Austin

We are still in Austin. We will hopefully be home on Saturday if all goes according to the current plan. MIL is housesitting and taking care of dogs for us so not having to worry about that.

I did 7 miles today...I didn't run it all but I did at least get the distance in. The race will be here before I know it and I so don't feel ready but am still excited about it. The long run/walk today was a great stress reducer but in the morning I may be regretting it especially with the hills around here.

I brought the kids Halloween costumes with us so we will be doing Halloween in Texas this year and MIL will be handing out to the trick or treaters in our neighborhood.

Fireproof Movie

Hubby and I finally made it to see the movie Fireproof. We have been trying for 3 weeks, last time we tried it was sold out so this time we bought tickets ahead of time good thing since this showing was sold out as well.

WOW! Just sums it up it is so very good. The message, the acting, everything all around wonderful movie. My expectations going in were that it would have a good message but I didn't know if it would be just a great movie, but it most certainly was.

We are off for Austin. MIL will be house sitting again as she needs a break from SIL and BIL.

Braden has two appointments on Monday, and then we will go from there.

Birthday Party!

We had a fun party. I so love Brittney's friends and their moms!
Everything was fun, Brittney was spoiled! She loved everything she got and she loved having all her friends over.

We also made fun t-shirts I took white t-shirts tied rubber bands dyed them orange and everywhere there was a white circle they drew in a pumpkin face.
Here are some food pics, party pics and even one of the dog in his costume!

Brain and fruit dip (watermelon)


Ghost Pizzas


Cat dip


Pumpkin Cheese Ball


Hand coming out of the dip.


Ghosts! (Pears dipped in melting chocolates and mini choc chip eyes)



Tex in his second costume of the day!


All the girls (They were all American Girl Dolls, except one and she was the skeleton!)


Trying to get the apple off the fork without their hands...






Blowing out the candles


Making shirts

She is 11!

My little girl is 11 today.
Much to my chargin everyone has been assuming she is turning 13 and once I even heard 14 I am like no no no. I don't even like 11...LOL...growing up too fast. I will have lots of party pics and fun foods pics later as we are having a Halloween Birthday party today!



Happy Birthday Britt Britt, you are my sweet girl. My kind hearted sensitive girl who will do anything to help someone out. You do not hesitate to go break out your piggy bank if you hear of anyone in need and automatically offer your money. You are helpful, kind, smart and beautiful and most of all your my little girl. Happy Birthday.

Camping

I wouldn't go so far as to say camping was fun this past weekend, but it wasn't bad either. Actually much more bearable with friends along. All in all it was a good weekend and nice not to have to do any running anywhere. I kept having to make myself not think about the things to do list awaiting me. We set up camp Friday afternoon we tried a recipe for dessert that we had found in a camping cookbook. You roast an apple on a stick, and then peel it while it is still on the stick, put the apple (still on the stick) in a bag of sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon then place it back over the fire to cook for another few minutes then cut it up and it is like an apple pie. We did the cooking over the fire this weekend having really good food including scalloped potatoes and steak..yum. The new state park was very nice. We did paddle boats which didn't turn out quite how we had thought, but we did them. Then canoes which were more fun. Then Sunday morning we broke down camp. Here are a few pics. A few snap shots but I am adding lots more to flickr. Also just some snapshots taken with our camera from our photo shoot with the wonderful Shannon, I am excited to see the pictures she took. Here are a few of the camping pics.

Add it to the to do list

Britt is having a Halloween birthday party. Just a fun little dress up thing. She wanted to be an indian or more specifically Kaya from American Girl. Not a problem...so I thought. Well I ordered one on line just a Teen Indian Princess costume so all taken care of. Well not quite. Do to the fact that the costume came in and it was just a little skimpy but I still thought okay we will put leggings under it and a shirt under the top and it will work. This was before I noticed the paw prints strategically placed on the front of the shirt. Eeek not going to work. So I ran around this morning and apparently all indians wore skirts that barely covered their rear and shirts tight and small. Even the children's costume was a mini skirt. No where near what Kaya wore. So off to the fabric store and a pattern that hopefully will adapt to be some sort of Kaya looking dress. Of course I can't sew so Britt has to do it herself....make those sewing lessons pay off..lol. I can help but I am not a seamstress. So now we have 7 days to make a costume because her party is next Wednesday.

I was telling Matt those adult costumes were awful there wasn't one I would feel comfortable wearing in public...eeek. Hopefully Britt's costume will turn out. Brae was easy he wanted to be Ben Ten white Ben Ten shirt, jeans, a thing on his wrist that is some alien thing and spike his hair and he is done...now if Britt was that easy.

A Brae Funny

Having one of those days when Brae pipes off with one of his comments and makes me smile.

Brae is talking 90 to nothing when he is suppose to be doing his handwriting.

I finally say "Brae you are suppose to be doing your writing"

Brae: "I am multitasking here, I can do more than one thing at a time and it is called multitasking".

It was just the way he said it like duh mom I can talk and do work.

head spinning

I am running like a crazy woman. Even crazier than usual.

I am helping out at my friends law office this week which I don't mind doing but makes it crazy. Stuff with co-op, with the home school group, going camping for two nights with friends this weekend, regular school stuff, planning Britt's birthday, scout stuff, paralegal stuff, medical stuff...all is making my head spin this week.

Docs are fighting among themselves which puts me in the middle because if I side with one then the other gets mad and so on and so on. So trying to get all the facts and things straight in my head so that we can make a decision on upcoming things with Brae.

Did get Britt's room put back together with her new bed. She is counting down to her birthday. The birthday that I am so unprepared for...those who say I am so organized would laugh out loud if they could see me now.

I won't be home one evening this entire week, and gone everyday as soon as school work is done. What a week, and I really don't see it slowing down until mid November.
Of course by then holiday busy times will take over so that means no end in site..eek.

On another note my training for my quarter marathon is going well. Somedays I doubt I can do it, but then I know that I can but I also realize I will be toward the back of the pack and be slow but I am just going to focus on the fact that I finish a 7 mile race and not where I come in.

Back to the busy busy week.

Girls Day

Britt and I had a wonderful girls day today. We attended the American Girl Fashion Show in Springdale. It was really cute. I forgot my camera, but no pics were allowed of the show anyway so that made me feel a little better. I did have Britt's pic made with her doll and we should be able to view it online next week. I will have to snap her pic with her doll and their matching Fashion Show t-shirts too at some point.
They of course had lots of booths and things set up and so there was a little spoiling that happened...oh well it was girls day so that makes it okay! After the show there were refreshments set up and that too was cute, a good little snack with wonderful presentation. Everything ran well and seemed to move at a smooth pace. Britt and I both really enjoyed ourselves. It was a little bit of an early present for her upcoming birthday. Definitely it was worth going to.

Finally!

A big day here....FINALLY we have a Target near us!
Yeah!
They had a soft opening today opening until 10pm tonight and then closing again until Sunday when they will have the Grand opening.
My friend called and told me about it so out we went. Brae was the only one not thrilled with going...imagine that...but hubby, Britt and I all loved the new store.
They just have such different stuff then some of the other stores.
Much better to have Target 10 minutes away rather than over an hour!
So if I am ever missing just look at Target it will be my new home away from home, I will just be happy wondering the aisles.

Pyramid fun

Kids had fun this morning building their pyramids out of sugar cubes.

Is it Friday yet? Warning,..whining ahead

Okay, I know I still have 4 days to go till Friday but I can hope can't I?
What a week and it is just starting.

Regular busy times + extra stressers = no fun.

It has been one of those weeks already. I am so not a person that likes conflict I would most times rather back down. But ugh this week one of those things is stirred up and it is making me doubt my decision in standing up for myself in the first place. Ugh.

Up early this morning did 3 miles, I love it when it has just rained and I am running on the wet asphalt. So it was a good run, I was slower than I wanted to be but I did my 3 miles. I know that Nov 16 will be here before I know it. Hubby is going to do the kids race with them so he is "suppose" to be getting out with them and getting ready. I think their race is 1.3 miles. Mine will be 7.2 miles. It should be fun I have two different friends and their kids that I know are going, and 2 more that have said they are wanting to and then 1 person that says they are going that I don't want to go...ugh.

I got onto post and my mind is blank, I know there are 50 things going on this week, and plenty I could vent about don't really want to go into all of that.

We did get Britt's new bed and got it all set up, it is so nice. She loves having a double size bed. Since we spent more on the bed than we had originally thought we just went for a cheaper bookshelf and desk for now. We still don't have it all arranged in there but it is getting there and she is glad she no longer has to stay in her brothers room. The new furniture is the bulk of her birthday this year.

Well with 100 things on my to do list and I am sure more stressers for the day I assume I better wrap this up and start the day.

Showing the importance of Math

Brae and hubby went camping this weekend with our homeschool group. They had a blast.

Them gone let Britt and I have girls night. We went to eat and then go get ice cream. This is where I showed Britt an exhibit of why math is so important. The total was $4.50, I gave the kid a $20.00, he keeps looking at me and the cash register then starts fumbling with a calculator on the side. He says "I can't get the calculator to come up" and he is really getting flustered. So much so that the manager came over. The kids says "I can't get the calculator to come up". I politely say I think my change would be $15.50. The manager now getting what is going on says look at the receipt it tells you what her change is. The kids was so relieved he was like oh good that change stuff is too confusing.

We left and Britt was like mom what was taking him so long, I explained that is why we do math, why I make her count out money at places, etc. I felt bad that the kid was so dependent on a calculator that he couldn't do change for $4.50 not even a really weird amount.

Even Brae likes it

Working on our Story of the World History. Even Brae likes it. That says a lot, of course there are still times his eyes glass over and I know he is more interested in the texture of the table than what I am saying but for the most part this is keeping him interested. Britt is loving it and checking books out of the library to go further into it. Today we studied ancient writing forms cunniform and hieroglypics. We did the cuniform on a tablet but the hieroglypics I just printed the pics out and they glued their names on a paper. I put more pics on flickr. Also did the diet coke and mentos which they both loved.