Hanging in Biloxi, MS

Matt had several weeks of work going on in Biloxi toward the end of November and after several trips on his own, he asked us to join him (he was feeling a little lonely). We drove over to Biloxi and spent 3 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel right on the Biloxi coast. The kids had a blast playing in the pool and walking the boardwalk along the beach. But you know what, we could stay at a Holiday Inn up the road and the kids would still have a great time. They just love staying in hotel rooms and swimming in the pools. They always have a blast jumping from bed to bed (which of course is off limits at home) and eating out at the hotel restaurants. Andrew went "hog" wild over all the rock-n-roll memorabilia.

Something interesting though, that I was not fully expecting or prepared for, was that the area is still so torn up and damaged from Hurricane Katrina. There was tons of sand and debris a block or two from the beach, and the sidewalks were completely torn up. There were no gas stations or restaurants on this main coastal 2-lane highway. And apparently pre-Katrina, there were beautiful 100+ year old homes all along this highway, looking out into the gulf waters. Now, there were maybe 5-6 still standing within 10-12 miles. So sad...and several trailers, with swimming pools (that apparently made it through the storm). It was definitely depressing for me to see all this devastation and 2+ years after this horrendous storm. That is just crazy to me. No matter how much you read about it or see it on the news or in pictures, it doesn't really register until you see it in person. And again, this is 2 years after. I can't imagine driving through there a week after that storm!

Trick-or-Treat

First off, does anyone need a pound or two of candy? We've got it coming out of our ears and I've about had it with, "Mom, can I have another piece of candy?" Finally, this past Thursday (a week after Halloween) I told Andrew and Grace to eat any and all the candy they wanted because come Friday morning, it would be GONE! So the two of them downed every "good" piece of candy there was...Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Starburst, Skittle Packs. So that they had their fill and there was no whining or crying when the candy bag had disappeared Friday.

Andrew and I started the day off with a fun "Pumpkin Day" at his school. The kids played games, ate candy, and wrapped their teacher up as a mummy, with toilet paper. We enjoyed black cupcakes, a "Haunted" Story and scary songs. Later that evening it was time for trick-or-treating with their friends. They both looked adorable...Andrew went as Darth Vader and Grace as a princess. It was really great to see them trick-or-treating, running from house to house, gathering as much candy as possible. They had a ball!

Matt's Surprise

Matt suprised me for our anniversary this year by getting photos done of him and the kids. They were done by a good friend of mine, Jamie Werner, and they turned our beautifully. I was absolutely shocked that Matt had bought outfits for the kids, scoped out a spot to have the pictures taken, and met with Jamie, all without me knowing it. On top of that, he had several pictures put into gorgous photo albums and picture frames. I was so surprised and felt a little "left out" that I wasn't in these amazing pictures. But I'm so grateful and elated that Matt did this for me. I love you babe! Happy 7th Anniversary!

Slumber Party

Last weekend we had our friend's kids, James (4) and Allie (2), over for an evening while our friends went to dinner. The kids had such a great time playing outside, having supper together, taking baths, and wrapping up the night watching Tom and Jerry. At one point, Andrew and James were dressed as pirates and superheros. No suprise there.

Other than that we're still sweating here in this Houston fall weather. 92 degrees today with a heat index of 96. Ah yes, there's nothing like putting out your pumpkins and lighting your Mackintosh Apple candle when you're sweating like a dog. Such is life in the deep south ya'll! Until next time...

First Day of Pre-School (4yr. old class)

Here's my little skateboarder, looking slick on his first day of Preschool...4 year old class this year. And of course, his doting, adorable little sister. She wants to be just like him and looks up to him in every way. Ohhhhh, they're soooo sweet. If I could just keep them this little forever!

I must admit I've been a little down with this being Andrew's last year of preschool before the "real" mumbo jumbo begins. I am sooooo not ready for that. But Andrew loves his teacher, Ms. Chris, and loves going 4 days a week. He's made some new friends and enjoys all the craft projects they get to work on daily. They get time outside to play, music and spanish twice a week, and plenty of good old fashioned time on the playground every day. So I've seen no tears, which is reassuring and a smile every day when I pick him up.

Happy Birthday Andrew! Don't tell me you're 5 years old already!!! Can it really be?

This year, Andrew decided he wanted a bowling party so that's what we did. And boy did those kids have a great time. It was "glow-in-the-dark" bowling, complete with bumpers and disco music (as if these kids know disco), and a great time for all. After bowling we wrapped up the party with pizza, lemonade, and a "Cars" white cake with white frosting. Andrew's favorite. No chocolate for this kid, believe it or not.

Trip to Kansas City and Minnesota

Just when we got back in the groove here at home it was time for another round of trips. This time we DROVE (were we crazy) up to Kansas City to visit with my parents and brothers, then headed up to Owatonna to spend time with my dad and his family. Actually, the drives went fabulous and we all made it to our destinations with smiles on our faces. Whewwww!

Kansas City was great...although everyone else thought the weather was miserable, we found it to be quite a relief from our hot, wet, and humid Houston days. Matt and I took advantage by running every morning and playing outside quite a bit with Andrew and Grace. We were able to meet up with our friends Summer and Casey and their two boys Tevan and Luna, as well as my good friend Lisa and her little ones, Macy and Jacob.

Moreover, it was great to be able to spend time with my parents, who took time off to play with the kids and to plan a suprise family birthday party for Andrew. He was truly surprised and thought the skateboarding cake was the greatest!

My brother Kevin was also able to come over most nights and play with Andrew...definitely one of his highlights of our trip. Especially when Kevin would skateboard with him or take him up to the skatepark. He's still talking about it! My other brother Ryan was also able to join us the last weekend we were there (since he started school at KU the previous week) and Andrew enjoyed playing basketball and golf out back with him. Boy does Andrew look up to those two!

As for Grace, she loved playing with her uncles as well, although I think she probably enjoyed petting, teasing, and feeding Shelby and Racheal, (my parents two dogs) more than anything else. Racheal snapped at her fingers a couple of times, but that peristant little girl could have cared less and continued to practically maul her any chance she could. She just loves animals! And every night when we rock before bed, it's Shelby and Racheal Grace talks about.

Then it was back on the road headed north to Owatonna, Minnesota...my birthplace and home to my dad and his entire family. The kids loved playing in Pop's boat, pretending to be fishing for the "big ones". And of course, we can't forget about the infamous gumball machine, which was almost completely wiped out of gumballs by the first night...go figure. Another highlight was the bonfire we had one night. How fun is roasting marshmallows and devouring yummy smore's? Andrew and Grace definitely got a kick out of "adding" firewood to the fire. What is it with fires anyway? Lastly, we took the kids to the local Steele County fair for rides and fair food (my favorite). They really liked the pony rides and seeing the animal barns!

It was so fun to be able to see my Grandma Bev, my aunts, uncles and cousins. We all got together over at my dads house to catch up on our lives...and of course EAT! And my cousin Dale has two little girls, Dani and Abi, which are close in age to Andrew and Grace so the kids have such a hoot running around and playing together. I get such a "kick" out of seeing the little ones having such a fun time. That's what life's all about!

Last on our trip was having the opportunity to stop into Independence, Kansas on our way back to Houston to have lunch and visit with my Grandma and Grandpa Knuth, Aunt Becky and Uncle Kirk. We haven't been able to get together for quite some time so it was nice to catch up and take some much needed pictures. My grandparents new house was adorable and I'm so glad that they are enjoying their new "place".

Thanks to all my family for having us and all our friends for taking the time out of busy schedules to squeeze in some visits. We are truly lucky to have such great people in our lives.

Utah Trip to Bear Lake

This year for our family vacation we headed to Utah to spend time at the Heitz Family cabin up at Bear Lake. And boy did we have a ball. Andrew and Grace played with their cousins all day and night...jumping on the trampoline, laughing, running around, swimming. You name it, those

kids did it! Watching them with their cousins was awesome and really brought back a lot of memories for me when I would go up to Minnesota to visit my own family. I caught myself a couple of times telling Andrew about my days catching minnows with my cousins at Mineral Springs park, having banana splits with my Grandpa at the Dairy Queen, and spending evenings at my grandparents playing "Old Maid" (Mandy, do you think you could handle to lose a few games now and then?) I only hope Andrew and Grace have as fond of memories as I have!

Some of Andrew's highlights from our vacation were playing with his cousins, eating lots of candy (of course), riding Uncle Chad's 4-wheelers, and getting to stay up super late each night. And Grace's highlights from the trip were holding her new baby cousings Miles and Tayler, AND the moose we saw right outside the cabin..."Moose huge" in Grace's words. She now has to tell EVERYONE she meets all about it!

Happy 4th of July!

We sure hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July. We started the day off with a parade at the downtown Woodlands park. Complete with local floats and 3 marching bands, the kids had a great time watching the parade as firetrucks and policemen went by and candy was thrown our way. Grace's favorite part was the horses and rodeo queens wrapping up the end of the parade and Andrew's was the taffy and suckers (of course). I think we could have bought him a bag of "dum dums" and he would have been just as happy!

Yesterday evening was just as much fun. We barbecued at a neighbor's house, then ended the evening setting off fireworks in our driveway. What a show! Andrew kept saying, "Fire, fire." and jumping up and down- typical boy! Grace on the other hand was a little overwhelmed with all the noise and kept putting her hands over her ears explaining, "Too loud Mama, too loud." Overall, I'm not sure who enjoyed the fireworks more, Matt or Andrew. I'd have to say Matt!

Andrew Dresses Himself...YIKES!!

So on days when we don't need to go anywhere, I give Andrew free reigns to dress himself however he likes. You want to wear cowboy boots? Wear cowboy boots. You want to wear sweatpants in the summer? Wear sweatpants!

Well this morning, I told Andrew to go upstairs and get dressed, and this is what he came down in...in 92 degree heat with 100% humidity mind you! Yes, that's right! Camo pants and a Trent Green, Kansas City Chiefs jersey that his uncle Ryan sent him- 4 sizes too big! Oh, and Ryan found it in the lost and found last summer at the pool where he worked. Maybe I should have thrown it away? Anyway, Andrew asked me what shoes to put on and I told him his grungy old crocks. They went well with his outfit. Matt and I chuckled and prayed that none of our neighbors would walk by.

And I had to throw in this cute picture of Andrew (the puppy dog) and Grace. I work out at the YMCA a couple times a week and the kids head to the "Kids Club" while I take classes. I went to pick up Andrew and there he was, face painted (first time) with whiskers and a pink nose. And then I made the mistake of asking him if he was a kitty cat...."Rreeer, Hissss, Hisss"!

More cake please!!

Grace's 2nd Birthday

It's hard to believe it but yes, Grace is 2 years old already. And we celebrated at the neighborhood pool, "Dora the Explorer" style. She had such a great time swimming with her friends, eating pizza, then finishing off the afternoon with a couple mouths-full of florescent orange and pink frosting...to match her "foo, foo" bikini! Even more fun is that we had the opportunity to celebrate with our dear friend, Allie Martere, who is also turning 2 this month. Here's to Grace and Allie!