My mom treated us to the best steak in the world, bar none!!!! We had a fabulous dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. We started off with a sweet red pepper calamari, then moved on to baby arugula salad, sauteed mushrooms, fresh asparagus with hollandaise sauce, garlic potatoes, fresh broccoli served au gratin, blue cheese crusted filet mignon and prime rib. . . . oh, and did I mention we finished with a delectable Chocolate Sin Cake! It was an exceptional dinner and just as phenomenal lunch on Saturday!!!
This morning my mom flew in from Tulsa for a visit. Our first stop was the Grapevine Mills Mall. We enjoyed visiting as we wondered from store to store. Each of the kids built an animal at the Build a Bear shop. Abigail built the sweetest black bear with Hannah Montana gear. Caleb built an orangutan in army fatigues. And Sissy selected a pink bear with hearts. The kids had so much fun creating their animals, and selecting clothing and accessories for them. What a neat experience! Once we completed their new friends, we enjoyed lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. All of the waiters are park rangers, the restaurant is decorated in a tropical rainforest theme. The animals come to 'life' and sing. Big day!
Today we enjoyed another fun performance at Casa Mañana with the presentation of The Stinky Cheese Man And Other Fair(l)y (Stoopid) Tales. This was a hilarious reinvention of the story from the Brothers Grimm.
It begins with Jack who just wants to chop down his beanstalk in peace, but the little red hen, the princess, the wolf and a host of familiar fairytale characters keep getting in the way and then there's also that annoying Stinky Cheese Man. Instead of the gingerbread man who is chased by all those wanting to eat him, this story stars the cheese man whom everyone runs away from because he smells awful. Other twists include the Ugly Duckling growing up to be a really ugly duck, the Princess kissing a frog only to end up with a mouthful of slime, and the odd tale of Cinder-Rumplestilkstin. The musical was adapted from the award-winning picture book by Jon Scieszka who wrote the same titled book to entice the reluctant reader to enjoy and even aspire to write their own stories and it doesn’t have to be a ‘Once Upon a Time’ or ‘Happily Ever After’ book.
We volunteered time today at God's Food Pantry. We bagged up rice & beans into individual packages. We also sorted thousands of donated canned goods. The pantryreceives so many donations this time of year just before the holidays. In the next few weeks they will be getting boxes ready for Thanksgiving.
Halloween marks our 6th year in Texas! Our families first visit to Texas was on Halloween 2001. We were surprised to find members 'Trunk or Treating' on Wednesday night church services. Especially coming from a small Oklahoma congregation where even pumpkins were a no-no! Anyway, this event is one of the first touch points that the surrounding neighborhood has with our congregation. Several bounce houses, lots of candy, hot cocoa and friends. This year Caleb & Abigail went as Luke and Leia. Frankie was the 'walking carpet', Chewbacca. Take a close look at Jon, he has tattoos on both arms, a do-rag, and biker gloves! Padme' went as herself!
Today was the first youth program put on by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.We enjoyed a production featuring the history of percussion in the orchestra, from drums first borrowed from the military band to exotic instruments utilized by contemporary composers. The most fun-loving group of musicians in the orchestra guides us on a multi-cultural journey full of curricular connections including science, history, and music. The repertoire included music by Dvorák, Beethoven, Mozart, Rossini, Copland, and concluded with Leonard Bernstein’s ever-popular Mambo!
In Bible and History today, we discussed the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel was probablly a ziggurat, because that was the common temple tower in the land of Babylon at the time. The architecture of ziggurats resembles pyramids, without the smooth sides. Following our lessons, Caleb and Abigail build a ziggurat out of Legos, complete with temple entrance.
*Nimrod was the Hamitic ruler that unified the people to build the tower.
. Brother played catcher and first base at tonight's game. The photos above are both of him in his catchers gear. He had two at bats with a double, 2 RBIs and a single. Monday night will be his last game of the Fall season. He has really enjoyed this team. Great coach and great parents.
Today we were “wrapped” in suspense and laughter at the horror spoof The Mummy’s Claw. The tale of an elegant British house party that becomes a madcap life or death struggle in the Valley of the Nile. Everyone convenes at the home of archaeologist Sir Nevil Blore’s ‘digs’ to solve an ancient puzzle. We literally had a front row seat to all the mayhem! It was a thrilling performance!
This is a fun pic from tonight's game! Whoosh, Caleb is super fast! If you know brother, that made you giggle. He is all heart, gives everything 110%, however speed, not really a word used to describe him! He has been getting faster since the kids have been running with Jon in the morning! Anyway, this was not his teams best game, everyone on the team seemed sleepy. Hopefully Saturday's game will be better!
My mom treated us to the best steak in the world, bar none!!!! We had a fabulous dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. We started off with a sweet red pepper calamari, then moved on to baby arugula salad, sauteed mushrooms, fresh asparagus with hollandaise sauce, garlic potatoes, fresh broccoli served au gratin, blue cheese crusted filet mignon and prime rib. . . . oh, and did I mention we finished with a delectable Chocolate Sin Cake! It was an exceptional dinner and just as phenomenal lunch on Saturday!!!
the horror spoof The Mummy’s Claw. The tale of an elegant British house party that becomes a madcap life or death struggle in the Valley of the Nile. Everyone convenes at the home of archaeologist Sir Nevil Blore’s ‘digs’ to solve an ancient puzzle. We literally had a front row seat to all the mayhem! It was a thrilling performance! 
