Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys (or Swarthy Pirates)!

Here Comes Trouble!

(doesn't Zac look ready to kick some booty!)

This week has been full of many Fall Festivities! Sunday was the annual church Fall Festival; however, we missed it this year since we were traveling home from Dallas. No worries.... we'll make it next year!

Tuesday was the day of Zac's school's fall festival! The boys have anxiously been awaiting this event as it is one of their favorite things about Halloween time. I had to teach gymnastics that night so Tim was going to be in charge. However, Tuesday morning Tim woke up with strep throat! After a moment of panic, I remembered that Nana and Papa Doc were planning to come "help" Tim. I called them and asked them if they were up for "flying solo" with the boys and they said yes! The boys had a wonderful time with Nana and Papa Doc; and according to them, the boys were perfect (thank you Jesus for small/big miracles)!

My Little Bull (I mean Sheep) Riders!

Not Sure How to Wear These Darn Chaps!

Hollywood!

On Wednesday the boys had AWANA at church and they could dress up for this event too! For whatever reason, the boys decided to be pirates! Man have we ever gotten our money's worth out of these adorable costumes because the boys have worn them for 3 years now! WOW! They look pretty darn cute!

Ahoy Mates!

Today (Sat.) the boys (Tim included) carved pumpkins! Daddy has gotten very good at this over the years and Nate was a big help scooping out all of those seeds! After enjoying a beautiful day outside today, they came in, bathed, and got ready for Halloween night! We all went out to eat dinner with the boys in costume. After that, we made our rounds and visited all of our neighbors. It was wonderful to see them and to spend time catching up. We only went to 6 houses but it took us 2 hours! Lot's of candy! Seriously, we are the only kids in the neighborhood so my kids got it all!

They had a lot of fun and Tim and I are worn out! The boys are sleeping soundly in their beds (all 4 of them)! Maybe they will sleep late (Ha)! I love the pics below because they look like little cowboys from the Old West!

I'm going to have to go to bed soon so that I will stop eating the yummy chocolate candy! I will be the only one to look like a pumpkin this halloween if I don't!

Happy Halloween from the One and Only Cowgirl in the House

(& mama of these wild ones)!

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM/NANA! WE LOVE YOU!

Fall at the Swimming Hole...

Thought I'd post a couple of beautiful fall pics. The colors are so vivid right now. The creek is up a little bit from all of the rain. It is so picturesque that I couldn't pass up the photo op! It is so hard to believe that the boys haven't been swimming in it for nearly 2 months. We spent most of our summer here!

We miss our old wood bridge, but the boys still enjoy throwing rocks off of the new one!

Month in Review....

I've never been good at daily writing in a journal or diary, so I guess it stands to reason that there is no hope that I will ever be able to blog daily or even weekly for that matter! I'd like to blame it on the bagazillion of things that I have going on write now, but all of those reasons are simply eclipsed by the fact that when I sit down to blog.... I end up reading a million other people's blogs... it is a sickness I believe.... or perhaps an addiction..... oh well..... WHATEVER (as Nate would say)!

So it has been another busy month filled with soccer games, hunting expeditions, AWANA, gymnastics classes (which I teach; the boys don't take), attempts at exercising (again this is a me-reference), trying to finish up contract projects (me again), and the daily grind of raising 3 boys and feeling guilty for never having the energy to clean the house or for managing to stay "on top" of the laundry! Again, as Nate would say.........WHATEVER..........I'd rather read a good mystery to de-stress, look at fitness magazines and dream of having the body of Dara Torres, or spend time on the Internet trying to figure out how to best fit in training for another 1/2 marathon... O.K. .... done trying to explain myself (primarily to me)! And yes I know the photos need to be edited for red eye.... who has the time for that.... not me! So on to the good stuff!

DALLAS: FALL 2009

This past weekend we spent a fun-filled weekend with family in friends in the DFW area. We arrived at Aunt Julie's and Uncle Jimmy's on Friday afternoon after a fairly uneventful 5+ hr drive. We were all so excited to get there and to see everyone. J&J not only invited us to stay in their beautiful home but they babysat our children, with the help of grandma and grandpa, so that Tim and I could attend the rehearsal dinner for one of Tim's good friends. The boys had a blast and enjoyed playing with Eme and Grae. Nate and Grae are so fun to watch together, they crack me up. Both boys were really good to include Zac in their many adventures whenever Zac decided to tag along. Eme was quite smitten with Ben that first night and kept him entertained. I heard that Tim and I missed a "dance off" that evening that was hilarious! The next morning Jimmy cooked a huge, yummy breakfast and Tim's brother George and his family came over to see us. It was so nice to get to see so many family members and it wasn't even a holiday! The only down-side was that the time passed to quickly! Thank you, thank you, thank you Julie and Jim for having us in your home and thank you J&J and Grandma and Grandpa for taking such good care of the Oosterhous boys! Below are some pics of the cousins!

Alex.

Eme.

Nate & Grae

Meggie.

On Saturday, after our yummy breakfast, we left J&J's house to go to my sister's house about 20 minutes away. The boys were very excited about seeing cousin's Matthew and Molly. Ben however, was exhausted and fell asleep in the car. Shortly after we arrived, Tim and Nate left to watch Matt play soccer. I stayed home while Ben, Molly, and Zac took naps. We spent most of the afternoon watching the kiddos play and visiting. Then once again, we pawned our children off on family so that we could go to the wedding. They had a wonderful time that included McDonalds Happy Meals and a trip to the movie with Uncle Rich to see Ice Age.... (you are a brave man)! Jen kept the little one's at home and played with them. Thank you guys we appreciated it and the kiddos had a blast! The next morning, before we had to return home, we went to a pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. The kiddos had so much fun and we took some really cute pics. The kiddos looked at pumpkins and horses, played in a hay bale maze, jumped in bouncy houses, and slid down blow-up slides.... who could ask for more! It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend!

Molly.

My sis.

Matt and my boys.

Wrapped around uncle Tim's finger!

Finally, the big reason we came to Dallas this weekend was for Scott and Amy's wedding. Scott Moore is a long-time friend of Tim's. We were so excited to attend this event. It is always so much fun to get to spend time with Tim's high school buddies and their wives. I just love this group of women as they are all so funny and a lot of fun to hang out with and visit. Below are a few pics!

It was a FABULOUS weekend! Thanks to all who made it happen!

Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog..... (aka. Bla Bla Bla Bla Bla)

There has been lots going on lately and we have been a busy bunch (and a sickly bunch)! I will hit on the 2 BIG events: Rodeo & Big Birthday Party (I'll blog about soccer later)!

BEN & MOLLY'S 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY

This past weekend we celebrated Ben and cousin Molly's 2nd Birthdays (Ben's was the beginning of Sep. and Molly's is the end of Oct.). We had a wonderful time celebrating with about 30 of our friends and family. The weather was beautiful, the kids were decently behaved, yummy food, wonderful family and friends..... who could ask for more. Thank you to all who took time out of their busy lives to celebrate with us and thank you to those of you who were there with us in spirit! Below are some pics of the birthday boy and girl from the party!

RODEO (Mama don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys........)

We have been thinking of, talking about, preparing for this event ALL YEAR LONG! That is what little cowboy wanna be's who live in a small town do! We have been working all year on our rodeo attire... hat, belt, shirt, and boots!

As the mom of 3 boys, I can honestly say, thank goodness Tim and I do not own any horses or I am afraid at least one of our 3 would make an attempt at being a bull rider or a bareback bronco rider.... terrifying hobbies/professions! Nothing that a mama wants to watch her baby do. However, this mama does love to watch her babies Mutton Bust! For those of you that do not remember from last year, this is when the young'uns ride sheep bareback.... holding on for dear life as a cram-packed small town arena full of people watch! Also, this is a very competitive event, and they only take the first 12 children who line up. So precious Tim, took off work early and was in line by 4:00 (registration didn't open until 6:00). Needless to say, he was first in line and our boys were the first two riders. Tim stood in the chute with Zac who was wearing his t-ball helmet (we have no riding helmet) as the sheep bucked uncontrollably. Tim said it really was a wild sheep and he could barely get Zac on. Well, the picture says it all... Zac was off the sheep pretty quickly and he was completely stunned. I think he just kind of thought the sheep would walk around the arena and he would hold on..... didn't happen that way. He got up off the ground ... shell shocked... crying for his mama!

Nate was the next rider out of the chute (sporting a bike helmet) and he did pretty good; this was his second year! Again, it happened so fast that I don't really have a good picture. The boys finished as 2 of the top 6 riders therefore qualifying for the finals the following night. Needless to say, Zac chose not to ride on Sat. night, however, Nate did ride (no photos as camera was dead) and managed to stay on his sheep until it just sat down and the ride was over!

The boys had a wonderful time at the rodeo/fair. Nate won a goldfish (which lasted a week) and the boys rode several rides. This "city" girl sure loves rodeos! I could honestly go to one every weekend and be completely happy. I love my little cowboys!

In the next post I'll talk about soccer and the fun hayride we had with my BFFs Melissa & Jen!