The Zoo with the Garreds

Thursday was a wonderful day. The weather was in the 70's so Gra'ma and I decided it was a perfect day for the zoo. I called the Garreds and they agreed to join us for the outing. The "little Garreds" are Anne's favorite friends.


She talks about them all the time, but usually always refers to them in group form, "the little Garreds," there are four in all. When she does use there given names she gets Ginger and Hayden mixed up. Calling Ginger, a girl, Hayden, and Hayden, a boy, Ginger, but thankfully they are good sports about it, only ocassionly offended.

It's Snowing in Texas, sort of . . .

We took Anne and Abby to the park to experience a little snow Texas style. After waiting a bit for the snow crew to put a few finishing touches on everything it was time to slide. I thought Anne would be afraid to go down the snow slide, but she took right to it and wanted to go down several times. We had to practice not cutting and waiting in line.


After the snow slide we went into the snowball park. I enjoyed maybe two minutes of that because after I made my first snowball my hands turned red and I could barely move my fingers. it never occurred to me that I should have worn gloves or that I should have given Anne her gloves as well. Needless to say, the snow slide was a bigger hit than the snowballs.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Thanksgiving

We went to Conroe, TX to visit Gran, Grandpa Gary, Grandma Regan, Uncle Mark, and Aunt Ashley. Aunt Ashley cooked just about everything and it was GOOOOD! We can't wait to meet baby Landon in person :)

Check out Anne's Howdy Bib!

Check out Abby's Howdy Bib!

Gig'em Aggies!

A&M vs. BU

It was a cold game! We started the game in the rain, but finished with sunshine. We bundled both of the girls up and they each took a nap in alternating quarters. It's always ten degrees cooler on the third deck. I saw people on the first deck in t-shirts and shorts! The game was fun. We won. One more game to go . . .

Anne Napping

Abby's snowsuit

Abby Napping

Lawnmower

Anne and Papa spent last weekend working on the riding lawnmower. This is the same lawnmower that we had when I was a kid. I think my dad traded something for it. As a child I had lots of fun riding it, but it tends to lean to one side and break down. This lawnmower has seen a lot of abuse. My mother has run into several trees and I plowed through our fence going full speed. The motor is held on by tape and chains. It always takes several pulls to get it started and in between each pull you have to wind the rope up by hand, but Anne sure did enjoy fixing it.

Photo Shoot

Halloween 2009 and the Aggies

Anne had lots of fun this Halloween. She dawned her costume on three separate occasions. The first was the library where she received a free book, second to preschool, and finally to the Aggie game.

Our plan was to skip the game and stay home so Anne could go trick or treating, but she insisted on going to the game. We brought both girls costumes along with us and after the game we took them trick or treating through the streets of College Station.


We had a wonderful time! The Aggies won, the weather was beautiful, and the candy was bountiful!

Fall Fun

We've been all over the place this October: Aggie games, pumpkin patch, the zoo (several times), MOPS, and the list goes on.

My favorite outing was to the pumpkin patch. Anne pumped the water, had her face painted, rode the train, helped Abby pick out a pumpkin, and posed for oodles of pictures. Abby enjoyed it as well. She ate some grass, some dirt, and licked some pumpkins.

Anne decided that she would like to be a princess for Halloween so I decided Abby could be a pea. Get it? The princess and the pea :) I sewed Anne's dress and added sparkles. I bought Abby's outfit and made a few alterations. I can't wait to see them together.

Yes, we have officially been living with my parents for three months and things have been going great. I mean who wouldn't love home cooked meals, laundry fairies, and extra help with the girls. We do intend on moving into our own home. A couple of weeks ago we decided to stop building, don't worry we weren't very far along, and take a second look at our options. I went with Scott to look at already built homes and we both went and picked out a brick color for the house. We want to get some definite numbers before we build and make sure that there wasn't a house out there that was move in ready that would meet our criteria before we got to deep into building. We are circling the airport trying to decide which runway to land on. It has been a faith and patience building time for me. Please pray that I will have a joyful attitude during this time of refinement.

BTHO tech!

This post is devoted to my Fight'n Texas Aggies. Saturday, October 25th the Aggies smashed tech, 52-30, in Lubbock. We hadn't beaten tech in Lubbock since 1993. The Aggies had been struggling as of late and this win felt good.

So, I will revel in this win! I went to the best university in the nation so win or lose I would always rather be an Aggie than anything else.

In the words of my dear friend Alicia, "Put your guns away raiders cuz all your doin' is shootin' blanks! Gig 'em Ags!"

Ahh, I feel better now!

Edited by my mother :)

East Texas State Fair

The East Texas State Fair is in town again. I love everything about the fair! When you walk through the gates and the intermingled smells of turkey legs, funnel cake, and cow manure hit it I slip into a mild euphoria. The fair was a real hit with Anne this year. She was tall enough to ride the rides, loved the petting zoo, and collected several balloons. Abby spent most of her time watching Anne and looking at all the interesting people.

I was determined to ride the Zipper because I missed out last year due to the fact that I was pregnant. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a willing partner and had to settle for the Ferris Wheel with mom. It was probably a good thing I didn’t ride the Zipper because when the Ferris Wheel came to a halt for what felt like a eternity with mom and I at the top I went into panic mode. I yelled down to the workers reminding them that we were still up here, but I don’t think they heard me. I don’t remember being this scared of heights. It probably has to do with having babies. Everything comes back to that; children change everything. I did muster up enough courage to smile down at Anne and give a little wave.

All in all we had a wonderful time and I can’t wait until next year!

Aggie Games

College football season is up and going so that means we are headed to College Station, TX. We renewed our season tickets again and even added an extra one for the girls. The first game was eventful.

We ended up fleeing our seats int he middle of the third quarter. Our entire section was taken over by crickets.

Anne had nightmares about crickets two nights in a row.

Our second trip involved less crickets, but more heat.

Abby has turned out to be a good sleeper in Kyle field as well. I don't think that she will surpass Anne in her ability to stay unconscious during cannon fire, band playing, and yells, but she does come close.

Abby is Crawling

Abby has mastered crawling. She started at the beginning of the month and has been on the go ever since. It has improved her disposition and she can entertain herself a little bit.

The Beach Part II

We spent the rest of the week playing on the beach, shopping, and eating. I barely saw Anne all week because she and Sofia played and played together. It was a wonderful week.

The Beach Part I

We made our annual pilgrimage to the beach at the beginning of September. The best time to go in my opinion. All the crowds are gone, the heat is less intense, but the water is still warm. I think it is safe to say that this was are favorite beach trip so far. The only thing that was missing was Great Granny. She had to sit this trip out because she is still recovering from her car accident. She felt like the 12 hour car trip would be to much. We missed her and can't wait for Granny to come nest year!

We split the drive up on the way to the beach. After the cars were loaded and Scott got home form work we headed off for her first stop, Vicksburg, Mississippi. My previous memories of Vicksburg included spending two hours in the sweltering car while we toured a Civil War cemetery and staying in a hotel that was very similar to a prison. Thankfully, we didn't reenact any of the past and spent a comfortable night at the Comfort Suites.

The next morning it was up and at um. We made one stop for lunch at Sonic. It was nice to get out of the car and stretch our legs. You can tell by the pictures that Abby really enjoyed this stop. and then it was on to the beach.

We stayed in the same house as last year, just up one floor. The layout of this house is great because everything is one one floor. No running down three flights of stairs to check on the baby! We made our self at home and waited for Dave, Alicia, and Chaz to arrive.


Dave was Scott's college roommate and Alicia was my college roommate and they got married. It's nice how things work out.
They drove up from Jacksonville to spend the weekend with us. It is starting to become a tradition! We had a blast with the two of them and Chaz, who by the way, is the most placid happy baby I have ever seen. It was sad to say good-bye on Sunday :(

Second First Day of Preschool

Anne began her second year of preschool Tuesday. It wasn't as hard to let her go this time, but I am still a bit sad. I remember taking her picture last year.


She had little pig tails with sprigs of hair and I tell she was nervous about the new adventure. This year she marched in and literally, never looked back.

When I walked down the hall with her this time I felt like an old pro. I mean, I had done this preschool thing before and I knew what I was doing. I looked around at the new parents and breezed right by, but I must admit that after I pulled out of the parking lot I kind of wished that I was one of the new parents. Children grow so fast and you can't turn the clock back. I miss the tiny pigtails and nervous child. I'm proud of Anne and I can't wait to see what's next, I think.