Movie day!!

We went to see "Princess and the Frog" this past weekend. It was great!! They girls had too much fun and ate enough popcorn for 5 people!


This is before we left, they were modeling their new Hello Kitty outfits. Love Hello Kitty!!
Putting puzzles together. Bentley even joined us!
Here are the girls! I was modeling a new crown!

Handyman Husband

After 12 years together you would think, "there is nothing else he can do to surprise me." Boy was I wrong. Ya know, I was so impressed when he laid 900 sq. ft. of tile and did all the trim in our last house. Now, he is making his own built in bookcases for his study! Our cabinet guy was going to charge way too much to build them and put them in. Lee said, "I can do that!" and I thought, yea, right. Well, once again, he has proven me wrong! His parents came last weekend and helped him get started. Good thing Brenda is a retired math teacher!! There were numbers and fractions flying everywhere! So, he built a base that will be cabinets and file drawers and then the bookcase part will be connected on top of that. By the pictures, it doesn't look like much, but he has come a long way!! Lee now has almost every tool you can think of!............I think I deserve a new embroidery machine....what do you think?? He gets toys, I get toys, right?

This is the end of the first day....uh, oh! We have a long ways to go!

Brenda helping Lee. All these dots you see are dust particles from sawing the wood. Most of the time they were wearing masks.

Here is Claire holding her ears, it was pretty loud in there!

This is day 3 or 4. I lost count!

The kids have been begging to go to the beach, so here you go! Sawdust! Feels like sand!

Will my garage ever be the same?? I can't wait to park in there again! I had to scrape ice off my windshield this morning!

This is where we are today. Lee worked all afternoon yesterday. It is looking awesome! His Mom and I are trying to talk him into hiring someone to do the stain. Of course he said, "I can do that!"

Ballet Times

Things are going great here. Wanted to share some recent pictures from Corinne's ballet class. She LOVES to dance!! She is in her 3rd year. This is she and her great friend Bali.
This is her holding fourth position.
These are the Reindeer cupcakes that we made. Aren't they cute?? Thanks to my Mom for the idea!

This is a picture of the girls this morning before church. They were looking festive.

Brenda and Gary are here for a few days helping Lee build some bookcases for his study. They are coming along great. I'll post pics in a few days. Lee is loving all the new tools and gadgets that he is getting to buy for the project.

A few last pictures to include. Most of you have probably already seen them via email or facebook, but for those of you who didn't, these are too cute not to share!

The girls' new room

We finally got around to fixing up the girls' room. They insist on sharing a room, so that is fine by us. I turned what will someday be Claire's room into a sewing room. I made their bedding and curtains. We painted and Lee put up a chair rail. I hung some frames and still need to find pictures for some of them. Next, I need to clean out all the old books, doll blankets, etc. There is so much of everything!!! So, look past the clutter! And, Corinne made her own bed this am! She is very proud!





My shutters got installed today!! Just in time for all my company coming for Thanksgiving! Lee's study got them too!

Camping trip to Fairfield State Park

We just got back from a fabulous get a way! We went to Fairfield State Park with the Miller's. We took our trailers and set up. The kids played and played, fished and swung in the swings. We had a camp fire going, it was so cold in the mornings and at night. I think we ate our weight in s'mores! Bentley went too and he was such a good boy! Here are a few pics.
Megan can eat anywhere! Look how happy she is!

Corinne and Marshal showing off their beginnings of a cart wheel that they are both learning in their gymnastics classes.

New concept: Give the kids glow sticks and then you always know where they are in the pitch black of the night!

Lee and Wayne cooking up some Jiffy Pop Popcorn.

Marshal and Claire

Corinne playing Ladder Ball

Doesn't this look like Forest Gump and little Forest?

Corinne and Claire got tired of fishing....it is hard for them to understand that you don't always catch a fish and that you have to be patient.

Claire and Megan playing with chalk.

Corinne and Claire Hook'n Horns at dinner at the Miller's campsite.

Poor Bentley, thinks he is missing the action being tied to our picnic table.

Playing some more Ladder Ball.

Corinne

What a surprise!

No, I am not pregnant! And, shame on you for thinking that is what I was going to say!!! :) Just kidding! But, really, I am NOT pregnant!

I got home this afternoon from Corinne and Claire's ballet classes to find a sign in our yard. We got "Yard of the Month"!!! Surprised we didn't get a sign that said, "You took too long to landscape"!! Anyway, this is very exciting for us and we are very proud of our new yard. We prayed all summer for rain during our drought and now it has rained almost nonstop for 2 weeks. A lot of our mulch and rock has been displaced and needs cleaned up from the rain coming in so hard and washing things out of place. Non the less, it is a beautiful yard if I do say so myself!

Tennessee vacation

We spent a week in Tennessee the first part of October. We went to Montgomery Bell State Park for a church study weekend and then took a 5 hour drive to Pigeon Forge, which is about an hour south of Knoxville. If we didn't love Austin so much, I would move to Tennessee in a heart beat! The resort at the State Park was set in the most fabulous forest. The trees were just starting to turn. We had good fellowship and caught up with lots of people we hadn't seen in ages. After leaving there, we rented a cabin with Brenda and Gary in the Smokey Mountains. It was absolutely amazing and beautiful!! Each day was jammed packed with fun and entertainment. We were not ready to come home! Can't wait to go back! Here are some pictures from our trip. We spent one afternoon at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Carry Underwood was there and set to perform that night, but we didn't see her. We rented a mini van for the trip. There were 6 of us, 7 suitcases and bags and 2 large car seats. We fit better in the silly mini van than we did in my extended length Expedition!

Click on the link (or copy and paste) to see some pictures! There were just too many to download here! click on the "slideshow" button and it will go through all of them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Kristinurse77/October09?authkey=Gv1sRgCNXC0Meku9PQzQE

The girls love to write and draw on the old cardboard that is still around. Here is a picture of them and then a picture of Corinne's rendition of "Bentley." Not too bad!


This is a picture of Claire...after you ask her how old she is....she proudly says, "2!" and holds up 3 fingers!

Yay for Grass!

We have had so much rain lately that it is ruining our grass plans...and washing away all the dirt for the 4th time. After our drought this summer, we should be rejoicing with all this rain, but it makes landscaping impossible! The grass was all lined up to be delivered on Tuesday (tomorrow.) Lee called home this morning as he was leaving for work and told me that he just passed and 18 wheeler loaded full with sod. Sure enough, they landed at our house. I called our landscaper and he couldn't believe they were here. It was still so muddy, and he didn't have a crew lined up for us today, as he was giving the mud a chance to dry out a bit. Well, he pulled members from their other crews to get them out here. We ended up with 2- 18 wheelers of sod. It is starting to take shape. Looking good. About 12:30 today, our 20% chance of rain came in a huge down pour. The crew had mud everywhere. I felt so sorry for them. They worked as much as they could. I am putting in a few pictures of how it looks today. We still have some beds to finish and cleaning up of the trees that were already here.





There are 17 pallets there for the backyard.
This is Claire sporting her outfit that I made for her and Corinne.

Corinne and cousin Lauren...looking for trouble! :)

Andrew enjoying a popsicle.

On Saturday, Corinne went to a dance camp at Vista Ridge H.S. where she spent the whole day playing and learning a routine. At 2:30, the parents got to come back to the school and watch. It was great! She loved every minute of it! That is her in the middle.
This is Corinne with her "ballet friends" Ellie and Bali.
This is what we woke up to Sunday morning. It had rained during the night. So beautiful! (Check out the dirt!) (Oh, and my gorgeous fence!)
We spent Sunday afternoon finishing all the cleaning out at our old house. We are set to close October 8. As I went through the kitchen checking all the cabinets and drawers, I just cried and cried! We have so many happy memories in that house. Not sure why I am taking it so hard, but it makes me tear just writing this. We had never planned to stay there...it is just hard. This is a picture of the girls in the garage as we finished up.
And, my most handsome boy, Bentley.

Doesn't he look sweet and innocent here???