Halloween

It rained all night.  Audrey was so scared she ended up in our bedroom.  Let's just say there wasn't much sleeping going on between Paul's insomnia and Audrey's screaming.  

I was surprised to see that it continued to rain through the morning and into the afternoon.  In the morning our street looked like this (below).  It was even higher, but we didn't go out until the rain let up a little.  The kids in the neighborhood were having a blast.  I was wishing that we were cool enough to own a knee board.  

Audrey wanted to be in her costume first thing in the morning.  She wasn't going to waste any time.  She was supposed to be Rapunzel, but she changed her mind last minute an opted for her go to princess.  I couldn't argue.  She was so excited to get Cinderella hair.   She enjoyed splashing in puddles despite the dress.  How could I say no, it's not very often that you have a lake in your street.  

 After the water disappeared and Paul had worked on his car we decided to break out the bikes.  I'm determined to get Audrey to ride a bike.  I've seen kids zooming down the street on those strider bikes. We already had two bikes Audrey's size (long story) and I didn't want a third.  So I asked Paul to take the peddles and chain off of one of them so that Audrey could have a try at a strider bike.  She wasn't super comfortable at first but she gets better every day.  Paul got out on his BMX bike and was doing tricks.  Audrey saw all the excitement, so now she pretends to do tricks more than she tries to ride her bike.  She loves her Dad and wants to do everything he does.  Maybe someday she too will be riding BMX bikes.  I wouldn't put it past her.     

 In the evening we got her re-dressed and got the house ready for trick-or-treaters.  Next year I have big plans.  I love Halloween and I think the best part is scaring kids. Next year I'm going to be scary, this year I felt like I was so busy that I didn't have time to get everything I wanted.   

This year we had a strobe light and scary music and a Mr. Paul to answer the door.  I took Audrey around to the houses on our street.  She literally got a handful at every door.  Her bucket was full after one street.  I had to carry it home for her.  This Halloween was really one of the best ones.  We had such a good day.  The only down side was the mix of the time change and all the candy.  It should be illegal to have both exist in the same night.   

Bored

We're bored, and I'm not currently desperate enough to paint.  Maybe tomorrow...or maybe tonight. Singing is the best substitute.  I thought Audrey would sing with me.  She didn't really join in.  I sing this song to her often because it's currently one of my favorite Broadway songs.  

Photography

I love taking photos.  It makes me so happy to see the finished product.  These are some photos I took for a friend a couple weeks ago.  I love taking pictures of them.  They are so willing to let their personalities shine and be themselves.  It makes taking the pictures easy.  Congrats on your mission call Jonah!  Alaska is lucky to have you.  

Daddy Daughter Date

Paul has spent quite a bit of time away lately because of work. So he took Audrey out this morning for some much needed Daddy Daughter time.  They are buddies and she loves being with him.  I had to snap this picture before they left together.  

They went to Chick-fil-a for Audrey's favorite chicken and played in the play place.  Then Paul took her to Charming Charlie to look at accessories.  He must know her well because he told me she was so happy and they practically spent an entire hour there.   He asked her if she wanted to buy anything and she sad no, she just wanted to look.  

As they were leaving she excitedly told Paul that she loved being there, she said, "Daddy, they have all the kinds of things I like at this store.".  I would say we're in trouble, but I thought it was sweet that she didn't want to get anything.  I think more than anything she just wanted to be with him.  

Watching them together makes me the happiest girl in the world.   

Fall?

Fall has neglected us.  I'll be honest and say it's been less hot.  It was funny, I went to take Audrey to the dentist today.  I'm in my shorts and a t shirt.  As we're driving out of the neighborhood I spotted a couple of kids on their way to school with coats on.  I don't know if they know that it's hot outside.  

A week ago we were doing this (below).  I know your jealous!  Probably not.  I'm sitting here baking pumpkin bread hoping to be more inviting to mother nature so that she'll get the memo. 

I don't know if you know.....Fall has a smell.  I have such fond memories of living in Utah and riding my bike to my parents house during October.  Everyone's house was decorated, smell of Fall was in the air, and the leaves were turning colors.  Ahhhh.  I'm kind of missing it right now.  

I keep on having to remind myself that I don't have to deal with the freezing cold temperatures and the snow, that usually makes me feel better.  

Besides....we really enjoyed ourselves in the sprinkler.  Well Audrey did. I had an awesome time until I face planted into the grass.  Yeah.  I thought I was going to be a cool Mom and run and jump on the trampoline, then jump off and keep running (I don't know if I'm making sense).  Well it didn't really work out.  On the way off the trampoline my foot caught and I ended up with my face in the grass with a sprained toe.  Oh yeah.  I'm cool now....with a capital C!

The best part.  My own daughter just kept right on playing.  I turned around as I pulled myself up off of the ground and asked why she didn't ask if I was okay.  She shrugged.  I told her that she was supposed to come make me feel better like I do for her when she gets hurt.  She answered with, "I'm sorry Mom." and kept playing.  

Words cannot describe how much I love this munchkin.  Her need to be fancy all the time cracks me up.  Look at that crown, and in some pictures she has a sparkly bracelet on.  She was being Elsa with water powers.  Yes, here were in the south we have to settle for water powers.   Don't be jealous!  

San Antonio

Oh San Antonio how I love you!  I think you are beautiful.  Sometimes I wish my husband had a job here.  This was our second road trip of the month for another of Paul's business trips.  We spent a few days hanging out at the river walk while Paul had meetings all day again. It was so peaceful to take a walk next to the river with Audrey in the morning.  There was no one around except for a sweet older woman who offered to take a picture of me and Audrey.  I appreciated it because I'm usually the one behind the camera.   

After our walk we went back to the hotel room with nothing to do but watch Audrey's favorite Disney shows and eat lunch.  It was nice not to have anywhere to be, and not feel guilty that I wasn't doing something.  

After lunch we took another walk to the boat ride, where we climbed aboard for a tour around the river.  We learned all sorts of interesting facts about the buildings surrounding the river and the river itself.  

We had dinner that evening at The Rain Forest Cafe for the first time.  I had no idea what to expect.  They asked if we wanted to be sat next to the gorilla or the waterfall.  I asked Audrey what she wanted and she said she wanted to sit next to the gorilla.  Little did I know that there was a whole animatronics thing going on.  The gorilla actually came to LIFE!   With the sounds of hideous noises and grunts Audrey jumped out of her seat and into my lap in one bound.  She thought her nightmares were coming true. After the gorilla calmed down I thought that was the end of it, so I told Audrey it was okay, and she could go back to her seat.  15 minutes later he erupted again and she was back curled up in my lap with her hands over her eyes saying, "he's gonna get me Mom".  I moved her chair close to me and had her sit down.  I told her that he was a nice gorilla and he was just trying to talk to his friends across the restaurant so he had to talk really loud.  She seemed to be okay with that, except that she had to cover her eyes every time he turned back on.  Needless to say, now that I am informed as to the what goes on in that place, we will be sitting by the waterfall next time, or maybe the elephant.   The elephant seems safe.    

The next day I spent all morning trying to get a hold of my cousin.  She lives in San Antonio and I didn't want to miss her while I was there.  I finally got a hold of her and we spent the afternoon together.  We talked about our families, about our new houses, about life general, and about adoption.    I would say that the best part of our time here in San Antonio was getting to spend time with Cindy. She adopted one of her girls and has the most beautiful adoption story.  As she told me about it I couldn't help but tear up.  It was amazing to see how God's hand was so evident in her story.  I know he is guiding our story too and I can only hope that it ends as beautifully as hers. 
    

That evening Paul was finally done with his meetings and we got to spend the evening together.  I miss him!  As much as I have enjoyed being away, I'm glad that I get to see him more now that we're home.  

Vacation/Business Trip

Last month was so busy for us.  Between getting ourselves internet ready for the possibility of adoption and going on two business trips with Paul, we didn't have time to do much else.  Paul had three business trips during the month and after being alone for the first one I told him he couldn't leave without us again.  I'm glad we decided to join him.  When we arrived we got to enjoy the hotel pool, eat dinner, and ride the train together. The next day Paul spent all day in meetings and we spent the day enjoying ourselves on the boardwalk.  

Along the boardwalk there are a lot of theme park type rides. Audrey and I went on every ride that she was tall enough to go on.  Her favorite was the monkey ride. They take you up in the air and then drop you and then bring you back up again and drop you again several times.  It was the kid version so it wasn't terribly high, but it was pretty high for her.  We must have gone on it ten times. 

The best part was that it was on a week day and there really was no one there, so we could go on whatever ride we wanted whenever we wanted.   

For lunch we stopped into an Italian Pizza place which was so delicious.   If we had one down the street I might be in trouble.  We ate the whole pizza together and I didn't even feel bad about it.  

When 5:00 hit we were both smashed.  It was so hot and Audrey was practically begging me to go home.  Luckily Paul finished up with his meetings and we got in the car for the trip home.  Audrey slept the entire way.  

It was the best mini vacation ever!
The only bad part....I forgot my camera card.  Cell phone pictures....Yay!