Grandpa Tex is Oregon Bound...

Whew, what a hectic day. Mac had a field trip today and we left at 7:30 this morning. We went to the Franz bakery in downtown Portland and then to The Outback restaurant for some lunch. It was a great filed trip, but with a very large group of kids, it was a bit hectic! The kids seem a bit more rowdy than usual because Halloween is so close-

On another note, we got my Dad a ticket today to come visit us for Christmas! We are very excited that he is coming. He will be here for Christmas and New Years! We are planning a lot of fun stuff for while he is here.

Hope you all have a SPOOKY HALLOWEEN!

I will get pictures of the kids posted as soon as I can. Love ya all-

What Gives?

OK,

How can kids be mean sometimes at

the early age of 3 & 4?

Today was Lilly's Harvest party at school & she was sooo excited to wear her Thomas the Train costume. (she looked so stinkin cute, sorry no pictures at the moment)

Anyhow, we get there and all the other girls are Princesses. They walk up to her in a group and say "Ha, you are not a princess!" It was pretty rude and I was shocked. Lilly turns to me and just falls apart, crying "I want my princess"....it was awful. She has a princess dress, but she wears it for play and she wanted to be Thomas! Do I truly have to worry about "cliques" and not "fitting in" during the pre-school years?? Just a bummer. I had to leave Lilly there and go work at Mac's school. I called to check on her and was told she re-cooped after awhile. I was very proud of her for leaving Thomas on and moving on with her day. In fact, we went had ice cream after I picked her up-

PS: The Momma-Bear in me wants to call those gals "Lil' Brats"!!!

Lil' Miss Candy Corn Princess...

This is Lilly's Halloween dress she wore to Grandma Kathy's b-day party. She has been potty training & her treats have been candy corn. When we got this dress she screamed with excitement and shouted "Momma, potty treat!" and pointed to the candy corn on the dress! It was pretty funny! Anyhow, we went bowling for Kathy's b-day & she informed us all that she was a Candy Corn Princess! Bowling was a lot of fun & I must say Grandma Kathy is a pretty good darn bowler! However, Kelly kicked all our bums that night. Grandma Kathy assures us that she will not be defeated next time! Oh, by the way, doesn't Grandma look FABULOUS for being 29??
Aren't we all 29?

Whew...what a week!

We had a Pumpkin Carving Party! Some of the cousins came over & carved away-
the kids & adults had a good time!
We have been so busy. It has been over a week since my last blog. Geeze...time gets away from me. I am finally over the crud I had. It held on for awhile. Luckily, the kids & Pat stayed healthy. We are getting ready for Halloween Friday. The kids are very anxious! Mac is going to be a Ghost Pirate & Lilly is Thomas the Train. Pat and I are having a costume party on Saturday night, so we are dressing up too! I am trying to come up with some fun adult games & costume prizes. We have never hosted a Halloween party, so I am hoping we all have a great time! We have a pretty big group of people coming! I need to get thru this week first. It's nuts...the kids have parties at school, filed trips and Mac has football too-
Talk to ya all later!
Hope this very short video works- if not, at least I tried!

Sick? Not today....PLEASE!

So, I made it through my first art lesson yesterday! It took about 2 hours. I discussed an artist named Winslow Homer & we looked at pictures he created. The kids were a lot of fun and seemed to enjoy it. They all created their own masterpieces too! I found out their pictures will be put on display at the local Starbucks later this month! So Cool- I will post a picture of Mac's when it gets displayed. I had woke up yesterday with kind of a head cold and by the end of the day, I was hurtin...seems I have a head cold plus a touch of the flu?? Whatever it is, it sucks...gotta keep Pat & the kids from catching it!
We were planning on leaving tomorrow for LaPine, but not sure now if we will. I have not done a thing today...have zero energy. We do have Mac's conference at 6 this evening and I need to get Lilly to speech in a bit. Guess I will have to get out of my jammie's soon....darn'it! (it is almost noon!)
Talk to ya all later!

That's my Gal...

Okay, so this is Lilly's purse. (it is the only "girlie" thing she carries)
Most of the time it is filled with trains, cars and Handy Manny tools. (imagine that)
Anyhow, she came in to my room today with a very mischievous look on her face. (again, imagine that, Lilly, never.HA!) I asked her "what's in your purse today Lilly?" She just smiles really big & opens it up...what's it full of? Almost all the door stoppers to our interior doors!!! Where do they come up with these ideas? Now, I need to figure out where they all go, some are different lengths! Guess I'll be figuring this one out at about 11 tonight...

Off to a busy start...

Well, it is Tuesday already & we are off to a busy start this week. It is a short week for the kids at school, but not short for me!! Mac had a double header (football) game on Sunday afternoon that took all afternoon into early evening. The first game ended on very negative note with coaches & parents arguing/shouting in front of the kids. It was HORRIBLE!!! we did win fair & square, but our opponents didn't think so. There have been other teams that have had problems with this particular Coach, so I know it wasn't just us...but still, it's for the kids & he took the joy out of it....anyhow, enough about that. It was just very infuriating! Had a busy Monday, but nothing out of the norm. We did make brownies last night, as you can see....it's the kids favorite & Pat's too! I have been working the book fair at Mac's school & I am trying to prepare myself to teach an hour long art lesson to Mac's class tomorrow. I am bit freaked bcz I don't know a whole about art! But' I think it will all go ok. I have been studying up on what elements a painting or picture needs to have like foreground, background, focal point, a horizon etc. See... I already sound like an expert! LOL... it is part of a volunteer program that keeps art alive in the schools bcz so many programs have been cut due to low funds. so, guess it's a good thing. There is no school on Thursday or Friday, but we do have Mac's first teacher/parent conference on Thursday evening. I really like his teacher, she has a GREAT sense of humor. We plan on leaving Friday morning to go over to the cabin in LaPine and spend the weekend there. Mac also has NO SCHOOL on Monday! I cannot remember having that much time off from school when I was his age- anyhow, busy week. I am looking forward to LaPine trip. Hopefully there will be some snow to play in! I will definitely have pictures to post when we get back. Talk to ya all later! OH...one more thing, need some prayers for Pam Mills mother, Jerry. She is fighting breast cancer at the moment and has been in ICU with double pneumonia, plz pray for her to get enough strength back to get better. Thanks Much!

Pumpkin Patch Trip

Howdy! We went to a pumpkin patch today and had a blast. The theme was Alice in Wonderland. It wasn't as big as some we have been to in the past, but it was a lot of fun. We did the hayride, pony rides, kids palooza play area that had a dark hay maze, an open hay maze, a corn play box (Lilly's fav), a trike race, ball pit & more! We also did a pumpkin cat-a-polt...it was hilarious. You put a pumpkin in a big sling & shoot it as far as you can. We never hit the targets, but Lilly got really close! I also found a pumpkin that looks like...well, you can decide. I have posted a picture of it. We came home with 4 huge pumpkins too. I also have to add that they had the best caramel corn ever, I think most of you know that is one of my favs/weaknesses. Could live off that stuff! The weather was awesome...a first. It is usually raining when we go to the pumpkin patch. I even posted a picture of Mt. Hood, it was beautiful today!

In need of a bit more help, Please...

Hey,

I have gotten a lot done...big accomplishment for me. I do not get a long well with computers. Anyhow, need to figure out how to make my pictures bigger. They are timy compared to everyone else! Kelsey, you are a pro, so help me again when you get the chance! Thx...

HELP ME...

Ok, I give up & need some help...
How do I add my family members and the links to thier blogs on my home page? CANNOT figure it out! Kelsey, Tanya...plz, I need help! THX!!!

It's Potter Time....

OK, so my blog has been a LONG TIME coming....
we will see how well I can keep up with it.
I can never seem to find enough hours in the day...I am sure that sounds familiar to you all.

We have been crazy busy for, well, ALWAYS. Things seem to never slow down. We moved into our new house FINALLY. Have been in a little over 4wks now. In that short 4 weeks, we have started football, Mac has started at a new school & Lilly has started pre-school. I have had to try to get to know new moms & staff at each school, have become "team mom" for football, figure out new schedules for all of us, un-pack & try to decorate....I know, I am big whiner.

Overall, things have gone very well. Kids like their schools, Mac loves football & we all love having a new house.

Most of all, I am just surprised at how quickly time seems to be flying by. Mac is 7 now (will be 8 in DEC) & Miss Lilly is 3! Holy Heck, where does the time go?? JEEZ!!!! It's nuts. We have two NEW BABIES on the Griffis side of the family & when I see their cute little pictures, I wish mine were babes again. It just goes by way too fast.

Well, gotta get going. Still have to try to figure out some stuff for this blogging. Take care & keep in touch. Much luv to u all!

In His Grip- Laura