Football Friday

An open Friday night is a valuable thing, not to be squandered by just sitting at home. Jeremy and I had the idea to take the kids to a high school football game. The air was crisp, the night was young, and the Boys have been obsessed with football.

We packed up and headed to the nearest high school, Naaman Forest, to see their football stars in action. An added bonus? It was Homecoming, which made it all the better.

I so wish I had a picture of the Boys' faces when they came up the stairs and had their first peek at a real, live football field. It was priceless! A mixture of awe and disbelief and pure excitement.

Every. single. play Noah would say, "Touchdown? Did they get a touchdown?" With each and every "no," he would moan out the most pitiful, disappointed, "Oooooohhhhh." We did see some good plays, though, and even a few touchdowns.

Owie was definitely an enthusiastic fan...for both teams. He cheered his little heart out and clapped so hard and fast his hands are blurry!


I am so thankful we ventured out and attended the game. I had no idea how much it would mean to O and Nosy, and how much we would all enjoy ourselves. We made some special memories tonight!

Celebrity Sighting

Did I mention that the celebrity was a cow?

Oh, so sorry. I mean a longhorn?

We were given the chance of a lifetime: to meet and greet Bevo, the mascot of the Texas Longhorns. What an opportunity! We only had an hour to make it, so we did a quick change into our matching Texas garb and headed to see the star.

You know these three were thrilled beyond words.

My mother-in-law's friend's cousin's sister (or someone like that...I can't really remember the connection) was hosting Bevo in their yard for UT/OU weekend. We were invited to come take a peek. I think we actually crashed the party, seeing as how they were barbecuing and had live music and entertainment and so many burnt orange guests were mingling. Oh well. We whispered sweet nothings to Bevo, took some pics and were on our way. At least we blended in!

It has been suggested that we use this as our family Christmas card this year. I know it has the vote of at least one resident of The House of Halpin!

This is how Nosy oh-so-enthusiastically "hooks his horns." Super cute, that Guy!

Owen was beside himself the whole time, just soaking it all in. He hasn't stopped talking about the celebrity sighting since!

Very Un-fair Fair Day

We were not uninformed. We had listened to weather report after weather report for Fair Day 2009, the day Jeremy had taken off from work to take the family to the Fair. We knew it was supposed to bad. Not a "fair" day in any sense of the word. But we decided to brave the storms and head to Fair Park in spite of the weather. It poured on us as we splashed through the fair grounds seeing the sights. Our shoes were squishy, our socks were saturated, our jeans were sopping, but our spirits were high. We didn't stay as long as we usually do or get to see all of our favorite sights, but we managed to ingest plenty of fried food, feed some adorable baby animals, ride a few rides and check out a super cool jet.

The Boys had both been begging to ride this slide since seeing pictures on Grant and Amelia's blog. They could. not. wait. However, Nosy started crying half way up the slippery stairs. He did okay on the slide itself, but then let loose with the loudest screams I've ever heard once the ride was over. O, as is evidenced by his face, did not enjoy the ride either.

The swings ended up being the favorite ride of the day.

Owie chose to ride this roller coaster. Jeremy and I watched our two little Sons climb in, get buckled in by a stranger and away they went. We both looked at each other like, "Seriously? Do we have kids old enough to ride a roller coaster alone?" I guess we do. They loved every minute of it. When it was over, I asked Nosy if it was a scary ride. "No, Mommy! It was fun. I holded hands with Owen so we could be brave together." Precious!

We are so glad we braved the weather and didn't miss out on the Fair this year. Next year, we'll pray for sunshine!

Ready for the Next Step

It never ceases to amaze me just how different God made my two Boys. Remember back when we were attempting to put O in a big boy bed to make room for Nosy? It did not go well. And that is an understatement!

Take Noah, on the other hand. He has been dreaming of his big boy bed for weeks. Talking about it, thinking about it, wondering what it would be like. It was just a matter of taking the front rail off of his crib, but we had not gotten around to it yet. So, since we were all quarantined with the swine flu with nothing to do, this weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity.

After Nosy got up in the morning, Jeremy got his tools and all three guys set to work. Then came my role in the process. I made the bed up with the softest of pillows, Noah's cozy name quilt that Yaya made for him, and tons of love. After tucking Julie in, his big boy bed was ready!

I ushered Noah in, expecting squeals of excitement. Instead, he seemed to have one objection. Instead of his Noah quilt, he wanted his Noah's ark quilt from Yaya. He is very opinionated, that Boy! He whisked the one quilt off and exchanged it for the other.

Now that's better!

All ready for nap. He went to sleep without a peep and has slept like a rock every night since. He stays in his bed like such a good boy. However, one night, when Jeremy went in to check Nosy's blood sugar at 1am, Noah was asleep on the floor on the other side of his room. We are not sure if he fell out of bed or preferred roughing it on the floor for the night. Very strange.

So Nosy is moving on up into the realm of the Big Boy, leaving this Mommy very proud and a tiny bit sad.

Beloved Corky

Oh, to be a pony in The House of Halpin...What a life! While Nosy was sick and we were stuck at home, the Boys catered to "Corky's" (named after my Dad's pony when he was a boy) every need.

Owen donned his "cowboy vest" (his AWANAs vest from last year), grabbed his guitar, plunked down in my old baby rocker and serenaded Corky with sweet tunes. (Please excuse the disaster area that is our playroom! We had been stuck at home so long and the Boys love to pull out every toy they own at once!)

O told me that Corky especially enjoys "Chinese songs. I can tell by-cuz he wags his tail this big!"

Downtown Adventure

It had been raining for years on end it seemed. So at the first sign of a break in the clouds, we were off to find an adventure.

We jumped on the Red Line to see what we could see. After a quick call to determine if Daddy was free for lunch, our plan took shape.

Julie hangs out with us quite a bit.

We ended up at my favorite pizza place near West Village. I don't even know what it's called, but their pizza is scrumptious! And they give the kids glops of pizza dough to play with while we wait for our pizza to bake. So fun!

After lunch, Daddy had to get back to work, but we still had some time to play!

We headed over Paciugo for a delicious end to our meal. The junior cups are the perfect size and not too many carbs for Noah. He gets so excited to be able to have a treat: "For me?! All of it? I can eat it?!"

Anxiously waiting for the train back home.

A Different Kind of Rock Star

Auntie LouLou surprised Owen with a super fun "date"! Guess where they went?

Owen had a blast and was completely worn out when he got home. Caroline said he was a star student, catching on fast and climbing the kiddie wall all the way to the top. Go Owie!

What's the Matter with O?

Owen's first soccer game was today. I got some amazing pics. I know I did. Sadly, the compact flash card reader on our computer broke so I can't view them. To make matters even worse, in the process of discovering the card reader was broken, the fabulous pics of my Boy in action got erased. So, a new card reader is in transit, and hopefully I can still recover the photos off of the card. In the meantime, I'm making do with my crummy old camera for most things.

Anyway...back to the soccer game. Hopefully I'll add pictures later.

"What's the matter with Owie?" is what kept running through our minds. Our child that has dreamed of this day his whole life and excelled in practice stood around doing mostly nothing. He would casually chase the ball, lagging way behind the herd of children also chasing the ball. Twice the ball landed directly at his feet. He glanced down, noticed the ball and gave the tiniest kick ever. I can only assume that O was way overstimulated and overwhelmed. There was an awful lot of jostling and pushing and screaming and commotion.

After the game, one could only assume he was the star of the show! He whooped and hollered over the lone goal scored by the Green Hornets. He grinned from ear to ear while recapping the best parts of the game. He ensured we had all seen him kick the ball. He high fived everyone he could find. He said he had a great, GREAT time. Well that, my dear, is all that matters. I am so glad he thoroughly enjoyed himself!

A Drippy Day at the Arbo

Autumn at the Arboretum is a wonderful thing. Beautiful colors, pumpkins galore, cooler temps. We can't stay away. So even though the skies were gray and the forecast called for scattered showers, Erica and I packed up our excited Boys and headed out.

For the first time ever, we toured the Arbo on the trolley. There was absolutely no one around (I guess everyone else listened to the weather man!), so we left our strollers behind and enjoyed the ride.

The little Guys climbed a bit before...

...the drizzle turned in to full fledged rain.

A few rain drops couldn't ruin our time! We just pulled out the umbrellas and kept on going.

We found a fairly dry place to picnic,

and to keep this cutie pie out of the storm. He didn't mind a bit!

We Halpins are a classy bunch, you know. Never would our sons galavant around the Arbo shirtless. gasp!

Oh, yes they did! Once they became sopping wet, the shirts all ended up discarded.

The grins speak for themselves! These Guys had a blast!

We strolled around, soaking up the wetness, puddle jumping and splashing about...and having the time of our lives.

I think we made some of our best Arbo memories today, enjoying showers from God and good company.

Headed to the Market

I have had ambitions to go to the Dallas Farmer's Market for a couple of years now. Crazy, isn't it? Just go already! But it seems like when I think about it, it's always too hot...or too cold..or the 'fridge is already stuffed full. Well, I finally got my act together and we went. We even incorporated a bit of learning while we were there.

This is not the most flattering pic of the Boys, but you can kind of see the little "I Spy" books I made them. Owie's book had words on one side and the picture on the other, in case he got stumped. Noah's book had word and picture on the same side. Once the Boys spied the item on the page, they were rewarded with a sticker. Collect all the stickers to win a prize! Sadly, since I had not been to the Farmer's Market since I was a little girl, I did not know exactly what to expect. Grapes, caps, trucks, bees, pumpkins could be spotted in abundance. However there was not a pair of boots or a dog to be seen. No worries. The Boys earned their prizes anyhow.

Look at the crystal clear, beautiful day God blessed us with!

It looks like O spotted a baby to earn a sticker!

Nosy flipping through his book.

Fun picnic lunch after shopping.

We had a really good time at the Farmer's Market, especially downing all the fantastic samples they were freely handing out. Although I came home with oodles of produce, I don't think I necessarily got a great bargain. I think I would have had to buy in a lot more bulk to save a lot of money. But a fun time was had by all, and we enjoyed the gorgeous day before all the dreariness set in.

Good Morning!

Mommy: "Good morning, Love Bug!"

Nosy: "I love you a bug too, Mommy."

How I LOVE that kid. He keeps me smiling all day long!

Finally...

It seems as if we have been waiting our entire lives for the day Owen would be old enough to finally play soccer. Ever since seeing his cousins play, starting two years ago, he has been asking, pleading, often for us to let him join a team. The day has finally arrived. Owen's first soccer practice.

The coach oddly scheduled practice for 4:30 in the afternoon, meaning Jeremy (assistant coach)couldn't be there since most dads are, you know, at work at that time of day. So I took tons of pics to show Daddy later. Here are the Boys before we hopped on Big Wheel/stroller and headed to the park for practice. His practices are only a few blocks from home which is lovely!

At the park and all geared up. Do you think he might be a tad excited?

Someone else considers himself a soccer star too. (More about that in a later post!)

The very first thing that coach asked the kids to do was to tuck their hands behind their backs and "act like a carrot" while kicking the ball around a cone. Just guess what my always compliant, eager to please, so excited about soccer Boy said to that! "I am not going to do it." Just like that. So matter of fact. I was shocked and embarrassed. Owie?! We had a little talk about respecting authority and following directions. He was better after that.

Check out that form! He looks like the karate kid!

Kicking goals

Towards the end of practice, Coach noticed a very pouty Nosy sitting on the sidelines. Once he discovered Noah's deep down love for the game, he offered to let him participate in practice. Nosy was ecstatic and kept up with the bigger kids just fine. I just hope once game time comes, Noah realizes he isn't actually part of the team!

Evidently there are limits to the lengths Noah will go to play soccer. No stretching, thank you very much.