NASCAR in Fort Worth

Okay, so now you know the real reason we were in Burleson for the weekend. It was the November race at Texas Motor Speedway, race #8 in the Chase for the Cup (if you know what that means great, and if not ask a friendly redneck). My mullet count was down to only 6 this year, from 17 last year. I felt the drop must be a sign that almost everyone has finally gotten the memo that its no longer an acceptable hair style. Or maybe they were just hiding them under their ballcaps.
We decided that Madalyn was old enough to sit through the all day event and it made it fun to experience it with her for the first time. She was really excited to hear our driver, Dale Earnhardt Junior (if you haven't seen the #8 on the back of my Suburban) on the scanner talking to his crew. That was until he started with colorful language and we had to take the headphones off her ears. Pics of her with Cody, Jeff and myself as well as the family pic in front of one of Junior's haulers. Ah, god I love racing.

Rock Climing at DynoRock

While we were visiting Jeff's family over the weekend we went to Arlington for Peyton's birthday party. He and his mom Paula have been good friends of their family for years, and freshman Peyton is in the band with Zach. Good times! Madalyn and Beck did really well, except Beck's short attention span didn't keep him interested for very long. He did like the repelling part, and Maddy made it all the way to the top!

Friday Night Lights

Last Friday we went to Jeff's alma mater Burleson High School to route on the Elks (yes, Elks are not nearly as cool as the fightin' Hays Rebels). His nephew Zachary was marching with the Band at half time during the game and we wanted to be there to cheer him on. It was great football weather, just chilly enough for me and Beck to have to bundle up, but not unbearable. The Elks won the game, and remain undefeated in district play.... maybe we'll get to go to a playoff game!

Dia de los Muertes

Or Day of the Dead for you English speakers. Madalyn's Dual language class did a social studies project on the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertes. The kids chose a loved one that has died (Maddy chose her great-grandfather Glenn Watts) to celebrate. Their class built an altar with pictures of who they had chosen, candles, and a favorite snack. In PawPaw's case it was baked peanuts. Madalyn also polled Jeff's family for things they remembered about him and wrote a story about his life and why she chose to celebrate him. The whole process culminated in a parade around the school with the kids dressed in black, wearing their masks and singing Spanish songs for the occasion. I had some reservations about the project at first because it seemed a bit creepy, but she knows so much more about PawPaw and what a wonderful man he was - it was really a blessing.

Halloween 2006

Halloween was a very exciting time for us since Beck and Madalyn were really in to it this year. Madalyn was Miss Texas, complete with black satin dress, heels, banner, and tiara she got to pick out online. (The 3 days it took to get to the house were too many.) Beck was a UT football player, #25 Jamaal Charles but I'm not sure he's going to have the running back build - maybe more of a tight end or QB. A mother can dream... For Bristol's first Halloween he was a race car driver and spent most of the time cruising the stroller. We went with a group of about 10 kids, and Beck led the Trick-or-Treating charge hitting the houses with gusto and with Uncle Cody's coaching. He complained that his bucket was too heavy so we had to keep emptying the candy into my Dad's pockets. Madalyn, trooper that she is was content to keep all of her candy in sight and in her bag no matter how heavy it got. That's what we like to call professional skepticism.

Jeff in San Francisco

Jeff took some really nice pcitures while he was in San Francisco for the Direct Marketing Conference. Yes, there's actually a conference where they try to figure out how to send you more stuff in the mail. They did get to hit fisherman's wharf, Alcatraz, Lombard street, and a few other fun spots.

Halloween for me and Jeff

Jeff and I went to a Halloween party at my friend Kels' house the weekend before. We took a picture of the old Hays High crew that was there, pay attention to Mike as a blue man and Nick and Courtney as 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' and his woman. Great costumes!

Fall Carnival at Tobias Elementary

Let the fun begin - a few weeks ago we took the kids to the Fall Carnival at Madalyn's school. It was too much fun, and we all really enjoyed it. Just think - confetti eggs, face painting, moon walk, a maze out of cardboard boxes and a haunted house. =) Here are a few pics of Madalyn with her friends Willow and Abbie, and then Madalyn and Willow in jail.