Girls Dallas Weekend '09

This was our second annual girls weekend in Dallas. The last two years we have gone down the weekend before Thanksgiving to see the Twilight movies and enjoy a weekend out! There were 15 in our group this year and we had a blast! We decided to join the madness and go to the midnight premiere of New Moon. So, of course we had to have t-shirts! New Moon was much better than Twilight, and we were grateful for the improvements. The rest of the weekend consisted of too much eating and plenty of shopping!

Route 66 Half Marathon

Here's the kids waiting at the 9.5 mile mark to see their dads run by!

Sam sure looks happy for running 9 and a half miles! He was tired, but doing great!

He reached his goal - finishing in under 2 hours. His time was 1:59:09. Way to go Sam!

Sam and his running partner, Brian. They have been training together 3 days a week most weeks.

Shaye's Soccer - Fall 2009

Sam was able to coach Shaye's team again this year. They had a great season. They only lost twice. There were only 5 girls on the team, and since 4 play at a time, they didn't get much rest during games. By the end of the season they were excellent runners! Sam made sure they ran a lot in practice to be ready, and even though they didn't get subs, our girls were running as hard as the other team till the end. Shaye improved even more this year and was a lot of fun to watch. She did excellent! We're so proud of all her hard work!

Celebrating Halloween!

We had another great Halloween week this year. Between the Pumpkin Patch, school parties, the church carnival, and trick or treating, there's always lots to do! I love Halloween because it feels like the true beginning of the holidays.


The cutest little monkey! I thought I would have a hard time getting Sydnee to put on her costume, but she had fun wearing it and would laugh when she saw it.

Jaxson's costume was G.I. Joe but he preferred to just call himself a ninja. It came with a neat headpiece, but he can't stand anything around his neck or face so I never could get him to wear it. This is at the trunk or treat at the church. They had hot dog roasting, bounce houses, lots of games, and of course... candy!

Shaye and her friend Avery at the church.

Sydnee refused to put down her candy bags. She would scream if you tried to help her carry them. I had to wait till she was distracted to finally put it all away!

Getting ready to go trick or treating with some friends.

Shaye was a dragon warrior, or a chinese ninja as she called it. We died her hair black just on Saturday and boy was it a mess. The dye got everywhere, but she had fun doing something new.


This is why I just had to get Sydnee a monkey costume. This Curious George is her favorite thing in the world. Its the toy she can't sleep without. So here's my favorite monkey with her favorite monkey!

When we got back from trick or treating around the neighborhood, she kids ate hot dogs, decorated some cupcakes, and roasted marshmellows on the fire. I think everyone had a great time!

The Pumpkin Patch

This week Jaxson's class went to the Pumpkin Patch. Its such a cute place, I'm glad we have one in our town. They have a playground, haystack maze, ponies, and of course the pumpkins. They were only able to choose from the small ones, so he was disappointed about that, but we had a lot of fun. I was glad I was able to go with him. And Nicole was here visiting so she stayed with Sydnee, making it a great activity for me and Jaxson!

Air and Space Museum

Over Fall Break, we tried to think of something fun to do that we had not done yet. So we decided to take the kids to the Air and Space Museum and planetarium. We had a great time. It was the first time the kids had seen a show in the planetarium, and Jaxson is still telling us the facts he learned about the planets. Most of the airplanes were open and the kids could get in the cockpits and play with the controls. I was glad to see it was kid friendy.








They had a great playground outside of the museum. Sydnee was not to be outdone. She went on the slides, and climbed on the ladders, and then wanted her turn on the monkey bars after the older kids went.

Woolaroc Race

There is a historical ranch and museum outside of town that was owned by Frank Phillips (the founder of Phillips 66) called Woolaroc. Every year they have a race out there that is known for being treacherous and challenging. It's a 5 mile race and the whole thing is uphill. Sam ran in it this year and did a great job. He finished the 5 miles in 41:52. While he was running, the kids and I went to see the goats, zebras, roosters, and other animals they had in the stalls nearby. It was a fun morning for everyone.
Here he is about 1 mile in. Still smiling!

The final hill was straight up to the finish line. Way to go Sam!

The Bruin Mile

Every year the High School Cross Country team sponsors a mile run for the elementary kids. The 4th and 5th graders are highly encouraged to run, and the 2nd and 3rd graders are allowed to if they can run a mile without stopping. I was a little worried Shaye would be too young, but Sam encouraged her to sign up, so she decided to go for it! We are so proud of her, she did great! The 2nd and 3rd grade girls all ran together. There were a total of 78, and Shaye came in 20th. She ran the mile in 9:34. She did such a great job!! I think she had fun and was glad she ran!

Domestic Dad!

Trust me, we are not at any shortage of desserts around here, but I tend to make things like cookies, brownies,cupcakes, ice cream... typical baking things. Sam grew up on cobblers and pies and a different style of dessert. So on Sunday, he decided to make a chocolate pie. As he always is, Jaxson was right beside him the whole time till the job was done! Here they are hard at work!

Enjoying the fruits of their labors! Somehow he was able to hold Jaxson off till the end.

The final product! It was delicous, we all loved it! Way to go Sam!

My Poor Jaxy...

Jaxson started running a fever on Sunday, and it was even higher on Monday - 102.9. I took him in to the doctor that morning and couldn't believe it when he tested positive for swine flu. Thank goodness we caught it in the first 48 hours and he was able to start Tamiflu. He was pretty miserable Monday. I felt so bad for him. He slept almost the whole day and when he was awake he just laid and watched a little tv.
When I called his school to let them know, his teacher told me 15 kids from class were home sick. 15!!! By the end of the day I had talked to three other parents whose kids also had the swine flu in his class.
Today, Tuesday, he is feeling a bit better. He is awake and just lying on the couch. He still has a fever of 101, but Motrin helps him feel a lot better. We are praying for a speedy recovery, and hoping nobody else in the family catches it.