Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Olivia had her first field trip last month. The entire Kindergarten bussed on over to a local pumpkin patch and spent most of the day there! They had different centers for math, science, social studies etc... They made a craft, rode a hay ride and ate a picnic lunch. I was fortunate to get to participate and be a part of all the fun! A big thank you to Carrie who watched Jack for me ALL morning! I was so glad to be able to be there for Olivia!

Olivia's class - she is on the far right.

On the hayride next to her new buddy Lauren.

Killing some time with ring-around-the-rosie!

Happy Eight Years!

Denny and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary yesterday and what a special day it was!!! I don't brag on Denny as much as I should, but I am making up for it today! We had told each other NO gifts! Instead we were going to spend the night away in Dallas at a nice hotel - NO KIDS! So, the horrible wife that I am stuck to my end of the bargain! However, Denny, being the wonderfully, thoughtful husband that he is, did not! But I as you will see below, I really can't complain!!! He surprised me with this gorgeous ring!

And yes, I am wearing on my ring finger on my left hand only so I could take a picture of it on! I attempted to do it with the other hand and that does not work!

I typically don't like getting jewelry as a gift... I know, this is not the norm for women, but it is true! I think this is the first piece of jewelry Denny has ever gotten for me other than my engagement ring! However, this ring has so much significance, it is not just a pretty ring! He got me my dad's birthstone, a blue topaz! I had been wanting a similar ring but thinking it would be way down the road and in no way anticipated getting it for our anniversary! So, it was a complete surprise to say the least! I know every time I look at it, I will think of my dad and all the fond memories I have of him... and I will think of how generous and thoughtful Denny is to design this ring for me! I honestly have never been so touched! I feel so blessed to have such amazing men in my life! Like I've said before Mr. Jack has a lot to live up to! :)

Our anniversary evening included dinner as a family at Mattito's ,and then we had a sitter come so Denny and I could go to a movie! We saw This Is It ,the Michael Jackson movie and it was amazing! (I highly recommend it, but you'd better hurry it's only out for one more week!)

Denny, thank you for eight wonderful years and making this celebration so very special!

Happy Halloween

A few pics from our annual pumpkin farm trip!

I guess someone should have been He-man for halloween!

Jack is very excited, he's telling us something and pointing to the animals! He is in love with all animals these days!

I hope everyone enjoys a safe and fun halloween! We are looking forward to our evening and I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come!!!

Where'd Daddy Go?

A couple of weeks ago Denny was out mowing the yard and these two were looking for him....

I am so glad my camera was close by so I could catch them! Aren't they cute?!

And here is this beauty queen... or drama queen... depends on the day! ;)

What Jack's been up to

Jack has been a busy boy! It seems like he is learning or doing something new every day! He is embarking on the age I love! I have always thought from like one and a half to 3 years is such a fun age! I know he is only 14 months old, but I can see what we have in store for us already! He is "talking" a lot. Most of the time I cannot understand a single word he says, but it is PRECIOUS! Love that baby language! He does have a number of words that we do understand, his favorite being "hi", as anyone that has seem him lately can attest to! He is very flirtatious and outgoing, he will say hi and smile at anyone and everyone! It makes taking him out so fun! He also loves giving kisses! They are the big open mouthed kind! So sweet!

One way Jack is polar opposite from his sister... he LOVES to climb! Here he is trying to get onto the fireplace via the dumptruck! And he was successful, but by the time he did it the camera was put away!

And he enjoys trying to get up the stairs... often on the outside of them on the risers.
He finally got up on the fireplace without the use of props! I often walk into the room and find him up on the fireplace. I guess we will postpone getting logs this winter!

And perhaps his most favorite thing to do is watch Baby Einstein's Neighborhood Animals. He is completely addicted. Anytime we walk into the family room, he points at the TV and grunts and then cries if I don't put it on.

In a deep trance

He always points to something on the TV and then spits out this long chinese sounding sentence. He is so into it!

Barking at the dog and ducks on the show! Another favorite thing to do is bark! Anytime we see or hear a dog it's an immediate response!

And finally..... he is taking STEPS! YEA!

But don't think for a second his eyes came off that TV! :)

Hopefully soon I can get a video of him doing something fun like barking, saying hi, speaking chinese or WALKING!

Campout Rainout

The first weekend of October was to be Olivia's first campout with her Adventure Girls tribe (aka Indian Princess - we must be politically correct these days you know!). I can't even tell you how excited she was for this campout. She was going to be reunited with all her friends from pre-school and she couldn't wait! It turned out to be quite a busy weekend on the social calendar so Olivia missed the first night of the campout for her BFF's (Kennedy) birthday party!

So early Saturday morning we got up and got she and Denny packed and ready to go!

My little "Loving Heart"

Front of tribe shirt

...and back!

Their tribe's name is Friends of a Feather and Olivia's adventure name is "Loving Heart".

By the way, she came up with that on her own!

Finally they arrived at their cabin... lovely isn't it?!

And their flag hanging in front of their cabin!

Friends of a Feather

On a hike in the woods

Yikes! I really hope there was a railing there! ;)

"Hey kids, look, a deer!"

(for all my Christmas Vacation fans out there!)

(Hopefully there was no flipping of the bird by any daddies!)

Getting situated inside the cabin... ultra luxurious accomodations!

The campfire, which is what they came home smelling like!

All the dads and their girls!

Unfortunately for these sweet girls their campout was cut short due to mother nature! We have seen crazy amounts of rainfall this fall and so many things have been canceled or rescheduled, and sadly, this was one of them! Olivia was devastated to have to come home without ever actually staying the night at her campout, but she had a great time while they were there and is looking forward to their next one!

The State Fair of Texas

To me, fall does not begin until we make our annual trip to the State Fair! I love everything about it, the food, the rides, the games and the car show! And who can forget about the fabulous people watching! It has been so much fun introducing this tradition to Olivia, and now Jack! We lucked out this year and had GORGEOUS weather! It was so much fun I am ready to go back again!

Every year Denny makes Olivia sit in a Jeep, since that is his "dream" car! He has pushed it on Olivia since she could talk!

Olivia used to be on board with this idea, however, she has recently decided that a Jeep is too dangerous and she wants a minivan because it's safer!!! Those were the words literally right out of her mouth! Love that girl!

I have to say, this particular minivan almost made me rething owning one. It was really appealing to Denny since he loves the idea of a conversion van (yuck!).

Olivia played her first game on her own at the fair this year!

And here is her prize!

She looks scared here, but she ended up loving it!

And her favorite, the teacups!

And just in case we didn't eat enough at the fair, we went to Chuy's for dinner!

We had one sleepy one on the way home!

We had such a fun day and look forward to our next visit with Big Tex!

Happy Birthday to Daddy

Last week Denny celebrated a birthday! Since Jack had been diagnosed with the flu just 2 days prior, we decided it best to have a quiet evening at home with pizza and cheesecake! Hopefully he still had a wonderful day despite our plans being thrown off a bit!

Olivia wanted to put up signs in the room we wrapped his presents in so that he would know not to come in and catch us in the act! I really hope I look nothing like my self-portrait!

Daddy opening Zingo, his gift that Olivia picked out! :)

What fall, male birthday is complete without a burnt orange gift!

An attempt at a picture with the kids

Happy birthday Denny! We love you so much!