September

We did lots of fun science experiments.
Pictured here is our lava lamp and our balloon kebab.

Even though a couple of meets have been cancelled due to weather,
these two are having a great cross country season.

It has been raining almost non-stop this month,
but that hasn't kept us from having lots of fun!

I've had some pretty amazing early morning runs!

I encountered a bobcat in my alley.

Our resident bartender has put together some fun drinks. 

Weston went camping with his Scout troop in Broken Bow, OK.

The kids have played hours of Ticket to Ride.

Weston received four merit badges at the
Court of Honor ceremony for his troop.

We watched Forks Over Knives and became inspired
to experiment with a more plant-based diet.

This kid is reading more and more just for fun
(and I love the pure concentration on his face).

Many games of chess have been played. 

Many football games have been watched. 

This kid took on his first paying job.

We attended Homeschool Day at the Perot Museum

We also attended Homeschool Day at the Lego Discovery Center.

The boys worked on adding some wiring to our little barn.

I participated in two different book clubs.

Ruth got to spend a weekend at Airman Leadership School in Mineral Wells,
where she was awarded Honor Cadet for her character, enthusiasm and leadership,
 and where her flight gained the honor of Warrior Flight for 
exhibiting excellence throughout the weekend.

Jeff and the boys attended a Rangers game.

Clay worked on learning the sign language alphabet. 

Ruth earned the CAP rank of staff sergeant. 

This cutie lost his second tooth.

Ruth finally got the letter jacket she earned during track season.

Our kids became outraged when they realized that certain
books they love, including some they are currently
reading, have been banned at certain points in time.
Ironically, we discovered that our library was celebrating
Banned Books Week just after we encouraged the kids
to keep on reading the banned books. 

This enterprising kiddo volunteered to help sell
popcorn with his Cub Scout pack. 

Clay participated in the Cub Scout Raingutter Regatta and got 2nd place in his den.

Celebrating 20 Years

On the 22nd, Jeff and I hit a major milestone in our marriage: our 20th anniversary. This momentous occasion called for a grand celebration, so we took ourselves to an all-inclusive resort in Costa Rica for a week while my amazing mom stayed with the kids and got them to all their various activities. Costa Rica was a new country for us (country 43 to be exact), and we loved it! We spent most of our time relaxing at the resort and indulging in the wonderful food and beverages, walking on the beach, watching the local wildlife, participating in included activities, and visiting the spa. On our actual anniversary, we spent the day away from the resort, hiking in the rainforest at the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, which was amazing. I am including picture collages of the highlights of each day.

Jeff and I are proud of our marriage and the life we've built together. I'm so incredibly thankful that he chose me all those years ago and that we still have forever to look forward to! 

Day One:
A pic from the plane as we approached the coast;
A welcome drink;
All the desserts;
A walk on the beach;
The first of many iguana sightings;
Sunset on Playa Conchal

Day Two:
Iguana entertainment at breakfast;
A special towel animal;
An anniversary cake delivered to our room;
The most amazing sunset of the week;
Thatch-roofed restaurant;
Celebrating a few days early

Day Three:
A sunrise walk on the beach (after ordering off the After-Midnight room service menu at 4:30);
We found a little love on the rocky end of the beach;
Restaurant floral arrangement;
Two-toned squirrel busy in the tree outside our room;
Another awesome sunset;
Our first coati spotting

Day Four:
Our first time to see a calabash tree;
Pedicures at the spa (Jeff's first, and my first at a resort);
A howler monkey making his way across the resort grounds;
Spectacular views of the golf course;
Cocktail making class;
A poisonous yellow-bellied sea snake

Day Five:
One of the huge strangler fig trees in Rincón de la Vieja National Park;
20 years of adventure;
One of many Blue Morpho butterflies;
La Cangreja waterfall was our reward for hiking through the rainforest;
Turtle towel friend;
Sushi dinner at Bamboo

Day Six:
Sushi making class;
The chocolate bomb dessert at Catalinas;
Incredible night sky;
My happy place

Day Seven:
Our last walk on the beach;
A beautiful send-off;
The rainbow was an added bonus;
Wrapping up the trip with a spa package that included a massage, reflexology treatment, and manicure;
Palm tree in paradise;
The big daddy of all iguanas. Man, he was huge!);
Costa Rican coffee class;
Crème brûlée and a "French Kiss" last hoorah

Days when the kids were away

Almost accidentally, Jeff and I ended up childless for several days last week while the kids played with grandparents in the far reaches of Texas and Oklahoma. We made the most of our time and put together a brilliant staycation. On Tuesday, we headed to downtown Dallas, where we checked into the W hotel and then headed over to Happiest Hour for lunch. It was such a cool place, and we definitely want to go back sometime. From there, we braved the intense Texas heat and walked over to the Nasher Sculpture Center for some culture. After that, we went back to the hotel and spent several lazy hours lounging on the awesome pool deck, which has spectacular views of the city. Tuesday evening, we had dinner at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, a place we have always wanted to visit. We tried the tasting menu with wine pairings. The food was wonderful, the atmosphere was elegant, and it was an overall excellent experience!

W Dallas Victory

Happiest Hour

Nasher Sculpture Center 

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek

On Wednesday, we came back to Flower Mound in time for me to do my deliveries for Meals on Wheels. It was fun to have Jeff ride along, and I think he enjoyed getting to participate in an activity that is important to me. When the deliveries were done, we made a beeline for McKinney, where we had lunch and visited wineries and shopped around the historic square. Later, we had dinner at Sol and then visited Trader Joe's and Half-Price Books.

McKinney

On Thursday morning, we hopped up before the sun so we could meet our hot air balloon flight crew and check an item off our bucket list. Just as the sun was coming up, we became airborne and flew around for about an hour, enjoying the peace and beauty all around us. It was spectacular! And, with the whole day still before us, we then headed to Jeff's parents' house to pick up our younger boys, stopping for lunch at George's in Waco.

Hot air balloon flight

George's

We love hanging out with our kiddos, but we were definitely glad for a chance to spend some quality one-on-one time together enjoying some of the wonderful things DFW has to offer!

Girls' Weekend

Less than 36 hours after we arrived home from South America, I hopped in the car and headed down to Fredericksburg to meet up with my mom and sister for our first-ever Girls' Weekend. We had so much fun shopping, eating, visiting wineries, catching up, and laughing. I'm so thankful to have such wonderful women in my life!

Fiesta Winery

Lunch at Vaudeville's underground bistro

Samples at Quintessential Chocolates

Four Point Cellars

Pontotoc Winery

Dinner at Rathskeller

It was way too hot to hike, but we enjoyed the drive out to Enchanted Rock.

Celebrating National Ice Cream Day at Clear River

Exploring Santiago

We came down the mountain on Saturday evening, and everyone needed a day to recover from skiing, so we stuck close to the apartment yesterday and watched all the World Cup games, which was just as well since it was raining all day. Today, was lovely, though, and we were ready to get out and about and check out some of the city's offerings. We intended just to pass through the Constanera Center (a shopping mall) on our way to the Sky Constanera Tower, but we found a couple of stores we wanted to stop in on the way, including a really cool book store. 

Since the tower appeared to be closed to visitors today because of a holiday, we proceeded on to the Parque de las Esculturas (Sculpture Park) and then over to the Parque Metropolitano, which claims to be the largest urban park in Latin America. There, we had our picnic lunch, rode a cable car to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, tried the national drink of Chile (mote con huesillo), played at an amazing playground about halfway down the hill, and then hiked the rest of the way down the hill and back to our apartment. It was a great introduction to this great city, and we had a wonderful day! 

Antarctica Bookstore

Max stopped to inspect a travel agency's display,
noting that we've been to all these continents.

These boys always find a tree to climb!

Sky Constanera Tower from the Sculpture Park

Parque de los Esculturas

Climbing high with one of my monkeys at Parque Metropolitano

Seeing the city from the cable car as it ascends Cerro San Cristobal

National drink of Chile: Mote con Huesillo

Church at the top of Cerro San Cristobal

Santiago

Little boys love big equipment

The swinging Watts boys