Kingpin!

Dana became the leader of the pack last Wednesday night during bowling. I have no idea what came over him, but he bowled a 434 series. He bowled a 230 in the first game and a 204 in the second. It was amazing to watch. He had been struggling right along with the rest of us but Wednesday night he had it figured out. We are off this week so hope he can carry it over! I on the other hand bowled 2 games in the low 100's. I am still striving to "keep it real"!


Dana after his amazing series!

Another quiet week for the rest of us. Jordan received JV and Varsity basketball uniforms this week. He was very excited and knows he is going to be a busy man. The games start next week and there will be 3 for him. He will probably start JV and be in the sub rotation for Varsity. At any rate....lots of bleacher butt for the parents and we are just fine with that. He also received the official diagnosis for his exercise induced asthma. They are going to put him on different medication to help control that better. He and Kelli ran the Living History Farms Cross Country Race together on Saturday with over 7500 other crazy people. The rest of us are enjoying the calm before the storm. Early to bed, meals that don't come from a concession stand and a home with some organization to it.

We will be spending Thanksgiving right here in Grimes with just the 6 of us. We haven't done that for 4 years and are looking forward to some quiet family time. We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for each one of our friends and family!

Adult time!

So...not a lot to share this week. Dana was gone the beginning of the week and things were very quiet. House got cleaned, laundry got done....you know, the usual stuff.

I did get out on Wednesday night with the neighborhood girls for Mexican and conversation. It is such a nice way to break up the week and always fun to spend time with them. Even if the service sucked, the company did not. I then went directly to the bowling alley and bowled a 165. Not my highest ever but the highest so far this season. We actually won all three games and that hasn't happened in a few weeks.

Saturday we went out with 3 other couples from the neighborhood to celebrate Mark's birthday. We had great food at the Bonefish Grill and then headed over to The Blue Moon piano bar for drinks and entertainment. We are so lucky to have such great friends. It was also so nice to get away before we all get really busy with winter sports and the holidays. Thanks guys you are the best!

Cold weather birthday

I hate cold weather!! Even more...I hate precipitation and cold weather. They put brine down on the roads yesterday in anticipation of icy weather and I darn near cried. We scrambled the end of last week to get snowpants and other cold weather gear for Carson. They go outside for recess as much as they can and I wasn't ready for the weather to take this wintery turn.

We are between sports still so are enjoying the calm that comes with it. Basketball starts for Jordan next week and Abbey has decided to focus on Show Choir and school work. It will be different having only 1 in an activity at a time.

The XC team had their awards banquet last week. Jordan received the Sportsmanship patch this year. It is the last award given out and each year Coach Gilroy says that it is a special award. We were so proud of him. He had such a different year this year and hope it continues for him. He also put in a bunch of hours at work last week and is scheduled for 20 this week. He is happy to do it. Loves that paycheck. Spends a lot of his free time with Kelli.


Jordan getting The Sportsmanship award!


Abbey, Carson, and Emma are enjoying the lack of excitement. It is really nice to eat as a family and not have to rush out the door. Abbey comes home does her homework, reads and is catching up on some of her favorite TV shows. Carson is polishing up his Wii skills and Emma is perfecting the art of "dress up". She hasn't, however, correlated being cold all the time to the fact that she wears thin, short sleeved princess dressed all day.

Dana and I did our bowling thing on Wednesday. We haven't been doing so great. A few of us seem to be in a slump! Mostly the ones that live here. I think Krista and Stacey may be contemplating new partners. Saturday night we helped surprise a friend for his 40th birthday at our local sports bar. He really didn't know about it and we all enjoyed visiting with friends.

Sunday we loaded up to go to Cherokee to surprise my dad for his 60th birthday. We had to leave Jordan behind as he had to work. Neither Dad or Mom had any idea that we were coming. We had a nice time. I hadn't been home since last Christmas and we hadn't seen Mom and Dad since the beginning of May. It was a really nice day. We had a yummy breakfast and bloody mary's made by my dad's best friend out at his cabin. Thanks Dale! It was great. Then we went to Mom and Dad's to watch football and enjoy time together.


Grandpa and the grandkids.


Mom and Dad with the kids.


Camille and Emma

Dana left for Colorado yesterday and will return tomorrow. Really glad that it is a short trip. Has an exciting meeting on Thursday that I hope to be able to tell you about soon. (A little teaser for ya.) I am looking forward to girls night out tomorrow evening with the neighborhood girls. Not much planned for the upcoming weekend. Sounds like the next post will be short. Stay warm!

Halloween!

Ok, so apologies to those of you who religiously come to the blog Sunday or Monday looking for a new update. Last week kept me busy and the weekend kept me busier. Haven't sat at the computer much so....I'll do better.

Last week revolved around the Halloween holiday. The anticipation was almost too much for Carson and Emma. Each day was counted down as if Santa was arriving. For the rest of us it was business as usual. Bowling and a Fall Concert by the Middle School students was all we had.

Dana took off for Texas on Friday morning with a friend for Race Weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. He met his brother there and from the sounds of it had a great time. Dana has had a passion for Nascar since I met him. He came home Monday afternoon tired, relaxed, and maybe a bit in need of detox. : )

That left me here to do the Halloween thing. We did get pumpkins carved before he left. We had to make it a 2 day process. One to open and scrape them out. The second to actually carve them. Jordan and Dana decided to use a jigsaw to cut them open this year. Saw it on tv during the World Series I guess. I don't question them anymore. Jordan carved 3 of the pumpkins and Abbey did her own. Nothing fancy this year...just your basic pumpkin faces.

Friday was Beggars Night. The weather was perfect to be out in the neighborhood with everyone else. It was really like a scene out of a movie. Kids running everywhere laughing and families sitting out on their porches or driveways to greet the kids. Carson went as Indiana Jones and Emma went as her favorite storybook character Fancy Nancy complete with a Posh Puppy, which I ended up carrying most of the evening. We were a group of 7 kids and 5 adults and we needed every one of those adults to keep track of the kids. The boys were 3 houses ahead of us and the little ones brought up the rear. Jordan was with Kelli and friends to watch movies and Abbey stayed behind to hand out the candy to between 150-200 kids. We lost count.

Saturday night was my turn to celebrate Halloween. Our friends had their 3rd annual Halloween Costume Party that is eagerly looked forward to by all. I had to go stag this year. My neighbors Tyler and Julie (I watch their daughter, Landry) graciously allowed me to tag along with them. Julie and I teamed up and went as Saloon Girls and Tyler went as Michael Jackson. It was a blast. The band was great....the cops only showed up once.....and I still like being behind a microphone! I somehow tried to sing "867-5309" along with another party goer but we couldn't remember all the words to the verses. After the band was done we rocked the karaoke! We have some talent in the neighborhood!

We ended the week with the kids bellies full of candy and parents who each enjoyed a few moments of adult time! Livin' the life!!

2 montages this week. One of the pumpkin carving and trick or treating. The other of the party. Thanks Julie for taking all the pictures putting it together and then just letting me copy it!! : )

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