Pumpkin Patch

Yes, this is another catch-up post.  We went to the pumpkin patch at the end of October.  It was one of those freaky cold days and I took along our hats, gloves, scarves and big coats.  By midday, it had warmed up nicely and I was glad to have a big stroller to lug all that stuff around.

C was thrilled to ride a real horse!  I thought she would be terrified, but she was the only one who really wanted to do it.  And she grinned the whole way.

Photographing Z is like trying to nail jello to the wall.  He has so many fun expressions and loves to make faces, and he sits still for about two nano-seconds.  I must have taken a hundred photos of just him and this is what I got.

He had a blast, though, climbing around on that old truck and the piles and piles of pumpkins.  The corn maze was kiddie-sized and I nearly panicked about losing him while we were in there.  (Can you spy him in the photo below?)  That's probably the closest I've come to wanting a child leash.  I can't imagine how many kids get lost in the full-size Texas-shaped corn maze.  

My girls were slightly easier to catch on camera.

Can I just say how refreshing it is to go from photographing all of the above to snapping pics of a teenage girl?  Takes five seconds, she knows how to smile, how to pose, listens to instructions...something to look forward to with my girls.

We had lunch on the lawn in the warm sunshine, picked as many flowers as we wanted, fed the goats, and ended with homemade ice cream.  It was a great family day squeezed into a really full schedule.  We didn't get to do the pumpkin patch last year because we were knee-deep in moving boxes.  I think that made it more fun this time around.

Changing Rides

For the last four years, our family has ridden the roller coaster that is entrepreneurship, with exciting highs that take your breath away and scary lows that make you want to close your eyes.  My husband is a remarkable man, gifted with the confidence to make every twist and turn smooth and carefree.  His capacity for learning new things, solving hard problems and negotiating relationships keeps him ahead of the game.  And though his capacity is far beyond what anyone else I know can absorb, he too has a limit.  You can read his own words about leaving Snoball on his blog.

So we found ourselves stepping off the self-employment roller coaster and settling into more of a traditional ride.  He didn't have to search long before companies started lining up to interview him.  I'm not the only one that recognizes something special in him.  At the end of November, he started a new job with Indeed.com.  I had never even heard of them, but they are apparently the largest job search engine on the web, even surpassing monster.com.  Shows how long I've been out of the loop.

His title is "labs hacker."  Doesn't that sound like him?  If I understand it correctly, his team comes up with new solutions to site-wide problems, and makes sure they work on a small subset of the traffic.  Then they pass it off to the development team to make it work site-wide, and start on a new problem.  So he gets to learn new things and solve hard problems without the CEO-ness that never really fit comfortably.

We were riding the roller coaster together and I was excited with him, but I felt the weight of it too.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a smidge relieved to step off.  I know we'll take that ride again sometime.  He has way too many incredible ideas to not try it again.  But we all need some time to recuperate. And I'm equally as excited to see him have the opportunity to decompress some and get out from under what was never intended to be a burden.

Only God knows where this new adventure will lead.  But I don't think it will be quite so white-knuckled.  I'm honored to be a passenger with the man that is immeasurably more than I could have asked or imagined when I prayed for a husband.

Houston, We Have Tourists

I've been sick this weekend and missing out on all the fun Christmas things my family is doing, so I'm trying to console myself by catching up on blog posts.  Here's what you should have seen back in October!

We went to a family reunion near Houston at the beginning of October and decided to make the most of it by taking H to see some sites.  J was so gracious and offered to take Z home straight from the reunion.  This turned our trip into a girls' weekend and gave us soooo much more flexibility.  

I tried to plan some things that you wouldn't really see in any other city.  All big cities have museums, zoos, old buildings, and she's seen lots of those.  But there's only one Johnson Space Center.  

I was worried it might be a little too abstract for my little girls, but there were plenty of things for them to see and enjoy.  Not to mention, the Space Center boasts a 5-story playscape that would have been a total nightmare without a teenager along who was willing to track down my hysterical, screaming C and show her how to get back down.

The highlight of the Space Center for the over-four-foot crowd was definitely the tram tour to mission control.  We almost didn't do it.  The line was super short when we first got there, but we weren't sure what it was for and it took 90 minutes.  That was a big unknown commitment.  So we saw some of the other things first and then went back to the line only to discover we now had to wait over an hour to do the 90-minute tour.  It was worth the wait.  I was so proud to be an American as I listened to the guide talk about all the history that had happened in that building.

We spent that afternoon at the Keemah Boardwalk.  What a fun place!  It was like a permanent carnival, with more restaurants and less lose-your-money midway games.  I lost my money on face painting, funnel cake, and carousel rides.

Sidenote - Next birthday party that I attempt diy face paint, must add black outlines and swirly details.  Makes a big difference.  And a tiny touch of glitter is apparently what really makes it magical.

H rode some really scary rides that I was grateful to wait at the bottom of.  You can't see her, but she's in the crazy updside-down ride in this photo.

The next day we had to work our way back home and did so via the Houston Galleria.  We didn't see very much of it, unfortunately.  I think it would take all day.  But we did as much mall as the little girls could handle then made a Starbucks stop and hit the road.

I grew up near Houston, so I never really attempted the tourist thing in Houston.  I was so glad to do the Space Center and the Boardwalk.  When Z is a little older and (hopefully) into rockets and space, we'll definitely go back.

Rockin' the Six-Year-Old Vocab

A certain first-grader in our house is thoroughly enjoying her budding writing skills.  She goes through paper like there's no tomorrow, making lists, pictures, books.  Here's a sample of some recent favs with translation (just in case)...

Anna's List (we're working on putting the title at the top) - Duck Duck Goose, trailer ride (bike trailer), piggy back ride, read, make paper snowflakes, play the guitar, play My Little Pony church (the reader will please note that we actually accomplished all but two of the items on this day's list)

Anna's Second List - Rachel comes over to play, sleepover at the cousins, play checkers, wrestle, play chess (looks like we only got to one of those)

 I love you Mom.  I think you are awesome.  Love, Anna

For the Aggie fans - I love my Dad (with a big gig 'em thumbs up and a check mark across it).  Gig 'em wins.  I love gig 'em.  Hey, gig 'em, longhorns lost.  Good job, gig 'em.  Oh no, longhorns, you are in big trouble.  Yeah, gig 'em.  (Loving the mooing cow at the bottom with a big x on its face.)

You should know that the last piece was a real love letter because she has converted to being a longhorn fan since we moved (because she really knows what the rivalry is all about, right?).  But since she loves her dad, she made him a gig 'em picture.

Where Ya Been?

In the blurry haze of culture shock that results from adding a teenager to an already busy household, that's where I've been.

We are really enjoying H and the new things we are learning about what we do differently, what we have in common, her country's traditions, our country's traditions, parenting teenagers, having a big sister, and making the most of every opportunity.  I've told several friends that the culture shock of adding a teenager has really been greater than that of introducing a different country.  And she has been such a trooper when early bedtimes or nap time or early risers have complicated plans.  C calls her "my BSBFF - Big Sister, Best Friend Forever."  We are all going to miss her sorely come February, so let's not talk about that right now.

So far, she has (either with us, friends or relatives)....
*tackled (and excelled at) American high school, including AP English, Pre-Cal, and Chemistry (does anyone read The Scarlet Letter outside of high school?)
*attended several high school football games (the team is now in state quarterfinals!)
*landed a free homecoming dress, made a homecoming mum, and attended homecoming dance
*experienced the most organized family reunion in the state of Texas along with a spontaneous first for said family reunion--line dancing!
*marveled at Houston roadways
*toured the Johnson Space Center
*ridden a wooden roller coaster at the Keemah boardwalk
*sampled the Houston Galleria
*performed as a sideshow freak in the high school production of "The Elephant Man"
*seen the state capitol
*had a couple of sleepovers
*cooked us German food
*loved apple pie
*spent the day at the pumpkin patch
*gone on a youth winter retreat
*served as manager for the varsity girls' basketball team
*attended lots of youth small group Bible studies
*celebrated a sweet 16 birthday, complete with seven teenage girls singing karaoke in our living room
*suffered through family photo sessions
*earned a role in the chorus for the theater production of Footloose
*overeaten at Thanksgiving dinner
*joined the crazy masses for Black Friday shopping at the mall (the mall!!)
*helped decorate for Christmas
*attended one town square tree lighting and one small-town Christmas parade


I'm sure I'm leaving out some details, but you get the idea.  Knowing this is sort of her shot at seeing this part of the world has opened our eyes to see everything fresh, and make the most of what we have around us.  It's good to shake things up every now and then so you appreciate what you've got, even if it leaves you exhausted at the end of the day.