Bringing Back Memories...

The grandparents were able to spend the weekend with us visiting with the kids at the school's annual "Grandparent Day" celebration. What a fun weekend for the kids. Lots of great time with both sets of grandparents, horseback riding lessons, and building a few memories (both old an new...). The grandparents decided to clean out their attic and brought with them a few boxes of old college textbooks - and my old BMX bike. That bike probably had 1,000 miles on it, jumped everything, and raced at the old "Texas Tornado" and "Armadillo Downs" when they were still operating. Thirty years later the bike needed some work. The little guy and I worked late Saturday night and a few hours today to get it back in riding condition. With a little over $60 (new tires, tubes, pedals) and a LOT of work, we got it up and running. We literally took every single part of the bike apart, cleaned it, and put it back together. Many of the moving parts were "frozen" due to non-use. We cleaned all the ball bearings, repacked them in new grease, adjusted the brakes, put on all the new parts, cleaned it and what do you know...it was as good as new! Many, many rides this afternoon around the block. It brought back some great memories, and allowed me to create new ones with my son. Great weekend!

Boo!

We had a great Halloween! The day started out at Tally Ho farms with a few horse riding competitions. Later that night the kids got all dressed up for a night trick-or-treating with friends on our street. They had a great time and brought home a TON of candy...way too much in fact! Here are a few pictures that capture the day!

McCain Family!

We had a great time with the McCain family last weekend! It was a full time job keeping up with the little guy but I think we managed to pull it off. I hope you all like the pictures - order is on the way but here is a sneak peak!

Galveston!

Just back from our annual trek to Galveston for the weekend. Last year we didn't make it due to Hurricane Ike but the kids wouldn't let it pass this year. After a countdown for the past 43 days by the kids - we finally made it. What a great time it was to spend with the family. Great accommodations at the Hotel Galvez and great food at restaurants Olympia and Yaga on the Strand. With the exception of an incredible attack by mosquitoes at dinner (which prompted us to have to move inside after at least 20 bites each...) we had a fabulous time.

A few of the highlights include:

• Two weddings taking place at the hotel (with late night, noisy parties to accompany!)
• Lots of sand castle building
• The coolest ever Crab Hotel (made of sand of course and to house our 15 crabs we caught, complete with a large crab claw placed on top)
• Burying of a large jellyfish - complete with shells in the shape of a cross on top
• A late night family walk along the beach and jetty
• A fabulous shell collection
• A walk along the Strand

Here are a few pictures that tell part of the story...

A very sad day with the loss of our Golden

Afternoon walks with mama...

Always loved to be pet...

Our regal Golden...

Providing a little comfort on the first day of school...

Hanging out with her buddy...

Playing "House"...

Friends love hugs!

A little dress up...

Always wanting to be with the kids - no matter what they were up to!

Needing a nap after all of the dress up and play time!

Tomorrow is never promised. Today we experienced the loss of our beloved Golden Retriever, Daisy. She was a great dog who loved being around family - especially the kids. Unfortunately Daisy got very ill sometime last night, and died today just before 2:00pm. We loved Daisy - she was part of our family. It will be tough to establish a new routine without her. The house is quieter. There is a part of our family missing. We will miss her. We will remember her for all of the joy she brought to our family.

Arden Adventure!

What a great time we had taking pictures of little Arden! She is growing up so fast and it was fun spending time with her while trying to capture her personality on film. You can see her big, beautiful, blue eyes and a little of personality in the images below. Here are a few of my favorites, enjoy!

Wow - 65 years of marriage!

It was great to spend the long Labor Day weekend with family. Grandparents, aunts, cousins, parents, sister and brother in law, along with all of our nieces. This was a special event - the 65th wedding anniversary of our grandparents! Married at ages 16 and 18 they have seen (and been through) quite a lot together. It was a special time for all of us and it is great to be able to get our family together so easily. Here are a few pictures to recap the weekend...

The McMillans...the happy couple after 65 years

All of the great-grandkids...

The oldest great-grandchild...

The oldest great-granddaughter with her great-grandfather...

Horses, Horses, Horses!

What craziness around here today...catching horses, cleaning, riding, cleaning, and then releasing the same horse back to pasture for the rest of the weekend. It is great to spend time with the family and animals. Learning a lot about taking care of horses - who knew?!?