Anybody else’s kids come home with this many pebbles in their shoes? It doesn’t matter what KIND of shoes Ben wears, either. He’s managed this with his tennis shoes as well. On another note, I had a wonderful phone conversation with a very good friend from Houston and she told me that her 9 year old girl refuses to get rid of a stick that my boys carved for her (we moved 7 months ago now). I think that’s pretty cute. Rocks. Sticks. {Sigh} Boys.

We created a cute vampire-fang-monster-mouth car decoration for the open back of a car at our trunk or treat. This was in 2009 - weren’t those boys so cute? They look so small to me when looking back just two years later. We had just moved to Houston in this picture and it was HOT for Halloween. The fangs were easy to create - a quick tip to make it even easier: we used an old, giant sticky note presentation board so they just stuck and we didn’t even have to tape them on anywhere to the car! Easy! Cute!

Cole made it back. Since he flew alone to Houston and then made it to Corpus Christi, sans camera, we don’t have any pics of the trip. We do, however, have this pic of his handsome face as he left us in a very messy home shortly after moving in. He made it out for his scout trip just in time to leave his father and me carrying Christmas decor into the attic in 102 degree Oklahoma weather. The things we parents do for our kids to have memorable experiences!

My sister Lili flew in on late Thursday afternoon and we went to Mega Mel’s Cafe in Tomball and then to the boys’ favorite tire park (Jerry Matheson park, also in Tomball). We are going to miss those places. I heart Tomball. If we ever have to move back to Houston, that is where we would go! Then, Friday, we got up early and drove to San Antonio and went to Six Flags for the day and wore everyone out. Saturday we drove to Kemah Boardwalk for the Crawfish Festival with Zydeco music and, no, I did not eat any crawfish. We went to one of the best restaurants for my birthday that I have ever eaten at: Saltgrass Steakhouse. It was very yummy and I only had the steak salad! Sunday we went to church and then looked for dolphins as we took the ferry across Galveston to the Bolivar Peninsula and spent the day at Crystal Beach. It was a wild ride (with lots of time in the car!) but we had such a great time with Lili here to celebrate my birthday. When we dropped her back off at the airport on Monday, I think it felt like she had just arrived — what a whirlwind tour. It was nice to have a visitor before we leave for Oklahoma.

I think I’m going to love the new church schedule. Ahhh….Sunday afternoons spent the way they should be - with family, friends and in the outdoors! We had a nice time yesterday with the Carrs (friends from church) and their kiddos. We only saw one alligator and he was in the water which was different from our last visit when they were along the paths so you had to double back instead of crossing over them! It was a nice, sunny day. I am thankful for this beautiful world. It is good to be outside.

Our first time at the Ren Fest was FANTASTIC! We loved it. The place is huge, the entertainment is vast and varied, and each of the kids found something interesting to make it a great night. Gabe loved the dragon items, Jack enjoyed the jousting, and Cole claims to have enjoyed just being with his family (cough, cough, I think he liked the belly dancers best). I highly recommend the place for lots of entertainment. We are glad it was a relatively colder day so that many of the girls were more covered up than usual, probably!

So there were lots of people so my MIL reserved the church. It was nice to have everyone sit down to eat together but there was an awkwardness afterward with no football and no couches. Moral of the story: Thanksgiving was meant to be held at home! It WAS fun, however, to see all of the Roberts and meet Ali’s kids and Rebecca and Josh, Boyd’s new wife and baby.

We had a quick weekend trip a few weeks back to San Antonio and LOVED IT! What a great city! We visited the Alamo, walked the Riverwalk, the Witte Museum (fantastic!), and — best of all — went to Six Flags. The boys love adventure parks and Cole declared this one his favorite since the roller coasters were all “big”. We have never taken them to a huge Disney park so their perspective is slightly limited. We love Adventureland Des Moines (clean and great for smaller kids - lots of little kid rides). We also love Worlds of Fun in Kansas City but it is dirty and the food is gross. We REALLY liked Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri - that is such a fun town, too. Don’t forget to eat at Landry’s if you go anywhere near Branson - fantastic food. But, for Texas, San Antonio’s Six Flags beats Schlitterbahn hands down. Of course, we’ve only been to Schlitterbahn at Galveston - perhaps the New Braunfels one is better. Worth a try!

More pics on our flickr account. We had a great time several weeks ago at Crystal Beach. It was a Thursday and Don had off work because he had done some extra (many extra!) hours while we were in Omaha. It paid off. We didn’t even have to wait for the ferry - Don saw dophins in the water both ways. We just drove right on and went over to “the zoo” at Crystal beach and there were maybe a handful of people there that day, since it was a weekday and rain had been in the forecast. We took a chance and it paid off! Solitude on such a beautiful, popular beach. Don found some crabs and took the boys crabbing. I made Cole clean them after we boiled them. I kept chanting “Fear Factor” as he was getting grossed out. I thought the “science” kid would love that, but I guess not. It was a great day!

Saturday, we spent the day at Oil Ranch Farm and it was lovely! Hot and humid, but lovely. The kids got sunburned quickly - I remembered to pack a cooler of ice water but forgot the sunscreen - doh! There’s surely some kind of mother award for that maneuver. Anyway, the kids each had favorite things: Ben’s was riding the ponies, Jack’s was the waterslide, Gabe’s was riding the train and Cole’s was the free food, drinks & snow cones.

So the boys have piano lessons from a family member that lives near a school park. Whenever the boys go to piano, we go to the park in her backyard. I was trying to be such a cool mom so I invited some friends and picked them up on the way. I love invitations that involve a park because it doesn’t involve messing up the house. Anyway…this park is also a school playground. Our time there often overlaps with the after-school-daycare kids (i.e. a bunch of 2nd and 3rd graders, usually). This mix has never posed a problem but today it certainly created an interesting experience for me.

Whenever I take Daisy, I am hands-down the most popular woman at school. Boys AND girls come up and hang out next to me just to pet her — like a good 85% of the kids that are there. While they were petting Daisy, Ben came up and said, “I’m flea (three)!” I continued to converse on their level by asking how old they were. Ben ran away and somehow one of the kids noticed he’s still in a diaper. I told them that yes, we’re working on potty training and told them Ben was a little scared of the potty seat. Then, I proceeded to ask one of the craziest questions ever, “Were you ever afraid of the potty seat or have trouble learning?” Encircled by the wisdom of a very diverse group of 7, 8 and 9 year old kids - BOY did I get a lesson! One said that he wasn’t afraid of the potty seat but his brother was and that he got to pee outside. Another said that his mom put toys in the toilet for him to pee on. A little girl piped up that she wasn’t afraid of the potty but when she was 3, she ate a cockroach. Oh, man, these kids were cute! They were so adult about the whole thing - giving me advice and telling me that it would all work out and being totally supportive of Ben and not making fun of him one bit. I think kid wisdom is underestimated. I didn’t see any of these kids go and tease him behind my back or anything!!

We had a great day today! It felt like it was the first day in 8 months (since we moved here) where we could just get in the car and explore. We met some old Nebraska friends at George Bush Park in Katy and then we headed to Bass Pro at Katy Mills to get Cole some things for his scouting adventure this week. We wandered home on the back roads with happy hour Sonic drinks and had a wonderful day. It was so good to see the amazing women from back home. Love ya, Lorelei, Julia & Becki — you’re part of who I am. I have the fondest memories of growing up together. xoxo Lizabeth

Last Friday was Texas Day…or something like that. I have videos to upload but meanwhile, check out the pics on our Flickr account.

Book club at my home was approaching. All the other book club ladies have such nice homes and nice furniture to go with them. I was aching for a coffee table and perhaps an end table or two so that people wouldn’t have to put plates on their laps. It is a tight week for us this week so I also wanted to make nice things to eat without going to the store. Which meant no fresh fruit. Hmmm. I made a blackberry coffee cake streusel and a bundt cinnamon coffee cake as well as a hash brown bake. No going to the store also meant no paper plates (at least not sturdy enough ones to use)…no problem, I don’t mind doing dishes, and using real plates is always nicer than paper.

I was trying to clean stains off the couches, stains off the carpet and feeling bad for myself that I didn’t have all new-matching-beautiful-perfect furniture. I could quickly see everywhere the dog has been…but would I give up the dog? Definitely not. She is worth the stains and hair. Then, I quickly got a grip and realized none of those things are important.

The house looked so nice from midnight to about 10 minutes AFTER book club was over. I was very thankful for Cole - one of the BEST KIDS EVER - who was more than willing to stay up and help me clean. He even manually picked out leftover red M&Ms from the Christmas bags I stocked up on after the holiday when they went on sale (he did the same thing with candy DOTS! What a kid!). The red looked so cute in my valentine heart dishes and nobody knew how frugal I really was.

I had been at Kohl’s earlier that day and had a clearance banquet tablecloth in my hand for $19.99. Mind you, I have two white banquet tablecloths that I can’t seem to locate since our move. I searched. Don searched. No such luck. I put the purchase back on the shelf at Kohl’s and walked out empty handed. Even though I felt like I desperately needed that tablecloth. So, I went home and took a cream colored fabric shower curtain and washed it and laid it out on half the table. Then, I took another cream colored tablecloth I had (smaller than banquet) and put it over the other half. Then, I took a small square tablecloth my mother made for me and put it over the seam. I can honestly say that I doubt anybody even noticed and it looked so good! I really AM learning how to make do and it felt pretty good! Give it about 3 days and I’ll find my white banquet tablecloths somewhere…isn’t that how it always goes?!

When all was said and done, I was so happy with how everything looked and tasted and the company was the best of all. I learned a couple of things: 1) if you refrain from the impulse to buy something just because you think you need it, DON’T DO IT!!. You’ll feel better in the long run. You and your home can shine with what you already are or have. 2) Women who don’t care about those things, anyway, are the best friends to have. If anybody would have cared in the least, I really wouldn’t want to have them as a friend, anyway!!!

Today we went to Galveston. We were chilly. Not negative 7° F chilly, but cold nonetheless. When the wind blows off the ocean and it is 45° F, it gets pretty cold into your bones! We wandered and the kids found seashells. My Dad really seems to enjoy the ocean while my Mom stays as far away from the water as possible! The poodle even hit the sand for awhile but they quickly headed back to the car. Then we drove down Seawall Blvd. and ate for the 2nd time at Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant. We love eating there and looking out over the gulf. It is fun to watch huge ships pass by. We heard if you try the ferry (which is free), you can see dolphins swim along side - really?! Can’t wait to find out. We will definitely go back when it’s slightly warmer. We drove down the Strand but it was really getting rainy so we headed toward home.

On Saturday, we spent some time at the San Jacinto Monument and touring Battleship Texas and we thoroughly enjoyed that, too. The boys thought it was a gigantic jungle gym. I think it brought back Navy memories for my Dad. We are so glad we found out that if you buy a state park pass, it gets you a tour of the Battleship and into the monument area for free - otherwise an adult is $10 per ticket. It also gets you into any state park for a year - what a deal! We can also bring up to 15 friends for free each time we go. Afterwards, we drove to Joe’s Crab Shack in Kemah on the Boardwalk to celebrate Donnie’s birthday. What a fun, carnival, Coney Island type atmosphere! We plan to head back there on a sunnier day later this week. I’ll try to post more pics but I’m actual living faster than blogging, so it’s all good. Lots of catch-up to do once the parents head home. If you’d like to see more pics, you can click on any of the pics above and it should take you to our flickr account. If I don’t post again before January 1st - HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!!