HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

For Halloween this year Krue dressed up as a "Dragon Knight" (I would say "Slayer" but Knight sounds more noble... and besides, his brother was the dragon!) and Kiefer dressed up as a "Dragon". They had so much fun this year! All of the grandparents came over for the big event. We had dinner and then handed out candy for about 45 minutes. The boys had a blast seeing all of the kids come to the door, and Krue and Kiefer would say "trick or treat" before the kids even had a chance :) The Blythes came over to trick or treat at our house and then we joined them trick or treating around the neighborhood. Lauren and Krue led the way the entire time... they were on a mission to hit every house! They wanted to go up and ring the doorbell at each house "by themselves". Kiefer just loved the fact that everyone was walking with him and that he got to suck on a sucker the entire time. He had a smile on his face all evening.

Such a Smiley Dragon!

Too many pictures for Krue :)

A group shot of Krue, Kiefer, Lauren (Snow White) and Graham (A Cute & Cuddly Chicken)

I love this picture of our Noble Knight and his Snow White

I even wore a special hat for the occasion

Krue and Lauren running from house to house

So much fun trick or treating!

Bradley Instructor "In Training"

For the past four days I have been in Chicago training to be Bradley Instructor for Natural Childbirth. Lee and I took this childbirth course while I was pregnant with Krue and LOVED IT! We felt so prepared, excited, and confident to have our baby when we were finished. I wanted to share this experience with other people!

It is not easy to become a Bradley instructor. I had to go to this training in Chicago for 4 days (8:30am - 10:30pm everyday!)... I still have to read 4 books and write outlines and summaries... observe classes... teach two 12 week sessions as an affiliated teacher... and then take a big test. Whew! I should have all of my paperwork and observations done by January and then start as an affiliate teacher in February. I will teach out of Lee's office one night a week... which will be very convenient.

I love the group of girls I trained with. We really got to know each other over the four days and have so much in common. The lady in the middle is Marjorie Hathaway... she is a legend in the childbirth field and we were fortunate enough to be trained by her. She and her husband are AMAZING people.

I am looking forward to this next phase of my life... and am SO excited to educate pregnant couples about this topic!!!! I feel this is my true calling.

Sidenote: We all aren't looking the best in this picture. It was taken on the last day and we were all mentally fried and ready to go home :)

Habanera Halloween Party

Last night Lee and I attended a Halloween party for a fun community club we are in ~ Habanera. We were actually on the planning committee for this party... so we were very involved.

"A Pair of Blue Jeans"

Yes, that is what Lee and I went to the party dressed up as. It was a hit!

We tied for 2nd and 3rd place with our friends Erik and Tamera Weber. They had awesome pirate costumes.

I made tombstones to help decorate the party. I made one for every person who was on our party planning committee (20 in all). Each tombstone had a cute epitaph on it... courtesy of my mom. (I sent her everyone's information via email at about 8:00 am one day, and she sent back the epitaphs within the next 2 hours! How amazing is that? This lady is talented!) I cut out, spray painted, and wrote out all of the tombstones. They turned out cute. Here are some examples:

There once was a woman, Deb Rollins, She was given to trippin' and fallin', From the top of the hill, She fell down, willy-'nil, So she met her end, poor Deb Rollins!

Cosmetologist, "in the know", Now she has a heavenly glow! Deb Littlejohn R.I.P.

Here lies, resting,Golfer Keith Turner, Hit his final, Texas worm-burner!

The hand of fate, Met Margaret Keech, All that was heard, Was one loud screech!

~Chuck Schmidt~ Once worked with cars, Now he is gazing, At the stars.

Bill Heimach, Master of the Sale, This is the End, Of his Long Tale!

As always, we had such a fun time at this Habanera Party! Can't wait until the Formal Christmas Party (The Blythes will be there, too. Yeah!)

Love Boat

Today was a special day! My brother, Adam, proposed to his girlfriend of two years, Natalia. It was so sweet how it happened...

Natalia is from Indonesia. Her parents are in the states visiting for three weeks. They wanted to see my parent's new lake cottage, so Adam arranged to have lunch at a nice restaurant on the lake and to then go see the lake cottage. My entire immediate family came for the lunch... mom, dad, Mamaw,Lee, Krue, Kiefer, me, Ali, Amy and Christopher, Adam, Natalia, and Natalia's parents. After we ate we loaded up on our pontoon and headed over to the cottage. Half-way there my dad had Lee stop the boat and had everyone listen to what he had to say. He said some really nice things about Natalia, and how we all think of her as a part of our family. He and mom then gave a gift to her... a beautiful "journey" necklace. (It is an Indonesian custom and courtesy for the parents of the man to give a gift to their future daughter-in-law.) Next, Adam said some very special words about Natalia (and made everyone cry). He then got down on his knee and asked her to marry him! It was so sweet and sincere. The ring is gorgeous! We all gave hugs and welcomed her to the family. How fun to have been a part of this wonderful event!

Congratulations, Adam and Natalia!

We now have two weddings to look forward to... Amy and Christopher's and Adam and Natalia's!

What a Birthday Party!

This past weekend we went to a birthday party celebrating my niece, Ella's, 5th birthday and my nephew & Godson, Parker's, 1st birthday. This was one heck of a party! Ben and Brandi had their backyard turned into a kid's paradise... moonwalk, giant slip-n-slide, and ball you can actually get into and roll around. The weather was unusually hot for this time of year... 90 degrees in October! It felt like July. We had a great time and enjoyed watching Ella and Parker play, blow out candles, eat cake and ice cream, and open up presents. They had a ball! Thanks, Ben and Brandi, for such a fun day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA AND PARKER!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Last week my mom and I took the boys to a local pumpkin patch. It was so much fun! Both Krue and Kiefer picked out their own pumpkins to take home. Krue got a kick out of the big "smashed pumpkins" (that's what he called them). Kiefer enjoyed carrying around baby pumpkins and dragging gourds behind him. Thanks for going with us, Mom, and sending your pictures to us!

It's A Parade!

We took the boys to the parade on the last day of the fair. Luckily, we have wonderful friends who hooked us up with great seats (Shane is a police officer and he let us sit in front of his police car with his family!) Lee's brother, Nick and his girlfriend, Erin, joined us while watching the fun parade.

Kiefer, enjoying the view. He got a little scared when the sirens went off as they passed us.

A cute picture of Krue and Ian drinking their hot chocolate.

Our seats for the parade. Police Officer Shane close at hand.

After the parade we had some more fun on the rides. Nick and Erin had fun taking the boys around. I love this picture of Nick and Kiefer.