We Love Visitors

We love visitors! We were lucky enough to have two sets of visitors during the month of October. First, Grandma and Papa Wallace came for a few days. Two weeks later, we got to spend some time with Sherrie, Taylor, Mackay, and baby Easton!

Grandma and Grandpa Wallace arrived and we greeted them with a house full of sick people. So instead of playing and shopping, Grandma spent her first full day here at the house while I ran kids to doctors appointments and picked up prescriptions. We did make up for it the next two days as we dragged the kids to the mall, Crate and Barrel, and The Container Store. (Shopping and eating-- that's all there is to do here!) Kelsie asked Grandma if she brought any of her delicious homemade bread with her. Being the awesome grandma that she is, she spent the evening making bread with Kelsie. I was excited to watch and learn too, and have even made a batch that was almost as good as Grandma's! Jackson was excited to have Grandma and Papa come to his soccer game. We warned them in advance that soccer to Jackson is merely a social event, but he proved us wrong and ended up having the game of his life! He even scored a goal! Chloe amazed us all by scooting across the floor. Now that she's mobile, she's trouble! As always, it was hard to say goodbye to Grandma and Papa, but we are looking forward to Christmas when we will visit them!

The Burton's came and stayed with us for a couple of days en route to Pensacola. Jackson and Mackay had a great time playing together and I was thrilled to finally see sweet little Easton. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to play around, since they had a 10-hour trip ahead of them. (with a 3-year old and a new baby--YIKES!) We did, however take them to the mall, where we conned Taylor into watching the little boys at the play area while Sherrie and I shopped! (It's an amazing mall, you could spend a whole day there!) We had a great time with the Burtons and were so glad they stopped in! Good luck in Florida!

Happy Halloween!

We had a wonderful Halloween here in Frisco. It is a little different trick-or-treating when it's warm outside. Growing up, we always had to wear our coats under our costumes and then we went home for hot apple cider. This year my kids were sweating in their long-sleeved costumes and were asking me why I didn't pack a water bottle! (I did, however, buy apple cider but we didn't drink it!)

This year was a first for us--no child was dressed as a Disney character. It made me kind of sad, but they still looked cute. Kelsie decided to go as a "Charm School Witch" but everybody called her Hermione. Jackson wanted to be the "evil spiderman." Chloe would have been a pumpkin, but slept through the whole trick-or-treating event. Trick-or-treating (or Halloweenering as Jackson calls it) was bountiful for us. We went halfway down our street and around a small loop and had to return because the kids couldn't carry their heavy buckets anymore. I have thoroughly "checked" their candy and now that I have eaten most of the chocolate, I have determined that the rest is just junk. I don't have the resolve to trash it just yet, so I've been giving it to the neighbor kids by the handfuls! (and then sending them home!)

Spiders, Glue Sticks, and Mr. T

It's hard to believe that it's already October. I sure miss the Fall in Utah. Leaves changing colors, temperatures cooling off, long sleeved shirts, hot chocolate, and the smell of the furnace kicking on for the first time. Instead, we have cooled off from 95 to 92. We are still running the air conditioner 24/7 and worst of all, there's no such thing as a break from yardwork around here! (No wonder so many people have landscapers!) One good thing about October in Texas is that there is no need for Halloween decorations. The freakishly large spiders here spin huge webs that go from tree to tree, making everything outside look naturally spooky. One such spider made its way into our house this past week and I discovered that when it comes to spiders, Wally is a sissy. If you ask him about the account, he will refer to himself as the "dragon slayer." But I don't think maiming a spider with a fly swatter and sucking it up with the vacuum cleaner really qualifies as slaying.

We've had a couple of busy weeks here. It was my turn to teach preschool this past week, and while we had a lot of fun, boy was I tired after they all went home! It didn't help that Jackson ended up getting sick on Monday (he's not a very easy sick person!) But Chloe was the biggest challenge to teaching. She wanted to be held and bounced and entertained every minute. At one point I decided to put her down in her crib and continue on with the lesson like nothing was wrong. Nothing gets past those preschoolers, though, and they all took turns pointing out to me "Your baby is screaming!"

Kelsie had to take two trips to the school nurse this past week. Once for a nose bleed and another time for a glue-stick injury. (Yes, that's right, a glue stick injury!) Apparently she snapped the lid onto the glue stick a little too close to her skin and actually cut herself! Poor thing-- it looked like it hurt, but when she told me how it happened, all I could do was laugh! I may have to become a lobbyist for tougher regulations in the glue stick industry!

Jackson's soccer games continue to be entertaining. At the last game I overheard one mom telling her son "You don't have to say 'Excuse me' when you want to get past the other kids." Jackson is out on the field purely for social reasons. He likes to hang out with his buddies and run around. Every once in a while the ball hits him, but other than that, he doesn't make much contact with the ball. But the good thing is he's having fun!

Chloe has started sleeping better now that we have finished re-painting her nursery and she doesn't have to room with us. She rolls all over the place and is trying to scoot now. She is definitely an independent little thing and growls at us when she doesn't get her way or wants more attention. She is starting to grow one little patch of hair on the top of her head and another patch of hair at the base of her head. Wally calls it the "Mr. T" look. Unfortunately, she no longer allows me to put a bow on her (she just eats it!).

Wally has started studying for the CPA exam and I am just trying to keep up with everything. Good thing the kids keep life so exciting and fun!

Fall Firsts

Since I have failed miserably at writing letters and responding to e-mails, I have decided to start a blog! Not only is this posting the very first one, it highlights some of our fall firsts.

First Day of School

Kelsie and Jackson were both very excited to start school this year! Kelsie started 2nd grade and is lucky enough to be in the same class as her "BFF" Olivia. Kelsie was chosen to be the first student of the week from her class and was honored at the Friday assembly. As an added bonus, the FC Dallas soccer team was at the assembly

Jackson started joy school this fall and is loving it (and so am I!) He goes three days a week and we rotate from house to house. He even gets to eat lunch at school, which makes him feel very grown-up!

First Soccer Game

This year Jackson was finally old enough to play soccer. We enrolled him in a soccer clinic this past summer and now he gets to play on a real team! His team is the Lions and he gets to play with his two best friends, Max and Jake. Their very first game was such a riot! On the first play of the game, the other team kicked the ball and drove it all the way down the field for a goal, while all the Lions stood there and watched. Before the game, their coach told them to stand on the white line. I guess they needed further instructions! Jackson scored a goal (or "gold" as he calls it) and had a great time! Jackson got a lot of playing time since half of the team was crying on the sidelines.

Being a "soccer mom" is a new experience for me! Between soccer practice, games, and Kelsie's dance and piano lessons, the kids keep me busy. But we love it and are really feeling like we are settled here in Texas.

Baby Firsts

Chloe is growing and changing so fast! She learned how to roll over this past weekend. Kelsie and Jackson applauded for her, which scared her and made her cry. She fooled us all into thinking that she is a perfect baby by sleeping through the night at the early age of 6 weeks. We think it was just a show she put on while we visited Utah, since she hasn't slept since we returned from our vacation! She has a lot of personality and loves to be at the center of attention. We all love and adore her! Jackson loves her a little too much and has already tried to share his goldfish crackers with her. I find myself holding her all day, not only because she is a mama's girl, but also for her own protection!

First (and Second) Home Improvements

We are finally putting paint on the walls in our house. I chose a "happy" shade of green for Chloe's nursery, which turned out to be a little too happy. Wally insists that it is just fine, but I am afraid that the intensity of the green will necessitate the wearing of sunglasses in her room. I told Wally that it would be impossible to sleep in that room and he replied that she doesn't sleep anyway. Good point. Needless to say, he will be repainting it next weekend. We also turned our guest room into an office (sorry guests!) and painted the office a creamy beige color called "Castle Stone." As it turns out, "castle stone" is another term for yellow. Wally had no problems repainting that one! With all of our ongoing painting projects our house currently looks like it has been hit by a tornado (Don't worry Mom-- it hasn't really been hit by a tornado!)