Halloween Party

Our friends, the Cochran's threw a costume party tonight. Dressing up usually isn't my thing, but we were good sports (I was making my costume an hour before the party) and had a good time. I was originally going to be a scarecrow, but we couldn't decide what Eric should be when my neighbor brought us "the perfect costume." After a little persuasion I got Eric into it, I adjusted mine, and off we went! Isaac was NOT happy with Eric's choice of costume and let us know about every 5 seconds from the time Eric put it on until he took it off. Boys are not girls! We got pictures of most of the couples, but I was sad to see we missed a few. Enjoy the costume parade!

Me and my BIG hunk of burnin' love!

Amanda and David Galloway

Kassie and Jeremy Hadley

Claudia and Glenn Walker

Ben and Emily Martino

J.D. and Hayley Cochran

"Letterboxing" for my Birthday!

I had a great birthday on Thursday. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! It was a busy day, though, and I didn't even see Eric until 8:30 that night, so Friday night Eric's parents treated us to dinner for my bday. We got a babysitter for the kids and enjoyed some nice adult conversation with them. This is the first time we've ever doubled with them by ourselves and we really enjoyed it. We'll have to do it again soon! Then, Eric had this weekend off, so he took us all "letterboxing" for my birthday. It's kind of like treasure hunting and our family loved it. You should all try it! (http://www.letterboxing.org/) We went to ChalkRidge Falls Park, above Stillhouse Lake Dam (only about 20 min. away). It was so pretty and the weather was perfect! We worried that we'd end up carrying the boys half of the way, but we were ready to go before they were. We found the first box opened and scattered with no stamp, so that was kind of disappointing. We put it back together for them the best we could and at least stamped their book. The second one was right where it was supposed to be and we got our first stamp in our book. Hooray! Ashlyn was a trooper. Depending on what part we were hiking or how we had to help the boys, she got tossed all around in the baby pack. We can't wait to do it again!

The hikers ready to go!

There's Ashlyn!

We really enjoyed all of the beautiful views.

Ashlyn wasn't nearly as impressed as the rest of us!

Hooray! We found it!

And.....she's out!

Long with No Pictures....Are you up for it?

So the fun began when my brother, Steven, and his family showed up on my doorstep Friday afternoon. I knew that he was in Dallas for a business trip (I wasn't supposed to even know that), but I had no idea that he would make it to Temple to visit me. What a great surprise! We visited for awhile, and then he took us all out to Mexican food. The menu lingo is a little different here in Central Texas than it is in Arizona, so it was quite entertaining watching Cyndi order her food.

Cyndi: "I would like a chicken burro with rice and beans."
Waiter: (Blank Stare)
Cyndi: "Can I have it with rice and beans? Oh, it says right here that it comes with rice and beans. "Okay, I want a chicken burro."
Waiter: Another blank stare, then finally...."a burrito?"
Cyndi: "Yeah, a chicken burro with rice and beans and oh, I want it enchilada style."
Waiter: Blank stare
Cyndi: (Putting menu down) "Yep, I want a chicken burro enchilada style please."
Waiter: Really confused blank stare
This is where I decided to jump in
Me: "I was just waiting to see if you guys would figure each other out. She wants a chicken burrito with gravy."
Waiter: "Ahhhh, okay." (Light turned on)
Steven and Cyndi: "Gravy?"
Me: "They're from Arizona. I'm here to translate for you!"

So Cyndi finally got her food and it all tasted great (I just ate her leftovers for lunch!). When we were leaving, Isaac wanted to ride with Uncle Steven and Aunt Cyndi. So he and Carter jumped in the car next to ours - Isaac driving, Carter running all around in the back - and as Eric is putting the booster seat in, Steven gets a little closer and says "Um, I don't know whose car that is, but its not ours." Everybody out! Quick! We really enjoyed their visit and Tillman was lots of fun. Thanks for coming guys!

Saturday was another fun day. Eric had to go into work for a couple of hours, but when he got back we loaded up and head to "Train Park" to see a traveling zoo and play on the trains. While we were driving there, Isaac was hoping that he would see some giraffes and elephants.
Eric: "No, Isaac, I think it will be smaller animals."
Isaac: "Like maybe baby giraffes and elephants?
Eric: "Like maybe goats."
Isaac: Disgusted and horrified "Ughhh!"
Well it wasn't like what any of us thought. The animal man brought a kangaroo, a cockatoo, a skeet (pretty neat, I had never seen one before), a mommy hedgehog and her babies, and a snake. The kids really liked it. It was also family day at the park, so we got to ride the handrails and a few more of the train cars were open. We took them to McDonalds for lunch and then home for naps. Nana surprised us and came over that evening and decided that Eric and I needed a date while she stayed home with the kids. Who are we to refuse? We tried the driving range again. I'm afraid my natural abilities are waning a bit, but I haven't given up yet! We had a lot of fun and got some icecream on the way home. Thanks Debbie! Yesterday was one of the best days I've had in awhile.

Carter has decided that he's a baby like Ashlyn, so often talks baby talk. It's very irritating, so Eric was trying to tell him, again, that that was how Ashlyn talks because she doesn't know any words and that he needed to help teach her words. So Carter turned to Ashlyn, "Say 'words', Ashlyn. Say 'words'." She might not be able to say much, but pretty soon she'll be able to say "words!"

I started the Course II cake decorating class. We only make one cake this time, but LOTS of frosting. I don't know why I ever think that I can go back to school. I can barely keep up with my cake homework! If Eric and the kids can handle it, I'd really like to take Course III when this one is over and then I am done!

Love you all!

Eric had this weekend off, so last minute we decided to go and relax at his parents' since he doesn't get to go very often. We had a great time as always - the boys have room to roam and we have nothing to do but play and sit around! We ended this trip with roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over the BBQ pit. I'm glad that we live so close so that we can see them often. These pictures were actually taken a couple of weekends ago, but each trip is pretty much the same. Just nice! Thanks Nana and Papa for all of the fun and hospitality!

Isaac made this flag for them and posted it at the entrance of their property. It barely blew down a few days ago.

For preschool on Tuesday we were learning about Spring and wind and the letter F. The morning was nice and cool and breezy, so we went out a flew the kites we made and then I found a frog that we were playing with. What better way to teach the letter F? My friend Polly was out on a walk, so she ran back and got her camera and took a couple of pictures of Carter and Ashlyn and the frog. It was my great idea to get some with Ashlyn and the frog, but I don't think I'll ever have the heart to do that to another frog again! I tried to be so careful, but Ashlyn has fast little hands and she was trying to squeeze the poor frog's head off before I could blink. I was trying to free it, but she has a tight grip and was swinging it all around by its head. I just knew it was a goner...but somehow it actually survived! Who knows how much brain damage it has, but at least it's alive, right?

What's that noise?

Our neighbors were playing their music pretty loud on their back porch tonight and it had a pretty fast beat. Carter was in the kitchen when he suddenly froze and said, "What's that noise? It's my heart beating!" While I was trying to convince him otherwise (pointless) he said, "Ooooooooooooh....it stopped. Oh wait, it's beating again!" Good thing there wasn't a long pause between songs or he would have had me calling 911!

Week's Update

Eric just finished his trauma surgery rotation. He's enjoying surgery SOOOO much more than Internal Medicine. He'll still be on surgery until the beginning of December, but no more call! Hooray! It actually wasn't too bad. I braced myself for the worst, and it wasn't anything near what I thought. I was talking to one of Eric's classmates earlier this week and he was telling me what a "rock star" Eric is. He said that he was leading a team for a trauma mock-up and he nailed everything. He said that other students looked like blundering idiots next to him. It's nice to hear good things about your husband. I never get anything like that from Eric. He always just says that he "did fine."

Eric took us all to the driving range. I think I definitely have natural ability! :) It was a lot of fun. Isaac got some pretty good hits, but we just kept recycling Carter's balls so we all got to hit quite a bit. My fingers were starting to hurt from my rings, so I took them off and put them in my pocket halfway through. When we got back to the van and I went to put them back on, my wedding band was gone! Eric and I ran back and were crawling on our hands and knees without much luck. Eric was checking the trail back to the van when I realized I had forgotten the most obvious - prayer! So I said my quick little prayer and there it was sitting right on top of the grass. I found it in less than a minute. I know that prayers are answered, but it still amazes me everytime!

I've really been enjoying my neighborhood. This is the perfect place for us to live right now. Eric has five other classmates who live in our complex and we all take care of each other. I've had dinner with three different friends this week. Sometimes here, sometimes there.

I've been cleaning out a few extra things and getting rid of some clutter. It's so hard to do, but feels so good when it's done!

This month is my turn to teach preschool for Carter and his friends. The first week went pretty well. We'll see how I'm doing by the end of the month! We're learning about nature, so there are all kinds of fun things for us to do. Carter has finally accepted the fact that I'm his teacher and he even enjoys himself.

Isaac just finished his first six weeks of school. Has it already been that long?

Ashlyn is getting faster and faster. Who knows if she'll ever crawl normal. Right now she looks like she's doing the breast stroke. Pretty dang cute!

All in all, it has been a great week. I'm so grateful for my friends and family. I think the Lord blesses me more than my share sometimes.

Camera HELP!

You guys are all photographers. I need your help finding a camera! True, I'm not the professional, but I would like something that took decent pictures. Think "Great pictures, but pocket size." I've been trying to read reviews, but there is so much and I don't understand half of it! (I know, publish my ignorance to the world!) I'm going crazy without a camera, but just can't make a decision. I would love to hear your advice!

New Look

Everyone else has a new look, so why not me? I'm not sure what I want though. This will do for now, and when I find those hours that I never have for housecleaning, but seem to have for blogging, I'll find what I REALLY want. There's a lot of neat things out there if you take the time to look! Thanks Amanda for the site. Another site I found for slideshows and digital scrapbooking is www.smilebox.com. Pretty neat!