10.31.2010

trick or treat?
guess who's in town this weekend?
dressed up as a #15 rugby player from california?
cousin beth !
we enjoyed a relaxing(?) game - yikes -
i clearly had no idea what rugby was about -
suddenly tackle football doesn't scare me.
heres to catching up with family austinside.

 

10.30.2010

in the huddle.

in the zone.

in the mode.

in the position.

in the game.

in the win.

way to go bengals !



10.29.2010

cranking through the books lately.

i picked this one up at the library

because i had enjoyed julie & julia so much.

this was julie powells follow up book.

her life as it changed following the

success of her first book.

julie was originally from austin & i enjoyed

all her local references.

this was her version of eat, pray, love.

this makes anyone want to journal all the

events of everyday living & hope it turns into a bestseller.

this makes anyone cringe at the thought that

people would actually enjoy reading

the private innermost thoughts of ones mind.

cleaving follows julies journey from marriage to affair,

from nonauthor to nytimes bestseller author,

from pseudo cook to serious butcher.

maybe i'll read a book a week,

blog about my progress through the library shelves

& it will become a bestseller....

maybe i'll log all the trips i drop & pickup children

from one place to another,

blog about the miles, the gasoline & the

words they share during those moments

& parents will laugh everywhere

knowing that they too are caught up in

the same wonderful cycle.....

maybe i'll just get back to life & enjoy

some simple everyday memories!

10.28.2010

chess club continues.

week number two yesterday.

special guest member yesterday.

justin.

he was home early because of his ortho appointment.

he graciously accepted the offer to play chess.

especially when mootopia & frosted cookies were provided.

this game lasted 1 hour.

it was a draw.

(colin: gee, when i play mom, we usually get 3 games in -

thats because i always beat her.)

nice kid.

this was a game about future moves.

this was a game about setting up future turns.

this was a game that reminded me why i

love this game.

i am so happy the boys do too!

10.27.2010

7:15am.

red ribbon week at school.

today was the school walk from meyer park

to teravista.

teachers. parents. students.

remembered the camera.

forgot the coffee.

remembered to use the camera.

forgot to hit auto-focus.

hello wednesday!

10.26.2010

if monday was music night then
tuesday turns into football night.

more lights.

more warm air.

more green turf.
more outside evening time.
more family time.
more popcorn.
more fun.
less tv.
less video games.
less homework?!
yes, the boys all schedule their homework
based on justins football night.
scary, huh?
these boys really need to learn
how to procrastinate..
at least a little!

10.25.2010

monday night under the lights.

not the football lights for us tonight.

we are at the festival of bands for round rock isd.

take 9 middle schools, 5 high schools & 1 college.

mix together.

add parents, friends & fans.

try to find a parking spot.

grab some kettle corn.

sit back under the warm skies of a 90 degree day.

enjoy!

can you see justin?

he's there somewhere.

a couple longhorns stop by to say hi.

it was a beautiful night filled with beautiful sounds.

we all had our favorite song/band/performance/school.

steve, nate & colin loved the chinese dragon show.

justins favorite was alice in wonderland.

i loved the wizard of oz performance.

the song somewhere over the rainbow always brings

back such great memories.

10.22.2010

7:00 pm tonight.

a skype message to uncle tom

who somehow lost sound on his mac while we

were catching up.

40 minutes earlier look what was

sitting on the kitchen island....

not 1. not 2. but 3.

really?
don't tell michael dell !
we do own a couple apples around here.

funny stuff.

can you guess whos whos?

10.21.2010

so many books hanging out around the house.

colin is reading 'home of the brave'.

he picked this out at the school library.

its heavy stuff.

its great conversation stuff.

its my favorite 20 minutes of the day.

i love how he chooses his books -

not based on the title,

or the colorful pictures

but the fact that its "texas bluebonnet" award nominee.

hard to argue with that.

 we love how in the book - kek views

american things for the first time.

"her fingers bounce on a machine with many buttons while

she stares at a bright box."

(computer)

"thin metal doors with silver handles line

the walls"

(school lockers)

"dave pushes a knob and the music box sings"

(car radio)

colin and i find ourselves thinking and talking like kek.

the orange fruit slowly pulls back his blanket.

(sunrise)

the lady with the red sign holds power to stop

a cement truck from running her over.

(crossing guard)

men chase after little white balls

pretending to have fun.

(golfers)

a glass filled with coffee colored fluid.

(coke)

thank you katherine applegate for reminding

us of the beauty of the written word.

we are cherishing your pages.

10.20.2010

last fall, we joined the school chess club.

last spring, we had our own chess club.

this fall, its just colin & me & a chess board.

its a standing date.

no tv. no phone. no email.

no justin. no nathan. no homework.

just good olde fashioned together time.

from 3:15 - 4:00pm.

{for the record, colin won all 3 games today - twice he pulled

those fancy 4 move to checkmate}

it doesn't get any better than this!

10.20.2010

{saturday - october 16, 2010 at flag football}

love this picture.

its 90 degrees out and he has a hoodie on.

earphones are built into the hood.

he just got down doing the chains for both

of his brothers football games.

he is wearing his invisaligns.

he hasn't lost his invisaligns.

he loves to sleep in yet he is up

and ready to leave at 6:20am for football practice.

he loves homemade apple crisp, mashed potatoes &

breaded pork chops.

he does his homework without being asked.

he stays after at school when he gets at 95 on

an algebra test to get extra help.

(honest.)

the sounds of him practicing his baritone fill the

house every night.

he watches ncis, house & friends when he gets a chance.

i think we'll keep him for another week.

10.19.2010

1 year.

2 binders.

100 pages of memories.

2009 is complete.

these are a couple of my favorite layouts.

first day of school/last day of school.

a lego catalog story.

vacation memories.

more vacation memories.

love these quick pages. load pictures.

load journaling. instant memory.

wedding days & anniversary celebrations.

ut game days.

they are a holiday around here.

puerto rico getaway.

halloween tricks and treats.

november thankful project.

this is probably my favorite layout.

love the idea. love the handwritten thankful cards that

everyone filled out all month long leading up to

thanksgiving.

love that we read them all on thanksgiving night with dinner.

love how this layout came together.

christmas parties.

time out to relax on the waterfront before christmas.

christmas morning memories.

heres to an empty 2010 binder.

just waiting to be filled with wonderful everyday memories!

10.18.2010

{tonight at the palace - reeves athletic center}

game tickets - 8.00

popcorn - 1.00

watching justin play under the lights - priceless

10.18.2010

weekend recap.

wallstreet date night complete with recliners, blankets,

cocktails & waitress.

not sure if i can go back to the theater style now that

we've experienced gold theater.

football games x 2 under blue skies.

new glasses for nathan.

boo-ed our neighbors x 2.

afternoon college football parties with pizza.

evening football parties under the stars with cocktails.

church and birthday brunch at z'tejas on the patio.

football practice & cheeseburgers.

georgetown art festival in the square.

homework & christmas tunes filling the house.

reflection projects for school.
finished reading 'where the red fern grows' with colin -
ok, there should be a warning before reading this classic -
not a fairy tale happy ending in this one.

one busy weekend.

batteries recharged.

ready to jump back into the week routine!

happy monday!

10.16.2010

a day in photos.

broncos on the field under the morning sun.

justin busy at work on the sidelines.

he actually worked both games today.

nathan calling the plays as quarterback under the afternoon sun.

perfect weather with a beautiful breeze.

colin enjoying some downtime while watching nathans game.

 

our home away from home.

complete with a roof & no walls.

our newest addition to the football trunk.

an afternoon visit with the downings.

6 boys gather around an itouch.

funny stuff.

pizza, football & football filled the rest of the day.

birthday cocktails, outdoor college games, candles &

snuggie blankets filled our evening.

one busy day for all.

10.15.2010

it finally arrived.

colin was up 30 minutes early to prepare.

hair gel - check.

nice outfit - check.

teeth brushed - check.

ready to sell duct tape wallets - check.

his selling table is ready, the advertising is over, product is stocked.

let the economics project begin!

colin busy calculating the correct change.

colins turn to go shopping.

he had window shopped earlier & was ready with his list.

we went from class to class, looking, buying & filling our

bag with handmade treasures.

good news.

duct tape wallets sold out in the first session.

now we can breathe.

happy friday!

10.14.2010

{colin - monday afternoon}

the wallets were finished early.

the box was decorated early.

doesn't this boy know how to procrastinate?

10.13.2010

signs of halloween.

one string of bat garland from last year.

{see post here and template here.}

one late night doorbell ringing tonight.

look who was on our doorstep.

we have been "boo-ed".

off to dig out the halloween costume box.

time to fill the pumpkin jar with candy corn.

one pumpkin patch trip scheduled this weekend.

getting ready to boo another neighborhood family tomorrow.

heres to a sugar high in your future!

10.12.2010

its all about words strung together today.

its all about getting lost in a good book.

its all about not being able to put it down.

its all about actually looking forward to quiet time.

its all about reading just because you want to, not because you have to.
-

nathans been waiting for this book for a long time &

yes, i was at barnes & nobles bright and early to pick it up for him.

(no budget when it comes to kids begging for a new book!)

colin and i are reading this classic together.

(we are actually listening to this one on a playaway

from the school library.

where we these things when i went to school?)

nothing is better then sharing an earbud with a third grader.

we are on chapter 19....and i didn't see that coming with old dan.

my latte money today was spent on this 4.00 pile.

350 calories or 1000 pages?

easy pick.

love the library book sale.

3 pulitzer winners & 1 charleston book.

-

"read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted;

nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.

some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed,

and some few to be chewed and digested:

that is, some books are to be read only in parts,

others to be read, but not curiously, and some few

to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention."

~ francis bacon ~