Margaret started Tae Kwon Do in August. She goes twice a week, and I think it has been great for her strength and confidence. I love the program our city offers through their parks & rec program. The kids really do learn a lot of self control and discipline. And they learn how to do killer push-ups! So Margaret was invited to take her first belt test last week. On Monday, she was awarded her yellow belt – way to go Marg!!!
Brad and Jack are on the road for their Bengals this weekend. Brad just sent me this photo from his phone. And – just so you know – they are wearing their Bengals jerseys in another team’s stadium again. We decided to let Jack have a much-needed mental health day from school on Monday so he can enjoy his trip to Houston with Dad. Margaret’s not so happy about that.
Jack’s football team, The Truth, finished their season undefeated yesterday. The opposing team fought hard, but our boys just were not going to let that last game slip away from them. The first playoff game is next Saturday. Go Truth!!!
So much to tell, so little time. It’s been too long since my last update. We are all doing well, but my computer is not 
In the midst of working on my lesson plans last Tuesday, I got a virus on my laptop. It’s still not fixed. I’m not really sure if it is fixable. But if anyone can do it, Brad can. If only he can find the time in between work, football, tae kwon do, speech therapy, etc, etc, etc . . . .
Today was the most perfectly beautiful autumn day. October is one of my favorite months in the South, because it’s still sunny and warm, yet comfortable enough to spend the whole day outside in short sleeves. While our family in the more northerly parts of the US are turning on their heater at night & busting out their turtlenecks during the day, we are still wearing shorts and getting a sunburn if we’re not careful.
We hurried this morning to get to the park by 9:15 so Jack could warm up for his 10 AM football game. Our field was right next to the playground, so I never even unfolded my chair. I found a perfect bench by the playscape. I could easily see Margaret & Will playing with all the other Truth siblings to my left & Jack sacking the opposing quarterback to my right. I sure do wish we played at that field more often! After a 44-0 victory for Jack’s team, we grabbed some quick lunch, got Jack home for a shower, and then headed back out for a trip to the pumpkin patch.
I don’t think Will even knew what a pumpkin was before today 
It’s easy to forget that he’s only been with us for 10 months. Almost every day holds some kind of “first” for him. Today presented his 1st hay ride and 1st face painting. He was having so much fun that he pretty much forgot that he had to obey his mommy & daddy! We still had fun, though. And even though we decided to go to the closer, smaller, not a real farm, pumpkin patch, all 3 kids really enjoyed the outing.
Here we are picking out pumpkins:
On a hay ride:
Face Painting:
Random Cuteness:
Since today was Friday, we celebrated with a trip to 7-Eleven for Slurpees & a Diet Coke for me. No homework today — just playing around outside taking pictures, jumping rope, and searching for acorns under every oak tree on the cul-de-sac. We spent so much $$ at the book fair at school this week that the kids got to put 15 raffle tickets in for the poster drawing. Margaret was absolutely thrilled to win the High School Musical 3 poster. It’s already hanging in her room – right next to the lamp for optimal lighting The movie comes out in three weeks, and since Jack gets to go to 1 NHL game and 1 NFL game with Daddy this month(little sister not included), you can bet she will be taking me to see it ASAP!
Will seems to be getting an ear infection. He has had a lot of drainage from his right ear all day. He insists his ear doesn’t hurt, yet there are scabs on the folds near the center of his ear where he has been digging at it. Plus he’s been up in the middle of the night twice this week. So I started him on eardrops today. It’s his first infection since he got the 1st set of tubes in March. He did have fluid in them when he got the 2nd set put in this summer, but I don’t think they were actually infected at that time.
Back to the pictures. I have learned that getting 3 beautiful children to look at least somewhat decent in a simple snapshot is borderline impossible. I mean, why is that? So we tried & tried to get a good group photo on the stone edging next to the flower bed. It ended up being a goof-ball photo shoot. Then everyone wanted to pose for their own individual shot. Margaret tried at least 6 poses. Jack sat down, rested his forearms on his knees & smiled, then he was done. Will decided to do ANYTHING but smile for the photo. But what is a little boy who doesn’t stick out his tongue for the camera now and then? Snips and snails & puppy dog tails . . . right?
Addison, TX
The Aus Side of Life!