OCT everything

It seems that lately I am capturing all the fun and daily life on my phone camera. It is handy and I seem to have it with me most of the time. As part of my "family journaling" I just have to remember to upload the 750 pictures every month! Might as well start with our September through October fun!

I went to help in Brecon's class while they drew a fire escape plan and talked about fire safety. I love these little chances to see my children in their classroom environment, how they interact with their friends and what they talk about. Brecon's teacher talked about what a good boy he is, he does his best work and really is excited about learning. He is kind and a good helper.

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Brecon hard at work and Cael swinging in the tree. Our children ( and the neighbors ) have loved this tree swing that Ben put up when we moved in. There is a slight hill so when we push the kids really hard they are flying high in the direction of the street. They love to twirl and swirl around the tree like cirque-de-siol, and they've only smashed into the tree on their backs a few times. Cael is especially talented with his twirling and spinning, it really is fun to watch him.

Here is the "front" of our house here on post. Technically it is the back because our garage and parking spaces are right behind me. It is a little funny to have everyone who enters walk through the not-always-clean kitchen to get in. The kitchen is the Heart of the Home and mine is always full of dirty dishes!

Ben and Cael were joking around with the water hose in the front and they both ended up so wet! They love to play tricks and laugh when they are winning...

... then Ben gets mad and the fun is over! No more water fights you crazy kids!

Ben all dressed up and home from work. He looks so handsome in his uniform.

My big 4th grade boy! We are still in the thick of piano lessons and he is doing so well. He does a little computer homework every night, practices his songs, does a few chores, and then he disappears with a book. After dinner and messing around, he is found reading until we call to him to turn off the light. Usually he tries to stay up longer and read even after we've gone to bed! At least he is enjoying the books we find for him. Currently he is on the third book in the "Adventurers Wanted" series. Fun, fast and a good time.

Here are a few shots from the "backyard". We are lucky to have some great people we share with, good equipment to play on, and they even let us share playing with all their dogs (4 different dogs to play with) The boys are loving it! Cael is the oldest, Brecon the roughest (we had a few incidences with a little neighbor boy) The swing set is a big hit and we purchased a trampoline to contribute to the backyard fun. Brielle loves getting pushed by her brothers (above) and Brecon loves to pet Babs. She is a good dog!

I love when I pick up my phone and I find 200 pictures of the same face... I am not even joking. These kids have hijacked my camera function too many times. Still I have to keep one or two to remember the moment.

Becky and Ben at IKEA. In the hopes of grabbing the apple strudel dessert I walked away disappointed. Europe IKEA is different that U.S. IKEA I am afraid to say.

One weekend we took the family camping and explored a nearby pond. The sand was very soft and it was a perfect day to walk along it. As we read the signs nearby we were a little confused that the water was "closed for the season". We didn't just in the water or anything, but Cael kept running into the edge. Suddenly we heard a 4-wheel speeding in our direction and a man yell to us "No wading in the water, not even your toes!" Talk about taking your job seriously! Our campsite was noisy so I didn't feel too bad that Brielle was a beast the whole night. She really does need her own container to sleep well during the night, sharing is not recommended.

The evening is the best time to wrestle and play rough. The kids are getting stronger so I can only play for a little while until I am too tired. The boys squeal and love this time with Daddy!

Our friends the Elgan's had a giant carrot in their garden and Cael thought it was pretty awesome to chew on that until he was full. Then  Ben took a turn and worked on that ginormous vegetable for 1/2 an hour. He eventually got the hiccups and finished it  despite the small inconvenience.

The day I left to fly back to Utah Ben took the boys out for some fun. Lunch at Wendy's, Duncan Donuts, and a small party at Chuck-E-Cheese. No wonder the boys love it when I leave :) Connor had too much fun and crashed on the drive home (picture below)

All dressed up and ready for church. This was sent to me from Ben while I was away.

... and this is what happens when you leave a baby with a jar of nutella open nearby, I hadn't even had time to take her church clothes off. You know when you are busy and you can hear the background noise of kids laughing and teasing one another? I thought everyone was playing together- so you can imagine the surprise when we discovered this little hungry lady. At least I know if a survival-type situation she would not be starving, this one knows how to fend for herself.

Highlights AUG - OCT

One of my favorite sayings when I'm feeling behind and am trying to convince myself that it is okay to be tardy. However, I do feel flustered when I am waiting for someone and they are late-- Crazy, I know. Take a walk with me down memory lane...

AUGUST: My "baby's" first day of school. This is the face when I told him he got to go to school EVERYDAY! Is that excitment or fear? Brecon and I take Cael to school around 11:50 and he rides the bus home around 3:25. While Cael is off learning, Brecon takes his nap or we go shopping, depending on the day.





SEPTEMBER While Hurricane IKE struck the Houston area, the boys and I enjoy some good times with the Brown Family and one of our last times (with our season pass) to the ZOO. We also attended a special fireside with guest speaker Michael Ballum. Our sitters managed to put 2 one-year-olds asleep using the "tickle" method. Needless to say, we were impressed.






OCTOBER:What a FUN MONTH! To start it all off, we joined with our friends in celebrating CANADIAN THANKSGIVING! Seriously, it was awesome. We threw up Red and White streamers and balloons and sang 'O CANADA'. We just wanted our Canadian friend to feel the love, and a delicious dinner was enjoyed by all!



Then, throughout the month we really had fun making our front yard into a "graveyard" bits and pieces at a time. We think that next year skeletons and their parts need to be sticking out of the ground... it will totally add to the"spooky"effect. Ben was quite busy with the skill saw and the boys helped me with the paint. We added some plywood ghosts after these photos were taken. One of them reminds us of Slimer from Ghostbusters.... he's such a cutie.
THE FRONT


UP CLOSE and PERSONAL. Our buddies got a kick out of these ones, so did we!


Can't go wrong with a yeast joke and Brecon's Halloween Gator suit. Despite his attempts and frustrations to remove the head part, that baby stayed on!


*Cael's costume is not shown due to computer malfunction... alright, it's not uploaded yet* I'm a dork! He was the cutest PETER PAN (with a homemade costume) I've ever seen.

As I like to say, thanks for the memories! Here's to many more!

Family at Work

Just recently we got new countertops installed, and therefore we also needed to install a new sink and faucet and garbage disposal. As you can see my boys are hard at work making sure it gets done right! Ben and Cael working on installing the new faucet. It was just one of those cute moments where Cael just had to be right there with Dad.

Our cute little bug and a borrowed puppy from Cael. We will see how small the puppy "shrinks" next to Brecon this year.


HE SMILES!!! The first month or so with Brecon was pretty rough. He was just a crying baby and I thought he was "broken" because Cael was so easy... anywho... he is doing better and even smiles for us. GOTTA LOVE IT!
ohh, I look tired here but that is just how it is with a new baby. I wanted to put this one up of me and Brecon to show that I do exsist ( you know what I mean?)

OH and here we are at the pool. I still can't believe I have two boys.. so this picture really proves to me that there they are. We were just enjoying the summer heat while we had it. It has been raining so much (even this labor day weekend) that we almost forgot what Texas summer was like. Cael really is swimming so well. He puts on his goggles (which are his favorite color) and dives under the water. If you look to the right you can see an "island" which Cael swims to all by himself from the edge where we are. He also learned to float and swim on his back, he sure looks cute paddling his little arms and kicking his legs!
So there it is... what we have been up to lately.

Here we go!

This weekend, we were visited by some old friends. David Bishop and his wife Julie came to town for a Sea World Adventure and stopped by our house for a good game of Settlers. They won of course, but it was a good match! And in case you don't know, they are tall as well! (see photo below)


Here is a picture of their faces... either they are really tall or we are just short. I already know the answer: Ben and I are just short :)

Also visiting the Platt family this weekend: Ryan and Amanda Malnar. They took Ben and Cael camping over the weekend and floating on the Guadalupe River. A good time was had by all! Brecon and I were very sad that we couldn't go... there is always next time!

And now... What you've all been waiting for (or not) Some pictures of our house and the work we have been doing. If you want to check our earlier post to view the BEFORE photos, or just enjoy the ones that are below. Really I don't know what to say about these pictures, so I just tried to explain what we did and where it fits in the house. Hopefully it makes a bit of sense.
This is a view in the kitchen, on the stove side. The window above the sink looks down into the living room (fireplace room). We are currently in the process of ordering different counter tops and a new sink, etc.. so hopefully that will happen soon. We removed all the wallpaper, changed the ceiling and painted. New appliances as well.

Here is the view from the sink side. We raised the middle cabinets to install the microwave and put in different lighting. My favorite is the double oven... it is amazing how often I use them both at the same time, very convenient.

Now the view from the kitchen nook. The cabinets next to the refrigerator were once in the laundry room, but we needed something on that wall. So we just put them up and we think they look pretty good. Here is our entertainment room, or Hawaiian Room. There isn't a before picture... I just wanted to put this one up. Basically this is where we hang out and watch our stories. Cael is obviously having a great time watching some cartoons.
This is our tile pattern in the kitchen and throughout the house. I love how it doesn't have a pattern and the different sizes.

Here is a view from the back of the fireplace room facing the dining room. You can see the Kitchen window on the right-hand side (or top). The wood floors are in the dining, fireplace, and library room. They really are nice, dark but nice.

Here is the dining room. There used to be some fabulous blue curtains, which were removed and now we have these mahogany blinds. Just Simple for now. I know the table is off-centered in the room. It is merely a temporary arrangement for the time being to give an idea of the space.

Below is a photo of Cael's bathroom. If you can recall the neon yellow wallpaper which we removed and painted this tan. The tile on the floors is new. ALSO...There is a boy in the bathtub with his clothes on...

AND now the master shower with my lovely assistant posing on the ledge. It steps up and then down, you can see the ground level with the white flip-flop. New faucet and fixtures. We sure like it.
This is the guest bathroom. Before there was a "desk sink".. which we tore out and in its' place put this pedestal, new toilet, and mirror. It helps this bathroom feel much bigger. Our guests seem to like it. Especially (but you can't see them in this picture) the safety bars in the shower. We didn't have the heart to tear them out. Safety first!
Now back to the fireplace room. New texture on the walls, paint, and some used couches fill this space nicely. We enjoy our family evenings in this room and the lucky person who is spotlighted has the privilege of standing on the edge of the fireplace so we can tell them "why we love them so". It is one of Cael's favorite moments... along with popcorn popping playing on the piano (that was a lot of P's)

A view from the steps up to the dining room. You can see in the doorway the bookcases of the library room. We are planning on putting some french doors to finish that spot

That is it for now... I better go to bed while I still can!