Happy Halloween!

I really love having an excuse to eat chocolate, don't you? We have a jam packed fun day ahead of us but I wanted to wish you all a Happy Halloween from Steve Smith, the NFL Carolina Panther football player and the sweetest "wadybug" in town. Ryan is such a little nonconformist that he chooses really random teams to be his favorite. Luckily he has a Grandma that loves him a lot to find him this costume. Thanks again Norma! Ally also LOVES her costume and it is so fun to see her act so girly. Body glitter...need i say more? I included pictures of the past 5 years of Halloween. Still hard to believe that Ryan is so big. Enjoy!

Ryan at 1 month, a FWCS bee

At 13 months he was a puppy dog...this costume really made me laugh, and still does when I see these pictures. So cute!


At 2 he was a Race Car Driver, we had to find a costume that was like "clothes".

Every year we Trick-or-Treat with the Weavers, our great friends and neighbors. Here's Ryan and Jake the pirate:)


3 years old- Michael Young, a Texas Ranger Baseball Player (see how specific my child is he's not just a baseball player)


Ally's first Halloween, precious 'lil punkin'

10 month Snow White

For year 4 Ryan was Jeff Gordon

Superman (Jake) and Jeff Gordon...trouble I tell you!

Ryan looks like he might bop sweet Wonder Woman (Brinley) on the head, surely not!!!!

FUN, FUN times!

Sweet playdate

We got to watch one of Ally's best friends this morning, Charley. He is just the sweetest little guy, and we love it when he comes to play. I decided to take them to our new gym the MAC, and they had a "ball"(I know I'm cheesy:). They were so funny. I walked on the walking track first and they must have run 2 miles each laughing the whole time. Then we went downstairs to play basketball, which was a HUGE hit! Here they are picking the perfect ball. They both had to try out several different ones to make their final decision.

Charley was really good at saying "cheese" for me...if only I had a real camera:)

Sheer joy having the perfect bouncy ball!!!

Ally come sit by me:)

Such little cuties.

Pickles and Ice Cream

This weekend my sister Caryn and I hosted a "cravings" baby shower for my sister Kacey at my house. Her great friend Katy also helped out with this precious little shower:) The theme was pickles and ice cream so everything was decorated in pink and green. We served salty and sweet treats and the food was a hit, even the platter of pickles was eaten! We had such a fun time seeing family friends and I always love getting to hang with Kacey's friends. Kacey is such a beautiful mom-to-be and she is going to be a fantastic mother. My children LOVE it when she comes to play. I am getting really excited to meet my sweet Lila. Nov. 30th can't get here soon enough!!!

The decorations

Precious Kacey

Lila's car seat cover which is so cute. Josh's grandmother, Blondie, made the trip from Shallowwater (near Lubbock)with Josh's mom. It was so nice to see them.

the grandmothers

The sisters

Sweet Ally in her Ice Cream Cone outfit. I'm pretty sure she had at least 30 jelly bellies that day!

"Behold, children are a gift from the Lord."

I've Been Tagged!

This is sort of hilarious because I was tagged by my friend Angie and my sister Caryn within days of each other so I guess I am really supposed to give seven random facts about myself. I know you're on pins and needles:) Here goes...

#1 I am a germ freak! I really get freaked out in the Doctors office or on airplanes thinking about all those people sneezing and coughing on me. I ALWAYS have this pink spring bloom purell in my car and I am trying really hard to not inflict this disorder on my children...not doing so hot with that by the way!

#2 I start almost every day with a hot cup of coffee. This is a new thing for me. When Ally was born she really didn't sleep at all for the first year so I started drinking coffee and then my friend Heather turned me on to 'Chock full of nuts' and I've never been the same:) I really look forward to this every morning...and boy can I tell if I skip this delicious treat!

#3 I will never, ever turn down a huge piece of Red Velvet Cake...my very favorite dessert.

#4 I am a huge fan of Rachel McAdams. I will see any movie that she's in and I just think that she's the best little actress ever. My Favorite movie is The Notebook.

#5 I just can't stay away from Williams Sonoma. I don't get to actually purchase much in there but if I ever fall into a large sum of money, I am buying that place up! I mean you can never have too many WS hand towels, spoonulas or spatulas right?!?

#6 When I was a freshman in High School I signed up for this gigantic Easter Bunny complete with stuffed basket from the Hallmark store in the mall. I won this ridiculous thing and that sort of started a little winning streak for me. I almost always win something at a raffle, BINGO, or a door prize. Maybe I should start playing the Lotto?? This is not the actual bunny, but he still resides at Honey and GP's house.

#7 A running joke with my husband is that I am a UTA Maverick. Whenever they're playing baseball or basketball Mark always asks me why I'm not cheering for my Alma mater? The truth is that yes, I did graduate for Texas Tech, with an English degree?? ( which is hilarious because I can't spell or write a grammatically correct sentence to save me life!!!) but then I went back to get certified to teach K-4Th from UTA, while we lived in Arlington

So here are the rules:

*Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

*Tell seven random facts about yourself on your blog

* Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs

*Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Just have fun, no stress!!! I am going to Tag: Mindy, Robin, Melissa, Katherine, Cari, Jenny and Kimberly. I know I am sort of a new blogger so if you have already done this fun activity so sorry, send me your facts! angwood1000@yahoo.com

Granny Liz

Late last Thursday night my sweet Granny Liz passed away. My family was so thankful that God showed His mercy and that she did not have to suffer long. She had breast and bone cancer for the last several years, and she was very active until the last couple weeks. Just six weeks ago she was in town and we had an awesome day together. As I am writing I am thinking about the last conversation we had last week. I asked her if she needed anything at all to make her more comfortable and she said that she wanted me to make her rum cake. She wanted to make sure someone could make this treasured dessert. I was so honored that she allowed me to use her recipe and I was also scared thinking that I wouldn't succeed. The cake turned out OK, and she ate every single bite:) She kept telling me how good it was and how proud of me she was. That is the way she lived her life, she was an encourager and she gave compliments freely. I am so thankful for the legacy that she has left for our family. An amazing woman. She put God first and then she knew how to enjoy life. I have such fond memories of her and they are almost all about living life to the fullest. She loved her garden, she loved to eat delicious food, she loved to dance, and she loved the lake.

My sisters and I basically lived at the lake every summer and we would almost always show up with several friends. She was such a gracious host and she truly was invested in my life and what was going on with me as well as those I was close to. We had a uniquely close relationship and she always shot me straight. She was an avid reader and in college she would send me a "clipping" a week. Mostly from the newspaper, some article she thought I would enjoy. I always thought that was so thoughtful that she would read something and then think...well, I bet Angie would like this. In some later envelopes in college she would include a $5 bill, for a coke:) I am really going to miss her.

We celebrated her life on Monday in Lubbock and my Dad did an incredible job officiating the service. He was so strong and got everything just the way she wanted it. My children were also amazing. I really felt like they were just covered in prayer because they made it through several exhausting days like little pros. When my Dad was praying the final prayer at her gravesite Ally said VERY loudly that "GP's sleepy, mommy GP's so sleepy" I guess because his eyes were shut during the prayer? Ryan also had some very interesting questions. I am amazed at how much his little 5 year old mind can grasp!!!! We explained to him that Granny Liz has passed away and that we would be going to Lubbock for the funeral. On the way to school on Friday he asked me, "How can Granny Liz be in Heaven and Lubbock?" and then the follow up question "Is Heaven in Lubbock?" So sweet and innocent and amazing are my children. Granny Liz would have really gotten a hoot out of these two at her service!!

I am so thankful to know that I will see her again. :)

What's Missing In This Picture???

Did you guess??? That's right, Ryan lost his very first tooth:). Here it is!!! It's soooo tiny. I honestly cannot believe that my child is old enough to lose his teeth. We worked so hard getting those suckers in!!! Sorry my pictures have been with my phone lately, a new camera is on the horizon.

I LOVE this picture of Ryan showing me his lost tooth. Tough guy.:)

Book Fair

Last night we got to go to the FWCS book fair and Ryan and Ally had a blast. They both really love looking at books and reading, so this was the perfect event for our family. Honey was there too so it was extra fun!! Ryan absolutely LOVES anything Star Wars related which is so interesting because he's never seen any of the movies, but he gravitates towards star wars any chance he gets. This in one of the books he picked out.

Honey gave Ally this cool lion that has a plastic cage like a purse...which she has been carrying nonstop.

Taking a ride on a lion

"I do it" too!!! We hear that a lot right now:)