Jello Skies

Every Friday Claire brings home a homework sheet with assignments for the next week.  There are usually 9 options, and she has to choose four.  This week (in October) her class was learning about the weather, and one of the homework options was to make "Jello Skies" - so obviously, it was a must do.

To make them, we first prepared a package of blue Jello (I think it was blueberry) and let it partially gel.  We then "raked" it with forks and layered it in small clear cups with Cool Whip - blue skies and fluffy white clouds.







We all enjoyed tasting the results - such a fun assignment!

Fall Family Hoedown!

Will's school held it's first Family Hoedown in October as a fundraiser and to give the school families a chance to socialize.  It was on a Sunday afternoon on the same weekend that we went to Dallas to go to the Fair, but the kids were really excited about it (Sno cones!  Pony rides!  Petting zoo! Bounce house!), so we made sure that we got back in time.  We had a lot of fun!

State Fair 2014

In October we made our annual trip to the Fair - love this family tradition!


Little Hands on the Farm - always a favorite:








The cutest baby goat ever


First ride of the day - Claire's choice!


Fletcher's!






Auto show




One last ride - and a LOT of laughs - to end the day!

20 Years

Class of 1994...how is it possible that was over 20 years ago?  In September, a few of my 23 classmates met up in Sterling City for our 20 year high school reunion.  Robert and I made a detour on our way to my family's land in Santa Anna.  We enjoyed the views of the hills, but the rattlesnake...not so much.

As we got close to Sterling City, the familiar landscapes made me feel somewhat nostalgic, but it was also interesting to see how different everything looked with the wind farm boom.  Love those open West Texas skies!

We met up with my old friends at the football game on Friday night.  It was my first time in the stadium, and in Sterling City, since our 10 year reunion.  The high school now plays 6 man football, and they were dominating the game - it was called at halftime - so we only saw a few minutes of the game.  Afterwards we hung out for awhile in one of the hotel rooms, just catching up.

The next morning Robert and I drove around the town.  This was Robert's first trip to my hometown, so he got to see the places of my childhood - our home, the streets where I rode my bike, friends' houses, my church, etc.  We met up with my classmates at the park for a picnic lunch, then went to watch my friend Jodi's girls play in their volleyball game.  After the game, the principal (who was also in school with us!) gave us a tour of the school.  I was surprised to see that some of my math team's plaques and trophies were still in the trophy case, and our class composite was still on the wall.

One of the highlights of the tour was the new ag complex, complete with a deer processing area that the students use to raise money for the program.  Welcome to small town West Texas!

Although there were only a few of us able to make it, I really enjoyed the time I was able to spend with each one of them.  We got to really talk and share some old memories as well as new ones.  I hope we do it again before another 10 years pass!

September Randoms (Part 2)

9/20 - Making food deliveries for Heart for the Neighborhood


9/22 - A special serenade for my birthday!


9/22 - While I was waiting on Claire to get ready for me to tuck her in, I caught this shot of Robert putting Will to bed.  Sweet moments.


9/25 - Family ice cream social at Will's school


9/30 - Will and I were shopping at Target, and I realized he was kicked back in the cart.  I asked him what he was doing, and he said "I'm just relaxing!"  Love him!

September Randoms (Part 1)

9/1 - We got outside to enjoy the beautiful weather by exploring another section of the Mission Reach trail.

9/3 - Claire's first day of gymnastics!

9/4 - Will's first day of Pre-K 3 at school!

9/4 - Will hosted a dinosaur party.  Dinos everywhere!

9/5 - Robert and I stopped for a sno cone.  This was a small.

9/6 - Birthday fun at Paige & Kate's house

9/15 - MOPS playdate at our neighborhood fire station.  The firefighters are always so friendly, and Will loves getting to explore the station and the trucks.

9/18 - Claire and Will asked if they could turn on the hose to water the plants.  It didn't take long for them to start watering each other.

St. Louis: The Rest of Our Trip

We had time to visit another site before lunch, so we went over the the Budweiser Brewery for a tour.  It was interesting to see their process, and the kids particularly enjoyed seeing some of the Budweiser Clydesdales.





At the end of the tour, we were directed to the Biergarten where we offered a full size sample.  I tried an apple wheat ale, and Claire thought it smelled really good.  She kept asking to sniff it.  :)



We ate lunch at a small taco joint, and then Grandmommy and Granddaddy Martin left to return to Herrin while we went back to the hotel to rest.  We spent some time just driving around, exploring St. Louis, and after dinner, we were all ready for a treat.  My friend Maria used to live in St. Louis, and she recommended visiting Ted Drewes.  It was hot, and the lines were long, but we enjoyed our custard!



We flew home on Sunday morning.  It was an uneventful trip, and we were glad we made it on time - we need to prepare for a family dinner and the first day of school!

Leaving the airport - guarding our bags while Daddy went to get the van!

St. Louis: The Arch

Saturday (August 23) in St. Louis - we woke up early and walked over to visit the Gateway Arch.  It was truly impressive.







Before we planned our trip, I didn't realize that you could travel to the top, so I was excited to find out that we would get to go for a ride.

Our pod


At the top


Will checking out the river


The sky was clear, and we had an amazing view!



The stadium, and our hotel (the Westin) was the brick building right behind it