Papa & Tutu Come to Austin

Well, we didn't see any bats but we had a pretty good time anyway!

 

 Reiley can't start her day without a morning cup of joe!

 Papa, Tutu and the kids

 The Famdamily

Sweet, Sweaty September

 

Fall is all about running around here. The high school hosted it's 11th annual Bearkat Bash. Skye and I ran the 5k and Michaela ran the 1k. Michaela's was not a timed race, but she did very well and I believe would have won a medal for her age group if they kept time. Skye finished in 10th place for her age group of 14 with a time of 30:17 (9:31/Mile pace). I finished 7th out of 11 for my age group at 31:33 (9:55/Mile pace). I love running with my girls!

 

Post the 1k, Pre 5k...

 

First XC meet of the season, Friday Night Lights in The Woodlands. Skye's 2 mile time was 18:28

 Klein High's JV XC Team! Skye beat her best 2 mile time at this meet of 17:56. GO SKYE!

Maui Time!

Mike's B-Day

 

This is what Mike looked like when he opened a gift from his parents...

 

 So happy...

 This is what Mike looked like when he opened my gift...

 Which consisted of this...

Hard to tell which he liked better, huh? 

The First Day of School Has Arrived

The 411

It has been a craaaAAAzy few months. Here's what we've been up to since our last post...

I succumbed to motherhood and am now sporting one of these...*see picture below*. This is not my van. Mine's black. I had to at least retain some coolness. I do rather like the glamor shot of this van though. It makes me think of all I am now capable of doing with a minivan.

Skye went to the military ball with her bf, Chris, who was in JROTC this year. Ain't she purdy? We were so late getting her hair done that we only had time to snap this photo. Trust me, she was GORGEOUS. The dress was floor length and fit her like a glove.

Michaela joined the neighborhood swim team, the Sharks. We were told if you want your kids to learn how to swim make them join the swim team. I listened to sage advice and voila! She started at the end of April not even able to swim the length of the pool freestyle. Now she can do the breast stroke, back stroke, and butterfly! She loves earning ribbons at her swim meets (which consume every Saturday for 6+ hours).

Mike surprised the girls with a ginormous backyard play set. It completely eats up our entire backyard, but it's so worth it. Look at those smiles! 

I learned how to preserve eggs! After being slathered with mineral oil they can live on a shelf for 6-9 months. Um, awesome!



Meet Chloe. She's the newest member of our brood. She's a chocolate Miniature Pinscher, aka Min Pin. We love her and all but if she gnaws another pair of my shoes I'm going to mount her on the wall. Not really...look at that tiny little face! She was only 6 weeks when we adopted her and weighed less than 4 pounds. She has made significant progress in both weight and human interaction these last 2 weeks. 

Super Becky, my sister-in-law, made this divine german chocolate cake for my brother and me. Our birthdays are a day apart and we got to celebrate together this year. The girls and I played hooky from work & school and drove up to Dallas with mom to swim and hang out with Matt & Becky. Lots of fun and good memories made.

Me, Matt, and Mom. I made it to 32 and Matt to 35! 

Now this is something I cannot believe I did and will probably never do again. Rice University holds an All Comers track meet on Thursday nights in May & June. Skye's running team was going to run in it and I thought I'd join in for a little fun. As soon as I got there and saw all the beautiful bodies I regretted the decision. Unfortunately it was too late; I was already outfitted with my special race participant bracelet. I haven't run an actual race since middle school. No joke. Check out these results! The winner ran almost a mile in only 4 freaking minutes and 48 seconds. Whaaaat??! If this were any other race, I would have been estatic with the results. I usually jog a mile in about 9 1/2 minutes.

1500 – women

Name Distance

Rachel Tidwell 4:48.31

Amy guinn 4:54.69

Faith barba 5:24.12

Rebbeca marvel 5:44.91

Michaela leveret 5:53.12

Amanda Garza 6:11.66

Deborah Thomas 6:20.70

Rebecca Garza 6:22.36

Skye Brown 7:49.55

Robyn Brown 8:19.44

And now our dog. Really?

BISHOP BEAR BROWN

July 26, 2002- May 1, 2012

Bishop was the greatest boxer that ever lived. He was strong, playful, handsome and smart. He was great with children and loved nothing more than to be around his family. He would let babies crawl over him, steal his toys, and take away his food. He lived to protect his family and would never let anyone hurt them. Bishop enjoyed running, playing tug-of-war, cuddling, and riding in cars. He will be missed dearly by those who loved him.