Our Super Reader

Madalyn is doing a great job with reading, and was tested at the highest level she could be for second grade. I took this picture recently at Borders where she was tearing through a 'Wayside' book. It's a trilogy of books containing short stories about a crazy school. She loves them, and since I read them as a kid it's even more fun. Julie and Maddy really participated in the reading program at the Austin Public Libraries over the summer and it's certainly paying off!

Halloween 2007

Halloween was a big day for us. We started with Trick-or-Treating at my office in the Frost Tower downtown. There were a lot of kids there, and the Raymonds used it as a warm up for the evening. After we left the office, we went by my godparent's house in Onion Creek. They loaded us down with even more candy and cookies made from scratch from Aunt Dianne. =) It was a fun excuse to stop by and see them and their super cool house! From there we headed to the Buda Park where they were having a carnival and met up with our friends and half of the people I went to school with. Sometimes living in the town you grew up in is weird. After about an hour at the we went good old fashioned door to door trick or treating in a nearby neighborhood. This was the highlilght of the night because it looked like the scene from ET- there were kids everywhere and no cars driving down the street. Beck and Madalyn were in full force though, and we had to keep asking them to slow down for Ella, I mean Wonder Woman. All in all, it was a great experience with family and friends so you couldn't really go wrong!
And a special thanks to my mom for making Madalyn's costume some time back, but continually adding to it everytime she wears it. The hoops were greatness!
Pics are of the whole crew, our team of Superheroes, Addison the Bee, sweet Bristol, Madalyn as Belle with Ella, Mason the Pumpkin, and Beck playing with a skeleton - go figure.

Halloween at School

Madalyn wanted to dress up for school, but I didn't want to let here wear the Belle dress and she couldn't wear the wings. So we went for the dance outfit from the spring Recital. Mrs. Ortega told me that there were feathers everywhere in the class. Whoops. =)

We Can Be Heroes!

That was the theme of the 20th Anniversary of the AIDS Services of Austin walk that was held last Sunday. Beck, Madalyn, and I participated in the 5k walk around downtown to support the organization in their annual fundraising event. ASA is one of my audit clients at work and after one year working with them I was absolutley blown away by what they do, and how well they do it. Until I started working at ML&R I never realized that in Austin we are truly blessed by the number and quality of individuals serving in non-profit organizations. Arts based, youth-centered, homeless, help with higher education - you name it, it's here. Several of my clients are working at non-profits in their retirement, others doing it to make and difference and ASA is definitely one of them. Being around it all of the time definitely makes you want to be a better person, so this was our step in the right direction. I had a difficult conversation with Madalyn about AIDS, cancer, and other things that I never would have talked to her about without this opportunity.
On a lighter note, her highlight was getting to see someone walk a cat and they both loved the huge cake at the end of the race. Downtown Austin was already being decorated for Christmas, so they liked that a lot. In the picture with Madalyn you can see the Capitol in the background.

Cody's Race at Thunderhill Raceway

After a long nap, Beck and I ventured out to the race track in Kyle to watch Cody race in the Grandstock class. It was our first time to see him race ever, shame on us, since he started racing himself this season. He's been the crew chief on our cousin's Bryon's car for two season and decided to get in the drivers seat himself this year. Beck really liked watching him, but liked getting to take a lap in the car with him after the race more. Cody even went side by side with another drivers so Beck could give him a 'high 5' out of the window at about 40 miles an hour. Now, we're gearing up for the NASCAR race in Ft. Worth on Nov. 4 which is always a highlight of the year.

Jacqueline's Jack-O-Lantern Carving Party

This was the third year that we went to Jac's party. It is always so much fun and Sylvia and Tim really know how to throw a party. They have a great house and the best backyard. There were some great pumpkins and the pinata was great. There were some clackers in there that almost pushed me and Jeff over the edge!

Madalyn's Dance Performance

After the carnival we went to the Santa Cruz Catholic Church in Buda for the Pre-Team dancers to perform their competition dance. They showed a lot of improvement and still have plenty of time to practice since they won't compete until April. Madalyn is so beautiful, poised and confident. Not that I'm biased or anything, but we are so proud of her.

Tobias Fall Carnival

To kick off our marathon weekend, we went to the Fall Carnival at Madalyn's school. They had cool games and we got to see several of the kids from Madalyn's class. They enjoyed the moonwalks, potty toss, and fish bowl toss. Reid actually won a live fish, and Madalyn sure tried but I was glad that she didn't! Jeff and Beck went down the Haunted Hallway, and Madalyn won a cool cake in the cake walk. Pics are of Bristol on the tailgate, Madalyn and Willow getting the most out of their costumes, the group of kids going in, Maddy, Reid and Willow selling Pepsi =), and Beck and Aiden hiding under the table. He was on our boy's basketball team and Beck was so glad there was someone for him to play with.

Uncle Don's 60th Birthday

On October 21st we were part of the surprise party for Jeff's Uncle Don. His niece Lea led the charge for a kiddie camoflague party at the Ft. Worth Cabela's. It was way too much fun. We got to go to the shooting range, feed the fish, and enjoy kids meals from the cafe. Personally, I think we all looked great in our camo! My favorite pic from the party was when Jake and Zach greeting Don dressed like him, complete with facial hair, glasses and deck shoes. ;) Another thing that was pretty cool was that there was an air show going on at the airport right next to Cabela's. Beck thought he was in heaven.

You Never Know What to Expect in Niederwald

And I seriously mean that! I got a call from Cody one night that a mule drawn covered wagon would be staying in his field that night. They were travelling from Louisiana to the Alamo. They were family of friend that we had gone to High School with, but I can safely say that it hadn't ever happened before, and will probably never happen again! Pics are of Maddy, Eric and Beck on the mule and then one I took of the wagon.

Highlight of my Weekend

I'm almost embarrassed to post this, but on Sunday we went shopping at the new Super Target in Southpark Meadows. It's really nice and really big! The best part was getting to meet Spot, the Target Dog. Beck and Madalyn were super excited. I know that Target will be super excited to be getting my grocery and my shopping money. That place is dangerous!
I was glad to run into Aimee and Gerardo while we were checking out. It's always good to see friends, even is just by chance. =)

Renaissance Festival

On Saturday the 13th we drove to Plantersville, TX near Houston for the Texas Renaissance Festival. Madalyn and I went with Lanette and Willow Filstrup. Madalyn goes home from school every day after school with Willow, so they get to spend a lot of time together. But not a lot of time dressed up as twin Midnight Fairies for fairy weekend at the 'Ren Fest'. (Now Madalyn's story about the fairies may make a little more sense since we've been talking about this trip so much.)
This thing was so much fun! We got to eat good fair food, and the people watching was supreme as you can see here. This is just a taste of all of the fun people that we got a chance to meet. They have a full jousting competition, tons of shows, a maze, and rides. We had a really good day with the girls, our precious scary fairies.

Hay Season

One of my favorite times of the year is when they cut the hay in the field right next to our house. They did it over the past weekend so I took the boys over to play on them. It reminds me why we decided to live out here in the country- nothing beats the big Texas skies.

Driftwood Heritage Days Parade

Before Ella's birthday Madalyn was in the Driftwood Heritage Days parade on the Dance Unlimited float. It was a really nice parade and my dad was kind enough to volunteer to drive the truck and pull the trailer for the parade. So, the trailer went from pulling Cody's race car one night to pulling 40 girls on a float the next. That's me and Beck on the tool box, and Maddy in the back of the truck. Bristol and Jeff watched the parade and picked up all the candy! After the parade was over Madalyn's 'pre-team' group danced to their competition song 'All For One' from High School Musical 2. I'm not sure how many times we've heard that song by now, but I'm sure it hasn't been the last.

Ella turns 2

Ella turned 2 on October 1st. It's cliche' but I don't know where the time has gone. She's gotten so big and is super talkative. We had a lot of fun at her birthday party which was complete with a Dora moonwalk and swimming. Beck's head-first dive out of the pool will be remembered, I'm sure. Nicole and I started the 'Fairy Godmothers Fund' for Ella's college. It wasn't nearly as fun as the rest of her toys, but I'm sure it will be a hit at her high school graduation.
Pics are of Nicole with Addison; Brenah,Reagan and Makayla helping Ella blow out her candle; cousins Madalyn, Makayla and Brenah after swimming; and Beck enjoying the extra yummy ice cream cone cup cakes - chocolate and vanilla.

Jeff's New Truck

There's a new baby at the house - Jeff's new truck a 2007 dark silver Texas Edition with 20 inch wheels, tinted windows, bed liner, and steering wheel controls. Yes, he's spoiled rotten, but totally loves it. I think it even came with an updated 'man card'. Not sure if that was extra. =)

Small things in life

The boys and I were coming home the other day and it looked like the rainbow ended right at our house. Maybe it is the treasure...

Fairies and Me by Madalyn

Fairies and me
By Madalyn Raymond

One day I was in a beautiful dark forest. Suddenly, a fairy appeared. I said you look so pretty. She said, I’m the queen of fairies. She was all black. She had a black dress, a black wand, black earrings and even black sparkly wings. She was so pretty. I want to be like her. In a few seconds she turned me into a fairy. My name was Mysterious fairy. I was all red and black. My hair was even red and black. She and I went to a fairy ball. They had a DJ. He was playing cool fairy music. They even had a disco ball. The fairy ball was so fun. I met some cool fairies. One of the fairy’s names was Magical fairy. She was all purple. She liked to do magic tricks the best. When me and midnight went home we saw a mid butter fly. The mid butter fly’s are cool. We went to our rooms and went to bed.

The end