Toad-aly Cool!

I know this will make Dana & Danielle cringe, but Molly caught her first toad! She always loves chasing the toads in our neighborhood and when she can't mange to catch one Daddy or I do it for her. One night after riding her bike she started chasing the toad in our backyard who always hangs out by our kitchen door. (Several times he's hopped right into the house when I've opened the door, so I have to catch him and remind him that he's an OUTSIDE toad) After a few attempts she finally caught him and could not have been more proud of herself!

Happy Birthday, Hayden!

On Satuday Molly's Best Star Wars Buddy, Hayden, celebrated his 4th birthday at a Clone Wars themed birthday party.

Now Molly wants to have a Star Wars party too... Actually she wants a Star Wars and Backyardigans party where a cowgirl brings out her birthday cake. Thank God we've got a couple of months to reason with her!

The Birthday Boy in Action Molly & JudeMolly & Daddy

Cake-faced Jude

Baby Lilah

A few weeks ago I went to Austin for Melanie's surprise baby shower, then thanks to Ike, I was back in town when Lilah was born!

We're Home!

We ended up being in Austin a lot longer than I thought! Molly and I left MiMi's on Saturday after living with her for 9 days. Molly was so upset and cried for about 15 minutes after we pulled out of the driveway. She kept begging to stay at MiMi's and managed to talk me into letting her sit on her favorite horse just one more time before we left.

I feel horrible saying it, but Molly and I had a great time while we were in Austin - poor Paul was home with no a/c driving all over Houston getting the stores back up and running while also working his regular job!

We made the most of our trip... we spent lots of fun time with MiMi - Molly got to play with the horses, feed them and even ate dinner in the barn with them one night. Melanie had her baby on Sunday, so I got to visit baby Lilah in the hospital when she was just a few hours old! We hit the San Marcos outlet mall, spent a day at Zilker Park, played at the Children's Museum, ate the best donuts at Lone Star Bakery, went in search of Round Rock's "round rock", visited MiMi at her bank, went to see the capitol building and had a fun lunch at the Hula Hut on Lake Austin. No wonder Molly was so sad to leave. Houston is sooo boring compared to Austin!

Eating dinner in the barn with Doc

Working the drive-thru at MiMi's bankLone Star Bakery's Round Rock donuts... YUM!!The round rock after which Round Rock, TX was namedMolly playing in the water at Zilker ParkSome tricky swinging at Zilker ParkMolly having the most difficult staring contest of her lifeMolly and her cousins, Lerra & Leyna Sassy-britches in front of the Capitol BuildingMolly & Montana

Hurricane Update

Looks like things went quite in our part of town considering what's being shown on the news. Power went out around 4:30am, Paul said we have one tree leaning on our neighbor's garage, one oak with the top snapped off, several sections of fence down and the pool is so full of pine needles that you could probably walk across it... not bad considering what we were expecting. Danielle's house survived with no major problems and so did the rest of our friends and neighbors. Some friends in Katy also made it without any issues. I haven't heard from anyone on 45South towards Galveston. Most of them evacuated and hopefully will be able to get back home tonight or tomorrow.

Paul has just headed out to see if he is able to drive to each store and check on them. Willowbrook has no leaks or flooding - we just lost 2 of the 3 signs on the building. Hopefully the rest of the stores fared as well. I'm anxious to hear about the Baybrook store since it's down south, towards Galveston.

Paul's dad is on his way to Anahuac right now, I'm doubting he'll make it since I've heard several parts of I-10 are under water. I am pretty nervous about what he'll find when he gets down there... might not be much left of his property. They had 102 mph winds and a 19 foot storm surge and he lives less than a half mile from the water.

Will post more details as I get news from home. Molly and I will probably be at Susie's for at least 2-3 more days depending on when our power is restored.

Take a Hike, Ike!

Nearly everyone in Houston is glued to the Weather Channel or http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ obsessively watching Ike's every move. I hope the storm keeps trending east, and spares Houston a direct hit.

Molly and I evacuated to Paul's mom's house while Paul has decided to stay in Houston hunkered down at the house (He doesn't want to be too far from the stores so that he can spring into action to get them up and running again when the storm passes). His dad is supposed to arrive at our house tomorrow morning since his area is under mandatory evacuation. I am glad Paul will have his dad (and his generator) to keep him company. I just wish we weren't in different cities - I know I am going to be a mess wondering how they are both doing while the storm rages through Houston.

Three years ago Hurricane Rita was headed our way and we spent the night at one of the Halloween stores with Ben, Danielle and Caden. Below is a picture from 2005 and one from this year. Danielle and I have found our new hurricane tradition!!

Please keep our family and friends and all those in Ike's path in your prayers as the hurricane heads inland.

Molly & Caden 2005

Molly & Caden 2008

First Day of School

This morning Molly appeared beside our bed wearing a big grin and the outfit we picked out last night. She told us she was ready for her first day of school. (She is always so excited when she wakes up before us and gets herself all dressed for the day) She went downstairs, turned on Noggin and patiently waited for us to wake up and get dressed.

"First Day of School" breakfast at IHOP Princess Leia from Ben on Molly's lunch boxDavis, Michael and MollyMolly was very ready for us to leave so she could start her day

Dana, Scotty and Robbie's visit!

Dana and the boys came to visit for the Labor Day weekend! We had a great time playing miniature golf, bowling, mastering tricks in the pool, trying on Halloween costumes and eating good Mexican food! The kids were great together despite the occasional squabble and screams of "MINE." They should have stayed through Monday, but thanks to Gustav, they took an early flight home Sunday night. The house was so boring and quiet after they left. We miss you guys!!

Girls in GreenWe call this trick "Big T"

Scotty doing "Big T"Jamie & Avery came over to play too!

We played so hard every day that the boys put themselves to bed at night!Scotty picked up a spare!We had to visit Daddy at one of the stores since he's never home this time of year.