Autumn is Here!

So, a lot has been going on, and clearly I haven't had time to blog. So, I'm going to try and get everyone caught up, with as little dialogue as possible, and as many pics as I can handle with this not so high speed internet.

Football season is almost over. The Madison Red Cubs have won 6 games and lost 1 game. They will play their last regular season game this Thursday at the high school at 7:15. Moose is soo excited to get to play at the stadium under the lights. Not only have they won 6 games, but they've had several shut outs, which means Coach Wes has had to pay up on his promise for several pizza party's. :o)

In September, I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. to photograph my dear friend Lauren's wedding. I hadn't been to D.C. since I was 16, and I was so excited to get back and do a little sight seeing. More than that, I was excited to get to share this special day with my life long friend.

Speaking of D.C., Hunter has become our very own little politician. Here are some pics of him watching President Obama's address to the children of America. He was in awe when President Obama talked about J.K. Rowling's story of Harry Potter being rejected by the first 12 publishers, she sent it to. That part of the speech was very inspiring for him. Not only did he enjoy the president's speech, but he wrote and delivered a speech of his own to the 4th graders at his school during his campaign for student council. We are so proud that he was brave enough to run for student government at a new school. Not only did he run, but he was one of the four students in the 4th grade that was elected!!! GO MOOSE!!

Gracie is doing so good in kindergarten. She loves her teacher Mrs. Burnett, and has not had to move her apple from the apple tree behavior chart once this year. She is also learning to read and write. I haven't had a chance to scan any of her writings but will try to do that soon. I absolutely LOVE kindergarten. It's such a fun year of growth and learning! Below are their adorable school pictures, as well as Hunter's football pics.

And now, we have entered a season that I have never experienced in real life. It's called Autumn, and it is simply stunning. Last week the kids were on Fall Break. Yep! We get a Fall Break out here. I took the kids and two of their friends to Clifty Falls State Park for a picnic, a hike, and some photos. It was a lot of fun. Another day, we met up with some friends to see the movie Where the Wild Things Are. It was soooo good, and has sparked some really creative imaginative play in our home. I'm actually almost done with a Max costume for Hunter to wear to school on Friday for "Favorite Book Character Day". I will definitely be sharing pics of that later, as this is my first adventure in crafting a costume for one of my kids.

Thanks for looking. Hopefully, I'll be back to post more soon.

Camera Bag Give Away

Yes...I am really behind. I promise to give updates later this week about football, my trip to Washington D.C., and everything else that has been going on in our crazy lives. In the meantime, go check out this blog and enter for a chance to win one of her awesome camera bags...or just buy a camera bag from her, and skip entering the contest so that my chances of winning are better. ;o) http://blog.wickedstitchdesigns.com/2009/09/25/september-giveaway--all-new-camera-bag.aspx

Oh...and to hold you all over, here's a pic of Moose at football practice. I just love that big old over sized jersey hanging on him....

School days, school days, Dear ol' golden rule days..

On August 19th, both of my kiddos headed off to school. Grace was sooo excited to finally get to start big kid school. Hunter was excited, but also nervous about being the new kid. Grace wore a special outfit that my friend Susie made for her. The shirt says, "Kindergarten Rocks!". Grace also told me to pose for my photo with her.

Open House was held the second week of school, and we had a chance to visit with their teachers and look around their classrooms.

The kiddos with their principal. They both just love him. He is a father of 4 girls, and clearly loves children. He comes out to recess on some days and will play kick ball with the boys. He has also given Grace the nickname "Fashion Princess".
Grace & Mrs. B

Hunter and Mrs. D

The first 8 days of school, Grace only went for a 1/2 day. This past Monday was her first full day, and their first day to ride the bus home. The bus pulls right up to our driveway and they arrive home about 15 minutes after school lets out. Grace had never been on a bus before, and thought it was the coolest thing ever. We'll see how long it takes for the novelty of it to wear off.

WTW- Lazy Links...

Busy week..or few weeks. The kids started school last week. I started school this week. Football practice.. Gymnastics.. You get the idea.

So, eventhough, I've got two stops on my "to do list" of WTW photos to take, I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Instead, please enjoy the photos and captions on these two sites. Props to my friends Geneva and Susan #2 for passing these links along to me.

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

Oh, and Beth shared this link with me the other day. It's not WTW material, but you may pee your pants reading it. If you do pee your pants reading this, please send me a photo to post on next week's WTW.

http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays

Our Lonestar Friends..

On August 14th, the kids and I drove down to Louisville (about an hour away) to meet up with Chris, Meranda, Jake, Jephery, and Sadie. They were in Northern Kentucky visiting Meranda's dad and step mom. Hunter didn't have a chance to say an official goodbye to Jake before we left, and had asked about him several times since getting here. The two of them play so well together. We had a great time at the Waterfront Park watching the kids play.I wish I had known about that place before the last weekend of Summer. Oh well! Definitely a place we'll revisit next Summer.

After some fun in the sun, we headed to Applebee's for dinner. There is only one chain restaurant in our town, and it's not one that we have in Dallas. So, going out to eat at a familiar restaurant is now a real treat for my kids.

Chris and Meranda ended up letting me bring Jake and Sadie home with me. The kids were so excited to have their friends over for the night. Jake (who isn't used to cool Summer nights) and Hunter got busy on the scooters.
Sadie and Grace decide to settle down and watch a movie.

The next morning Sadie had fun straightening Hunter's hair with Grace's beauty shop supplies.

Then we headed to Clifty Falls State Park for some swimming.

After swimming and a picnic lunch at Clifty, we went into downtown for some Coke floats. It was at this point that Jake announced, "This is the best vacation EVER! I wish I could stay here for a week or two!" Hunter looked at him very confused and said, "Even better than the beach?" (Jake's family came with us on our beach vacation last Summer) It was soo cute.

When we got home, the girls napped while the boys headed out to the pond to do some fishing.

Jake ended up catching three fish. Of course, I'm sure he did so well since he made sure to kiss his first catch for good luck. ;o)

Then the boys decided to set up some obstacles to jump over with the scooters. Once they had their jumps down, they asked me to take pictures of them catching some air.

Before we knew it, the day was over and it was time for us to drive back to Louisville and hand the kiddos back over to Chris and Meranda. It stunk having to say goodbye, but we were so thankful to have the chance to spend some time with them while they were nearby. Hopefully, we'll see you guys again soon.