Little Blurb from Texas

Bit of news from Chelle and Family . . .
Siera's getting better with phone manners- she wants cell for birthday/ christmas.. think/guess it is about time. She will start track at school in the spring, has started feeding neighborhood pets for $ while they are on vacation... feeling a little more responsible even though she can't pick up her bathrobe from the floor- ah well. She rides her bike over there, and while it's not far, she's still out there by herself. She thinks she wants to do the short distance runs, and is considering all the extra jumping stuff. She was out on the trampoline yesterday practicing the hurdles move. Wish I'd had a camera on me, but was elbow deep in goldfish- ridden horsey water. Those suckers are fast! (had to empty the trough to move it- couldn't just dump it out without killing fish...)
We got new next door neighbors- a youngish family. They don't want Sugar in their backyard, (baby is not 2 yet.. and dad is a lawyer- thinks only in liability terms) so we're working to get her set up on our side only. We'll have to pull her up to the front shelter on COLD nights- which we've only had a couple of so far. She's been using the barn at the back corner of their property for shelter at night, but they want it for a play house- can't blame them :) It's pretty cool.
Will try to get pictures before she's out of there completely- asked for a week to get it emptied- she's got a ton of hay back there - likes to throw it around when she eats and grazes from all corners of her "plate". When she poos on it, she's done with that meal. Goofy old lady! But that's when we'll do a final clean, close the separating gate and let them know its all theirs. They seem to be outdoorsy types, girl 11 (shy), boy somewhere around 6-8 that rides his mini motorcycle around the front yard, and the baby boy- so they'll really enjoy the place.
Think..K got headhunted- not sure if I told you- away from the gas/electric company. He's back in the intel business working for another defense contractor. He's in a shirt and tie and occasional sport coat position- so tie shopping again soon. He's glad- more interesting work and they'll keep his security clearance up to date. He likes the folks he works with, and occasionally sees a few from the AF days. Retirement is good for him- think he prefers to be the boss. . . Familiar? We'll see what the new POTUS does for his line of work...
So glad this semester is almost over. My anatomy and physiology book is already up for sale on Amazon.com... need to find out what books I need for spring so can start shopping... refuse to pay UTSA bookstore prices... silliness. I've been able to stay almost even with purchase and sales on school books- very pleasing...
Love to all

Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family

Greetings from the East Coast.
Since we're only cooking for the four of us, I asked the kids to find a dessert that they'd like to have for Thanksgiving. After going through numerous cookbooks and magazines they finally came up with two. Cali opted to make a lemon tart and Gabriel made oreo cream filled cupcakes.
They each made their dessert with very little help from mom, and both turned out quite yummy. But the best part was that both Gabriel and Cali aided in the clean up efforts. I think we have just stumbled on a new Thanksgiving tradition! We wish you all the very best Thanksgiving Day.

Cole's Swimming Lessons

Cole took swimming lessons for the first time these past two weeks. He actually did pretty good. It was funny to see the difference between him and Caleb. Cole is so much like Tank and takes the same approach with swimming lessons as Tank would. He loved to float on his back and would just lay there all relaxed and mellow. (Remind you of anyone??) Then Caleb on the other hand was very good at the technique but did not like to get water in his face and would freak out a bit.(Anyone who was around for the younger years of me know where he gets that from!) By the end of the 2 weeks he was quite good with the back float we were so proud of him!! Good Job Cole!

Tank's Italy Trip

Tank made it back safe and sound from his trip to Italy. He had a great time seeing new sights and visiting some old ones. They had quite the experience in London, being stopped by the police 3 or 4 times not to mention getting a boot on the car. Rome was great they had a good time seeing the sights and visiting members from when they were on their mission. All in all it was totally worth the trip but he was nice enough to say next time he wanted me to go with him. Here is a little slide show of some of the sights! Enjoy!!

Our Halloween

I wanted to make this Halloween memorable, so we started our costume search early this year. Gabriel was determined to be Ironman, no question about it. Ironman or nothing. You would not believe how hard it is to find children's costumes size 12/14 that aren't terribly scary. After almost ten stores we finally found an Ironman size 12/14 . . . and then Gabriel saw all the cool accessories that came with the Batman costume. Deep breath . . . and relax. The picture tells the rest of the story.

Where Gabriel was determined to be Ironman until the last minute, Cali couldn't make up her mind. It was during this long tedious search for Ironman that Cali saw a pink sheriffs badge with pink guns and a holster, and she knew she wanted to be a cowgirl. I wondered if she would balk at switching out the toy guns for flowers, but in the end it didn't matter. We got so caught up in choosing material and making it, she simply forgot about the other.

I took them to the Children's Museum for some fun Halloween activites, then stopped at an outdoor mall to go store to store. We got home and they went to our house and then to our neighbors before they finally got the hang of it. Todd only got about 15 trick or treaters so we still have a ton of candy. I'm thinking most of it will be sent to Santa to redistribute into stockings.

Happy Birthday Mikey Sarah and Happy Halloween to all!