&%*#ing Christmas Lights...

Christmas Lights.
I considered not doing them this year. It's such a pain. I spend half a day trying to get them to work, at least half a day hanging them and another entire day taking them down a month later.
But alas, when I pulled out the Christmas decorations, I remembered we hit the after-Christmas clearance lights last year and completely restocked. So they were there and I started the process.

It started out okay...just a few tangles, broken bulbs, etc...then came the tree from hell. I really like this tree, but I never realized it was made of thorns. I sacrificed my arms for the cause. "See Mason, Dad can get cut to hell and not cry', I tell him. It was a good learning experience I guess.

Then came the fire ants. Not sure when I stepped in the pile but they got me. I'm pretty used to that...but it doesn't make it any more fun.

Then...the straw that broke the camel's back...

We have two large pedestals on our porch that have large pots on them. We thought it would be cute to take the pots down and replace them with lighted Christmas trees. Without thinking, I grabbed the first pot, adjusted for the weight, and tipped it back. Before I knew it, a LARGE amount of mud and water came from the top of the pot and dumped directly on my head. I put the pot down...walked to the door, stripped down my clothes and I was done.

Status:
Lights are half up tonight...looks pretty stupid. Not sure if I'll finish this year or not.

Evidence:
Observe the second pot still on the pedestal. Observe the mud on the ground the fell on my head.

This picture doesn't really show the mud, but the next one does...
It's mostly in my hair.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rock and Roll Half Marathon - San Antonio

We spent the weekend in San Antonio so Jes could do the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. The final results were as follows:
Final time: 2:07:56
Overall place: 4,195 out of 20,021
Gender place: 2,567 out of 7,436
Pace: 9:46
5k: 26.59
10k: 53:45
15k: 1:25:28

Jes didn't make his goal time of under 2 hours; however, he is determined to do another one and get that goal time. Unfortunately, his legs began cramping around mile 9-10 and he really struggled the last few miles. Now that he knows the whole process (and that you are up for about 3 hours BEFORE the race even begins), he'll be more prepared for the next one!

Either way, it was really fun!

These pictures were of Jes around the 8 mile mark when we stopped to stretch and talk with us for a few minutes. It's hard to notice, but he has the name of his "sponsors" writen down his chest!

Jes sold to the highest bidder his miles for a donation to charity! He was able to raise $500.00 to give to the Austin Children's Center, a place that takes care of abused children. Thank you to the sponsors and here is your mile!

Don and Jessica Weaver - Mile 13 (Hardest mile)

HotSchedules - Mile 12

Dan and Kathy Scarbrough - Mile 11

Amber Carver and Family - Mile 10

Caden and Giana Cantu - Mile 9

Tim and Cheryl Strous - Mile 8

Ranee Bray - Mile 7

Jim Hinkle - Mile 6

The Green Family - Mile 5

Jeff and Vicki Springer - Mile 4

Wendy McVicker - Mile 3

Alyssa Barker - Mile 2

Grant Gadoci - Mile 1

Thank you for your donations!!!!!!

That's what he said

Mason was hanging out with Michelle, our nanny. Michelle told him this joke:
Why was 6 afraid of 7?
Cause 7 8 9!
Mason countered with this joke:
What do you get when you cross 6 and 7?
Michelle: I don't know, what?
Mason: I don't know either, but it's CRAZY!

Date Night!

Yesterday, we had a much needed date night after 5 weeks with three kids! It was great! We went to a nice restaurant in downtown Austin and then followed up with a show at Esthers Follies. This is on 6th street at Red River and it was GREAT entertainment! Well worth it for those who are looking for something to do in Austin. However, the shows were PG-13 at least, so keep that in mind!

Thanks for the great date night, it was fun!!!

Halloween Pictures

A posting all it's own! HAHAHA!!!

Because of popular demand (everyone was so excited to see Jes in the Bee costume) I have decided to dedicate a whole posting just to him, and all the different personalities his bee has!

The honey bee...

The psycho bee...

The tough guy bee...

And of course, the CREEPY bee...

Thanks for being such a great sport about wearing women's leggings honey! Your the greatest! (and I know you secretly loved all the laughs and attention!)

Halloween!

We went to a Halloween party at Jes' work tonight. The kids had fun dressing up and Trick-R-Treating around the offices... and we had fun dressing up too!

Mason with Ray, Jes' boss

One butterfly and one caterpillar coming up!

The infamous bee costume!!!


Tori ate at least 5 suckers in and hour and a half!!! I don't know who kept opening them for her. She would walk up to people and hand one to them and say THANK YOU! I guess she was too cute to resist, they had to open them for her!

It didn't take her long to get the hang of it! She soon realized people were giving her candy!

Mason was such a cute spider!

Trick or Treating to all the offices

We went to Trunk-R-Treat at the church Wednesday night. It was fun, but really hot and humid!

The whole family!

Victoria in her curlers getting ready for Trick-R-Treating!

Aryah, 4 weeks old today!

She is getting so big already! They grow up way to fast.

We had a lot of fun at the two parties we went to, so I think we might tell Mason Halloween is over and skip Trick-R-Treating tomorrow. We have so much candy now that it's insane, we REALLY don't need any more!