A Little Sleepy

When Luke is sleepy, he WILL sleep!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls!

Today Mami, the kids and I got the opportunity to go to

                               

                                  

Natalia wouldn't open the cotton candy until the show started!

Natalia's favorite part of the show.

Seven Motorcyclist in that ball - crazy, crazy, crazy!

The Human Rocket - crazy man, if you ask me!

Thank you Papi and Mami for the tickets. We had a great time!

Quality Time with Daddy

During evacuation, with a lot of time in our hands and no money in our pockets, we have been looking for things to do.  I'm glad Dave has been here with us though, because he can always have fun no matter the situation.  One day, he took them to Target (of all places) per Carson's request, I mean plea.  Carson has been asking for a costume for Halloween.  And no, this is not what they will be wearing for Halloween.  After all that nonsense, they went to EZ's to get a Cookies and Cream Milkshake!

For the last two days, he has been spending one on one time with each kid.  First up was Carson. Carson, being the big helper that he is, got to go with Daddy to Lowe's to look for some materials so that Dave could run a telephone line in my Dad's new store at the Market.  But, before work, they needed something to give them some energy.  They made a quick stop at Naddler's to enjoy a cookie.  Later, they went to the Market to work.  Carson really enjoyed his time with Daddy.

Carson had so much fun eating this cookie!  He thought it was funny how he was eating one body part at a time!  Leave it to a guy to find humor in that!  I guess that's what daddies are for.

Natalia had a hard time believing that she was not allowed to go with them.  "Ah, why can't I go? Why does Carson ALWAYS gets to go?"  Finally, somehow, we convinced her that it was going to be OKAY.  Later yesterday, she had the opportunity to spend a few hours with just Daddy.  They went to eat cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.  I think this was probably her favorite part!  Later, they went to the Apple Store.  She was able to play with their computers  for as long as her heart desired.  Didn't even have to share! 

 

I don't know, but I'm having a hard time figuring out if she is enjoying this White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Cheesecake!

Little Luke didn't get to spend time with Daddy yesterday, but he got his turn today.  First off, they went to Petco.  Believe it or not, my kids love this place.  Today in particular, Petco was the place to be.  Luke had the opportunity to pet a baby squirrel!  Then, they stopped by Coldstone to enjoy some ice-cream.  And to end their time together, they went to the airport to watch the airplanes take off and land.  When they came back home, I was even excited just by  listening to Luke tell me all about his time with Daddy.  I wish I would've taken a picture of him.  He had the biggest grin on his face and he was talking as fast as he could.  He was so excited! 

I am so proud of Dave for all these pictures he took and I'm also worried that he will gain 50 pounds after his one-on-one time with the kids.  

Post Ike

As soon as we woke up this morning, Dave was ready to go.  I'm telling you, this boy does not sit well.  He went to get breakfast tacos at his favorite place, Taco Cabana, at 6:00 a.m. and then he started getting ready for his trip back to Beaumont!  He went shopping for gas tanks, coolers, food, car phone charger and other survival items.  My cousin Adin and Adin's friend Brent, were kind enough to take Dave back to Beaumont.  It took them approximately 7 hours to get there, but thank God, they got there safely.  

We are so thankful to God that our house made it!  It also looks like the practice didn't receive a lot of damage either.  Of course, we will know more as the days go by.  

No pictures yet, but don't worry, as soon as I get my hands on some, I'll make sure and post them.

On another note...

While Dave was getting ready to go to Beaumont, Kim, Adin's wife, called me and invited us over to swim. We all had such a wonderful time!  We ate, swam, ate, jumped, ate, played and ate some more.  What a great day we had.   

Baking Cookies

Playing Wii

Ashlyn and Natalia working on a 500 piece puzzle

Running away from Ike!

Enough is enough. I was going a little crazy not knowing what we were going to do. Didn't know if we were going to stay or if we were going to evacuate to Dallas or San Antonio. We definitely didn't want to get stuck in traffic like we did three years ago, so we were a little reluctant to just pack up and go to San Antonio. Finally, on Thursday after having an "emergency planning meeting" (just an excuse to meet and have good food for lunch at Pho's Vietnamese Restaurant), sitting in Dave's office while he did a root canal, and then having a "follow up emergency meeting" (another excuse for some more good food and good company), we decided that we would evacuate to San Antonio at 4:30 a.m. the next morning. We tried to convince Matt to go to San Antonio with us, but he would have nothing to do with the idea. He decided to stay!

We left Beaumont on Friday at about 6:30 a.m. It was a great trip. No traffic at all. As soon as we got to SA, we dropped off the kids at my parents house. Dave and I escaped and had a quiet lunch at Freebirds! Oh, it was so nice. Although, Matt (kind of) ruined our day because we could not stop thinking, praying and talking about him. We constantly checked on him. Poor guy, he was probably sick and tired (that was for you, Elizabeth) of us calling and texting him, but we couldn't help it. We were too worried about him. Dave and Matt probably stopped texting at 11:30 p.m. or so and then Matt called at 5:00 a.m. the next day. Boy, were we glad to hear from him again. ~We are so thankful to God for keeping Matt safe! I'm telling you, next time, we are NOT leaving him there. No way!

Tracking Hurricane Ike

Dave and Natalia have been tracking hurricane Ike on a daily basis.  Natalia has been listening to us mention that we might be evacuating to Dallas.  After seeing where the hurricane is going, she asked (with a heavy East Texas accent), "Daddy, why are we going to Dallas?!"

Fashion Statement

Are you serious?  At only 4 years old, Carson has a very strong opinion on what he is NOT going to wear.  And he is definitely NOT wearing these shorts. 

I was wondering what the big deal was.  So, finally I got it out of him.  He said, "I just don't like the stripes!"  He reminds me of someone I know...could that be his daddy????

So, back to Children's Place I go.  I guess I can get him yet another pair of khaki shorts.