The Pumpkin Patch

This is pictures and video from our trip to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Village. We have gone every year and enjoy the bounce houses, pony rides, hay ride, and snacks. We went this yoear in the middle of the week and it was nice to have it to ourselves. We also took Emily and Noah Adams with us. I also managed to get the video this year. Zach actually rode a pony! He is getting so big. Isabel just enjoyed being outside and running around. Dunkan took off with Emily and Noah and they spent most of their time in the bounce houses. I am way too frugal, so we actually drove down the road and bought pumpkins at wal-mart. Pathetic I know, but way cheaper!

Here is Zach riding a pony for the second time. The first time he did it by himself and the second with Emily. Isabel is also in the video walking around the pumpkin patch!

As you can see, we enjoyed ourselves very much. Hope you enjoyed the pics and video!

Birthday Bash Fun

So I am here to officially announce how terrible of a mother I am. Zazhary turned 3 in June and although we did sing him Happy Birthday, we didn't do much else. Time just slipped away from us. I jokingly said that by the time we got around to having a birthday party, we could just combine his with Isabel's party!

Well, here are the pictures from the COMBINED birthday party! LOL!

Isabel hugging her new baby

Isabel hugging her new bear

Showing off her new ball

Opening her birthday presents

Swinging fun!

Weeee!

Doesn't it look like fun!

Zachary opening his presents

Dad and the kiddos looking at a new gift

Zachary showing off his new boots

Isabel eating her birthday ice cream

The Aftermath... that's a lot of toys!

Zachary's Birthday cake- A horse!

Isabel's Birthday cake- A butterfly

As you can see, we had a great time. We used a pavillian at a local park and the kids ate, played on the playground, fed ducks, and fished. It was very enjoyable and we thoroughly enjoyed oursleves.

You are wearing pants?

So, it never occured to me how often I wear a skirt. I love them! They are cool in the summer, you wipe a child's face in the folds, you can drive with it hiked up, you can use it to sit on in the grass, and if you are supposed to be dressed up and forget, viola!

I do recognize that I own way more skirts than pants. Most of them are the freestyle hippie skirts. My mom jokes that if she hangs out with me too long she feels like she should be at woodstock. I take that as a compliment!

So Kristine, my back up doula and my doula for Isabel's birth, came over they other day. I had just gotten these great hiking pants. The kind that are khaki and loose and comfy. She comes in and stops and looks at me. Then she says, "Oh my gosh, I don't think I have ever seen you in pants!" I laugh and point out that they really aren't pants as they are so loose.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the weather got cool. I decided to break out a pair of jeans. I NEVER wear jeans. Way too restricting! LOL! I wore them to the park where we met up with some friends. My girlfriend said, "Wow, you are wearing pants! I don't think I have ever seen you wear pants!"

So now I seriously think I never wear pants! I decided that I love skirts, but I better start wearing pants again, at least once in awhile.

Now I am off to take of the jeans I am wearing and replace it with a skirt. I did my pants duty today!

The love of a brother and sister

This was at the birthday party we had for Zach and Izzy. She just randomly walked up to Zach and started loving on him and I actually had the camera! I just wish Dunkan had been there too.

What I didn't catch was that Izzy knocked Zach off balance and they toppled over and Zach landed on top of her. It was pretty funny, especially because Izzy didn't seem phased one bit.

My Handsome Hubby

I had to post a picture of Tom from the State Fair. He rarely lets me get any pics of him and when he does he makes faces. What a bum. Anyway, I caught this one and love it. Just had to share how cute he was!

State Fair- Part Two

Ok, here are the rest of the photos I promised! If you are wondering why there isn't very many of Dunkan, it is because he is too cool to hang out with us. No, actually, this year we went with friends who had other teens and we let them do their own thing. They had a blast and they didn't follow us around whining about having to go through Little Hands on the Farm once again.

So the pictures show us and the two other families we went with... the Browns and the Adams. Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

State Fair Part One- Is he really this big?

So we went to the Texas State Fair this Thursday. We go every year on the Homeschool Free day. Free... humph! Not exactly. You may get in free, but it costs a fortune! Ok.. that is another post.

I have so many photos that the majority are being put into a video. I am getting it done as quickly as possible. In the meantime I thought I would show you how big my baby boy has gotten.

This year was the first year he got to ride on any rides. In the past he was too little. He was very excited and took 10 minutes looking at each ride trying to decide which one he wanted to do. (Seriously, it was $4 a ride! He was only getting one.) So he was tossed between the race cars and the motorcycles and the race cars were cheaper so they won. Here is a quick little glimpse at his experience. Note: I was wearing Izzy on my hip, it was dark, crowded, and he was moving fast as I hung over the retaining wall... the pics aren't great quality!

Giving the guy his tickets... all by himself.

Walking towards his car.

Sitting with his friend Elsa and waiting for the ride to start.

Going around a corner... fast!

Whew! That was fun!

The really darling part was that Tom was really distraught. He was worried he would jump out, or freak out, while on the ride. He thought I should ride with him, but the frugal side of me came out and Zach got to ride alone... and he did great! I still can't believe he is this big.

Ok, more photos coming soon!

I am finally certified!

Well, I have had my doula practice for a few years and had completed all the requirements for my certification back in the beginning of 2006. However, I still had a lot of paperwork to fill out to make it happen. I put it off and put it off. I realized that my deadline was September 26th, so I quickly finished it up and shipped it off.

Well, they called me on Thursday to let me know that everything look great and I was officially certified! I was very excited.

I will admit, that it wasn't a huge deal to me to be certified. I didn't feel like any of my clients cared or that it would make a difference in the service I provided. However, with Tom teaching New Dad classes, there are times when they need someone certified to be present. I figured it was easiest for me to do it. Not only that, but I would be able to recieve referrals from the DONA organization.

So since Thursday, I have already gotten two calls! I figure that may end up being worth my time and moolah!

Lastly, a name change...

Elizabeth Boyce, CD(DONA)

YEAH! Had to share the exciting news!

Tom's Knee~ An update

Well, it seems to finally be improving. He went in this last Thursday to have the surgeon look at it again. He removed the stitches and said that it was looking significantly better. He is still taking the antibiotics and hopes they will kick the rest of this infection out.

He did ask the doctor about any concerns regarding staph infections. The doctor assurred him that his risk of serious illness was next to nothing as he was healthy and had a strong immune system. He said his was not the antibiotic resistant strain.

So I thought I would let everyone know. Maudy, I know you and Pops have been especially concerned. We'll keep you update of any changes.

Did I say flooding?

Well I meant it! I previously posted some pictures of the flooding at the park down the street. Well wait til you get a look at the ones from today! We had 3.80 inches of rain fall in 1.5 hours. The whole city was under water.

Take a look at these...

Now it is important to note that the worst flooding occurred at 8:30am. I took these pictures at 4:30pm. You can imagine how much water had drained away at this point.

I went out for a meeting at 11:30am and called Tom about the water. I was in shock. We really thought that a dam had broken or something. I never thought it was possible for this much flooding to occur from rain.

The really amazing thing though, is that the city was planned this way. Our parks and a golf course run the whole length of the city in the flood plains along the banks of the river. It means that no one loses a home during the flooding, but also serves to irrigate our parks so we don't waste precious water on fields of green grass. Brilliant, huh?

Once a Texan, always a Texan

A real Texan! Zachary goes to church in his suit... and red cowboy hat. He was not very happy when his "shotgun" as he calls it, had to stay in the car. There may be places in Texas where shotguns are welcome in church, but Plano isn't one of them!

Happy Birthday~ More pictures of the Birthday Girl

These are pictures of Izzy on her actual birthday in her Sunday dress. She looked so cute!

Upclose and beautiful!

Isabel is one year old!

I can't believe it. It goes so fast. My baby is one year old! It is bittersweet. I love that she has grown so big and yet, it makes me sad that my little sweet girl isn't so little anymore. Sigh.

Here she is all grown up eating her first ice cream bar...

And just a beautiful shot of her at the door...

In honor of her birthday, below is her birth video. Don't worry, I cropped and photoshoped. You won't see much more than a little extra skin! LOL!