"My Uncle Ben is a Hero!"

We wanted to wish a 'belated' WELCOME HOME to our friend/brother-in-law/uncle, Ben!

We thank you for the man you are...to your wife, your beautiful girls, your family, and your country. We are so happy to see you home and safe.

Riley is very proud of his uncle and when I explained to him Uncle Ben was home and where he had been, Riley wanted to wear his Junior AF shirt that Mel, Ben & the girls sent him, and show Uncle Ben his USAF planes.

That's an AWACS in his left hand, he's holding it upside down. He calls the radar something really cute, but I cannot think of it right now, darnit! He's very proud. He says he wants to ride on that 'special plane, just like Uncle Ben'.

Oktoberfest - Evening

Chris and I waiting outside, in front of all the 'action', waiting to meet up with everyone!

First thing we did was get our drink tickets, grab an 'Oktoberfest' beer from our local brewery stand, and get in line for some authentic German food! Of course we had to find a table so we could sit and enjoy our food like it deserved!

Can't beat Brats & German Potato Salad (they were already out of Kraut!)

And Chris is ALL DONE! lol

Cammie & Heather

Our friends (and neighbors) Cammie & James

This is MANY beers later that night!

Man, he was FAST!

We were having a BLAST!


ROCK ON, Chris!

"What? Is something on my head?"

Cock-a-doodle-doo

Ha ha ha ha!!! If only I could remember what was so funny!


What a way to end a great day celebrating the FALL season!!!

Oktoberfest will DEFINITELY be an annual event for ME from now on!

Oktoberfest - Morning

We had a blast at Oktoberfest this year!

We started the day around 11am and with Riley racing with beer kegs!

Chris and Riley taking a tour of an antique fire engine. Did you catch the department name?!?

Riley getting his air brush tattoo!

Riley chose the tattoo design, and they turned out really neat!

Danny, Xander & Steph got matching tattoos as well (they gave us the idea, actually). Aren't those paws cute?! (I took their family picture with Steph's camera, so I didn't get her)

They had a craft area set up for the kids...

And Riley painted a pumpkin!

Posing in front of the pretty, classic car on display



Ice Cream Break! It was getting hot!

Okay, I PROMISE Steph was there! I can't believe I didn't get any shots of her with my camera!

And of course, we couldn't miss a turn in the bounce house! Go Riley!


A shot of the kids dancing in their German attire, too cute!

Favorite Things...

To Do In The Fall:

Go to a Pumpkin Patch (hayride, mazes)

Watch Aggie Football

Decorate for Halloween (carve a pumpkin)

Play Outside & Enjoy the Weather (play in the leaves)

Wear Jeans

And starting a new tradition this year: Oktoberfest!!

How about you?!

Fun with Kids

I watched my nephew a couple of days this week and we just had fun playing around, so I thought I'd share some pics and video!

Chris and I also took Riley to our local performing arts center for a MAGIC SHOW! It was cute! A little 'above' Riley's head, more 'thinking' tricks than big illusions, but Diamond Jim was funny and entertaining. My favorite 'tricks' were creating a bowling ball from a pad of paper with a bowling ball drawn on it, and pulling fire out of his pocket (his money was burning a hole in his wallet lol).

This is a dinosaur costume/toy that Riley got for Christmas...the feet and the head make ROARING noises and he stomps around like a dinosaur!

Taking Xander out for his first spin the VIPER! Riley did well driving and Xander enjoyed the ride!






Black Vs. Red - Who will win the battle? LOL Too CUTE!

They had to check themselves out! (my dresser is in the garage in process of being sanded and stained a new color, so please forgive the mess! lol)

OH! And by the way, it looks like I'm going to be getting ANOTHER nephew! Danny and Steph had their sonogram this week and, as always, it's not 'for sure', but it 'looks that way'! LOL

Favorite Five

Not much has happened this week, as Riley has had a bit of a cold, so unbelievably I don't have anything to blog about. However, that means I get to start a new little 'series' on my blog that I've been meaning to try out for awhile now! They won't always be lists of 5 things or whatever, but I just thought it would be fun to get everyone commenting and sharing! Don't let me down!

I'll give my list and hope that those of you who read my nonsense will comment with your own!

We are going to start with:

FAVORITE FIVE KID SHOWS

SuperWhy (PBS Kids)

Word World (PBS Kids)

Imagination Movers (Disney)

Sid The Science Kids (PBS Kids)

The Goodnight Show (Sprout)

And luckily, he loves them too! There are sooo many more that he loves, but I think these are educational, fun, and each offers something a little different. These are obviously targeted for preschoolers, due to Riley's age.

So, let me know what YOU think!

Riley Reflections

Riley has a few 'adult' sayings he uses on a regular basis and I just think it's so cute! He'll tell me things like, "Mommy, I'm having a hard time getting my pants on." or "I'm having a hard time sleeping in my bed." A hard time? Where did he hear that?

Another one is, "Jake! All of the sudden you are my best friend!" or "All of the sudden Bailey just licked me on my knee!" Often, the use doesn't QUITE make sense, but it's still adorable.

One more that I can remember right now is, "Actually, I think I want cookies instead of green beans." or "Actually, I think I want to go outside." Once again, the use isn't always appropriate, but the look on his face when he says 'actually' is so serious and contemplative, I smile every time!

Riley was supposed to start his 'Futbolito' class last week (soccer skills for 3-4 year olds) and when we showed up, we found out it was cancelled. Apparently we should have been contacted months ago (we signed up for it in MAY) and we weren't. Needless to say, we were extremely disappointed (Riley had even practiced saying 'futbolito' to show the coaches ), but the employees at the city community center were nice enough to give us a soccer ball and free access to a racquetball court and we had a great time anyways.

We went to a birthday party for one of Riley's friends and he had a blast! It was a Star Wars party at McDonald's! They even got Light Sabors to take home!




He's also recently developed an 'affinity' for brochures...you know, those free trifolds you find EVERYWHERE! No matter where we are he spots them, wants them, takes them, and keeps them! He has so many that I had to lay out his collection and snap a shot!

Riley is singing some adorable songs he's learning from some dvds we have, I just love listening AND watching him sing them! Check out my video blog (link on the right) for videos of Riley singing, swinging that light sabor, and playing soccer!