A surprise lunch visit

As most of you know, I do this blog mainly for my kiddos - so they can look back and see pictures of themselves and all the crazy and cute things they did/said. This one is for Austin.

Dearest Austin,

This is just a quick note to remind you about how cool your parents are. I know when you're 13, you're going to think we're not all that cool. But you thought we were when you were 6.

I wish I took a video of you opening your lunch to find no food and getting totally perturbed - until you read this note on your napkin:

Then you looked around the cafeteria and found us. The look on your face was priceless. It was nice having lunch with you today and I'm glad you are still single.

P.S. I promise I am going to take you for a haircut tomorrow.

Love,
Your Ultra-Cool Parents

Norway

I totally meant to post these last week, but last week was a little crazy. I took over some items from the PTO that were supposed to take around 2 hours a week. Yeah... let's just say it was a lot more than 2 hours, so I didn't have any free blogging time at all. Oh and not to mention, almost all my shows finally came back last week... I have priorities people. :)

So this is apparently what Norway looks like. It kind of looks like the foothills of the Rockies to me. James said the people are very nice and very tall. And blonde. Which is good, because I wondered if there were any natural blondes left in the world. I guess they live in Norway.

This is what he had for dinner one night... Rudolph. Yep, he ate a reindeer. Gross.


This is where the meetings took place, how quaint is that? The building was several hundred years old (and for some reason it had a fully stocked bar).

This is what the toilet looked like in the hotel. It took him a little bit to figure out which button flushed the toilet - ha! He also had some trouble getting the lights on in his hotel rooms. One morning he did wake up to see that he successfully (accidentally) turned on the floor heater in the bathroom.

He said you can pretty much figure out the Norwegian language... for modern words they just cram English words together. For the most part you can still sound the words out. For example...

and...

Fascinating, right? :)

Oh, and how cool are the Norwegians? They give you a complimentary bottle of wine! Of course I'm sure he paid (well not him, his client) for it 10 times over. Oslo is the most expensive city in the world: $13 for a gallon of gas, $30 for a hamburger, $14 for a pint of beer, a Toyota Rav4 for $125k, etc. I know I will never, ever be visiting this city...

That's all for now! The Amazing Race begins right now... yippee!

Another visit from Katie

My sister came in last week to visit. Perfect timing! Well we did plan it that way. It was nice to have her here while James was gone.

I wanted Austin to be surprised so I didn't tell him she was coming to town. The girls and I picked her up while he was at school. Katie hid in the house right before he got off the bus - made some "cawing" noises when he walked in - and then went and found her. He was so excited to see his Aunt Katie!

Katie, the kids, and I had a pretty good week. It started out rough when I got a call from Austin's principal informing me that Austin would be moved to the new 1st grade class the next day. He thought it was because his teacher must not have liked him, and I told him the new teacher needed some really smart kids in her class. I was pretty upset myself - I was thrilled he got the teacher he did (his original one) and was looking forward to a fun year. I'm sure he will have a good year in the new class also, but it's very frustrating. The school knew going into the year that there were too many kids in each class, why they waited 3 weeks into school to hire somebody is beyond me.

Anyway, we had tons of fun with Katie here. Got some shopping done, did a lot of cooking, went to some parks.

The girls had crazy hair day at school last week. If you are ever looking for some pink stuff to spray in your hair - Wal-Mart, Target, the dollar store, and CVS do not carry it there. Go to a beauty supply shop. Wish I would have thought of that earlier. Welcome back to the 80s...

James arrived home from Norway on Saturday night, and we made it home right after THE game of the year started. I always dread it because it really puts Austin in a bad spot. I am sure you know the game I'm referring to is Texas Tech vs. Texas. In James' absence, I convinced Austin he needed to cheer on the Red Raiders. That didn't make James very happy, but we did sit as a family to watch the game. I think it had something to do with his sleep deprivation because the last few years we have had to watch it in separate rooms. Everyone was cordial this year, and Katie and I accepted that we probably didn't stand a chance before the game started. The Raiders stuck in there though for the most part.

I will post some of James' pictures of Norway in a later post. He had a good trip and we're definitely glad to have him home!

This week so far

Here are a few pictures from Austin's football game last week.

This was the first time the 49ers got the ball - an 80 yard touchdown run for Austin.

This is the second time the 49ers got the ball - an 80 yard reception for a touchdown.

Then he didn't get the ball after that. Oh well. After all, the other kiddos need a turn also...

I am already envisioning high school football (sometimes college), sitting in the stands, waving Austin banners, and cheering him on. Maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself...

The fields we play at are nice - lots of running room for the girls.

Last week the girls made these body portraits at school. When we got home Emily told me she drew a mustache on hers - and was very upset about it. I know it's kind of hard to see, but I told her I thought it looked like her mouth. Apparently I was wrong and it really is a red mustache.

James is off in another foreign country playing, OOPS - I mean working again. This time Norway. Oslo is ranked the most expensive city in the world so I know we won't be getting many trinkets this time. All I requested were more pictures - I have no inkling at all about what Norway looks like.

This is the 2nd email I received from James, which I thought was kinda funny:

So I was supposed to meet Jim downstairs for dinner at 6:30. I went down there and waited for 5 minutes, then realized I was an hour early... Not that there's a CLOCK in my room or anything! There are weird buttons all over the walls and I can't control anything. I can't even figure out how to turn on the lights in my room... So basically the only light I have is the bathroom light and the computer... I've looked everywhere and can't figure it out. Aaaarg! At least I was able to get a 6:00 wake up call for tomorrow morning.

Norway 1

James 0

How to make a bouncy ball

Step #1: The most important of all the steps. BUY THE KIT. This makes things much easier.

Step #2: Explain to the kids you do not put it in your mouth - ever. Who knows what horrible disease this stuff causes.

Step #3: Pick your colors and fill the mold with some magic bouncy ball powder.

Step #4: Dip the mold in water for 1 minute.

Step #5: Take the mold off, and behold - a bouncy ball!


Step #6: Pose for your parents with your newly made toys.

Step #7: Make it a science project. Explain that the 8 balls they made are like the 8 planets, and how in the olden days there used to be one extra planet named Pluto but that was light years ago...

Length of time the balls will continue to bounce: approximately 2 days. They get hard as rocks and hurt like the dickens when you step on them.

Cheerleaders in training...

While Emily was hamming it up at Austin's football game...



Abby was trying to distract the opposing team.

Labor Day and Chicken

You remember when I posted a week or so ago about avoiding all the crazies during tax free weekend. Well I am actually one of them sometimes. And I really need to get a more interesting life, because I had way too much fun today.

If you read this blog, you know I am obsessed with Chick-Fil-A. It's really quite sad. So on Labor Day they had free sandwiches if you wore your favorite team's logo. I headed to my Strike class at the gym that morning, and then we headed out on our (my) mission: to gather as many sandwiches as possible. I know, I know, that's not really the "spirit" of their promotion - but I just couldn't help myself...

Here's where we went first... only a few blocks away from the gym. I took Austin inside while James waited in the cars with the girls (they did not have on any team shirt). Then James went in when we got back.

Same thing at our next stop - on the way home.

We got home and enjoyed our yummy food then I figured we could get even more if I dressed the girls up. I put on their Longhorn outfits and out we went to hit up more stores.

We went here next...

then here...

and then made it to our 5th and final destination. At this point James asked if we could just go through the drive through. I said yeah right, and let them see all the Chick-fil-A bags in our car. I don't think so...

They are all so different, yet beautiful in so many different ways. Don't you think? :)

Some were busier than others. I think the most I waited in one place was about 15 minutes. Not so bad for a bunch of free chicken.

I didn't take a picture of the fridge, but I will say we will be eating Chick-Fil-A all week. I kind of hope this makes me sick of them, but I doubt it will. I will still crave the salads. Oh and also, we really didn't travel that far... we are kind of in the middle of those 5. I just made one big circle!

Yeah, so I might have taken advantage of the situation, but I can justify it... I have spent some major dough at this place in the last several years... and I'm going to enjoy a week's worth of free chicken. And I am not going to the grocery store this week.

By the way, almost the whole time James was saying: "Too bad it's not Chipotle." Hmmph.

Cheyenne

I brought Austin lunch at school last week, and good thing I did or I would not have never heard about all the interesting 1st grade gossip. And I wouldn't have learned that he had a girlfriend.

Seriously.

Apparently this runs in the family as James had a "girlfriend" in first grade also. Actually he claims he had two - one for about a week and one for about an hour. I don't ever remember having any boyfriends in elementary school? Or middle school for that matter.

So apparently a little girl named Cheyenne is in his class. I will say I love her name - it reminds me of that George Strait song, you know the one with the fiddle....

Austin didn't know her last name, he only knew that she is 7 - an older woman. She asked him if she could be his girlfriend. Austin said sure, that would be okay, as long as the teacher didn't know. After he told me he begged me not to tell her mom. Like I even know who her mom is... Then he asked me if he had to marry her. I said no. He said he wasn't sure what she was going to look like when she grew up (not sure where he got that from). I then expressed there are more important things than what she looks like.

When we got home, James asked him why she was his girlfriend and he replied, "I dunno, I guess because she asked." Then he immediately changed the subject. 'Sigh' If only it were that easy.

Anyway, I got home and pulled out his kinder yearbook frantically searching for this girl. I don't know why it matters, maybe I just wanted to do a little research on the girl that could possibly join our family one day. I couldn't find her... drat. I thought maybe she was new to the school this year, then Austin said he's pretty sure she wasn't a new student. Hmmm... I will have to conduct more research later - maybe at parent orientation next week. :)

One thing is for sure, I definitely plan on going to the school more for lunch this year.

Update: Austin told Cheyenne in art class the next day that he didn't want to have a girlfriend anymore. Whew. The break-up went smoothly, as I guess it should in 1st grade. That was the easiest first girlfriend experience ever. Austin said they are still good friends.

My football star

I am really not one to brag, but goodness Austin really has some talent in football. It's a shame his doctor says he will on the shorter side as an adult, because the kid has talent. I'm not saying shorter guys can't play football - take my number one player on my fantasy team as an example. Maurice Jones-Drew (Jaguars), 5 ft 7 in, and he's going to win the season for me. :) So who knows how far Austin can go... I think he would be the cutest darn football player ever!!

We enjoyed his first football game. And I tell the truth that he is the Michael Jordan of his team - check out the tongue in these shots.



Kicking up some dirt!

Getting around the edge!

Here he is on what is the equivalent to about a 75 yard run. You should have seen the cuts he made! The Chargers didn't know what hit them!

Great job kiddo on your first game as a 'gasp'... 49er!!

1st Day of School

I felt pretty unprepared going into this school year. Little did I realize the weekend before school started was the dreaded tax-free weekend in Texas. I never participate in this, because my sanity is much more important than saving $10. James can attest to this.

Anyway, I really had no choice because they did need some important items... you know like shoes and lunch bags and such. So Friday before school we headed to Target and luckily the crazies weren't out yet. And I mean "crazies" with all due respect (especially for the really crazy "crazies" in case they find their way here). I got all my shopping done on that one trip. It's all about the small victories, right?

I was feeling so nice that we headed to Chuck E. Cheese afterward to celebrate the last day of summer. You have no idea how big of a deal that is for me to take them. James felt bad he couldn't partake in any of the festivities, so we had a little ice cream party when he got home. I'm not sure if he was really celebrating the last day of summer or the start of football season...

Doing the ice cream dance:

On Monday Austin was super excited to head to first grade. He wanted me to just drop him off, but when we got there all the parents were walking the kids in, so we did the same. I got to his door and he just walked in without a goodbye or anything. His teacher told him to come back and out and give me a hug, ha! I think he is going to have a great year. We have heard so many good things about his teacher.

The girls had their first day last Thursday. They were lucky to find many of their friends from last year in the same class. I think this last year of preschool is going to be more structured and organized. I have heard many good things about their teachers also - I know they will learn so much. This is a good thing considering Emily asked me what time it was the other day, I showed her my watch which said 3:13, and she informed me that the time was "2 E's and an I." We have a few things we need to be working on... :)