These are a few of my favorite Things!

Watching the seals swim was a favorite for both.Thing 2 was pooped!

Thing 1 was having fun on the carousel. As for Thing 2, he wasn't so sure.

Thing 2 got hot and decided to air out.

View of the Zoo....pumpkins hanging from trees, floating in the pond and in each of the animal habitats too.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 with their mommies.

Chris and Thing 2 walking hand in hand:)....notice Thing 1 a few steps ahead.

Ready to trick or treat.

Costumes on and ready to go!

This past weekend we headed to Houston in what I might say was one of our best Houston trips yet! We usually try to pack it all in...seeing everybody on every side of town or going to several big evens. But this weekend was casual and relaxed. We stayed at Kelly and Ben's townhouse in the heart of Houston which we love because it's also very close to my Grandparent's home. We stopped by to give Grandpa Rudy a birthday hug and after a fun day of playing with toddlers and watching football (in general, not referring to the not so fun specifics of the Texas game), we celebrated Papa V's birthday with burgers and shakes at Fudruckers. Sunday we headed to the Houston Zoo for “Zoo Boo”….kids in costumes, pumpkins everywhere, treats for all, dancing in the park and carousel rides. Jude was exhausted from a no nap, staying up late kinda weekend, but had so much fun with cousin Noah. They dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat. Noah of course being Thing 1 since he did indeed come 8 months earlier. I made or rather put together their costumes (I won’t give myself credit for sewing any of it). The wigs were blue fuzz boas wrapped and hot glued to fitted beanie hats. The weather was a tad warmer than we would of liked for a “fall outing”, but it is Houston after all. I do have to say that if there were a prize for best costume, we would have won, hands down. The only problem with wearing Thing 2 for Halloween is that Thing 1 lives in Houston…hmmm. On to costume #2…coming soon!

Chris' 30th Birthday!

Chris arrived back home just in time to celebrate his 3oth. So we had to go big....returning home and turning 30 calls for multiple celebrations. We did a small family dinner at our house on his actual birthday (September 10th) and his mom cooked his favorites....Enchiladas and Banana Pudding (don't even try to give him cake for his birthday). The next evening we went on a Tequila Dinner River Cruise on the San Antonio Riverwalk. We took with us our 8 best friends/siblings to make it truly special. And we found out that in our bunch there were 2 Bens, 2 Kellys, 3 Christophers, a Julie, Ana, Sonia, Rikki and a Mel. The Iron Cactus catered our meal and supplied us with tequila tastings and plenty of Margaritas. We toured the river, ate a delicious meal, and headed to Howl at the Moon where we found out we were still much to YOUNG for howling (I swear I saw some 80 year olds), but decided to spend the rest of the evening talking, joking, reminiscing and catching up on the balcony. The remaing few at the end of the night went on to a quaint Irish Pub too. It was a great party! The following weekend we met extended family and friends from all over the state at a BBQ lunch in a park in New Braunfels. It was a fun day too, but I have not any pictures to prove that party ever existed. Seems I am much more of a photographer when I've been drinking. Anyway...enjoy the memories!

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Readjusting

Well we are now in mid-October and it seems that my blog has been collecting some cob webs and dust. Time to get back to it. I blame it on the readjustment that our family is going through. It's been fun, but also we are still not quite back to a normal routine or schedule. But we are embracing our lack of schedule right now. Chris is home....finally! Jude is in love with his dad...after a few weeks of a adjusting to the strange man that mom brought into the house, he too has decided he'd like him to stay, so much so that he now cries whenever he leaves and has decided that Dad is much more kissable than mom...who knew? I have been loving NOT being a single parent anymore (the hardest job in the world!). There has been the big stuff of course....celebrating Chris' 30th Birthday and his homecoming (pictures coming soon) with family and friends. And then of course the small stuff.... who is doing laundry today? It's all taken some time to get use to living together again and figuring out what works for us as a family. Jude has just started at his new preschool, I've slowly started to sub for surrounding schools, and today Chris has gotten back into his uniform to start the long inventory process and all that goes into changing his command over. He will then start back up at USAA the 1st of November. So things are good. We remain busy as ever (booked solid every weekend until after Christmas!Ahhh!) . We are very much looking forward to being completely normal....it's slowing down, and we are getting there. You never know how much you love normal until it's gone. And no normal doesn't have to be boring (Jude keeps us on our feet everyday!). Normal is comfortable, its home, its not having to be "on" all the time by yourself, its absolutely wonderful state because it's truly appreciated how blessed we are to be just that....completely normal.

August...a love-hate relationship

Oh August you are here at last. It's been a while...at least a year right? So now that you have returned we need to discuss our relationship. You see I love you and I loathed you. I love you because it means it is still summer! and I hate you because that means its STILL summer! You bring a lot of things with you every year that you stay....3 digit temperatures to which we can't even attempt to go outside at any point in the day light. You bring with you the excitement of going back to school without the actual going back to school (new school supplies, clothes, and lunchboxes!). You bring with you some fabulous birthdays including my dad's, my father in law's, and two of my very special girls...Molly and Miller! So you aren't all that bad. No in fact I think I shall forgive all your faults this year August. Because although you usually bring me a classroom full of happy Kindergarten children (to which the previous months have failed to deliver me a job in order for this to happen... so no fault of your own really)...this year August you bring my husband home! (or at least you better...otherwise I will not be happy with you or with September for that matter). This year August I know you are just going to drag on forever. I know it. Its hot and I'm sort of done with summer already and I am SO done with this deployment already. I know that you are required by law to be here for a full 31 days, but could we make those extra speedy some how? I am not sure how since the sun is not setting until 9pm, but some how could you just at least make it feel like the days are going to fly by?! I mean the closer it gets, the harder it is for me to stand this any longer. I need my husband back now. You did take him a year ago and promised to return him this year. As soon as you do, I think we can go back to being friends, but really you do need to work on your temperatures.

Little Aggies!

So I forgot to include these cuties in the previous blog post. They were included in Chris' original scrapbook under the caption "Cheer for Aggies". I know that my fellow Longhorns would not approve of this. But how stinkn cute are these Aggies!...Even if they are Aggies! Jude loves his dear Miller!

Happy Father's Day Chris!

OK...so I know it's a little late for Father's Day, but I just wanted to share some pictures from a scrapbook that I sent Chris for Father's Day. You see Jude just can't wait until his dad comes home. He is excited to do some man jobs around the house as well as just have some fun. He has held off on walking for Dad too (although I don't know how much longer he can do it). He wants to show Dad when he gets home I guess. He did the same thing when learning to pull-up by himself....he waited for Dad to come home on his R&R. Good thing we don't have to wait much longer!

Thanks Dad for fighting for my freedom, but when you get home there is so much that I want to do!
Like ride bikes together!

Potty train!

Help Mom fold the laundry:)

Play baseball!

Just be lazy!

Drive around!

Fix the electronics!

Play in the sprinkler!

Take out the trash!

Do yard work with Grandpa!

Play on the playground!

Girls Night Out!

For Rikki's birthday we decided to have a Girls Night Out. It was some much needed fun! Porsche, Rikki's childhood friend flew in from across the country on her special day and we went out for dinner, drinks, and Sex in the City 2! We went to a near-by restaurant called Coco Lounge. It features and specializes in all things chocolate and there is a touch of chocolate in just about everything....dessert, martinis, and even a gravy sauce that was in my mashed potatoes! It was a yummy experience!

Here we all are in our luxurious booth...made of chocolate no doubt... Rikki and Ana and a rock'n birthday corsage!

Porsche and myself....especially happy at this point in the evening:)