Fall Happenings

We have had an eventful month. Whitney turned 12! She was so excited to start going to Young Women's at Church. She had a fun birthday party with several friends. Audrey also had a birthday. She is 8 now. She had a wonderful baptism day. Grandma Beech flew out from Arizona to be here on her special day. We had several family members and friends attend her baptism. Then, of course, there was Halloween. We enjoyed beautiful weather at halloween parties and trick-or-treating. What a great month! Now we head into Thanksgiving, and we have so much to be thankful for. Especially our friends and family that influence our lives for good each day. I hope you enjoy the pictures below highlighting the best parts of our autumn!

Six Quirks

So, I've been tagged. I have to inform the world of six quirks that I have. I am not sure I want to do this, or that you want to know; but here goes.

1. I hate dirty laundry. I hate it so much that I do laundry everyday.

2. I love to check the weather of places that I have lived, or where I have friends living. I don't know why, but I am fascinated by weather...

3. I love planning trips to Disney World. I think it is almost as much fun as actually going. So, for all of you planning a trip. I don't mind helping. TOURGUIDEMIKE.COM is your friend!

4. Whenever someone is speaking, I try to figure out how I would say that in Sign Language. I am not even very good at ASL, so most of it is just spelling.

5. I can't stand misspelled words. It makes my kids crazy because I make them study so hard for their spelling tests. I know I shouldn't worry about it so much with today's technology, but it drives me crazy when I see misspelled words.

6. I am a picture maniac. Not of myself, of course, but pictures of everyone else are great. I love to put them here on my blog and scrapbooks, etc. Another thing that makes my kiddos crazy.

Now you know 6 of my many quirks. Hopefully, that's all I ever have to tell you. I now tag: Jayne, Marissa, Sarah, and Lara.

You may think I'm a slacker

However, there is a reason for no blogging lately. We have been way too busy. Here is our update:

-Brandon enjoyed a campout with Dad and his Webelos Den at Lake Texoma. It was the weekend of Ike, so much preparation was to be had.


-Murphy's 5oth birthday! Fireworks and all....



-Whitney is cheerleading and having fun with the girls. You can't be in Texas, and not learn about football.


-Preparing for Audrey's upcoming baptism.



-Our neighborhood Fall Festival complete with bounce houses and a train ride.


-I've been taking an online scrapbook sketch class, too.



-We all got really sick to boot.
Thankfully, there are no pictures of that hideous week.

So, now you're caught up with the major stuff. I'll try to do better this coming month! HAPPY OCTOBER!

Back to School

It is that time of the year when the school bus sound returns and the smell of new clothes sweeten the air. Yep, the kids are back in school. This is the year when my baby starts kindergarten, and my oldest goes to middle school. Wow, are we growing up! I have to say that only half of my kids were excited about the new school year (I bet you can guess which half...). We are happy with all of their teachers and the exciting adventures that await them this year. Whitney is enjoying learning the clarinet and getting to switch teachers for every class. Brandon is excited about the 5th grade camp coming up, and learning guitar. Audrey is a big 2nd grader, and is still doing piano. She can't wait to start activity day girls next month. Maddie loves going to school with her big brother and sister. She is sooo tired at the end of the day, but always looks forward to tomorrow! I hope all of you are also having a great start to the new school year!

Family is like chocolate

Mostly sweet with a few nuts. We had a great family reunion in Nashville, TN. Thanks to Kevin and all his efforts, we had fun visiting and playing with the Beech family. The kids enjoyed time with their cousins, and were already asking when would be the next reunion before we even got in the van to come home. Highlights of the week were: AAA baseball game (where Whitney got 4 out of 5 foul balls, Brandon and Alex did a dizzy guitar race, Jeremy did a flipper race, Maddie won Wendy's burgers for a year, and all the kids ran the bases), the children's science center (Sherrie and I both braved the painful "moonwalk" simulator, swimming and sleepovers. It was loud and crazy, but very memorable - even to the hotel guests! Here are some pictures from our reunion:

Summertime

I always loved going to Six Flags over Texas when I was a kid. Even though it was always hot and crowded, it sure made for a fun summer day. So, of course, I want to pass along those experiences to my kids. We went to Six Flags last week. It was definately hot (100 degrees) and a little crowded. We had a great time. Whitney and Brandon each brought a friend to go, too. Whitney got brave enough to ride Batman and Shock Wave. Audrey even rode Shock Wave. She was sorely disappointed that she was too short to ride Batman. They all (except for Maddie) also liked Tony Hawk's Big Spin and Runaway Mountain. Maddie loved the swings, Yosemite Sam, Roaring Rapids, and the Log Flume.

Double Digits

Happy Birthday to Brandon. He is 10 now. I can't believe he is in double digits already. He had a fun birthday at Main Event playing Laser Tag with his friends. Wish ALL of his friends could be there.