Oh yeah, it's FALL

The air is cool. The month is October. Let the games begin.

I say ROCK ON

September...full of birthdays, school, and rock and roll.

This is August's new guitar. That he got for FREE.


Somehow or another I managed to make it to quite a few shows in September. Here is August on his birthday. He had a show that night, and a fan brought him a dozen DELICIOUS cupcakes.

One of my favorite parts of the show is seeing August & Vic (the keyboard player) interact.

The next weekend, we went to the Sagebrush Cantina. This was an "all ages" show, so the family went and had dinner first.

So many of our friends attended, what a surprise!

Here are the girls....

Have I mentioned how much I love our school? Well, some teachers came out for the show. Here is Brooke with her Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Mac.

Here is Brooke with her 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Diehl.

and to complete the set, here is Brooke with her second grade teacher, Miss Davis!!!!! Can you believe this? Also, our favorite babysitter/member of our family, Emily came out, as did Stacy and Josh, Joddie and Brooke, and Cathy, her husband and her sister! Lots of friends.

Last weekend was a show at the local rock dive, Paladinos.

Woo hoo, I'm partying now! Stacy came to this show and took this funny picture.

September was full of fun...I still haven't posted about the first day of school or our fun trip to Big Bear, so stay tuned!

Did I ever tell you, you're my hero?

So.

This face right here is sometimes the face of trouble. Oh yeah. And when she gets in trouble, the only punishment that bothers her is the restriction from the use of electronics...TV, Nintendo, computer.

So when this happens, she has to entertain herself. Which she does, in a variety of fun and often messy ways.

Occasionally Samoa gets a little extra attention as a result.

Lots of kisses and hugs. And...

Well, sometimes a little humility thrown in for good measure. Although, to be honest, she didn't seem to mind the cape one bit.

Girls, Dolls, and a Scraptastic Cake

Pardon me for a few days while I play a little catch-up... Remember when this little girl turned seven on 9/07? And we went to Disneyland as a family? Well, in this house, birthdays might tend to last a bit longer than just the actual day... So, of course there was a party!



August and I took these 8 little girls to the American Girl Cafe.

They had lunch, and then they brought out the most beautiful-est cake you will ever see. My friend, Lori, loves this cake.

Here's another shot for you Lori. You have a birthday coming up! You could have Joey take you to the Cafe at the Galleria!

...

And seriously, the colors at this place will make for fabulous scrapbooking!

Papa & Beppe sent Brookie a gift certificate, and she was able to buy a new doll. And get her ears pierced. The dolls, that is.

...

Yes, they pierce dolls ears there.

Another birthday, another great party!!

Twelve Point Five

The preteen years are mysterious years. Children disappear into their rooms for hours at a time. One minute they are chatty and open, the next minute they are quiet and sullen.

Thank goodness for homework! Homework provided a little insight this week into the mind of the preteen living in our house.

Kennedy, age 12 1/2...My Favorite Things

"I have many favorite things. My favorite colors are red and purple. My favorite food is hard to decide, but it would probably be Italian food. My favorite bands are The Fray, Mayday Parade, and Regina Spektor, and my favorite songs are Daylight, Wake Up, Fidelity, and You Found Me. My favorite magical creatures are unicorns and leprechauns."

I fancy myself pretty hip...I dig the cool rock and roll music...I will crank it up loud... However, I have never heard of two of the three of her favorite bands. And I have no idea what songs those are that are her favorites.

Could it be? Am I old?

And when did LEPRECHAUNS, little creepy dudes in green, replace fairies?

Yes, twelve point five, 12 1/2 years old...mysterious. But beautiful. :)

Seven is the new...well, seven

Well I guess 7 doesn't look all that different from 6 today, does it? Teeth...still missing. Child...still little and cute. Excellent. If only we can keep it this way!

On Brooke's 7th birthday, we went to Disneyland. We spent the whole day there and we didn't try and talk her into riding a single thing she didn't want to ride! (Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean, Matterhorn) Wait, actually Kennedy may have tried to push her into the Matterhorn ride, but to no avail.

We had dinner at Ariel's Grotto where princesses roam about while you eat your dinner.

I think that's a pretty darn magical way to spend your 7th birthday!

For more photos of this totally fun day, click here.

Last Day to be Six

Take a look at this face. This face is six years old.

Tomorrow...she will be seven.

How I spent my birthday - 2009

I woke up to start the coffee and found the kitchen had been turned into a Birthday Wonderland.

I went to work.


I got flowers!




I came home from work and went to dinner with a few cute kids.

And a few cute men.

And a really good friend.

Did I mention cute men?

We ate at PF Changs, but I knew...all week long I knew...what I wanted for dessert.

Stefanie's Red Velvet Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.

Oh yeah.

At home, there were presents. Handmade by the girls...

If you ask Brooke, she will tell you my age even though I've asked her not to. She needs to learn that when people turn THIRTY, they might be sensitive because it's such a BIG number.

Silly girl.

Dallas...in August...you're kidding me, right?

Click here to view these pictures larger

We had a busy weekend, lots of visits in a short amount of time! We spent the weekend with Ken & Steph...they are fantastic hosts and have a variety of Wii games to keep the short people occupied!

We made several trips to the hospital to visit Dad, who is progressing so much. He has a long road ahead of him, but I know he has the drive. We spent one evening at their house with Alice, the kids swam in the pool, the grown-ups sat and talked. Ken, who is part kid/part grown-up, did a little of both. :)

We drove to the country to visit my mom and her two dogs. Oh how the girls love the dogs!

Sunday night, my friend Kim, who lives near my brother, drove over to visit for a short time. She and her daughter, Lauren, had been out back-to-school shopping all day. Lauren started school the very next morning! I don't see her nearly enough, it was good to see her again.

And, to top it all off, the weather was NOT BAD...for Texas in August! Although the visit was not necessarily "for fun", it was fun. It was fun to see family, it was fun to hang around Ken and Steph. It was fun to see the girls go all kooky for my mom's new little dog, Bo. It was fun to see my dad light up at the girls when they walked in his room and to see him play his own version of charades...knowing exactly what he wants. It was fun to see the girls play with their uncle and snuggle with their aunt.

Next time, I'll be bringing the husband. We'll be sure to visit family, fit in more friends, and have a lot of fun.

Still not cool with Texas in August. I know I just got lucky this time!