Arizona Getaway

September 11-14, 2008

Huy and I were able to go to Arizona for the weekend. Huy attended a design conference at the Biltmore in Phoenix and I tagged along to relax and visit some friends. My mom was kind enough to come to Texas and take care of the kids for us. It happened to be the weekend that Hurricane Ike hit land in Houston and as much as I had prepared my mom for lots of rain and wind, and after watching the Weather Channel as much as possible on Friday in AZ, the only thing that Austin got was a little wind. Can you believe that? We could have used the rain, but my mom and the kids were safe so that was what was important.

Anyway, while in Arizona, I enjoyed visiting my good friends, Stephanie Fillmore and Jennie Ricks. I went to Steph's home in Chandler and saw her cute kids and we went to an Enrichment meeting in her new ward. It was a great time. And then the next day she came to the Biltmore for a little shopping and lunch. Jennie met us for lunch too and we ate at the Cheesecake Factory. The food is always good there, but Jennie introduced us to their 6 layer chocolate cake. We came close to finishing it, but there were a few morsels left. I think one of us could have polished it off, but we were all being too polite! After stuffing ourselves completely, Steph had to head home, but Jennie and I layed by the pool for some relaxation.

My friend, Stephanie.

My friend, Jennie.

Our friend, chocolate cake. (Before we had eaten too much of it!)

And the story behind the water bottle photo... kind of embarrassing, but kind of funny...

As a sort of celebration for all the wonderful things in our lives, Huy spoiled me (as he often does) and took me to Ruth Chris' Steak House for dinner one night. He had told me it was the best steak ever so I had to try it. You know how most restaurants will bring you a glass of water before your meal, sometimes with your soda or choice of beverage? Well, a server (not our meal server mind you) had these two bottles on a tray and came to the table and asked us if we'd like some water. I actually did want some water so I said I would like the "plain" water. He kind of asked, under his breath, if I wanted tap water or this water (pointing to the Acqua Panna bottle). Not exactly sure, I just said (pointing to the bottle of water), "that would be fine." And Huy said he'd like the Pelligrino. So the man poured our water and set the bottles down at our table and left. That was the last we saw of him until he came to de-crumb our table after the meal. But anyway, after enjoying a delicious meal (and yes, I agree with Huy, it is the best steak ever), we realized we would be paying for our water bottles. But $8 seemed a little extreme, especially since we hardly drank any of it, and since we didn't have much water at the hotel either, we decided to take our pricey water with us back to the hotel, since we HAD paid for it. So to our embarrassment, we quickly exited the restaurant with bottles in hand, and enjoyed our full stomachs and our good water!

On Saturday, Huy and I went to the Ricks house, saw their cute kids, and watched the BYU/UCLA game (59-0). The screaming (mostly from Huy of course) and excitement from the huge win was fun to enjoy with them. Afterwards, we went to dinner at a local brewery place that was yummmy! We had a great time and shared some stories that cannot be posted on a blog. I am still laughing! Thanks guys.

We had a wonderful time and it was a nice break. Thanks Mom for taking care of the kids, and oh, the puppy. He was probably the most work while we were gone. The kids keep asking when we're going again so you can come back to take care of them. Did you spoil them? We love, and miss, you!

Thanks Grandma!

Kaylie's 1st Day of Preschool

The Fellowship

September 3, 2008

I thought it was Kaylie's first day to go to preschool, but I couldn't find her. Mr. Carebear was ready with her backpack, but he didn't know where she was either.

But eventually we found her. She was just being a little shy... at first! Then she was "just kidding Mommy!"

Kaylie wasn't too particular about her choice of clothes for her first day. She wore an old dress, which is fine, just what the heck did I go out shopping for then? She looks cute in anything so oh well. She also got to choose a stuffed animal to take her first day, and you can see what she chose. However, when she got to school, before I could unload her backpack, she had brought Mr. Carebear up to me and asked me to take him home with me. I think she was maybe a little embarrassed. Naaaaah. I felt so sad for her that I took her My Little Pony, Rainbow, to her a little bit later. That made her smile... and me too!

I miss her while she is gone. She is my little companion and my shadow. It is a bit lonely, but I think I'll manage. I know she is happy there because she hardly says goodbye to me. My baby is a big girl!

Are these cute or what?

I love them! Thanks Meleah. I can't wait to see the rest of them.

1st Day of School

2008

It is here! Today was the first day of school for Tanner and Taylin. Tanner is a big 5th grader, king of the school, and Taylin is in third grade this year.

She wanted Tanner's 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Kozlowski, but she didn't get her. Her teacher is Mrs. Files and she is very excited anyway. She is very happy that she is in class with her friend Kassadi, and a few others from her class last year, again this year. That made things alright.

When I dropped her off at school this morning, she was very quiet and got a little teary when I had to leave. Of course, this made me happy because she was as sad to be apart from me as I am to be apart from her. I got use to having her around and spending time with her this summer. Now the busy schedule begins, but we'll just have to keep making time for one another. Afterall, she is my "girlfriend." Snap, snap, snap in a Z formation!

She wanted a sling backpack, but we couldn't find one that would fit her binder and books very well so she settle on a pink one (shock) that is just like Kassadi's!

And finding the right shoe is getting to be a challenge as she gets a little older and a little more particular. She had found a pair that she really liked, but they looked best without any socks on (they were kind of low cut) and I didn't want her to have stinky feet so we went out just yesterday, the day before school started, and found this cute pair. Their not Nikes, but she said they were more comfortable than the Nike ones she liked and had tried on. Now, do we have to change the dog's name to "Addidas!?

Tanner didn't get the teacher he wanted either - the nicest 5th grade teacher, but he was okay with the second nicest teacher, Mrs. Rey. She will be out on maternity leave until mid October, but we did meet her at Back-to-School night. His substitute is Mrs. Gray and she seems great. Many of his friends are in his class so that was the best news of all!

Tanner did get Nike's, of course! And black is his thing.

But this is Tanner on his 1st day of school. He started having a little congestion in his nose last Friday evening and throughout the weekend, but it wasn't too bad. He seemed a little worse yesterday, Monday, so I made sure to rest him and drug him in hopes he wouldn't be worse for today, but no such luck. The congestion is better in his nose, but he sounds like a seal barking when he coughs. I think he has Croup. We tried to get him there - hence the photos above, but after listening to him cough several times, we decided he better stay at home and call in sick on his first day! We hope he'll return tomorrow, but I don't know about that just yet. He's not sounding too good tonight. Poor guy!

We know the kids are going to do great this year. They have been reading and writing this summer so hopefully they can get back at it without much problem. We are proud of them already! Good luck guys!

Back at Pedernales Falls

We had so much fun last week, that when our friends, the Clarks, from Dallas, came for a visit, we decided to take them there. And it was even better the second time around! We played at the Falls first, hiking around the rocks, dipping our feet in the water, the kids did poses on a big rock, a few laid out when the sun broke for a minute, people hid in rock holes and crevices, and then we needed some lunch. No sooner had we started up the steps to the trail, the rains came. We had a wet walk back to the cars and wondered how full the Falls were, but no one wanted to go back to see.

At the swimming hole, we waded up the river, did a little swimming, Ty chased Kaylie's flip-flop back down the river, and the kids built dams. We had a wonderful time!

On our way home we tried another Austin hotspot, Seashores Cafe (burger joint) on Lake Austin. It was pretty tasty and the atmosphere was fun. There was a live band playing and we ate on a dock right by the lake. The kids fed their leftovers to the turtles and catfish. Thanks guys for coming and for the great time!!

Phenomenon?
(So I'm catching up on an old post that I never posted.)

Back on July 31st, I was driving somewhere at about 7:30 p.m. and noticed these crazy clouds in the sky so I called Huy and told him to take the kids and go have a look. I had never seen anything like it. And Huy is so smart... he took some pictures of it. Did anyone else see them? Can anyone explain them?

Pedernales Falls

August 16th, 2008

Summer was coming to an end so we wanted to do something fun before the busy-ness of school and activities began. After Huy did some awesome research, we decided to go to a nearby State Park called Pedernales Falls. We were so glad we experienced it! We had a great time. Even Nike enjoyed it... so we think! (If you have never been, I think it is a must! They have a nice campground too so maybe we will go camp there next time.)

These are the cute behinds of my family on their way down the trail to see the Falls for the first time.

In some areas the Falls themselves weren't flowing with much force, but that made it fun for us to climb around and play in the water a little. It was so cool. The water was refreshing even though it wasn't a terribly hot day. We had nice cloud cover and it just made it so nice. Rain was threatening, but it only sprinkled one time. And the bonus to that was that most everyone else left the park and we waited for it to stop and then played in the swimming hole alone.

Between our short walk to the Falls and our trip to the swimming hole, we enjoyed a picnic lunch. And yes, the peanut butter, Pringles and Cool Whip sandwiches were pretty tastey!

Tanner is sharing his talents in the "swimming hole" portion of the river. It was fairly deep in some parts and the water kind of looks green, which is was, but it was a clear, pretty green. Promise.

Taylin wanted to put her hand in the water and grab one of the little fishies that were swimming nearby, but had second thoughts when they all came to nibble on her fingers.

Kaylie was brave and just played and played and played.

And Nike... at first Nike wasn't too sure about the water, but he quickly found it refreshing. He didn't love it, but he is still a puppy so we are sure he'll grow to love it. Many passer-byers thought he was the cutest dog ever. We agree! I mean, come on, look at that face!!

We hiked him a bit more than he is use to so he found a nice place to take a nap.

The kids were so excited to get to the swimming hole. We had a blast!

But when the rain began and people were getting out, we thought it was best to get out too - just incase the picture showing a calm river one minute and then a not-so-calm river five minutes after a flash flood was not a fake. The kids were not happy about it, but they made the best of the wait and played on the sandy beach.

And the rain did stop and we all got to swim some more before we had to leave.

On our way home, we stopped for dinner at the original Salt Lick (it was about 20 minutes out-of-the-way on our ride back home). After five years of living here, we finally had our first taste and it was really good. Our tummies were happy! As we were finishing up, it began to rain heavily. I was bummed that the camera was in the car (and I wasn't going to run and get it) so I didn't get a picture of us having Texas' best barbeque. But I was glad we missed the flash flood back at the river!

Cowboy Up

We went to our first rodeo as a family in a neighboring town with several friends and their families. No one watched the rodeo much, they had more fun hanging with their friends. I pulled out the kids cowboy hats from our family reunion several years ago. Kaylie, Taylin, and myself were the only ones to cowboy up though!

Kaylie liked the horsies and the clowns.

She also jumped at the chance to wear her boots!

Tanner and his friend, Lucas, did the cow race where there are a whole bunch of kids that chase five cows and try and pull a ribbon from the cows tail. As hard as they tried, the didn't get a ribbon and to be honest, I wouldn't have known it if they did because when all the kids were released, I lost track of them.

I think Taylin is considering being a cowgirl!

Camping In August in Texas

I think the consensus was that it is still too hot to camp in Texas! Huy set the tent up in the backyard for the kids to do a "trial" run. What you can't see is the fan that is plugged in to help cool things and the kids coming into the house every several hours during the night for a drink and probably to cool off a little bit. I think we will wait to go camping for a few months.

NIKE at 9 weeks old

Nike is nine weeks old now and after a few restless nights and several accidents in the house and some bite marks and lots of fun play time, we love our dog! Here are a few of the things we love to watch and do with him while he is a puppy...

1. He has super soft ears, and most parts of his head and sides are soft. The ridge on his back is getting more course like adult dog labs have. It will be a sad day when all the soft stuff is gone. And I know it sounds kind of gross, but we kind of like his puppy breath smell too.

2. When he's done going potty, he runs back to the door so fast that his legs can't keep up with him and he will all of a sudden just take a roll through the grass, but then he pops right back up as if not to miss a beat!


3. He's getting big! He's probably doubled in size since we got him at 6 weeks, so I had some pictures taken of him and the kids so we can hopefully remember how cute he is/was. (When I get the pictures back, I'll post them! Thanks Meleah for taking them for us. Can't wait to see them!) Soon, Kaylie won't be able to carry him around like she does now. She kind of smothers him - good thing is he lets her.

4. He's Daddy's boy. He listenes to Huy best, me second best, and the kids, well, we're trying to train them so that Nike will listen to them too. We've been watching many episodes of the Dog Whisperer and it is helping. (Thanks Lance for telling me about that show. We love it!)

5. His home has taken over the kitchen, but I'm coping with it since it will be temporary! Crate training is fun, ha!

6. He's biting everything, but listens fairly well when we tell him "no." He likes to pick at the edge of where carpet meets tile, he likes the handle on the side of the trunk that is our coffee table, he likes the door on his crate and the cage that goes around him. But he also likes his toys - the baby toy aligator (pulled that one out of all the old baby toys and donated it to him), the blue weiner dog, the green rings, a plastic hammer, a plastic cup, a tennis ball, an ace bandage wrap (Huy will tie him up with it, as if he were calf roping, and make him get out of it - we all say it is mean, but Nike seems to like it), his Kong toy when that "stuff" is in it, a pig bone, a stuffed bunny that Olivia Simmons donated to him when we were on a walk to their house, a deflated football, his own tail which he chases in circles, and then one of his favorite is Kaylie's nightgown, then Taylin's jammies, and even mine. What is it with boys and their toys?!

7. He had his first bath. Huy did it outside in the blow-up pool and I wouldn't say he loved it, but he didn't seem to mind either. We all liked seeing him shake off the water at the end of his bath and then promptly run and roll in the grass. At least it wasn't mud! He wasn't so cute when he was wet, but he was soft and clean again after the bath.

8. We call it "flat tire." He seems to like flattening out his back legs on the tile. It must feel good to him. But I'll let you decide why - not blog appropriate.

9. Going for short walks and looking forward to the day he will "get it." He is still learning the proper dog walking techniques.


10. One day we saw him enjoying his nap! That is one tired dog.

The kids agree, even after all the work, that they are glad we have him. I'll update you in another three weeks if that is still the case!