We Charge for Autographs...

Emerson and I are in the Sports section of the Chronicle today!

Our friend, Jesus Ortiz, is a reporter who covers the Astros and he did a piece on Aaron Boone, the 36 year old Astro who has the same heart defects that Emerson and I have. He called last week and asked if he could interview me (and my cardiologist) for the piece.

For your reading pleasure...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/6596031.html

This ADORABLE Little Boy....

.....grew up to be the LOVE of my life!

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY, SCOTT!

I love you more today than ever and thank God for bringing us together.

We sure got us a good thing going on! :-)

Happy First Day of School!

.....from your favorite little FIRST GRADER!!

YEA EMERSON!

Fun with One

Since Emerson got some good Nana and PaPa time earlier this summer, it was only fair that Kirby got to spend some time at the Little Boots Farm as well. She's having a ball being on her own with Nana and PaPa and we've enjoyed our time alone with Emerson!

Of course, Emerson reminded me of EVERYTHING that Kirby got to do with us...and she wanted to do most of the same stuff. It's only fair, right?! (Isn't it a bit early for me to already be tired of explaining that life isn't always fair....???) Anyway....

After we had lunched with Nana and Kirby and said goodbye, Emerson and I stopped and did a little Back-to-School clothes shopping for her. She picked out some cute stuff at the Children's Place. After a snack, we decided to clean out her closet and drawers and get all her new stuff hung up and organized. She's going to be able to wear alot of her clothes from last Fall....but some how, I've amassed a bunch of new stuff for her as well....OOPS! :-)

That evening we had her meet-the-teacher (forgot the camera!)

The next day we went and had our nails done. I didn't take her to my regular place...but to a salon that has a fun kids pedicure chair with a DVD player! She picked out purple for her toes and a blue/green for her nails...with daisys painted on her big toes and thumb nails!

We then headed in to town to pick Scott up for a trip to the Children's Museum. It's much different being at the museum with Emerson. Kirby was all over the place...with Emerson, we were able to explain things in depth and she was intrested in many of the scientific concepts.

Our budding scientist...

She LOVED the rock-climbing wall and did it several times. She was really good at it!

After the museum, we headed to El Tiempo on Montrose for a great Mexican dinner. While we were there, a big storm hit and it got really dark, the lights flickered and the winds howled and the rain poured. It was actually pretty fun, though Emerson was a bit freaked out. Nothing an order of Sopapillas couldn't cure though!!

Saturday was spent running errands, eating out at lunch, and having a friend over for a playdate.

On Sunday, I woke up with a migraine so we took our time in the morning and then went out to lunch (Emerson's pick - Fuddrucker's) and bowling. I don't know why we don't bowl more often...it's such a good time! Emerson has the funniest "wind-up"...something not necessarily a part of the correct bowling form...and she even got a strike!

Sunday evening we had a round of bean bag toss outside while Scott grilled steaks, got everything ready for school and gave our big girl alot of LOVE! It certainly was special time to have with her these past couple of days.

....but I'm ready to have both my little ducks home!!

All About Kirby...(a long post)

My parents took Emerson for several days this week (for a little one-on-one bonding time and spoiling!), so it was just the three of us at home. I thought it would be the perfect time to catch you all up on the "baby"....(who's almost 4...can you believe!?)...

Kirby had a great Spring semester of Mother's Day Out and made several new friends over the course of the school year. She also had a wonderful semester at the The Little Gym. Here's a shot on the balance beam at her "show" and another of Kirby and her best friend with their medals. Kirby and "S" are so cute together and we enjoyed eating lunch with them after class each week. "S" will be going to a different preschool this Fall, but we will still see her at church and in gymnastics again!

Kirby's also been taking swim lessons at our club. We've done a combination of group and private lessons and will be continuing with private lessons throughout the Fall with both girls. She's proven to be pretty fearless in the water, has a mean Cannonball jump and likes to take off without much warning! You gotta keep an eye on this one!

She's also a whiz on her tricycle. She even rode it all the way to and from Emerson's school one morning. She'll be on Emerson's old bike in no time.

We even tried our hand at PeeWee Tennis this summer. Isn't her little purple Prince tennis raquet the cutest thing you've ever seen? Ms. Diane is a saint to take on these little ones...they were pretty cute to watch. Kirby enjoyed it, but I think we're going to hold off a few more months and try again.

We've had alot of fun with her this week. It's been nice to be able to focus on her and give her our undivided attention. On Sunday afternoon, we took her to the Houston Galleria (not a special trip down there, we were just in the area and went on a whim) - we watched the ice skaters and were able to see the Zamboni, walked around and checked out some fun stores. Later that evening we went out to dinner - Kirby picked - Mexican!

On Tuesday, we picked up Scott early from the office and headed to the Children's Museum. If you haven't been there since last summer, you really should go...it's been completely changed and in my opinion is AWESOME! There's really alot to do and see for kids of all ages!

The outside Water Works area is a blast....and sure to get you wet!

One of her favorite parts was the new Kidtropolis area. It's set up as a little town with a bank, city hall, police station, diner, vet, etc. Lots of imaginative play for sure! Here she is driving the police car...

After a couple of fun-filled hours there, we headed over to Goode Co. Taqueria for dinner. If you know anything about Goode Co., you know how fabulous their pecan pie is...in fact, it's pretty legendary...so we did what any good customer would do...had a piece for an appetizer!! It's seriously the best pecan pie EVER! So good, I had to take a picture of it...

To top off our special time together, I took Kirby to get her nails done today. I know, I know....I should be waiting until she's older, but I really wanted to get mine done and thought she'd love it. I was right. She was really well behaved - talked to the other ladies and sat so proud in the chair. It was really pretty cute. I'm so happy we have girls!! :-)

Here's our little goof-ball showing off her PURPLE nails and toes. She even got little daisies painted on her thumbs and big toes! Big Sister will be jealous for sure!

While I certainly miss my Big Girl and am looking forward to having her home, I truly enjoyed being able to spend this time with Kirby. She got some good Mommy and Daddy time, and we got yet another reminder of what a true blessing she is! I just couldn't love her any more.

The Ride of My Life (So Far...)

As I was thinking back over the Spring, trying to decide where to start "catching-up", the one thing that kept coming back to me was the MS150 Bike Ride. Let's face it, I was pretty obsessed about it! And really, weren't alot of you just about tired of listening to my constant bike related chatter? TOO BAD! It was really a bid deal to me, and an amazing thing to attempt and accomplish - even if I got off "easy" by only having to bike 1 day (though let me remind you that it was still 80 miles, with lots of big hills and in to a wicked head-wind!) thanks to the rain.

Over the course of late winter and early Spring, I went to Spin class every Monday and Wednesday night and Scott and I did several training rides in preparation. One training ride was a 25 miler in 38 degree weather on the hills outside beautiful Round Top, Texas. Another took us 40 miles from a start in Baytown, OVER the Fred Hartman Bridge, past the San Jacinto Monument with a little break as we hopped on the ferry (fun!). We enjoyed the sights of our great city on the 70 mile Tour de Houston (where I had my first crash!), and endured an awfully boring 70 miler through Katy and the surrounding area...made even worse by a horrible head wind.

Through it all, Scott was amazing! His encouragement and support kept me hanging in there and we actually had alot of fun out there on those rides. I couldn't have done it without him, and wouldn't have wanted to either! I love you, honey!!

Here's a picture of me at the re-organized start in La Grange

Look at all these riders! It's pretty amazing that an estimated 80% of the 13,000 riders were able to change plans and make it to the new starting point. It's a real testament to the dedication of the riders and the importance of the event.

And here we are having just crossed the finish line in Austin! We were so surprised that Scott's Dad was at the finish line. It was wonderful that he was able to catch this picture for us. As we rounded the UT campus, on our way to ride up Congress Avenue, I had a huge lump in my throat and was fighting back tears....I almost couldn't breath! It was the best feeling in the world!

Just in case you're wondering, I'm ABSOLUTELY on board for next year's ride!

And another big THANK YOU to my parents, Scott's parents, and to everyone who made it possible for us to train and ride...it wouldn't have been possible without you!

Long Time....No Blog!

I TOLD YOU SO! I knew I didn't need another thing to do, another thing to keep up with. But noooo....I caved to the pressure and just HAD to go ahead a start a blog last summer. Sure it went well for a while...you enjoyed it, right? Then the snow happened, and the holidays were upon us, and school started back up again, and, and ,and...!

So, while I'm sure my last post about the snow (*sigh*) is looking pretty refreshing about now, I'll try to recommitt myself to the blog and get a little caught up.

Here's to second chances!