Prized Pupil

Lane spent his summer doing research on diabetes and today they had a contest. Each lab created a poster displaying their findings and had to present it and be involved in a question & answer with professors. Lane won! He got a blue ribbon & plaque. He also got a small cash prize & gets to fly somewhere for the national competition. He tries to downplay how smart he is all the time, but to me he's a genius. I'm so proud of him!

Dewberry Farms

This is our 2nd year to come to Dewberry Farms in Katy, TX. This time we got there while the sun was still out & we were able to walk through the pumpkin patch & pick our favorites. These were the 2 beauties we decided on. I really worked for these. We had to lug them 1/2 mile to the front to pay for them & then another 1/4 mile to put them in the car! They each weighed 25 pounds! We were all sweaty before we even got inside the place.

Most everything to do there is geared towards families with children, but did that stop us?...NO! We made the most of it for sure. This giant slide looks like a lot more fun than it really is. I expected to go faster.

This would have to be my favorite. It's called the human gerbil wheel & you can see why. We were laughing so hard as we were running inside this. Notice Lane stretched himself as far as he could go so he could spin completely upside down as it rolled.

Yes I made everyone stop & take a picture at this goofy farmer scene. I couldn't resist!

You can't tell, but we're actually sitting in a tiny barrel painted to look like an ear of corn. A tractor was pulling the train. Now this ride could have been pretty slow & boring, but Lane & Christian kept it lively for the entire ride with their hoots & hollers & throwing their hands in the air & eventually getting the rest of the riders to follow suit.

The last thing we did, I didn't get a picture of...the swings. It was the kind that swung them around in a circle. And they weren't really swings as much as they were a rope with a sand bag tied to it. We actually didn't ride them. We just observed for a long time. We felt kind of bad taking turns away from kids because there were only 4 swings. Towards the end, the boys both ran in & would swing the other kids who they didn't know around as fast as they could. This turned out to be the funniest thing I've ever witnessed. I've never seen so many kids fly off & one even knocked Lane off his feet! Every time some one would get off a swing, Lane & Christian would yell "OPEN BAG!" You could see everyone charge the swing. One time Christian grabbed it & this short chubby kid jumped on him! Ahh, good times!

Our Lives Published

My book is very basic. I could have put a picture on the front, but I didn't want to.

Excuse my fingers!

As you can see, there's different layouts to choose from.

Ever since Paige wrote about this website (blurb.com) she found that changes your blog into a book, I've been meaning to check it out. A couple of weeks ago I finally did. It's the coolest thing! I plan on making one for every year I have a blog. My 2007 book just arrived today & I've already read it cover to cover. It's so cute! I kept it pretty basic for my first time. Now that I got the hang of it, I know the next one will be even better. I love the idea of it. If you haven't looked into it, you should!

Problems

We've had a pretty stressful week & to top it all off, our car blew up. It's not as bad as it sounds. I went to get into the car & then turned it on & all of a sudden I heard BOOM! Then I start to see smoke coming out of the front left side of the hood. My first thought was, Oh no, did someone put a bomb in my car?? Then I was afraid to open the door in case that would trigger the car to explode. Don't ask me why I thought that could be a possibility. I have a wild imagination. I told Lane & when he opened the hood we saw the top part of the battery had popped off. So we had to call roadside assistance, which by the way is a very easy system to use! They came an hour later & towed our car to the dealership. Then this morning we drove our moped over there to get a rental. We opted for the Mazda 3. I have to say I like it! It has good get up & go. For a split second we thought about trading our Jeep in for one because we thought it would be half the price & half the gas. But when we looked it up on the internet, we discovered they're about the same price as the Jeep. So we'll stick with what we have for now.

Strange School

For my job I go into schools every day. Well this one particular school I found very interesting. As I was walking down the hall I see this life size cut out of Barack Obama. Hmmm...I thought. I kept walking & turned down another hall. On this wall they have paintings of different things. The last one was of Barack & his wife wearing pins that say vote. What? Are you serious? This school is totally biased! No where in sight is there a picture of McCain or even our PRESIDENT! Just Barack. For this sole reason, I hope Barack loses! That way they'll have to paint over his stupid picture. Now I don't care who you vote for, but schools should NOT influence that. First & foremost, they should have a picture of the president up before a presidential candidate. Second, they should paint over his wife & put McCain next to him. That way the kids KNOW there is someone else running. Ahh, I wanted to slap them all. Sheesh!

I HATE Rude People!

Right now my blood is boiling because of a rude person. Here's the story: I'm leaving Target & I'm driving in front of the store. I don't even have my foot on the accelerator, I'm just coasting because I know people cross the street leaving the store all the time. I see a man & his daughter about 15 feet in front of me & I slow down a little bit more & wave them across (being the good Samaritan that I am). Then, the shocker....I see this man start poppin off & gave me a bad look! What?! Are you kidding me?? I was totally being nice & you have the nerve to get an attitude? I don't think so! So after he's already passed he looks back at me with this mean look & I glare at him giving him the most disgusted look I could make. Oh I was mad! I was just praying that he'd come up to my window so I could give him a piece of my mind. Or even drive up next to me so we can finish it. I would have told him- "who do you think you are? Don't cop an attitude with me. You need to get that chip off your shoulder, thinking the world owes you something! And you're setting a bad example for your daughter & are going to create a brat who thinks she's above everyone else!" Oh I wish I had that chance...

Celebrations Galore!

October officially kicks off all holidays! That is why I'm so excited. On October 1st, I hung up my Halloween door sign, updated my blog to a Halloween background, and put out our pumpkin picture frame. I need to get more decorations! But from now until April I will be celebrating. There will always be something to look forward to. This is good for you readers, because this means I'll actually have more interesting posts!

3s

3 Joys:

1.My Family. I'm glad I live within traveling distance of our families. Makes life more pleasant.

2. My Friends. Most people go through life without a TRUE best friend. But I'm luckier than most because I have had 3!

3. The Dallas Cowboys. This is my favorite time of year because it's football season. I was just saying today that I don't like watching the game with people who aren't into it. It really bugs me for some reason.

3 Fears:

1. Scary things. I hate haunted houses, scary movies, people jumping out at me, anything of that nature. When I get scared, I get mad. Then I'm just angry. It's not a good thing.

2. Child birth. It's not that I don't want to have kids, I just don't want to go through the process. Reason being is that I'm afraid I'll die. I've always thought this way & as I get older, I get more scared. My dad always told me growing up that everything is mental. Now I'm afraid that I've believed this so much that it will actually come true.

3. Spiders in my car while I'm driving & am helpless. This exact thing happened to me one time when I was on the highway. I happened to notice a spider descending from the ceiling towards me. I try to lean out of the way & Lane swats at it & then I have no idea where it is & am freaking out. Not a good situation to be in during rush hour.

3 Goals:

1. Get back into the habit of exercising at least 3 times a week. I used to be so diligent back in the day & now I'm just lazy. I can't even will myself to do it.

2. Have more self control when I'm out to eat. When we're at home & eating dinner, I'm fine. But when we go to a restaurant, something comes over me. The food is so good I can't help but clean my plate! And I always order the worst thing on the menu because let's face it, when I go out to eat, I want something better than a salad.

3. Be more spiritual & all that entails. Every year I have this on my New Year's Resolutions list. Obviously I keep dropping the ball. Now I go to church every Sunday, but there are plenty more things I could be doing to make sure I'm where I need to be.

3 Obsessions:

1. Planning parties. I'm in the midst of planning 2 parties right now & I'm obsessed. They're all I think about!

2. Sweet things. Pretty much anything with sugar. I must have them in my house at all times, even when I'm trying to eat healthy. I never want to crack & not have anything to fall back on!

3. Fall TV. I have at least 1 show a day that I look forward to watching. It makes me so happy.

3 Facts:

1. I have the worst short term memory! This is the 2nd time I'm editing this post because I keep looking at others' blogs who did this & finding that I forgot a section.

2. I have a hot temper. I've gotten so much better since I've been married, but it's still there.

3. I love to celebrate. Whether it's a birthday, anniversary, any holiday, etc. There's always a reason to celebrate.

Ike Ike Baby

Ok I promise after this I will post no more about Ike, but Lane found this & I thought it was funny. It's to the tune of Ice Ice Baby...

All right stop, evacuate and listen

Ike is here with some big ambition

People, close your homes up tightly

It’s blowing like a hurricane daily and nightly

Where will it stop? Yo-I don't know

Turn off the lights and let’s go

To the coastline Ike rocks like a vandal

Start up the car and watch me drive like an animal

Dang, hardware store sales boom

Ike’s killing my plans like a poisonous mushroom

Deadly, evacuate they tell me

Anyone left will be charged with a felony

Love it or hate it, you better get away

Ike will hit the bull's eye, the storm don't play

If you’re on vacation, Yo, Ike stalled it

Check out the eye while the bands revolve it

Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby

Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby

Now that the people are jumpin’

With their stuff packed up and the gas done pumpin'

Quick to the road, to the road no fakin’

Pass McD’s get a burger with bacon

Burnin’ ‘em and follow the symbol

I go crazy when I hear some imbecile

Revving, in a souped up Pinto

Now I can roll, it's time to crack the window

Rollin’ in my Chevy Tahoe

With my window down, I can feel Ike blow

My laptop’s on standby, Waiting for some Wi-fi

This spot hot? No – and I gotta fly

Kept on pursuing to the next block

I busted a left and I'm beating the clock

The light was red

Yo -- so I continued to I-37 to San Antonio

Wish I was there in a blink like a jeanie

How I’d love to be sippin’ a martini

Jealous 'cause my girl’s living fine

She left yesterday and was there by nine

Ready to give my homies a call

My homies acting ill because their car just stalled

Humidity, the air is sticky as hell

Ike’s on his way, the weatherman yells

Moving toward the gulf coast real fast

I’m in my car, can’t give it no gas

Bumper to bumper the interstate’s packed

I'm trying to get away before Ike attacks

Police on the scene, what can it mean?

They hooked me up, now there’s another lane free

If you’re on vacation, Yo, Ike stalled it

Check out the eye while the bands revolve it

Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby

Hurricane Ike Ike Baby, Hurricane Ike Ike Baby

Twilight Lovers?

After hearing about a Twilight party my friend attended in Dallas, I have been inspired to throw one of my own down here! I'd like to do it maybe the weekend before the movie comes out. I already know of some girls that aren't on my blog that read them, but I'm posting this to find out who, of my blogger friends has read, is reading, or will read the series before then? I want to be sure to include you in all the action! Even if it may be a road trip for you, it would be so worth it! So let me know!

In the Meantime

Since we've been forced into a weeks vacation, we tried to make the most of it. I have to say we squeezed in so much stuff. We stayed in Whitney for 2 days with Lane's family. The picture above is of us on a walk. The area has some pretty cliffs. Then we headed to Arlington for the remainder of our stay. While we were there, we sat in on my mom's class for a while. I thought it was interesting to see how 5th graders act. They're so different from 2nd graders. Later that night Lane had his 1st experience with Rock Band. Now he's hooked. We also went to dinner with my parents & Lane's dad & Brenda. They only live 5 minutes away from us, so it's nice we can all get together. During the days we played a game of Putt Putt. I totally burned Lane by 6 strokes! I had no idea I was so great at miniature golf. But he repaid me by killing me in bowling. We played 4 games & I sucked it up in every one! We headed to Amy's for dinner one night. It was good to get to see everyone. I couldn't get over how great Amy's food was. I kept asking her how she made it because our food never turns out like that. I know she thought I was crazy. After all, it was grilled chicken. Later that night Lane & I played Trivial Pursuit with Mike & Regina. That game ended up being forever long, but it payed off because We Won!

Here we are after dinner. I don't know why Regina has this bright green rag in the picture!

Here's Mike & little Kelley! He never knows what to think of pictures.

No I'm not pregnant. I've just always been able to stick my stomach out so far that I "appear" pregnant. I've really always looked at it as a talent. Most people might be embarrassed. I on the other hand am proud! I've never met anyone else who could do it until Mike. No wonder we get along well.

How It Is

It's strange to think that Lane & I stayed during a hurricane. I didn't get any sleep! Lane on the other hand slept like a baby. There was a tree by our bedroom window that kept hitting it & made so much noise! So I took my pillow & headed for the couch. I didn't have much luck there either. Too much going on. So by the time morning rolled around I was exhausted. When we got up, we walked around the halls in our building. It was still pretty windy, rainy & really dark. A little later in the day, we surveyed the area & I couldn't believe how many trees had been torn out of the ground. That was my favorite quality of where we live! I was surprised at how much was torn up, that I didn't really see anyone's car damaged or windows broken (except for 1).

Below you can see that our streets were flooded. Since I had rain boots on, I waded through the disgusting water & poked around with a stick to find the drain. Once I found it, I worked for a while & unclogged it until FINALLY....

it looked like this! I have to say I was pretty impressed with myself.

Well after all that, we went back inside & just sat there in the heat & humidity! It was pretty miserable. We did have a little propane tank with a burner that Lane used to cook pizza rolls, which were fabulous!

We spent all day deciding what would be best to do. We finally decided that it would be a good idea to leave & stay with family until power comes back on. Who knows when that will be. They said it could be from 2-4 weeks! So now we're in Whitney, TX just hanging out! Hopefully it won't be too much longer until we can go back to normal.

Aftermath

Footage

These clips were taken at 7am the day after Ike hit.

Precautions

We decided to go to Lowes & pick up some boards for the windows after all.

Lane had to leave enough room at the bottom to get back in. Now our apartment is even darker than before!

It's 1pm & so far no rain & just a little wind. More to come!