Everything Is Bigger In Texas

It's true, actually, even their Walmarts. But I digress...

Hey! Remember us? We had a blog, once upon a time, and we even updated it now and then! Forgive us for our absenteeism, we have no excuse. But be excited, we've hired new management, revamped the blogging protocols, and sacked all of the consultants the led us down such a dark empty blog path before.

Ahem.

So we went to Dallas, Texas! For a day! And saw Kelly! Woohoo!

The lethal combination of Jeff having airline credits to use, flight deals to Dallas, Kelly being available to be a tour guide, and Allison needing just one more flight for Platinum status next year, all came together for a whirlwind adventure down south.

Highlights included:

• Eating tacos, outside, in December weather! Texans have it so good in the winter, they have no idea.
• Driving around Fort Worth (our first time there)
• Touring Cowboys Stadium (yes, it's impressive, seriously)
• Seeing Kelly's campus and home.
• Watching Emerson practice her usual custom of making at least a dozen friends while buzzing around the DFW airport.
• Enjoying some daddy-daughter nap time on the plane.
  
• Laughing at the local hospital pregnancy clinic's advertisement, which was standing directly in front of the "Condoms To Go" store. Seriously.
  

Despite being a VERY long day, it was a great experience we were blessed to be able to do.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Big Butt Duck!

Say that five times as fast as you can...

Halloween 2010 was a huge success last weekend. Emerson had a wonderful time chewing on the Jack-O-Lanterns we made, trying to keep up with her cousin and friends, chewing on candy wrappers, and falling on her overly wide butt many many times.

It was a great time filled with pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, playing board games, hanging with friends & family, and overall enjoying lots of fall activities and community.

Walking On The Big Wall

Last week we got back from another one of our whirlwind trips across the globe. This time, it was to the home of the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China. Why China? It had always been on Jeff's list of places to visit, and when Allison heard about the idea of walking on the Great Wall she jumped at the idea. And no, triple miles bonuses and a great fare sale had nothing to do with it either, how silly.

Some stuff we saw:

• Tienanmen Square
• Forbidden City
• Jengshin Park
• Beihai Park
• Hou Hai Lakes region
• Lots of hutongs (historical Chinese alleys filled with shops and restaurants)
• The Great Wall @ Mutianyu
• Temple of Heaven Park
• The Summer Palace
• Old people dancing to weird music in the park
  
• Authentic Chinese Opera

And most surprisingly, we saw...one pigeon. One! I don't get it. But I will say the poultry dishes in the country were quite good. Hmm.

It was a quick, but wonderful introduction to China. Especially since one of Jeff's former classmates at Kellogg, Lexon Li, just moved back to Beijing and was kind enough to host us for an entire day. We are grateful to have made the journey, and reiterate what a blessing it is that world travel is possible. And thank you to everyone who helped out with little E back home!

WARNING: Graphic Nudity - Part II

Walking Version...
This is the highlight of my day.

The Park!

We've been taking advantage of the wonderful weather to go to the park near our house in the late afternoon / evenings as much as possible. A certain someone, who shall remain unnamed, absolutely loves the park, specifically the swing set. Her complete disregard for heights and/or railings makes the playground equipment a little more challenging to leave her on. But praise the Lord for Indian Summers!

Ambulatory At Last

So little E has been cruising and taking a couple steps here and there for a while, but we have been watching and waiting for a definitive time where she's "walking" on her own. And about a week ago, our little explorer decided she had enough of being cautious and it was time to set out on her own. We weren't able to capture the first steps, but here's a quick sample since then. What's next, cartwheels? Sheesh!

Birthday Cousin

We celebrated Emerson's cousin, Alexa, last weekend for her first birthday party! As we have noted before on this space, one year olds make off like bandits at their birthday parties. And giant cupcakes are awesome.

Nine Months!

Once again, we have no idea what Emerson's stats were at nine months, since there was no doctor's visit, but we still know she's cute, she's active, and she will only stay still on the blanket for a photo for a few seconds.

And we're back...

...sorry for the intermission. We have no excuse. We have a camera loaded full of pictures and an endless internet palette awaiting us. Let's see if we can start catching up.

A couple weeks back we conducted our ninth annual trip to the Jonamac Apple Orchard with the Riddles, Haugens, and Lennox families. It was a grand time watching all the kiddos gorge themselves on apples and practice throwing them at each other. Our little gummy girl needed help getting a bite taken out of the apple, but had no desire to let go of it once it was in her mouth.

Other highlights:

• Ben & Paul climbing the tractor
• Paul losing a shoe
• Autumn losing her jacket
• Donuts
• Emerson taste testing the leaves on the ground

A great trip, a great time. We hope to have you join us next year.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. To celebrate we went out for a yummy dinner. And by yummy, I mean, I ate black truffle mac-n-cheese with gnocchi (I know, not really mac-n-cheese. So shoot me).

Emerson was a complete peach, and stayed up almost two hours past her bed time! She ate a TON of food and had a blast. She is now sleeping soundly.

I wanted to share this cute video of Nana and Em to honor her on her b-day.

Happy Birthday Mom!!