HALLOWEEN 2008

We have been celebrating Halloween for a couple of weeks now. We've attended lots of costume parties and a fantastic church fall festival last night!

Brent and I will be in South Bend, Indiana, for the actual day/weekend of Halloween....GO NOTRE DAME!
So, the kids will be trick or treating with grandparents and friends this weekend. We will miss the fun of Halloween night with them, but we've certainly been busy celebrating pre-Halloween nights with them!

Ashlan playing at the Fall Festival


Kate-nurse (although she could pass for a vet because she is holding Bismark)
Ashlan-Dorothy
Nick - his football practice uniform ( we made him dress up as something!)


The girls..


Before attending our first costume party.
Caesar and his Athenian Goddess


Brent striking a pose


Before attending a different costume party..
I wore a different Goddess dress for this party..


HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

North Carolina

This past weekend we traveled to Boone, North Carolina for my dad's annual family reunion. We had a FANTASTIC time! This is the time of year where the leaves change colors and the weather is comfortably cool. And for those two reasons alone, we spent almost the entire weekend outside! Ashlan is now determined to live in the mountains of North Carolina, and we couldn't agree with her more. I generally consider myself a city girl and have no desire to live outside of it, but every time I leave the mountains of Boone, NC, I long to go back. I've never lived there, but for some reason, I feel at home there...

We took some great pictures while we were there.
Check out how beautiful the pictures are with all the colorful leaves on the trees...



We happened to be driving down the road and came upon this RED tree. And with the vacant cabin in front of it, it was a picture perfect scene!





Like I mentioned above, we spent the entire weekend OUTSIDE. And here is what all we did...

Each visit, we buy homemade honey/jam from this nice lady that sells on the side of the road


A great picture moment at the Mast General Store


Playing in the park. Memomma, my sister, Ashlan, and I.


Brent did some horsing around himself...hanging from the tree.


Outside after the reunion


Ashlan and Daddy taking a walk and enjoying the beauty


Our cousins hosted a marshmallow roast for us! They have a beautiful house all alone at the top of a mountain!


And we did some hiking...


A couple of pictures from the reunion...

My dad and his older (and only) brother. His brother, my Uncle Bob, also married Brent and I.


Ashlan and my great aunt, Eulala. My dad's mother died when he was young, so Aunt Eulala is the closest reminder he has of his mother. Eulala is 92 and still going strong. She really is a beauty!


Dad and Eulala


I miss our extended family and the beauty of the mountains in Boone. I'm ready to go back!

Introducing.......

MORGAN VON BISMARK


Isn't he TOO CUTE for words?


We took a family outing with some friends to Canton, Texas on Sunday. Canton has an outdoor area called 'Dog Alley', which we thought would be fun for the kids to see. They have rows and rows of dogs, chickens, pigs, horses, turtles, cats...you name it, they probably have it! And all of these animals are for sale. We had a great time viewing all the animals until Brent spotted a little barn full of miniature Schnauzers. Brent has always loved Schnauzers, thinks they are the smartest, most loyal dogs around. He's had a couple in his lifetime, so he knows quite a bit about them. As for me, I've never found Schnauzers to be attractive in any sort of way. Sure, they might be smart, loyal dogs....but they look like old men with those bushy eyebrows and beard.....especially the gray colored schnauzers. So, you can imagine my reaction to the dogs when Brent spotted them and was begging to have one. We are NOT in the market for a dog and if so, I wouldn't get a Schnauzer.

We pulled Brent away from the dogs and continued on with our day. Lots of great shopping and eating......except for one thing. Brent kept whispering in my ear, "I want one of those miniature Schnauzers....Please!" He even got so bold to say, "If you let me get one of the schnauzers, I'll let us have another child!" WHAT? If we get a puppy, I'm definitely not having another child! Caring for a puppy is like caring for a NEWBORN!

I was shocked at how badly Brent wanted a puppy. We just had a large dog this summer, and sadly enough, that didn't work out. So why would he want a puppy? They chew everything, you have to potty train, the list is endless.... They are hardwork.
But then again, he was awfully cute!


So I gave in and we bought one. He's male, 8 weeks old, and weighs 4.7lbs. And he's NOT gray. He's black and white and the cutest little guy ever! Granted, he'll grow to be between 13-16 lbs, but we are enjoying his size right now. He's so much fun to hold, cuddle with, and play with....The kids are crazy about him! And he's even more so crazy about them!




I'm so glad Brent talked me into getting him. He's a handsome young man!


I'm probably having more fun with him than anyone. I even bought him a stroller so we can go on long walks and I can take him places with me! Oh, and as you can see, we are working on his wardrobe, as well!


So everyone, please welcome Morgan von Bismark to the world! And you can call him Bismark!

Fall Festival

This week our neighborhood had its annual Fall Festival. It's always a great time for the kids. Bounce houses, professional face painters, petting zoo, pony rides, a DJ, tons of games and prizes. They also have a Pumpkin Decorating Contest and a Chili Cook-off. The kids entered the pumpkin contest and Brent entered the chili cook-off.

Here are some pictures of the kids decorating their pumpkins the night before the festival







Kate made a bunny. It was sooo cute! Socks for ears and cotton balls for a tail! She won second place! Ashlan decorated the big pumpkin as a princess mommy and the little pumpkin as the baby


Nick decorated his pumpkin with musical notes and a violin


The highlight for Ashlan is always the pony rides!


Kate is the BEST at Limbo!


And of course there were some games for the adults! Tug of war being one of them! I'm in the light blue. And if you read the post below about the sunglasses I wear that do nothing but embarrass Nick - I have them on in the picture! By the way, our side won the game!


And of course the men had their game too. Brent's side didn't win though. He's in the navy/white striped shirt!


OH, I forgot to mention.... Brent tied for FIRST PLACE on the chili cook-off. He was SOOOO PROUD, as chili is his favorite thing to cook!

13 = Girls and Football

Most of you know that Nick turned 13 this summer, and boy have things changed since then. I guess, at 13, something clicked in his brain and he now cares about what he looks like, what he wears, how he smells. Although, when I think about it, this may all be because he is now interested in girls. Girls, girls, girls...
Here is what he does to impress the girls:
-he will ONLY wear Abercrombie, American Eagle, Aeropostle, and Hollister (Nick is now officially 'expensive'. From wearing $8 shirts from Target, $12 shirts from Old Navy to now requesting $35 shirts from American Eagle, $60 jeans from Abercrombie, etc.)
-he is obsessed with 'smells'. Before, when I took a trip to the grocery store, I had to BEG him to join me. Now he invites ME to go to the grocery store and he spends half an hour on the deodorant aisle smelling shower gels and deodorants. This kid wants to smell good, and it's about time!
-let's get to the topic of hair. I guess it's 'cool' to have shaggy, med length hair for boys. He had the whole shaggy, preppy, cool hair cut until he joined the football team this year. The coaches request the hair be cut around the ears and not covering them. This is really putting a cramp in Nick's idea of a 'cool' haircut. But if he wants to play football, then he's got to follow the rules.
-which moves me to the topic of football. Nick has never been too athletic. He has always enjoyed video games and reading. But like I mentioned earlier, turning 13 changed him in so many ways. He wanted to play football this year. Is it to impress the girls? Honestly, I think so. Before his game this week, he said to me, 'Ang, you know the one thing I don't like about football?, The coaches don't ever let us talk to the cheerleaders during the game, not even during halftime!" That statement from him confirmed my belief all along that football is simply to get the ladies attention.

Playing for attention or not, Nick is surprising us and doing fantastic at it! He stays after school every single day for 2 extra hours practicing. His games are so much fun! Brent LOVES watching Nick and cheering him on! In fact, during the game this week, Brent turned to me and said, "Do you think he'll want to play high school football? I really hope so. Wouldn't that be great?" We are just having so much fun going to his games and seeing the competitive side of Nick.
Here are some pictures below...

Nick is #61




Nick is #61 running onto the field


Now onto the topic of girls. Nick is constantly hinting that he has a girlfriend. Who is she? I don't know.
Here is our conversation:
(I think we've had this exact conversation about three different times at the dinner table)

Nick: Ang, you know I have a girlfriend right?

Ang: You do? That's great. What's her name?

Nick: Why would I tell you that?

Ang: Well, why would you not tell me?

Nick: Because then you'll go up to the school and try and find her.

Ang: Nick, I have no interest in doing that. I just want to know her name.

Nick: Well, I'm not going to tell you.

Ang: I've never known her to call here. Does she call you?

Nick: No, I tell her not too. I don't want ya'll answering the phone if she calls because you'll probably say something embarrassing about me.

Ang: Nick, I would never embarrass you, but I would like to know who your girlfriend is. Do YOU call HER?

Nick: Yes, but I only call her when you and Dad aren't home.

Ang: (laughing) Okay, that's fine. I don't mind if you call her but don't be calling too much. And I would really like to meet this girl one day. I promise I won't say or do anything to embarrass you.

Nick: You can't promise me that. That's what parents do - they embarrass their kids. You've embarrassed me plenty of times. You wear those big fat sunglasses when you pick me up from school. It makes you look like a fly. I told you not to wear those when you pick me up, but you still wear them. It's embarrassing!

*****So, this girlfriend remains a mystery! Does he really have one? Honestly, Brent and I don't think so. I think there are lots of little girls he likes, but there's no 'one' girlfriend in the picture YET!

Ahhh, the joys of a teenage boy in the house! But with all the chaos he loves to create and the disagreements he loves to have (and there are a lot of those!), he really is a joy! I just love this kid!