SFA Road Trip

My family and my childhood friend/college roommate, Megan & her husband Brian, went on a road trip this weekend to the SFA game. We left on Saturday morning after a yummy breakfast at the Cotton Gin restaurant in Crandall. Here are the pictures from our fun trip!

Here is Caleb watching the game at the beginning. He didn't stay in this chair for long!

Megan & me
Brian & Megan
Me & Chris
Caleb & Mimi - Caleb refused to look at the camera. Such a little teenager already!
Chris took this picture, and I LOVE it! So funny! He caught them unaware. I love the angle and the looks on their faces as they're watching the game.
Poppy, Mimi & Caleb all saying "Axe 'em Jacks!"
The SFA water tower. I love the trees!
The new scoreboard...at least since we were there. Everything is much nicer than it was when we were there. They've done a LOT of work on the campus in six years. Plus there were a TON of new restaurants and businesses around town that weren't there before.
The SFA Stadium & the game
The other scoreboard & the new SFA bushes in the stadium.

Caleb watching the game through binoculars.
What a silly boy!
He had to play with them for most of the game. He loved being able to see people up close. And we all had fun making faces at him! Sorry to the people sitting in the row in front of us. I know you got kicked a million times as he walked by and sat in our laps. I'm really sorry!
Caleb watching the halftime show. He LOVED the band!
The band. Ahhh, memories!

More of the band.
Caleb finally had enough of staying in a tight spot, so Chris took him to play over on the grass near the end of the game. This was a sweet picture Megan took for me of them laying by each other on the grass. Chris' hand is blurry, but otherwise it is a good picture.
We stayed at a hotel in Lufkin after the game, and the next morning, Caleb played with Mim's shower cap. He always has to make sure everyone gets in on the fun!
Caleb in the shower cap!
The game was great! SFA was winning most of the game. SD came back after halftime and then they kept scoring right after each other. SFA lost the game on the last play, so it made for a very exciting game! We had a great trip and lots of fun!

Chocolate Animals

Over Labor Day weekend, Caleb starting calling all brown animals (cows, horses, goats, etc.) that he sees on the side of the road "Chocolate Animals." I thought this might just be a one time occurance, but nope! He says it everytime we see these animals! The funny thing is, the kid knows his colors. He just likes calling them "Chocolate Animals" better!

Seeing Yourself Through Others' Eyes

Don't you wish you knew how other people see you? I sure do!

I have impressions of everyone. First impressions, impressions of acquaintances that I don't really know all that well, and impressions of all my friends.

The other day, I started thinking to myself, "I wonder how other people see me."
What are their first impressions of me?
How do people think I act?
When people think of me, what do they think?

When I think of some of my friends, I can sometimes classify them in groups of "the way they are." What type of person would I fit into?

This is all stuff that we'll all never know about ourselves, but it doesn't stop me from wondering. It sure would be nice to be able to see yourself as others see you.

A Bit Unprofessional

At lunch today, I had to run an errand, so I drove through to pick up some lunch. When I got to the window, the lady asked me again what I had ordered and said "Because they aren't going to tell me." I thought to myself, "What is that supposed to mean?!"

Then after she gave me her food, she said "They just have such an attitude today!"

I wanted to tell the girl right then and there that the people that drive through her line to get food really have no desire to hear about her problems with her co-workers. We want a nice, friendly, smiling person to give us our food so that we can be on our way. Though I'm sorry for her situation, it really is not professional to talk about it with customers.

Why don't so many people get that?

Caleb's First Ranger's Game

We took Caleb to his 1st Ranger's Game this last Saturday night. Caleb had a blast! He was so good! He sat with one of us most of the time and ate nachos & popcorn. He ate most of the huge deal of popcorn all by himself!

In the car after the game. We had to sit in the parking lot for awhile since the traffic wasn't moving. So Caleb kept asking Mommy to pretend like she was driving the car and then cracking up laughing. It was a very late night, but you can see that it didn't bother Caleb!

Thoughts on Painting

I have a couple of painting projects that I'm working on right now. I bought a set of table and chairs for Caleb a long time ago and I have been meaning to stain it. But then Caleb spilled bubbles on it a few weeks ago that soaked really nicely into the table. So I then decided to just paint the set. Then my metal table & chairs in my backyard were starting to rust pretty bad, so I decided I would clean them up and repaint them. Here are some of my thoughts about painting:

1. Why does painting always take so long?! It seems like it should go fast...but it doesn't! I never think about the fact that I have to paint two or three coats on something until the project is already started, and that makes the whole project draw out. I also seem to always forget that you have to wait awhile in between coats of paint. That adds time too!
2. Why do I ALWAYS get paint all over me?! In painting Caleb's tables and chairs the other night, I even made a point to keep my body as far away from the painting as possible. I still ended up with paint all over my arms and legs. I just don't get it!
3. I've decided I need to get a mask to cover my mouth and nose when I am spray painting. It's always fun cleaning out your nose after spray painting. Really gross!

So, since I've been painting the table and chairs in my garage over the past few nights, I haven't been able to park in the garage. It hasn't been too bad until I got in to come to work this morning. It drives me crazy when it's a cool morning and the windshield of the car keeps fogging up. You run the windshield wipers every few seconds, but it still keeps fogging up. I always am so relieved when it finally all dries up and it quits fogging.

Anyway, I really like painting, and I love the way things look when they are freshly painted. The process just takes so long!

A Chilly Night

Since the weather was so nice yesterday, I wanted to eat outside for dinner. So, we made our tacos and took them outside to eat on Caleb's picnic table. It didn't take long though before Chris and I both said that it was chilly outside. Chris ate really fast, and we ended up bringing the rest of Caleb's dinner inside since we were a little uncomfortable in our shorts and t-shirts.

I love days & nights like we are having! I can't wait for sweatshirt and jeans weather! This morning we woke up and the house was 72-degrees after not having to run at all last night. Pretty nice!

More Labor Day Pictures - Chasing/Blowing Bubbles

Here are a few more pictures from Labor Day weekend. These are the ones my mom took while Caleb and both grandmothers were blowing bubbles. He had a great time!

Thankful for Help

Yesterday afternoon after Caleb and I left church, we had to stop for gas. So, we filled up the tank (costing less than $50 for the 3rd time lately! Yes!), and I got back in the car to head home. I turned the key. . . Nothing. I turned it again. . . Nothing. Then came the sinking feeling. And my two year old in the back seat saying "It's not working." (Which I thought was pretty clever for a two year old to be attentive enough to realize that the car wasn't working.)

I knew Chris was in a sectional and probably wouldn't answer my call. So I immediately called my dad. Dad immediately jumped in the car to come help me out. (Aren't dad's great!) It was going to take him 30 minutes to get to us though, so I decided to ask a man at the gas station if he could jump us off since I have jumper cables in my car. So, I nicely asked a man if he could jump us off, and he agreed.

On a side note, this nice man had a car where you could plug the jumper cables into the trunk. I thought this was very cool. I didn't know that was an option, but after talking to Chris, I realized new, cool cars have this option to where you can plug stuff up in the trunk...like grills to tailgate with, etc.

Anyway, so this nice man jumped us off and even wound up my cables to put them back in their neat little bag they go in. I was very thankful for this stranger's help.

On the way home, I was on the phone with my dad. He told me to turn my headlights on to see if they were bright or dim in order to maybe tell if it was the battery or alternator. My engine immediately kicked and then a light came on on the dash. I quickly turned the lights off as well as the air just in case. My dad was worried that the alternator had gone out and that my car might die before we got home. But we made it home, and got the car in the garage.

Chris came home and realized that my battery had no water in it. Then my dad came over with his battery charger. Once the car was charged, it worked fine. I'm glad it was an easy fix and that we didn't have to go buy an alternator last night.

I am so thankful for the man that helped me at the gas station, to my dad for always being willing to drop what he's doing to come help me, and to Chris for being willing to miss church (even though he wound up not having to) in order to make sure that my car was working.

Giddy Up!

My mom taught Caleb to climb up on his horse all by himself the other day which is sooo nice! Now we don't have to help him climb up on it anymore. Here's a picture from this morning. He had to wear his ducky sunglasses to ride the horsey!

Great Weather, Great Night, Great Fun!

Caleb and I spent most of the night last night in our backyard. We ate dinner at Caleb's picnic table and then played outside for a long time. It was beautiful weather, and we had a great time! Mommy had fun taking tons of pictures of Caleb playing, and Caleb kept asking Mommy to take more. Here's hoping the weekend will be this nice so we can hang out outside more!

Labor Day Weekend