November Highlights

Figured I'd better squeeze this one in since it's almost 2009!

November was a fun-filled month, starting with a trip home to TN for Audrey and I. My Uncle Fred and Aunt Karen were in town from CA and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them! I realized as I sat down to do this post that I don't have a single picture documenting that they were even there...oops.

We LOVED being home and as you'll see in the pictures below, we came at the perfect time to see fall colors. Our hearts ache to be home this time of year!

Your reward for reading all of the way to the bottom is some footage of Audrey going down the slide at the famous pumpkin patch on Signal Mountain. So what if the sign said "for kids age 3+"?! :)

Jeremy survived STS-126 splendidly, I on the other hand barely made it without him. :) We did get to eat Thanksgiving dinner together as a family though, so it was all good in the end!

Before we get to the pictures- a quick update on little miss Audrey! There isn't much that she's not saying these days...her latest favorites are "oh nooo," and "pretty." We went through a short phase where I could leave her unattended, but that is now over as she is climbing on everything. She also loves completely destroying her room (or any room, for that matter) as quickly as possible. Her current record for having every toy, book, diaper, etc. in the floor is about 15 seconds. I must mention, however, that she honestly gets cuter and funnier by the second!

The colors in Chattanooga were amazing!

Audrey had a blast at Coolidge park, as always.

The slide... (video at the end of this post!)

This slide isn't for sissies (or babies, but that didn't stop us).

Bubbles! She can't get enough of 'em.

Audrey lovvvvvvvvves Elmo, and can sing his song surprisingly well!

Checking out the "Black Friday" ads. She was looking for
Mickey Mouses and Elmos. She actually found several!

Misfit Thanksgiving 2008.
A few of us (3 couples, 5 kids) without family in Houston got together
and threw down enough food for 25 people. Thanks Reeders and Patmans!

Busted!

A preview of Christmas fun to come...

We'll leave you with a couple of short clips of Audrey and the slide. :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Attempt #1

Attempt #2

October Highlights

Is it really mid-November?! Where has 2008 gone?

We were hoping that October would be a slower month than it's predecessor, but after Jeremy's triathlon, our garage sale, the NKOTB concert (you didn't mis-read that), airshow weekend, birthday parties, Halloween, and Jeremy working a gazillion hours preparing for STS-126, October was just as crazy. But no natural disasters, so no complaints!

We blinked and Audrey transformed from a baby into a little girl. She has such a sweet, independent and fun-loving personality! Her favorite things these days are swinging, jumping on the couch, going to the library, saying at least 3 new words a day, and keeping mommy on her toes.

November should be fairly calm as Jeremy will be working STS-126 until Thanksgiving. If you happen to get the NASA channel, tune in during the late evenings and you just might see him working in Mission Control!

Enjoy the pics from October!

Mischief.


Jeremy and the boys after Try-Andy's-Tri.


Notice a theme here? And yes, she knows how to use the remote (scary).



My dear friend Kimberly who accompanied me to the NKOTB concert.


The concert was SO much fun!
Did I mention that our pastor was the one who bought me the tickets?!




She LOVES to swing!


Wings Over Houston Airshow- a.k.a. Wings Over the Owen House!




Audrey's first Prince and Princess party!



When she has disappeared and all is quiet, this is usually how I find her.


Stinkerbelle.




Grumpy Stinkerbelle and friends.
Only half of the kids from our small group are represented here! We're a fertile bunch. :)

Check back soon for November pics...
Lots of love to all!

A Month In Pictures...

Get comfy... this is a long one. :)

September started off with a detour to TN. Hurricane Gustav messed up our driving plans to Disney World, so we left a couple of days early and went to Chattanooga! It was a quick visit, but it's always so good to be home.

Audrey LOVED playing with Aspen...
and playing outside in the cool weather!

Audrey teaching Owen how to throw a perfect spiral...


On the 3rd the whole family (Grammy, Grandad, Nana, Papa, Greg, April, Autumn, Owen, Jeremy, Audrey and me) headed to WDW! This is us at our resort- All Star Movies. We were in the Mighty Duck building!

Swimmin!

Eating at Downtown Disney!

Hanging out at the Boardwalk...amazing sunset!
Our good friends Donny and Kim (and Hunter and Millie!) met us there and we had a blast!

Below are a few shots from our day at EPCOT. Btw, if you're wondering why there are so many pictures of us in restaurants, it's because we spent half of our trip eating! We took advantage of Disney's free dining promotion- which I can't recommend highly enough.

Dining with the princesses at Akershus in Norway (EPCOT).
Audrey wasn't a big fan...

This picture pretty much sums up Audrey's experience
at Biergarten in Germany.

And then there was breakfast at Chef Mickeys...
Audrey LOVED every single one of the characters!

I think she liked Donald the best... she even started an impromptu game of peekaboo with him! This moment made the entire trip! And my 30th birthday! :)

Dinner at Ohana! Autumn, Audrey and Owen...

A bit breezy on the ferry boat...

Hammock shot!

...And the last of the Disney pics-
this is Audrey's favorite souvenir from the trip.

We got home from Disney on Tuesday 9/9 and spent much of the following day watching the news related to hurricane Ike. Then on Thursday morning, our zipcode was included in the mandatory evacuation zone. SO, we booked it to Richard and Gabe's house in Dallas! All things considered, we had a total blast. Audrey loved hanging out with Jonathan (and playing in his car- see below), and we really enjoyed being with good friends.

And then on the following Monday we headed home...

...to find minimal damage, thankfully.

Many of the pine trees in our neighborhood suffered a similar fate as this one above...
And Audrey enjoyed helping us clean up the yard!

Our neighbor's tree, which fell away from the house- thankfully!
And what is left of our fence and tree limbs...

Our electricity was out for 4 days so we kept the headlamps handy...

Generator + giant blow-up play thing = tons 'o fun! Thanks Jamie!

No fence...New fence!

And just when we thought the fun was over...
Yesterday a tree trimming truck drove down our street with it's cherry-picker still up in the air, and it ripped our power lines in half. It was actually pretty scary- live electrical wires were all over the place and 4 firetrucks, 2 ambulances and 6 police cars blocked off our street. We didn't have power all day, but all is well now.

And finally...
We let Audrey have some chocolate ice cream, you know,
since this month has been so traumatic for her. :)

Hopefully October will be completely uneventful.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end, friends!
Lots of love to all!