Halloween Party at the Massengales!

We all got our costumes on for our friends anual Halloween Party. Brad had to alter his a little bit from last years. Ethan is terrrified of all the spooky Halloween type stuff so Brad decided to leave off the prosthetics and lust do eyes, teeth, and make up. He still looked creepy and Ethan was a lot more comfortable around daddy.

Ethan decided to be James, not Thomas. Maybe it's because Uncle James is here? I don't know? Or could it be James' shiny red coat? Dominic's favorite color is green so naturally he decided on the Green Ranger. I wasn't sure what I wanted but I did know that I wanted to dress up a little more than usual. It was fun. They boys thought mom looked silly and the wig actually fit my big head.

I brought the usual "Catie Dip" to the party along with these cool spider cupcakes. (Spent way too much time on them.) When I took a picture of one of them the eyes turned out orange. CreeEEeepy!

Pumpkin Patch 2006

It's that time of year to head to The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. The boys love it there beause there is so much fun stuff to do (bounce houses, hayrides, hay maze, etc.) we love it because everything's free! This year we went with our friends and everyone had a great time. They added a train ride that the boys were thrilled about. This year the weather was perfect. A little chilly. Last year we went and it felt like August. We are so happy that it's finally Fall!

Lubbock, Texas

A six hour drive from Lewisville... throw in a few major meltdowns and about 17,000 "Are we there yets" and that was pretty much how the ride went. First of all let me say the roads of Lubbock and the surrounding area make it impossible to navigate if you are unfamiliar with the city. Reading a map is a joke since the entire city is surounded by a big Loop. (I hate you Loop 289.) But needless to say we got there. It at best drizzled the entire time. Which we really didn't care because we are still fresh out of summer.

The highlight of the trip was hands down, visiting all the animals at Brad's cousin Everett's farm. The whole reason for our trip to Lubbock was for Nanny's 96th birthday party. But the whole time we were at the party the boys were outside visiting the animals. There was a rooster that the boys loved to chase. Two black horses, one a clydesdale (didn't know how big those really are). Brad took the boys up to the horses while they ate. You can see the clydesdale is the one in the back. The other horse followed us around wherever he was able. He was curious about the boys. The boys were a little intimated by his size though. There were also several donkies. One being a baby. The parents of "baby donkey" constantly stayed between us and the baby so the boys could never get very close. He looked so sweet and furry. The boys had so much fun playing around with the animals.

Click on this link for more pics of the boys at the farm. Make sure you have your volume on.

Lubbock, TX

Uncle James arrives

Uncle James came for a long weekend this past week. It was more or less a "business" trip because he was so busy looking into houses/jobs/churches. But we did manage a little bit of visiting too. The boys had a lot of fun following Uncle James around the house and showing him their toys.

During his visit Uncle James got to go to Dominic's T-Ball game against The Rockies. Unfortunately, Dominic got nailed in the face with the ball after scoring. In the picture you can see his bloody nose.

Summer is winding down! Hallelujah!!

I think everyone in Texas is singing the same song. Thank you JESUS that it's October! This is the best time of year. It's not exactly cool yet, but you can "smell" the coolness coming. Not really. But if you could smell "cool" then maybe you could smell it coming.

Dominic started kindergaten last month. He had a rough start but he has made a lot of progress getting used to new school rules, teachers, and classmates. His first report card was something that he deserved to be proud of. It reflected the true genius in him that mom and dad knew was there all along.

Ethan is now in Pre-K. He impresses mom and dad every day with what he has learned. Sign language, spanish, phonics. His favorite part of school is on Friday's when his class does show and tell.





Fall also means Fall Ball. T-ball that is. The boys are signed up for their first season of ball. Dominic is on the Astros and Ethan is on the Rangers. How they ended up on the Texas teams is beyond us. Of course all the other families think it's wonderful.