Homedown Hoedown

We live in Texas and every now and then we are reminded that Texas is a bit different than other places. Case in point: Friday, Lauryn's school hosted a Homedown Hoedown as part of their PE program. The kids learned the "Hoedown Throwdown" from the Hannah Montana Movie.

In true Texas fashion, the kids also did the "Cotton Eyed Joe."

Of all of this, the highlight for us occurred at the very beginning of the Homedown Hoedown. Lauryn had told us that she was making a speech and sure enough, after all of the first graders and their parents were in the cafeteria, Lauryn walked up to the microphone and addressed everyone. It was a very sweet little speech of gratitude for the PE teachers and what they had done for the class. I can not believe how comfortable and confident she was at that microphone! We are so proud of her!!!

Grandma

As some of you may know, my Grandma has been battling cancer since March of 2008. At the time of the diagnosis, Grandma decided not to receive treatment. We had no idea how long she would be with us but took it one day at a time. This week, hospice started serving Grandma and on Friday, she passed away. She was a factor in my decision to begin this blog and I know that she faithfully checked it until she no longer had the strength to sit at the computer. We will miss her terribly and she no longer needs a blog to watch over us.

Fenway, Assistant Blogger

Now that we are wireless, I can blog while watching Cowboys football. Fenway is not supposed to be on the couch with me, but I am a sucker for her. Her first step to being sneaky is hiding behind the pillows...


Then, when she has successfully been able to stay on the couch, she will make herself more visible.

We can't believe how big she has gotten. She still loves to cuddle Molson. When they play, it is funny to watch because they are so similar in color that they blend in with each other.

Speaking of Molson, isn't he handsome? Such a good example for Fenway. She is awful pretty, too.

We love our puppies! There is just something about dogs that make you laugh and smile.

Welcome, Fall! Sort of...

It's September and that means fall is around the corner. College football started last week, Starbucks is carrying the pumpkin spice latte, some of my favorite color combos are starting to pop up, the mornings are cool enough for the sunroof to be open, and the NFL is no longer in preseason.

For our anniversary, I got Tom a nice recliner to replace his old, ugly one. He appreciates reclining for baseball and basketball, but football and the recliner are synonymous. I anticipate a Tom shaped indention in the recliner by the end of the season. Living in Houston, we miss out on Cowboy games whenever the Texans play. For the past few years, Tom has just whined about missing the games or he has gone to a sports bar for the game. This year, I called Directv and did some bargaining so Tom is now the proud recipient of the NFL Sunday Ticket. Here is Tom and Fenway (can you believe how big she has gotten?!?) working on the Tom indention.

Yesterday, we made a trip to Target and walked out with more than we had planned on getting. Funny how trips to Target work out that way... I was just as guilty as Tom this trip because I found this awesome book!

We had friends over last night and I tried my hand at one of the ideas in the book with a little tweaking. I made the Sunflower cupcakes to match the flowers I bought for our table last night. Fall is so fun!

They didn't turn out as well as I hoped and I will have to practice quite a bit to be happy with my cupcake skills. Lauryn is requesting cupcakes for her birthday cake so we will probably be eating cupcakes a lot so that I can perfect the skills. Tom, on the other hand, has already decided that I need a cupcake business from home. He's funny...

Sushi and Shopping

What a perfect Saturday! Today, we went to the Galleria, ate sushi, and made it home in time for Tom to watch college football.

Tom needed some new shoes and after searching area stores here, he decided that we either needed to go to the Galleria or The Woodlands. Now that Chuy's has made it closer to home, we don't head to The Woodlands as often so we loaded up for a trip to the Galleria. WOOHOO!!!

Although Tom knew he was looking for something in particular, Lauryn and I are easily distracted by window displays. In previous visits, we would primarily look at clothes, shoes, and bags. This time, she discovered JEWELRY! Cartier, Tiffany's, just run of the mill jewelry stores, right? Lauryn did stay true to the Disney Store and Build-a-Bear, but has added a new love for Michael Kors. Thank you, Project Runway! For everyone's sake, we stayed outside the store and looked at window displays.

I have also decided that my new favorite store is Ann Taylor Loft. The Loft has a great program called "Loft Loves Teachers." If you can produce a school ID badge, you get 15% off the entire purchase. I LOVE sales!!!

Although the shopping was great, the highlight of the trip was definitely lunch! I had been craving sushi for a while now and the Kona Grill has great sushi. We have offered Lauryn sushi (well, not really, it was a chicken thing at the area sushi bar) and she was not impressed by it. Then again, we weren't thrilled with the chicken thing, either. After picking some of our rice off the rolls, Lauryn decided she was ready to try sushi. YAY! We ordered a shrimp tempura roll for Lauryn and she LOVED it!!! Tom and I only got a few pieces because Lauryn downed it! We are so proud of her!

Tom and Lauryn checking out the Shrimp Tempura Roll.

Getting ready to take the first bite.

And the verdict is in: TWO THUMBS UP!

The last big event for today was the beginning of college football. Although the Longhorns are not on TV, Tom wore his burnt orange and has been checking the score. He's cheering for BYU to beat OU. This would be great for UT. Not so great for TCU... Speaking of TCU, how in the world do they not have a game today?!?! Go Frogs! Hook 'em!

Back to school, back to school...

Lauryn has been back to school for a few weeks now, which means that I have been super busy with work. That also means that I am falling behind on updating the blog. Good thing that she is still as excited about school now as she was last year! We can not wait to see all that she learns in 1st grade!!!