I am guilty! Good grief, how in the world have I managed to let our family blog get so out of date. I assure you it isn’t because nothing exciting has happened in the last month and a half. So much is going on, it is hard to keep up.
I have updated some photo albums, so go check that out if you haven’t already.
We have a 4 year old! One of the many exciting things we have celebrated as a family since my last posting was Grace’s 4th birthday. I keep reflecting back to see if I think the 4 years have flown by, but time has a funny way of staying relative. I find it so hard to imagine our family without her, that it seems that she has been here “forever”. I even have a hard time remembering when she wasn’t a toddler. What a fantastic little girl she is growing into.
Just before Grace’s birthday it was “back to school”, or rather back to pre-school. Going to school everyday has done so much for Grace’s development. She has definitely opened up into a more outgoing, social little girl. I am excited that she will begin reading this year. How fun is that?
Work has kept me busy, and on the road a bit more lately. As I write this blog posting, I am sitting in the airport in Houston awaiting my return flight to Austin. Over the last 2 weeks, I have been in Poughkeepsie, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. I enjoy the travel, it is great to visit some of our country’s gems, but it is always so nice to come home. When I travel, Brenda makes it a priority to call me before the girls go to bed. Its so nice to hear those sweet, angel voices each night. Hailey is starting to put words together in distinguishable sentences. So when she says “I love you, daddy”, it’ll melt your heart. Her new one this trip was “Sweet dreams!” Awesome stuff.
With Grace’s birthday, and kids returning to school, that signals our entry into a familiar season in our home. Naturally, it is football season which means of course means tailgating. Grace has become quite the helper when it comes time to get things ready and Hailey has a ball too. The fact that our girls like it so much, I think makes it more bearable for Brenda.
We are in the midst of a bit of tailgating break right now as the Longhorns start a 4 week period where they will be on the road before returning to Austin on the 23rd. I am excited that Uncle Craig is coming to town for that one. Should be a lot of fun, and Grace is already asking when he will get here.
Good things are happening at our house these days. Notably, we are chasing after a new, healthier lifestyle. Over the last 8 weeks, I have lost over 20 pounds, and Brenda has lost 10! We are getting the girls outside more (the cooler weather is definitely helping), going for walks and bike rides and eating better portions of healthier foods. I confess though that these last 2 weeks on the road has put a considerable dent in my progress. Nonetheless, we are undeterred! We aren’t doing this alone, I am engaged in a bit of a family rivalry with 2 of my sisters in a family-style “Biggest Loser” battle. It’s fun to have some accountability and I have to admit, I still get a kick out of competing with them. Tracy and Missy joined Brenda, the girls and I for a local 5K here in Austin a few weeks ago and this week Missy is doing the Susan G. Koman in Houston. Brenda and I will be taking on another 5K soon and I am pursuing an ambitious goal of training for a triathlon next year. There will need to be many more 5K in my future to make my goal a reality. I have registered for a Warrior Dash in Houston next March. If you haven’t heard about these crazy events, it’s a 5K on steroids. Specifically, it’s a 5K run with a dozen obstacles like scaling walls, climbing cargo nets, logs, fire jumping, etc… I am participating with a group of tailgating buddies for that one, and I can’t wait.
All right, I think that’s about enough for now. I will try to be better about updating my blog. Oh, here’s a scary thought for you… assuming you only get to do any serious shopping on Saturdays, you now only have 12 shopping days until Christmas. Better get on it!
Comments