Fall is here and my man is GOOD . . .

I LOVE fall. Probably because in TX summer time is so hot that I'm ready big time for cooler breezes to blow, for long sleeve shirts to be appropriate (and comfortable) to wear, and for coffee to taste nice any time of the day indoors or out.

I think fall is on it's way . .it FEELS better outside, and I love seeing fall decorations coming out - I think pumpkins and gourds are so beautiful, and Indian corn is amazing. I love the smells of fall, the feel of fall, the look of fall . .just everything! So with that in mind, I was very excited to go with the boys, my parents, and little Annie (who my parents were taking care of last weekend while M&A were out of town) to the Dallas Arboretum for their opening weekend of their fall season! They are just plain amazingly artistic with their decor there - my mom loves going, and we've enjoyed it 2 times this past year with her. It is just BEAUTIFUL. They had a really cool pumpkin house, pumpkin patch display type area, and then just lots of lovely garden areas and water features. One of my favorite memories from the day was when Brady, Colby and I were walking around a koi pond and there was a young lady having pictures made beside the pond. She had a fancy bright blue ball gown on. Brady looked at her, the fish, and then at me and said, "Look, mom - it's a beautiful blue mermaid!!" He was mesmerized by her, and pointed her out everywhere we went during the day when we saw her. Cute. Enjoy these pics of our day:

I love this of my serious, thoughtful, resourceful child - walking over the walls separating the water feature. I think he was trying to decide if he could jump far enough to get all the way across the water to the edge over at the top.

Proud Nonny and Pawpaw with their grandkids. Mom sure enjoyed being an "in town" grandmother the last part of the week while Monica was gone and I had a conference to attend!
Brady has a special talent - he can hum "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with an apple wedge in his mouth. Our special boy . . .
Colby prefers to walk ON the hay maze instead of THROUGH the hay maze
Is this not the cutest?!?!?
I love the personality in this one . . .big boys trying to appease mom and smile while Brady thinks it's ok to sit on any pumpkin . .even the ones that are too small for your hiney, and Annie is just looking for a way to throw the big green pumpkin like a ball.

Oh, I LOVE these little men's faces!!!!

Cousins!!

And I just need everyone to know that my man is GOOD. I was working very hard Saturday afternoon and all afternoon / evening on Sunday to prep things for a local consignment sale I was participating in. Not only did he take over child care duties (including Annie, who stayed with us after my parents left on Sunday), but he was my hero on Monday am as well. See, I am selling our crib, and had to take it to the site then assemble it on Sunday night. Problem - I stink at assembling things. And I messed it up after trying for over an hour to get the thing together. So, sweet DV took his car the next morning and we all (me, him, 3 kids) to the site to help me fix the bed. On the way there, Colby was in his car and was playing with one of the screws that was needed to put the bed together once we got there. Oops - Colby dropped the screw into a hole where we couldn't find the outlet to, so the thing was gone. DV drove over to Home Depot and found a matching screw, came back and put the crazy bed back together again. My hero! I love that guy. And then later this week he told me he wanted to take the 3 boys to a football game Friday night . .. and told me I should stay home and have a scrapbook night to myself. Amazing, I tell ya'!

Blessings -

Suiting up . . .

The Vaughn boys are in a season of being VERY into dressing up as various sports players (especially Colby). This morning, this is what I got to sit at the kitchen table and watch for a few minutes while sipping my morning coffee and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather.


Tackling Daddy . . .
Brady says, "Take a pichu of me! Take a pichu of me!!"



Both big boys are playing baseball this fall, and both wish they had a practice or game every day of the week! They LOVE it. And Colby has become his Daddy's biggest sports watching buddy. Colby would sit for hours and watch baseball games and football games - and always wants to know "who do we want to win?" and "how many point do we have now?". He's learning lots of team names, team colors, best players, rules of the games . . .his Dad is LOVING every minute of sharing his wealth of knowledge with someone . . . I'm afraid I've been a bit of a disappointment for him in that department (he!).

Big Boy Brady

My littlest baby went off to school today - not by his choice. Yesterday, when Donny was telling him how exciting it was that the next day he got to go to school, he replied with a dark look on his face and, "I not going to skoo-wul anymowu!" He's a homebody, our Brady man. He just really likes to be at home (with his blue blanket, or "Ganket" as he calls it).

But off he did go today, and he had a very fun day. Didn't even cry or be sad. I LOVE the little preschool my boys have all attended over the years . . .they have all had a great time, made great buddies, and learned a lot in the process. For a mama who has to work some out of the home, I sure love knowing my boys are with people who are speaking the name of Jesus to them, teaching them their ABC's, and singing them cute little songs! Brady marched right into his class, sat down and started on his first little preschool art project next to a cute little girl who I think I was in his class last year as well.

I sure do love my Brady man - he has got to be the funniest little guy in the whole world!! He makes us laugh several times a day at the facial expressions, the dance moves, the quick witted responses he gives and just the cute-ness he has about him. He brings me such joy, and I am so very proud to be his Mommy!

The director of the school greets all the children every day with a big hug and warm welcome - my boys always love running in to give morning snuggles to Ms. Paul!

Oh, the treasured "Ganket"!! Sometimes I have to hide the thing up in the closet so he doesn't spend the day hanging out in his bed talking to it!! He's like a little Linus from Charlie Brown.
Brady's cousin and buddy, Annie. She really loves to be "big" and climb up on Brady's bed, and last week, he had fun introducing her to his collection of animals he likes to keep on his bed. She was impressed.
Trying to be big like the brothers - he sure is a little stud with the batting helmet on and Tyler's new bat! Especially when he sticks his little tongue out of the side of his mouth when he's exerting extra effort. CUTE, I tell you, CUTE!!!

Take me away . . .

Last weekend my sweet hubby took me away on a delayed 10 year anniversary trip to Fredricksburg that was AMAZING. It was the first time for both of us to go to the Hill Country - we had no idea what to expect - but it was GREAT. I really think I could have gone anywhere - with no kids - and loved it. It was just so very nice just having lots of car time to talk through things in our lives - what is working in our marriage, what is not working, what he needs and what I need, etc. That kind of discussion is so very good, and so very hard to do in the context of every day life at home.

So, next time you are in Fredricksburg, make sure and go to the Rock Box Theater and catch a show - it was so neat! And make sure and get a couple's massage with Janet and Tirsa - oh my. That was a highlight of the trip for sure. And stay at the sweet Town Creek Bed and Breakfast - beautiful setting, beautiful rooms, close to Main street but not too close, and yummy breakfast. And don't bother trying to drive through Lukenbach, Tx - it's tricky to find and reportedly not much of anything anyway (especially if you don't like beer)!!


Stumbled upon Crawford and decided to explore GW's home away from home . . it didn't take long . .it's a small place!
We went to Enchanted Rock Sunday around lunch . . .and didn't hike up it - we mostly just wanted to see it, but payed way too much money just to look at a big rock. Oh well. It really was pretty - we just felt a little dumb getting out of the car in flip flops and jeans when everyone around us was tennis shoes up and ready to hike for the day!!


Donny's new BFF, Tirza - is on the right. DV had never had a massage before, and he LOVED it!!
Rock Box show - they do a different show every weekend where they take musical numbers from all different eras and perform them, sometimes change the words, and sometimes do some cute comedy stuff with it - very family friendly, and GOOD. We really enjoyed it!
Random things you might see while you are in Fredricksburg - a 5 foot iguana in a truck windshield. The owners were making sure it was ok and nice and cozy as we got out of our car. Freaky.
A grill that looked like a gun. Hmmm. I took this one for my bro-in-law, Aric. He loves guns and bbq.
The cute little front of our suite - inside was a little kitchen, table, love seat, and some steep stairs that led up to the bed and bath. So nice and cozy!


Our breakfast friends for 2 mornings - one couple was from Wichita Falls, and one from Greenville. The one on the right was only there Sunday am, and was from Houston. They actually got up at 5am to climb the Enchanted Rock and watch the sunrise. To each his own!!

Blessings -