State Fair of Texas

My sister, my mom and I took Clara, Ella, and Zane to the State Fair of Texas yesterday. We did a lot more than you will see on our blog. For some reason (besides the Barney photos below) I elected to only take pictures of the kids eating. Notice there is no evidence of Susan, Mom or me eating (Thank Goodness!) I am proud to say that everything Clara ate yesterday she had never tried before (because who in their right mind would EVER make Chicken Fried Bacon at home?) You name we tried it and we felt like we ate lard about an hour later. Needless to say, our dinner last night was a super yummy, all natural, healthy salad.
Cotton Candy Goatee

Cotton Candy
The Infamous Chicken Fried Bacon i.e. instant artery clogger
Twister Tators
Nachos
Bag O' Sugar
Twister Tators in One Hand and Chicken Fried Bacon in the Other
Mmmm......

Starstruck

Susan and I have been planning on taking our kids to the State Fair on this day for weeks but only Saturday did I discover that Barney was going to be there as well. I can not even begin to describe how much Clara loves Barney. I did my best to not encourage him too much for the obvious - he is a big, purple dinosaur. Need I go on? Over the course of a few months, I have encouraged Elmo, Zoboomafoo, Dive Olly Dive; anything BUT Barney. Well, I couldn't look past Clara's eyes lighting up every time she saw the big purple dude. The dear, little girl even says "Barney" each time the television turns on. So, Adam and I have swallowed our pride and accepted that this is a phase and it, too, shall pass. After all, he does grow on you.

We waited at the place where he was supposed to be for a good hour and used our time psyching her up for the infamous sighting. There were Barney posters, Barney balloons, Barney toys, Barney coloring books and of course, Barney was playing on TV. When he finally arrived, I swear her eyes got HUGE and they lit up like I have never seen them before. I even heard a tiny, little whisper "Bar-nee." I even got excited. When it was our turn, I asked Clara if she wanted to walk and she said "yes." So, I put her down and she walked right up to him with the biggest smile and just stared. She shook his hand, hugged him, kissed him. She sang all the way home a made up song that included the word Barney. She was starstruck.

Now, if only Johnny Depp would come to town...

My, What a Big Hat You Have

Clara rediscovered her pool crab from this summer in our garage this afternoon. She brought it inside and played with it for a while in different ways and in different rooms. Around dinnertime, she concluded that the best way to use the pool float, inside the house anyway, is to balance it on her head. I am now kicking myself for not videoing this. She could not figure out how to walk through doorways while wearing the new "At" as she calls it. Clara got stuck a couple times in the doorway to her room. Too funny.

Little Miss Smartie Pants

We took this video last month and I finally got around to downloading our videos from the camera. I had to share this one.

Ah-lor

"Ah-lor, Ah-lor!" - This is what Clara says when she wants to color. She loves coloring and pointing at what she is doing and saying "Pity"(Pretty). Thought I would share a few pictures from yesterday's coloring session.

Dessert or Facial - You Decide

While babysitting for us this weekend, my Mom was very sweet in making me a birthday dessert with brownies, whipping cream, caramel and butterscotch - you know, one of those low-fat, low-cal things ;) Tonight, after dinner, Clara really enjoyed her dessert. But, I wasn't expecting her to enjoy it so much. Maybe she was trying to give herself one of those fancy chocolate facials....

Lunch with Friends

I had lunch with Crystal, Kayla, Rebecca, Thatcher, and Megan today. We met at the Galleria Playplace and then went to eat at Mi Cocina - Yummy! There were some cute pictures of the kids and I had to share them. Once again, little Kayla was the only one who would bother sitting and smiling for the camera. Clara and Thatch were blurs in the pictures above - think of it as a Where's Waldo search.

Pumpkin Patch

Grandma and Grandpa took Clara and me to a Pumpkin Patch on Tuesday. We had a great time exploring the farm, petting and feeding all the animals, well, at least I enjoyed feeding the animals. Clara loved seeing them, but was not interested in feeding them. Clara is really interested in animals and their sounds and pretty much anything with wheels so she loved the tractors. I think she was a bit surprised they weren't the size of her play farm animals that we have at home. We were treated to a hay ride and then we picked pumpkins. It was really our first chilly spell here in Dallas so we were loving the cool air. Enjoy the pics!

Birthday Trip to Caddo Lake

Adam surprised me a couple of weeks ago and announced that we would be going away for my birthday this year. It was definitely needed and well-deserved for both of us to get away this weekend. Neither of us had visited Caddo Lake before but after this weekend, we will definitely be back. My parents were wonderful - they dropped everything and came down to watch Clara for us. Thanks both of you!!! It was nice for us to get away with just each other.

It was literally out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed on the lake in a town called Uncertain, Texas - yes, you read correctly. There is really a town called Uncertain. Maybe 150 people call that town home. Three restaurants - we ate at each one - all serving the same yummy food - fried catfish. Mmmm. I love catfish and we had some of the best there is.

While researching the lake and all that it had to offer, we stumbled upon a group of cottages called Hodge Podge Cottages. A couple owns a variety of cottages right on the lake. I fell in love with "The Shipwreck" the second I saw it and knew I wanted to stay there. Our luck: it was free that weekend and you will see in one of the slide shows below why I wanted to stay there. It was an old boat that this couple rescued and renovated into a houseboat on land. It was very quaint and cozy and you really need to know and love the person you are staying with because this place is TINY! It actually sleeps 6 but should really only sleep 2. The upstairs was literally just a full size bed complete with boat steering wheel, CB radio, compass and all. Downstairs was renovated into having a nearly complete kitchen and, yes, bathroom so tiny that closing the door meant having to pretty much stand on the toilet, so the door had to be open. I repeat: you really need to know and love the person you are staying with.

Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state of Texas. The lake varies in depth even from a couple of inches (even in the middle of the lake). It was such a majestic place that I don't think I will be able to do it justice in describing it verbally. I felt as though we went back in time. The cypress trees are covered in Spanish Moss and the surface of the lake had multiple species of lily pads and lotus flowers. In the two canoe trips we took alone, we could wind between the trees and go off the beaten path or boat roads as they call them on the lake. We saw so much wildlife and plant life that we were speechless. Watch the video below to see how beautiful and calm it was. Turn up the volume to hear the birds. We took a night boat tour guided by an amazing man named John Winn. He has lived on the lake his whole life and knew so much. I was a bit nervous about going on the lake at night with all the wildlife but he put it into a totally different perspective. We saw an alligator, beavers, multiple bird species, frogs, and heard lots of other animals such as owls, birds, fish and bugs. I have never seen so many stars in my life and all my years growing up in West Texas, I thought I had seen a starry night but my breath was taken away by the Milky Way!

If you ever get the chance to get away, this is the place to go to. I CANNOT wait to go back and with it only being three hours away, I just might pick up and go again soon. There are a lot of pictures on the two slide shows but they were too amazing not to share.

Thank you Adam, from the bottom of my heart. It was an amazing birthday!

Pumpkin Time

Here are a few pics from our time at the Dallas Arboretum yesterday. I had to throw in picture from a year ago to compare the two kids (Clara,7 months and Thatcher, 6 months) from last year. I am just amazed at how much they have grown. It was nearly impossible to get both of them to look at the camera last year. This year, it was nearly impossible to get both of them to sit, let alone look at the camera. They loved running through the hay maze and seeing all the "Pa-ins" (as Clara likes to refer to the pumpkins.) It was beautiful and I am sure we will be back very soon.

Holding Hands

Rebecca and I went to the Dallas Arboretum yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the kids had a great time running around together. Rebecca picked us up and drove us there and I decided to take this video of them in the car. Forgive me for the terrible quality but it is too cute not to post.

Penelope Wren Alynne

She's here! Mark and Gretchen welcomed sweet, little Penelope Wren Alynne Smith into the world on Wednesday, September 24. She is just absolutely amazing. Mom and Dad and I drove down to meet her yesterday. Congratulations on your tiny, little bundle Gretch and Sharks!