hit the road jack

I figured out how to cure my head cold...

with rock n' roll and pure happiness.

introducing Tess's band
Tess and the Tipettes
wwaaaahhhooooooooaah!

My pride grew three sizes that day.

wwaaaahhhooooooooaah!

up hill both ways, an ode to Tess

What a sweetheart. Honestly there couldn't be anything better then picking Tess up from school with the scooters.

Here is my new favorite video of Tess.

This clip demonstrates the joy of being with her when she hasn't had her after school snack yet.

This girl is too much fun!

the natural state

Last weekend we buzzed up to Arkansas.

Anxious for some fall foliage, I quickly spotted something bright and beautiful that I have never seen anywhere else...

red velvet Twinkies.

I still can't believe it. In Arkansas, they have red velvet twinkies.

They are delicious.

Anyway, we stayed at this little place called Hawkins Ranch just outside Mena Arkansas. When I say little, I mean little, not much more then the famed Skousen tumble-weed Ranch in Delta Utah. But we did have...

this view,

a cabin with a metal roof and bunk beds,

(I wanted to take that wire deer silhouette home)

a hill to run down,

smooth rocks with a creek to skip them in and,

(Tom's snobbery is unbridled when it comes to rock skipping. Please, someone challenge him--I have fully disappointed him as competition for his elitist sport.)

horses to startle as we drove through their field on our way to the cabin.

We left Friday morning and managed to do all this,

and still make it back in time for Saturday night's Halloween carnival at our church.

Adelle was so tired she almost swallowed her tongue.

I LOVE road trips!!!

Finally,

it's time for...

sweaters, jackets and boots oh my!


visits with harry potter


hot baths and being easily amused with soap



and doing EVERYTHING outdoors!



Heat and humidity you have no power over us now!*

*until July

how to celebrate fall

make fudge



be beautiful



wear layers



cozy up with hand-made grandma love



pick up your six year old from school
in costume



share a carmeled apple with someone
you love

or eat most of it yourself



count pumkins



put too many chocolate chips
in your muffins



be sweet



have a red crush toast to your health



give yourself allergies



hone your spidy skills with a friend



forest gump a field or two



make a dog pillow

ooohhh Austin, don't you cry for me

If Tom and the girls were fed up with my domestic, maternal and spousal stumblings and they decided to trade me in for one of those hot, mail-order Russian brides, what would I do?

The answer is so clear...trucking.

I'd be a truck driver, or maybe a greyhound bus driver, whatever... as long as it involved the open road.

But luckily, my family adores my faults and my girls are excellent road trippers. So, not only do I get to keep my day job, but I get to take occasional long drives to satisfy the latent trucker in me.

The longing for Austin friends coupled with an unavoidable road trip itch lead us to Austin for a few days. Also Heidi was down in San Marcos (just south of Austin) for a job training week and I've gotten in the habit of following her around, so we really had to head south. I wanted to make sure Heidi had the appropriate amount of fun and I was excited about the fact that her employer had set her up in a posh hotel which we could stay in for free with unlimited Bravo viewing. What better way to celebrate looming economic crisis than a trip on the cheap. I'm sure Heidi regrets inviting Thing 1, 2 & 3 to her quite, tidy hotel but we loved being with her and can't wait to join her for her company retreat in Houston at the end of the month.



The girls and I had breakfast at one of our favorite spots...Magnolia Cafe. This place is cool. The waiters all look like those cool punk kids that work in Urban Outfitters but they aren't snobby and look at you like, "so where is yooour body piercing?....Get out!"

I had a cheese omelet with tasty salsita and a whole wheat buttermilk pancake with pecans baked in and buttery butter melted all over it. Tess had french toast with peanut butter and eggs and Deli had a whole wheat pancake with eggs.

Delicious! Delicious! Delicious!

The best part about Magnolia, not only is it cool and yummy, it's cheap--0ne huge breakfast there and your meals are covered for the day.

friends! friends! friends! friends!

Vienna, Kaleb, Maya, Caleb, Tess, Adelle, Grace, & Chloe



We had a great time being with all our friends. Just as we were getting ready to leave we were sucked in by the National Night Out party at our beloved Brackenridge apartments that we lived in for three years. This was a painful reminder of how life should be. People from all over the world hanging out having tofu hot dogs and chips. There were pony rides, a bounce house and live music on the same stage were we used to do our creative dance performances. I ran into some old friends and neighbors that I haven't seen for years. Some little girls that I used to teach dance to ran up and hugged me and all the sudden I was leaving Austin all over again. I had to call Tom for emotional support. I didn't regain my composure until my friend Nevy picked me up, carried me over to the hot dog tent and fed me.


The car ride home was full of conversations about change.
Tess wailing: "Why did we have to leave Austin? Why, when I get happy, do things have to change?" This led to a comprehensive discussion that included subjects such as, death, divorce, ice cream, fairies, and Florida.


It was nice to come home to Dallas to our wonderful friends here and enjoy a day of tag in the park.


Some things in life are constant, nothing makes you feel as good as...

a nice hair cut and

a sister that has decided (at least for today) you are her best friend.