Harvest

Beans...one of the many things we had growing in our garden this summer.

The kids had fun picking them. I love how Savannah has her baby strapped

to her back.

Austin Trip

Well, I'm back from my trip to Austin, Texas. I went there with two of my
old friends and we had a blast. A quick recap of the stuff we did
( don't wanna bore anyone).
- Lot's of yummy BBQ including Stubs & The Salt Lick
- A visit to the State Capitol (awesome building)
- A very fun & informative Duck tour
- A boat tour to see the bats fly out at dusk (there are millions that
live under the bridge)
- A tour of a winery ( not a wine drinker, but thought it was a neat
place to visit and enjoyed delicous food)
- Bat Fest 2009 ( bands on two stages, some awesome vendors, got a
henna tattoo)
- Tour of the Dr. Pepper Museum (enjoyed cane sugar Dr. pepper floats)
It was Lot's of fun. I think Austin is a pretty cool city. I love the
whole Texas pride there, the Texans sure are proud of their state and
I think it's awesome! It was great to get away and have a break from
my regular life. It was super hot 102 and super humid, but I enjoyed
every minute of it.

Savannah starts preschool

Our youngest finally starts preschool today. It's exciting & sad. I know that

she will love it!

1st Day of school

Trevor ready for 3rd grade

Griffin ready for 1st grade

Silly boys :)

Double Digit Birthday

Today I celebrated my 33rd birthday! The celebrations started last night

when my friends Tracye & Katie surprised me and took me to dinner at the

Melting Pot. I had never been (but have wanted to go for a long time). The food,

atmosphere and company was great (thanks gals). This morning Patrick and

the kids took me out to breakfast. We went down to UNM so Patrick could do

some things for school, while he was busy the kids and I enjoyed their beautiful

duck/fish/turtle pond. We did a few other errands and had a pretty low key

afternoon. I did go buy a new pair of leather flip- flops (thanks mom).

Trevor pointed out that all my gifts were foot related. My father-in-law

bought me these really cool roller blades for my birthday. My friend Tracye

gave me a gift card to my favorite nail place for a pedicure and then the flip-

flops. Patrick and the kids took me out to dinner. In the evening we enjoyed

a nice walk as a family with our dog. My friend Tracye even brought over a

beautiful , delicious cake she made. My BIG gift is a trip to Austin with some old

friends I'm leaving in a few days and really looking forward to it. Thanks for all

the birthday wishes everyone!

Life with our Dog

We've had Cody for 2 1/2 weeks now. It is going great! He is such a sweet,

happy, well behaved dog. He is lots of fun. The kids enjoy playing with him.

I never thought I could love a dog so much, but I do. He follows me everywhere

which is kinda cute. If I am on the computer he is sleeping under the desk with

his head on my feet. We are sure Cody joined our family.

Cub Scouts

Trevor had his first Cub Scout pact meeting tonight. He earned is Bobcat and a

belt loop for flag football. For the bobcat they put it on him upside down. It can

be turned right side when he does a good deed. He had fun and enjoyed the songs

& games.

(Now operating on windows 7 and have not figured things out yet. It's hard to move the pics around

and copy & paste. Bear with me I'll figure it out someday)

Hair clips

Savannah & I spent some "girl time" together this afternoon making some cute hair clips. I let Savannah pick the ribbon and buttons and the combinations. Latley when I put her hair up in braids or pony-tails she just yanks the rubber bands out. This is a simple hair style she can do herself that will keep her hair out of her eyes. We'll make more tomorrow, we need to break for dinner.

Ice Cream Sunday

We went out for some ice cream tonight. Summer is winding down which has it's good and it's bad points. It's nice that we have been able to spend so much time together as a family.

Vixon the Black Widow

We found this Black Widow near our front door last week. I thought we should keep her and teach the kids about Black Widows and how dangerous they are. It's kinda cool being able to watch her do her thing. What an amazing creature, I've spent lots of time myself watching her.

Home

We have now lived in New Mexico longer than anywhere else. We moved
here the first week of February 2006 and it really feels like home now.
It is amazing to look back and see how much things have changed since we
have moved here. Trevor was 4 1/2 and has since finished K, 1st & 2nd
grades. Griffin was 2 1/2 and was still in diapers and using a binky when
we moved here. He has done preschool and K already. Savannah I see the
most change. When we moved she was 10 1/2 months old. She has
celebrated all of her birthday's here thus far. She moved from a crib to a
big girl bed, was potty trained and learned to talk. She has grown a ton and
is ready to start preschool in just a few weeks. We love it here. It really is not
somewhere we ever thought we would end up, but if we end up staying here
we'd be just fine with it. It feels like home to us :)