Bubble, bubble--girls in trouble!

What happens when you put two little girls alone in a spa tub with access to bubbles? I got in just in time to turn the jets off and keep it from overflowing. Of course, I had to shoot a picture and them strictly tell them not to do it again (as I tried to keep a straight face)! Aren't kids fun!?

Early Halloween

Yes, I know it's not Halloween yet. Our neighbors had a costume party, so the kids got to deck out early. Brian and I went as the "mild mannered neighbors." I know, we are not adventurous!
Zach is at the age that he still wants to dress up, but it needs to be cool. Since his kooky mom has an aversion to masks, it really limits him at this age. I think he made a great choice, though. In case you can't read the fine print, F.C.I. stands for Forensic Crime Investigator (I'm guessing CSI is trademarked).
As usual, he looks like he's up to something! LOL
Kiersten chose the ever-famous Hannah Montana. I told her that there would be a million of them this year--she didn't care!
The bonus was that at least we didn't have to buy her a wig. I just straightened her hair and we were good to go!
Little Meghan has become infatuated with horses! She wants to be a horse rider more than anything! Her costume was not as easy to come by! Thanks to e-bay though, we were able to get her real jodhpurs, riding boots, helmet and even a belt with little silver horses all over it.
I think it turned out pretty good and she was thrilled! That's what matters, after all!
They had a little friend from thier soccer team, Jess, over for the night. Since it wasn't Halloween yet, she didn't have a costume. The girls did a great job improvising with thier dress-up clothes!

My first teaching gig!

Well, as of Monday, I am officially a substitute teacher for the Schertz-Cibolo school district. Tuesday I got a call to work at a junior high on Friday (tomorrow). I was giddy and celebrating, expecting this to be my first job. Well, little did I know that early Wednesday morning I would get a call for a same-day assignment. I taught 7th grade math all day yesterday to 5 different classes. Everyone, teachers and subs alike, warned me that junior high is the absolute worst! So, naturally, I was a bit apprehensive. I loved it!! I found that the military angle worked to my benefit. While introducing myself to my first class, I told them that I had just retired after spending 20 years in the Air Force. Promptly, there were rumbling about how strict I probably was and telling each other they had better be careful. I quickly realized how I could work this to my advantage. So I told the kids that although the military is what I am used to, I am confident that I wouldn't need to resort to military-like treatment of them because they were going to be so well behaved. They speedily responded with a lot of "yes, ma'ams" and "no, ma'ams," assuring me that there would be no need for that. After that, we got along fabulously and even joked around a bit. Surprisingly, I had several students ask if I would be there the next day saying they really enjoyed class. Who'd of figured!?

My kids took the bus home and were home just minutes before me. It worked out great! I was offered 2 different assignments today, but was holding book club at my house, so declined. This is the perfect set up for me--I am now looking forward to tomorrow's assignment!! It's at a different junior high, teaching social studies. I'm told that the students at this junior high are a little rougher around the edges than the one I taught at yesterday. I think I can handle it though! Wish me luck!!

Am I THAT old?!

Leave it to our children to remind us of our rapidly progressing years. As the girls and I were going for a "walk" around our neighborhood the other night (thier idea of a walk is on thier scooters), Kiersten asked me if I was as good on a scooter at her age as she is. I informed them that there weren't scooters when I was thier age. So both girls went on to question me about what there was. We ascertained the fact that, yes, there were roller skates (not blades), skateboards, and bicycles. At this point Meghan confidently stated, "But the bicycles were all rusty back then." WHAT?! Yes, Meghan, I am so old that even the bicycles started out rusty! Gotta love 'em!

Soccer

Yes, soccer season is in full swing again. Zach is a bit disappointed that he will, more than likely, miss the rest of the season due to his broken arm. On the bright side, we only have one game to go to on Saturdays. No more "divide and conquer." This was, obviously, taken before Zach broke his arm. He was home just after a game, relaxing.
The girls just off the field. They were short players on this game and had to play straight through--hence the red faces.

Celebration time! The girls have won every game--they are very competitive. Kiersten is number 2 and Meghan is the one you can see head-on.

Do they ever outgrow boxes?

Yes, we still have a few boxes that I'm slowly getting through. When I looked over the railing to find the girls in thier little box "fort," I couldn't help but shoot a picture. I really thought they had outgrown playing with boxes!
Little did I know that even thier 10 year-old brother has yet to be finished with the box infatuation. This was just a few days later when Brian was putting together a much-needed bookshelf in our bedroom. He finally got all the way in, but is hiding from the camera. Of course, his sister is trying to help me out. The other thing you can't see is that this one is fresh out of the shower and I'm not sure he is wearing anything but the box. Once again---boys!!

First broken bone

I guess we've been lucky up until now...Zach broke his first bone last week. Apparently he and the neighborhood boys like to play "tackle"-- only without a football. I guess he didn't see this one coming and landed on his hand with his arm bearing the weight of his body. It snapped his elbow. Ouch! He was quite the trooper--taking it so well, that we didn't even think it was broken for a while. That is until his elbow started seizing up, swelling (despite ice) and turning colors.
No, he didn't break his cast. I guess the swelling was so bad, they were concerned about it continuing and causing damage in the cast. So they split the cast after they put it on. Not to say he won't split it with all the skateboarding he's doing! When we tell him we don't think it's safe, he says it's all he can do right now and complains till we shrug our shoulders and walk away. Brian told him he'll really be unhappy if he breaks the other arm! Boys!!

Kiss This

Although my closest friend, Dawnie, doesn't live here--YET--it's great being near her family. Her mother, grandmother and brother are here and we're able to get together fairly regularly. They are just good people. Recently, her mother and I went to an Aaron Tippin concert. It was a benefit for wounded warriors coming home from Iraq. In addition to being fun and entertaining, it was very moving as there were severely wounded soldiers there with thier families. I only knew a handful of Aaron Tippin's songs (Kiss This is probably his most famous)--but he's a great performer!

The concert was also held at our favorite BBQ joint, so we were able to get great food on top of everything else!
As you can see, we had great seats! Talk about emotional--when he whipped out that flag guitar and dedicated songs to the soldiers, it was pretty cool!
And, yes, we met him afterwords. Not bad for a 50 year-old man! Just don't look at me--it was late and I wasn't feeling well, but I didn't pass up the chance to thank him for doing the show.
As you can see, LaDonna was feeling much better than I was. BTW--the shirt she's wearing is of the BBQ restaurant--it's AWESOME!

All in all, it was a great time. I'm so glad LaDonna asked me to go!