big Daddy to post this morning but someone claims he "hasn't been to the Beauty Parlor" and can't get his photo taken.

Sigh.  Do you see what I have to deal with?!

Big D arrived late last night so he can be here for the first game tonight which happens to be against the cross-town rival team.   BIG NIGHT.

Happy Friday!!

A Bit of B

These first two weeks of school have been made more pleasant by the fact that homework hasn't yet gotten underway.  The only thing B has been tasked with so far was "decorating" the white box where he'll keep his books.   Given his lack of interest in coloring/drawing, we decided to print pictures and attach them to the box.   Any guesses as to what his image search requests were?

Legos.  check.
Magic Tree House books.  check.
Discovering an image of the Magic Tree House made out of Legos?   awesome.
Our community pool.   check.

His actual first request?  Fireworks!   (No idea.)

I found some $1 Angry Birds duct tape so that ended up being an additional pop of B-ness along with some car stickers I had on hand:  

(Maybe symmetry and presentation are 2nd grade skills?)   :-)

Shocker

We lost power yesterday afternoon!

Just to be clear because I know loyal reader Jill is rolling her eyes (hee hee!):  I think the deal is less a problem with the power companies up here and more that we have SO.MANY.TREES around.

Around 4:30, it started raining pretty hard but I didn't think much of it because we've had similar afternoon rain storms each of the previous two days.   Then I looked out the picture window and realized it looked freakishly similar to the windshield view going through an automated car wash (!!!) and that there were leaves flying everywhere.  So I gathered the kiddies and we went and sat in the basement stairwell.

We probably had 100+ limbs/branches down.  (Mostly small pieces, but still.)   Our neighbors across the street ended up with a hole in their roof from a downed tree limb.   There were little pieces of leaves stuck to most of the outside of the house from the powerful winds.  When the BG came home shortly after 7pm, he said there was an area just a mile or so west of us with uprooted tree after uprooted tree.  At the high school itself (just 4 miles away), it only rained and they actually went back outside for practice after it passed.   I haven't heard it was a tornado but it was clearly on a very destructive and narrow path!

Here's what they looked like with the flash on...

....which was a good warm-up for about 5 minutes later when the power returned!!  I had to leave to go to a meet-the-teacher night at the preschool and apparently the power went off again for about 10 minutes at some point while I was gone.  Thank goodness that's all it was!!!

Summer's Supposed To Be Over

According to the weather peeps, today is going to be the hottest day we've had in a really long time.  Those gorgeous low-humidity days in the 70s we had recently?   Not so much.  THAT IS RIDICULOUS.

Alas, the holiday schedule tells us that summer is finito.  I took the kids to the community pool one last time yesterday.  The B-man ended his summer with approximately 87 jumps off the diving board...and I even surprised him with a dive of my own!  I would say his flourishing comfort in the water is probably the number one accomplishment of the summer.   Ranking up there, however, is the BG's reorganized basement station anchored by his new fridge!!

We've talked about getting a second fridge since we moved in here but it wasn't until his birthday a few weeks ago that we finally decided to pull the trigger.  It was delivered on Sunday and he quickly got everything moved around.  He is amazing.

You know what else is amazing?  FALL WEATHER.    Come on, temperatures-- drop, drop, drop!

PS:  The lighting in this pic make the Shiner sign look almost orange, which makes the whole Ram connection even cooler.  My dad stopped at some sort of  Texas flea market or vintage sale or something one time and bought that for the BG--and then carried it all the way up here in his luggage!!!   (Also amazing.)