In attempt to brighten up your Monday, I present to you the 5th installment in one of my favorite annual posts. Here is "It's November", courtesy of my Hallie Claire.
November 2011
November 2012
November 2013
November 2014
November 2015
Slow down, Father Time.
I still can't watch the 2011 version of this video without tearing up. I miss that sweet, spicy, pleasantly precocious two-year-old…
Monday, November 9, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015
High Five for Friday (11.6.15)
Since last Friday's post was a Halloween costume flashback, this week's High Five for Friday post covers two weeks of high fives.
1. Two weekends back a group of friends and I drove to The Woodlands for a birthday party at the Kendra Scott jewelry store. Having only visited The Woodlands (one of the country's first - and supposedly finest - master-planned communities) once before, I enjoyed the opportunity to dine at a new restaurant and see a little more of what this area has to offer. The best part, however, was celebrating with my friends and shopping for jewelry while sipping champagne and indulging in perfectly decorated Kendra Scott cookies.
2. That same weekend my in-laws drove in from Nebraska for a visit. We had a full day of activity - driving to Houston for Will's two soccer games - planned for Saturday, but when heavy rains rolled into town those plans went out the window. Will was understandably bummed as he desperately wanted to show off his skills to Grandma and Grandpa (and I was a little disappointed too as I LOVE to watch Will play soccer), but the unexpected opportunity to sleep in, pick up "good" coffee from Panera, go shopping with my mother-in-law and Hallie, and play in the rain made up for it. Leisurely Saturdays are few and far between these days, and we took full advantage of this one!
3. We survived Halloween! Despite my best efforts to keep Halloween low-key, the holiday ALWAYS ends up stressing me out at least a little. I love it all, but between costumes, candy, pumpkins, pumpkin patch, cupcakes, two school parties (at least one of which I've always been responsible for planning and implementing), and friend parties, I usually feel pretty burned out by the time I turn off the front porch light at 8:30pm on Halloween. The lead-up to this year's Halloween was no exception, however each time a party or event - including trick-or-treating - rolled around, I found myself able to shut off the stress and enjoy myself. Look at me, I'm growing.
4. I headed out of town at the crack of dawn yesterday morning and won't return home until Sunday afternoon. To lend a hand in my absence (and because he wanted to visit, of course), my dad took a few days off and flew to College Station on Wednesday night. He's walking Will and Hallie to school; picking them up after school; taking them to karate, soccer, and (to a friend who will get Hallie ready for) Nutcracker rehearsal; helping with dinner and homework; and undoubtedly doing it all in a way Will and Hallie consider fantastically fun. Thanks, Grandpa Paul!
5. Happiness Highlights
Happy Friday, friends!
Linking up with High Five for Friday!
1. Two weekends back a group of friends and I drove to The Woodlands for a birthday party at the Kendra Scott jewelry store. Having only visited The Woodlands (one of the country's first - and supposedly finest - master-planned communities) once before, I enjoyed the opportunity to dine at a new restaurant and see a little more of what this area has to offer. The best part, however, was celebrating with my friends and shopping for jewelry while sipping champagne and indulging in perfectly decorated Kendra Scott cookies.
2. That same weekend my in-laws drove in from Nebraska for a visit. We had a full day of activity - driving to Houston for Will's two soccer games - planned for Saturday, but when heavy rains rolled into town those plans went out the window. Will was understandably bummed as he desperately wanted to show off his skills to Grandma and Grandpa (and I was a little disappointed too as I LOVE to watch Will play soccer), but the unexpected opportunity to sleep in, pick up "good" coffee from Panera, go shopping with my mother-in-law and Hallie, and play in the rain made up for it. Leisurely Saturdays are few and far between these days, and we took full advantage of this one!
3. We survived Halloween! Despite my best efforts to keep Halloween low-key, the holiday ALWAYS ends up stressing me out at least a little. I love it all, but between costumes, candy, pumpkins, pumpkin patch, cupcakes, two school parties (at least one of which I've always been responsible for planning and implementing), and friend parties, I usually feel pretty burned out by the time I turn off the front porch light at 8:30pm on Halloween. The lead-up to this year's Halloween was no exception, however each time a party or event - including trick-or-treating - rolled around, I found myself able to shut off the stress and enjoy myself. Look at me, I'm growing.
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| Hallie and one of her teachers at her Halloween party. |
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| Hallie and me at her Halloween party. |
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| I only made four dozen of my traditional Halloween cupcakes this year, down from seven dozen last year. It was a nice break! |
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| Mario and Luigi on Halloween Eve. |
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| Celebrating Halloween Eve in their pajamas. (Except Will, who stuck with his Mario costume until bedtime.) |
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| Ready to kick off the annual trick-or-treater competition between my parents, my sister and bro-in-law, and Tom and me. The trash talk began hours before trick-or-treaters started ringing doorbells. |
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| We won! |
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| Mario and Princess Peach |
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| Ahhh!!! Bowser! (To be clear, Hallie is in character, not sad like she usually is in family pictures. :)) |
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| And finally Yoshi joined the bunch. |
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| Tom worked really hard to accurately set up this photo. Apparently it'll make sense to those of you who played "old school" Super Mario Bros. |
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| And last but not least, all ready to go trick-or-treating with friends! |
4. I headed out of town at the crack of dawn yesterday morning and won't return home until Sunday afternoon. To lend a hand in my absence (and because he wanted to visit, of course), my dad took a few days off and flew to College Station on Wednesday night. He's walking Will and Hallie to school; picking them up after school; taking them to karate, soccer, and (to a friend who will get Hallie ready for) Nutcracker rehearsal; helping with dinner and homework; and undoubtedly doing it all in a way Will and Hallie consider fantastically fun. Thanks, Grandpa Paul!
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| Grandpa Paul, an accountant, also helped us refinance our house a couple of months ago and I'm not exaggerating when I say that we absolutely, positively could not have done it without him. When he arrived he found this trophy - filled with Butter Rum Lifesavers (his favorite) - waiting for him in the guest room. |
5. Happiness Highlights
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| Look at the size of her feet! Perhaps that's why I had to buy three new pairs of dance shoes and two new pairs of sneakers last month. |
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| Thanks to friends Natalie and Isaac, Will, Tom, Jax, and Isaac sat mid-field (and under the awning on that rainy day) for an Aggie soccer game last week. |
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| My in-laws brought me an early birthday gift: my all-time favorite cheese that we can't buy here. |
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| Sometimes he just sits like this. It's hilarious. |
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| My kids no longer ride in our Chariot stroller, but it still comes in handy. Last week I used it - filled it to the brim - to transport assorted Halloween party and fundraiser materials to school. Twice. People stared. |
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| The backdrop against which Hallie and I watched Will play soccer last week. |
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| And the view in the other direction. Not bad! |
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| On team jersey day, Hallie chose to wear her (size 3T) Hawkeye dress. I love that she threw her support in the Hawkeyes' direction, and now know that it's time for a new and slightly longer Hawkeye dress. |
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| In preparation for Mockingjay, Part 2 hitting theaters in less than three weeks, I've begun reading The Hunger Games series for the fifth (sixth?) time. I love it, which is obvious given the condition of the front cover of my book... |
Linking up with High Five for Friday!
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Where I'm Going, We Don't Need Air Conditioning
Tomorrow morning I board an airplane, bound for fall. My actual destination doesn't matter…all that matters is that where I'm headed, the trees look like this:
And the weather looks like this:
Granted, my travels will take me to a city and not these beautiful lakes in Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but I'm giddy none-the-less. Fall, here I come!
A special thanks to my father-in-law, Michael, and friend, Chelse, for sharing these pictures with me!
And the weather looks like this:
Granted, my travels will take me to a city and not these beautiful lakes in Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but I'm giddy none-the-less. Fall, here I come!
A special thanks to my father-in-law, Michael, and friend, Chelse, for sharing these pictures with me!
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Tuesday With Tux (11.3.15)
Trapped, Part 4
I walked past Will's room on the way to check on Hallie (I hadn't heard any noise coming from her room for at least 20 minutes, and such long stretches of silence worry me) and encountered this:
I asked Will what exactly he'd built, and he described this carefully constructed conglomeration of plastic tubs, fabric bins, books, binders, pillows, and his desk chair as "a fort for Tux". I thought for certain Tux would thank me for rescuing him, but when I dug my way through the pile I found him curled in a little ball under the chair.
Turns out Tux doesn't always mind being trapped.
I walked past Will's room on the way to check on Hallie (I hadn't heard any noise coming from her room for at least 20 minutes, and such long stretches of silence worry me) and encountered this:
I asked Will what exactly he'd built, and he described this carefully constructed conglomeration of plastic tubs, fabric bins, books, binders, pillows, and his desk chair as "a fort for Tux". I thought for certain Tux would thank me for rescuing him, but when I dug my way through the pile I found him curled in a little ball under the chair.
Turns out Tux doesn't always mind being trapped.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Texas Bucket List: Franklin Safari
My Texas Bucket List began taking shape shortly after we arrived in College Station. At first the list consisted of only a few touristy day trips and experiences (think Six Flags, Sea World, etc.) I'd thought of or heard about prior to our move. But as we made new friends, especially new friends who grew up in Texas, we learned from them about the lesser-known - at least to Midwesterners - but not-to-miss sights and sounds of the Lone Star State.
Each time I cross something off my Texas Bucket List I document it here, both because Chasing Roots serves as my Texas journal and because looking back on these posts and "watching" our love affair, if you will, with our now-home state unfold is a beautiful thing.
You can see my full Texas Bucket List here. Feel free to tell me what I'm missing!
Two years ago Will's first grade class went on a field trip to the Franklin Safari, but due to a prior commitment at Hallie's then-preschool, I couldn't chaperone this particular adventure. Though I felt badly about not being there for Will and to help his teachers manage their many first graders, when the day dawned dark and stormy I secretly breathed a sign of relief that I had (an indoor) somewhere else to be.
But then Will came home raving about the petting zoo, monkeys, play area, and bus ride to see - and feed - the safari animals and I decided to add visiting the Franklin Safari to my Texas Bucket List.
Fast forward two years…my now first grader's field trip to the Franklin Safari fit into my schedule, so I prepared myself to "be amazed" per Will's instructions. The field trip almost didn't happen because just like two years prior, the day dawned dark and stormy; thankfully the first grade teachers at the kids' school aren't afraid of a little rain!
My first impression upon pulling into the parking lot was one of apathy. Nothing about the property struck me as exotic (what I expected to see upon entering a safari) or even interesting. Except perhaps the smell, which was both exotic and interesting…and NOT in a good way.
The petting zoo housed goats, including two baby goats born the day prior, deer, and a baby ostrich with a mean streak as long as his skinny neck. I'm not an expert, but letting a feisty ostrich and 24-hour-old babies of any kind loose with 40 excited, rambunctious first graders seemed somewhat risky…and sure enough, at least a few adults and children experienced the ostrich's less-than-friendly greeting. (In all seriousness, that ostrich gave me the heebie jeebies. I avoided making eye contact with and kept as far away as possible from him after I saw him go after kids and adults alike.)
As has been the case for many years, Hallie is something of a goat whisperer. She spends most of her life operating at Volume and Energy Level 10, but when she approaches these animals she becomes unbelievably calm and they seem to know they can trust her.
After the petting zoo we moved to the enclosures. I felt uneasy standing just feet from the monkey, kangaroo, and porcupine cages as they appeared to have been constructed 50 years ago using a hodgepodge of materials and with no cohesive plan. It seemed as though some of the stronger, angrier animals, if they possessed or developed the ability to work together as a team, could probably find a way out.
The safari was earning a "D+" until we boarded the bus for our animal tour. And while I wouldn't rank bumping up and down in a hot, smelly school bus with 40 first graders and 10 adults high on my list of ways to spend an afternoon (motion sickness, anyone?), watching the animals up close was incredible.
The bus ride portion of our field trip to the safari made the day worthwhile, and bumped up my overall score for the experience up to a solid "B". I would consider returning if Tom ever wanted to take the animal tour, but beyond that I think it's safe to say we've crossed the safari off my Texas Bucket List for good.
Each time I cross something off my Texas Bucket List I document it here, both because Chasing Roots serves as my Texas journal and because looking back on these posts and "watching" our love affair, if you will, with our now-home state unfold is a beautiful thing.
You can see my full Texas Bucket List here. Feel free to tell me what I'm missing!
Two years ago Will's first grade class went on a field trip to the Franklin Safari, but due to a prior commitment at Hallie's then-preschool, I couldn't chaperone this particular adventure. Though I felt badly about not being there for Will and to help his teachers manage their many first graders, when the day dawned dark and stormy I secretly breathed a sign of relief that I had (an indoor) somewhere else to be.
But then Will came home raving about the petting zoo, monkeys, play area, and bus ride to see - and feed - the safari animals and I decided to add visiting the Franklin Safari to my Texas Bucket List.
Fast forward two years…my now first grader's field trip to the Franklin Safari fit into my schedule, so I prepared myself to "be amazed" per Will's instructions. The field trip almost didn't happen because just like two years prior, the day dawned dark and stormy; thankfully the first grade teachers at the kids' school aren't afraid of a little rain!
My first impression upon pulling into the parking lot was one of apathy. Nothing about the property struck me as exotic (what I expected to see upon entering a safari) or even interesting. Except perhaps the smell, which was both exotic and interesting…and NOT in a good way.
The petting zoo housed goats, including two baby goats born the day prior, deer, and a baby ostrich with a mean streak as long as his skinny neck. I'm not an expert, but letting a feisty ostrich and 24-hour-old babies of any kind loose with 40 excited, rambunctious first graders seemed somewhat risky…and sure enough, at least a few adults and children experienced the ostrich's less-than-friendly greeting. (In all seriousness, that ostrich gave me the heebie jeebies. I avoided making eye contact with and kept as far away as possible from him after I saw him go after kids and adults alike.)
As has been the case for many years, Hallie is something of a goat whisperer. She spends most of her life operating at Volume and Energy Level 10, but when she approaches these animals she becomes unbelievably calm and they seem to know they can trust her.
After the petting zoo we moved to the enclosures. I felt uneasy standing just feet from the monkey, kangaroo, and porcupine cages as they appeared to have been constructed 50 years ago using a hodgepodge of materials and with no cohesive plan. It seemed as though some of the stronger, angrier animals, if they possessed or developed the ability to work together as a team, could probably find a way out.
After lunch, the kids spent a while playing on the playground…if you could even call it that. The play area included only the equipment shown in the pictures below (the horse didn't move, and in order for kids to teeter totter an adult had to keep a foot on the base of the frame) and a set of monkey bars. Oh, it was situated right next to the snake house, which meant I steered clear.
The safari was earning a "D+" until we boarded the bus for our animal tour. And while I wouldn't rank bumping up and down in a hot, smelly school bus with 40 first graders and 10 adults high on my list of ways to spend an afternoon (motion sickness, anyone?), watching the animals up close was incredible.
I'll leave you with this picture of Hallie and her friend Jax, just because they're cuter than any of the safari animals. They smelled about the same as the safari animals by the end of the day though...
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