This past weekend my parents came into town for a quick visit. We had a great time with them and wish they stayed longer!

Despite Sam's nap schedule and the bad weather, we managed to do a lot of fun things. I only took a few pictures. They took more, so hopefully they can e-mail me some of them.

Thursday Sam and I took Mom and Dad to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Children's Museum. Sam fell in love with some cars they have there and that's all he wanted to play with the whole time. When we left, we picked Dan up and grabbed dinner at a true Texas original - Tin Roof BBQ. They had country karaoke going on while we were there and one old dude was actually pretty good.

Friday we kind of chilled. It was rainy. We got Sam some new shoes and bought candy at Walmart. Then we picked up Dan and went out to dinner with my aunt and uncle and their kids who are still at home at a seafood restaurant called Pappadeux.

Saturday we went on a nice long walk, played at the park, and attended the Bayou City Art Festival. Dan and I were hoping to score a sweet deal on a piece of artwork for above our mantle, but unless you consider $2,000 a sweet deal, there was nothing to be had. Some of the artwork was really cool, some of it was less so, but the people watching was magnificent.

Also on Saturday, Mom and Dad watched Sam so that Dan and I could go out on a date! We went to Shanks to play some blacklight mini-golf. It was pretty incredible how much the place was decked out. Dan beat me by ONE STINKING POINT on the last hole! Man, it was so unfair.

Shanks also had something called Balladium where you go in this room and shoot nerf balls at each other (and targets on the wall) through air cannons. I felt like an American Gladiator.

Mom and Dad left Sunday and the house felt so empty after they were gone. Sam misses his playmates!

Sneak peek.

Last year, Sam was a horse for Halloween and he was roasting the whole night! I felt really bad for him. This time around, we're keeping it cool. Topless even.

This is what I hope Sam's Halloween costume looks like. But mine will most likely be more homemade (read: ghetto). I bought a t-shirt at Goodwill to use as a cape, red underwear, and white tights which I will have to dye. Not quite sure what to do about the red shoes. Any ideas? I saw rubber boots at Walmart but they were $10. I'm trying to keep it under $10. So far I've spent $3.75. (Plus blue dye is another $2.) I'm excited. This is probably the last Halloween where Sam won't care what his costume is so I've got to make it count, right?

UGH. Let the childproofing begin.

WARNING: Picture overload

We just got back from a trip to upstate New York. It was a lot of fun. I'm going to include a few details that you might not find that exciting, but I want to write them down so I don't forget.

Tuesday morning we flew out of Houston. We got to Buffalo around 6:00 p.m. and took a rental car over to Rochester, NY to stay with some law school friends. Actually we weren't really friends during law school. I don't know why. Turns out Amanda and I have quite a bit in common including hair straighteners, retainers, toothpaste, and hair brushes. And sons who were born 6 days apart. But she was already in NY at that point. (Sam looks like a giant, but they're actually about the same size.)

Wednesday we went to the quaint little town of Palmyra. We saw the Hill Cumorah, the Smith Family log home, the other Smith home, and the Sacred Grove. We also drove through the Palmyra Temple parking lot.

After lunch at DiBellas and a nap for Sam, we headed out again with Amanda and Ethan to see the Whitmer Farm in Fayette. It was cool. The missionaries kept asking us questions and putting us on the spot, which was slightly uncomfortable, so I eventually refused to answer. Amanda took one for the team.

For dinner, the Mudricks whipped up a delicious feast, we played some Bananagrams, and watched So You Think You Can Dance using their awesome DVR. What a blessing to mankind. That third judge guy really bothers me.

Thursday we said farewell to the Mudricks (Thank you SO much for letting us stay!) and went back to Palmyra to see the Grandin Print Shop, where the Book of Mormon was first printed. We ate lunch at Nima's Pizza which took like 3 hours longer than anticipated. Perhaps that's because Dan ordered a calzone which ended up being the size of a real pizza, but folded in half. We saw Alvin Smith's gravestone and then headed down to one of the Finger Lakes - Canandaigua. It was a little early as far as catching the fall colors, but some of the trees were really pretty and close down to the lake it was GORGEOUS! We really enjoyed that drive and are thinking it would be a great trip to do that another time a little bit later in the year when the leaves are peaking.

We stopped at a state park called Stony Brook and thankfully it was a free day. We were some of the only people there and the waterfalls were really pretty. It was perfect weather, too. Sam was a rascal (he wanted to walk by himself) and Dan went crazy. This picture sums up that moment perfectly.

After playing on the playground for a little while, we headed back to Buffalo, where we ate at Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen. Apparently he is famous. But I don't think it's for his cooking. It was not good. In Western New York, "beef on weck" is a local favorite. Dan said he'd rather had Arby's. Me too, and I don't even like Arby's.

Friday we went to Niagara Falls. It was super cold that morning, but warmed up throughout the day. It was really picturesque. Dan had never been there before (nor had Sam) so it was nice to see his reaction to it. We took a ride on the Maid of the Mist down near Horseshoe Falls. Right before our maiden voyage, they rang the stupid boat bell and Sam flipped a lid - ensuring that the rest of the trip was a nightmare. He hated it. Dan and I thought it was pretty cool, though. You can't really see anything since you're being pelted with mist, but it's fun.

Dan climbing close to the Falls after our ride. We ate lunch at Top of Falls on Goat Island. Once again, lunch took forever. After lunch we walked around some more and then went to Old Fort Niagara which is actually quite far from Niagara Falls. As the name implies, it's pretty old.

We spent our last night at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport. We had been assured by reading TripAdvisor reviews that it was quiet and there wasn't any airplane noise. WRONG. It was like planes were taking off right outside the window. At 6 a.m.

That roach picture was gross, so I'm going to swap it with an oldie, but goodie. Happy fall! Here's hoping it actually starts to FEEL like fall in Houston. Fingers crossed.

Buggin'

I was really excited to have our house back up to woods. Maybe I've changed my mind. Every day there are bugs in this house. We kill at least one spider per day, but I'd say the average is more like 4. We also have these beauties:

GROSS!! They're called wood cockroaches and they just crawl inside every once in a while. The other night I found one upstairs in Sam's bathroom trashcan. So sick! I sprayed that thing with Raid like it was going out of style and I still don't think it died. We eventually just bagged up the trash and took it outside. Also, did you know they're 1 inch long and can FLY? I didn't before. Now I do.

The other day, Dan saw a black snake out back while he was mowing the lawn. Last night I saw an orange-colored snake out front before we left for a walk. I'm now familiarizing myself with the poisonous and non-poisonous snakes...

I think I'll ask for an exterminator for Christmas! Well, not an actual person, but you know what I'm saying.

Sam's bedroom walls are pretty bare. (As are all of the other walls in our house...) I wanted to spice them up a bit. I saw this in a Land of Nod catalog and thought I could probably make something similar using my Cricut. So I got to work. I wanted paper with a pattern similar to the kind they used, but I couldn't find any so I bought a packet of little-boy themed paper at Michael's using a 40% coupon. Two hours later I had this:Granted, it's not made out of wallpaper like the catalog's version. And they hung theirs with shoelace. I used string. But I like it! If I had bought their version, and done the alphabet, it would have cost around $90. I did it for under $10.

Today Dan and I got callings at church. We're the new team teachers of the 7 year olds. Should be pretty fun!

Not to copy Kaylyn, but we've been working on body parts with Sam as well. He had "ear" and "mouth" down but then we taught him "head" and now that's his favorite. Let's just say it's a work in progress...

And the award for first overnight houseguests goes to...

We had Adam, Yinelli, and their adorable kids over to our house for Labor Day weekend. It was so much fun! (We thought so, anyway. Hopefully they feel the same.)

Saturday we went to a fun pool, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and dinner. Sunday we went to church, fed ducks, had a barbecue, and played some major Ticket to Ride. I never won, but I still had fun. We also stayed up late talking. I hadn't gone to bed that late since the day I went into labor. I was SO tired the next day! It was great to have them over and the house feels so empty now without them. Thanks for coming!

The Evolution of Sam's Walking Skills

While out and about the other day, I noticed that stores already have their Halloween decorations out. It made me happy. I LOVE Halloween! I mean, candy and scaring people? Nothing could be better. When I was little, I used to hide in the closet waiting for my mom to put the laundry away so that when she opened the door I could really scare her. And I did. And she got mad at me.

After Dan and I got married, we used to scare each other sometimes, but it's not as funny when it's just the two of you and you get freaked out if you think it's really a burglar or something. So we made a deal that we wouldn't scare each other anymore and now I don't have anyone to scare. I'd scare Sam, but that's just flat-out cruel.

So anyway, I've been thinking about Halloween lately because I want some ideas for Sam when the big day rolls around. In the past, I've just resorted to quick, easy costumes for me and Dan. But I'd like something better than that this year (mostly for Sam). Here are some ideas I've had so far: a mime or a leprechaun. That's it. Hopefully something will come to me in the next few months.

Dan wanted Sam to be the Joker from Batman. Can you imagine how sad (not to mention sick and twisted) it would be to see a baby dressed like the joker for Halloween?

The latest on Sam

We are so happy to have Sam in our lives. He always spices things up. He's currently working on his fourth (top front left) and fifth (top second to right) teeth. He likes to play on our bed, crawl up stairs, give kisses, and spit out his food. He knows sign language for "milk" and "more" although he used to think the sign for "more" really meant "Get me out of this high chair!!" But now we think he really understands "more." He takes a few steps here and there - his best stretch was about 8 in a row. I've tried to get it on camera but he always falls. I'll keep trying.

He used to like playing with light switches. Now he is OBSSESSED. Whenever we enter a room, he knows just where the lightswitch is and points and points until we take him over to it and then he just clicks the lights on and off. On and off. On and off. On and off. I wouldn't mind if it didn't mean I had to hold him there the whole time.

How could you not love this sweet face?

And we spotted this license plate the other day. It made me think of Candice.

Please excuse the mess. And the wine. That was a gift from the seller dude. Nice gesture, but we threw it away! This view is from the breakfast area looking into the kitchen with the dining room beyond. That door is a pantry.

And this is taken from the dining room. Pretty sweet!

That's all for now, folks. I'll take pics of the backyard and master bedroom later.