Only in Amarillo

Just thought I would point out that only in Amarillo does it snow before Halloween even gets here. Abby thought we should make a snowman...

WHOOP!

(photo borrowed (stolen) from The Big Mama who borrowed (stole) it from the Bryan/College Station Eagle on Sunday morning)

I was totally prepared to start this post with something like, "At least the Aggie band won halftime," but, instead...

How 'bout them Fightin' Texas Aggies on Saturday? And while "Surprise!" was by far an appropriate headline, and I will probably be forced to write just the opposite post about this time next year, I was super proud of those Ags! Did you know we haven't beat Tech in Lubbock since 1993? Wow!

Oh, and did I mention we were there for the fun? I know, I know, Abby was dressed in Tech colors. There is nothing in this town to be found for a little girl in any shade of maroon and she doesn't own solid black (a tad more neutral) so I had to go with red. Maybe I'll buy her a house divided T-shirt for her next A&M vs. Tech game. :)

Beastley Barrel

The youth in our church has been doing a fundraiser where this lovely creature, "Beastley Barrel" visits yards of the people in our congregation, only to be removed if a small fee is paid. Guess whose yard he showed up in earlier this week? So while I was calling the youth director to arrange for his removal, Abby was celebrating like it was Christmas. You have to admit, though, he really is kind of cute. And what a great fundraising idea!!!

Side note: our youth director is full of amazing ideas. This week, they took bags filled with a bottle of water, a fruit roll-up, and a granola bar to the masses of people who are standing in line at the emergency rooms.

Tomato Horned Worm (continued)

Remember our pet tomato horned worm? Well, he finally morphed into a moth and dug his way out last weekend. I didn't get a picture (this is off of the internet) because my camera was in the car and sometimes the garage is just too far to walk. But, it wouldn't have mattered much anyway; Abby did NOT want to be very close to the moth. And would you if you were three? He was just the size of a small bird.

Roadway Pumpkin Patch

One of the benefits to living in Amarillo is the innumerous roadway and parking lot pumpkin patches dispersed throughout town. All towns of significant size seem to have at least one, but I bet we have upwards of 10...and that is just on our side of town. A couple of weekends ago, Gran and Pop came to visit so we stopped to check one of them out. Actually, the event was anything but spontaneous as Gran refuses to visit us this time of year until the pumpkins are out so she can purchase her fall decorations. :)

Abby and Liz in the wagon

"Look! I can load it by myself." This is the same pumpkin that another little boy had just tried to lift (and could not) so I think Abby was trying to prove a point.

And finally...pulling the pumpkin in the wagon...Abby's favorite part.

Big 3 Year Old News

Abby Grace came home from school today with very big news. She can write her name all by herself! Ms. Lee reported that Abby asked if she could color and after a few minutes came back to her and said, "Look, my write my name!" They have practiced tracing their names before but never writing them free hand, and Ms. Lee promises this was completely unprompted and unassisted. Okay, so I'm a little excited but this is a huge accomplishment in the world!!

Hiatus

Just so you'll know, I have not fallen in a hole. I am, however, on a blogging hiatus until I finish grand rounds, which will be on Wednesday afternoon. And then, there will be blogging...lots and lots of blogging.

Have a good week!

Corn Maze

Jeremy, Abby, and I took advantage of the foggy, drizzly, chilly Sunday afternoon this week and went to the corn maze. It was so much fun!

We "got lost" in the corn maze,

raced rubber duckies,

shot a corn cannon,

and Abby took a spin on the cow train.

We also went on a hay ride and picked a pumpkin out of a real pumpkin patch, but I don't have pictures of that part.