February Blog Updates

2/28 - luckily the weather cooperated and we got to play Landon's basketball championship was today.   We played at a middle school.  They game got a little heated with parents and refs not calling stuff, but in the end the Warhawks won first place in their division.  Was very proud of the boys.

After the game Grammy and Gramps took the kids.  Landon wanted to take his trophy with him - first place trophy he has gotten in sports.  Greg and I had a fun party to go to.  We hung out some in the afternoon and got ready.  It was 70s party.  Greg and I aren't to into dressing up.  He wore and old simpsons shirt, and I wore a shorter bell dress with waved shaw.  I tried to make my hair big wavy.   It sort of worked.  At any rate we had a good time.

2/27 - In Dallas we had crazy weather week.  After a few ice days everyone was back at school and work.  Friday it started snowing pretty hard.   It was beautiful to watch out the window.  I decided about 1 I was leaving to work from home.   The kids went outside after school and I went out there with them for a little bit to take a break.  Fun times when kids can play on the street. 

2/23-24 - We had some ice in Dallas so kids were off school for two days.  I worked from home and got to look out on ice during day and got to have lunch and be home early for dinner those days.  It was nice :-)

2/21 - Landon had playoff game in Basketball, and they won!

We went to lunch at Elke's afterwards to celebrate with Grammy and Gramps.

That afternoon Kasey and I went to the nail salon.  I got a nice pedicure and Kasey got manicure and pedicure

That night we had mother son dance.  A bunch of us went to Mi Cocina for dinner - kids played outside while we got to talk and enjoy drink.

Then we headed to dance.  Boys really wanted to run around and chase each other more than dance, but it was still fun.  The music wasn't as good as it has been in the past.  Not sure why.  Also a lot more line dances than before.

2/15 - We actually slept in some.   We celebrated Grammy's birthday.  We went to Babes for awesome fried Chicken, yummy sides and desserts.  Then we went back to Grammy and Gramps for a little while.  We got to watch Castle that Landon and I had not seen.    We went home so the boys could get to soccer practice.  Kasey and I finished her homework which seems to take some time.  We took the kids to Grandma and Pops House for them to stay the night.  Greg and I went to dinner at a new restaurant called Sangria.  It was good, still not De Tapas but good.

2/14 - We had a busy day.  We slept in a little.  We had to get up and go do food for ACO.  Landon went door to door asking for can food donations.  We had 15 houses to go to, and only 3 people were home.    I was driving, Kasey was writing down how many cans, and Greg was sitting in the back organizing.

Then we went home.  The boys went to baseball practice.  Kasey and I got ready, played outside some with Patch, and got lunch for all of us.  That afternoon Landon had a basketball game.  The coach was out of town so Greg was coaching.  Last game we played this team we lost 19 to 0.   We ended up winning the game - Greg was happy.   It ended up the way they did standings for playoffs that we got 2nd place for the playoff.

Right after the game we decided to go try Splitzville for some family bowling.  It was a short wait which we were surprised about.  So we got a few beers and Icees for the kids while we waited.  We had fun bowling and hanging out.

2/13 - Today is Grammy's birthday!  We'll get to celebrate with her this weekend.  We had a busy day.   I worked in the morning.  We went to the kids Valentines parties in the afternoon.  Landon's was first.  They had ice cream sundays, games and got to open valentines.  Landon and a few boys built a really tall cup tower, and they played games with chopsticks and heart conversations.

Then we went to Kasey's party.  They had valentine bingo, cookie decorating, snacks, make your own book mark and color by numbers.  The kids had fun!

After that Kasey and I went to the girl scout store and did a little Valentine shopping at Target.    Kasey then volunteered for a school project for a friend of mine's daughter where she was trying to see how influence boy/girl stereotypes.

then we all went to dinner at 5th street.  Kids got ready for bed and we called Grammy with Patch to wish her happy birthday

2/7 - Another busy Saturday.  Landon had a basketball game at 10.  It was a tough loss for the boys.  The refs weren't calling anything and they other team was playing quite rough.  We had a quick lunch afterwards. 

Greg had taken over owning the Pinewood Derby for the pack.  He had help from some of the other leaders as well.  They changed the setup, had a fun activity there to build a car with a twinkie, good snacks, and organized runs.

The pinewood derby went smoothly.  Landon got 3rd in bears, and it was fast enough for overall competition of top 12.   5 boys from our Den got in top 12 which is pretty good.  The other two boys in our He ended up getting 3rd overall.  He was so excited.  

After that Kasey and I went to sell some girl scout cookies with her troop.  Kasey was pretty tired and didn't want to do much, but the girls sold several boxes

We went home for a bit, and then headed to Mi Cocina to have dinner with a few other families.  Kids got to play outside in great weather and the adults got to talk some which was nice.

2/6 - We drove from the lake to Fargo, North Dakota which took about 5 hours.  Then flew back to Dallas.  We got home a little early.  Grammy and Gramps picked me up from the airport and brought me home.   That night Greg was leading up to get all cars checked in for the Pinewood Derby.  Kids were pretty tired so we got Landon's car checked in and headed home.

2/5 - After few days of meetings and trainings, 13 of us headed up near Canada for some ice fishing.   It was chilly with wind, but not to bad.  We had fun fishing in 2 huts for the day, and then we stayed a huge log cabin.   We had a good time hanging out and playing cards of humanity.

2/2 - I had to go to Minnesota for the week.  Kasey met with piano teacher for the first time.  She will start lessons next week.  The teacher emphasized learning to read the music which can be used with other instruments.  We'll see how it goes.

2/1 - We slept in some.  We all got up to go to breakfast at Froggy's.  We had yummy hot chocolate and breakfast.   Then we headed home to get some stuff done.  Greg took Patch and kids for walk and to play outside at the school.  I packed for my trip.

In the afternoon it was time to get ready for superbowl.   Greg and kids made brownies.  Landon suggested that they put extra chocolate chips in them which made them yummy. We ended up with chocolate on the floor as we all licked the spoons and bowl.

Then kids and I made guacomole.   Landon made him and Kasey chocolate milk and Greg and I got a beer.  I posted something on facebook and people thought we were having beer and chocolate milk together.

Greg and Kasey had bought stuff to make fajita nachos.  We put chips out, black bean refried beans, cheese and fajita steak.  Yum.  That with guacamole and some peaches with red hots made for yummy  super bowl dinner.

January 2015 Blog

I'm actually posting this on Jun 12th 2015 - Apparently I've been behind in my blog posting.   Here you go :)

1/31 - We started the day Landon and I going to Marvel Experience with the Dowdy's.  We got there early which was good.  We made our Shield badges,then headed in.  It started with a movie showing super heroes like Iron Man, Spiderman, Thor, Black Widow, the Hulk and a few others.  It set that new villian was able to take on same super powers they had to defeat them and they needed our help.   Then took us into a room where you used big touch screens to learn about origins of several characters.  A new one to us included Lady Hulk who was a cousin to the Hulk that he saved with his blood.

They had a few areas that showed weapons of several superheros and mask of iron man.  Then we got in line for a small theater area.  It had guns and you would shoot the bad guys in several scenarios.  It was a competition and Amy did a good job.

After that we went to an area where kids could see themselves on big screen.  They would put their arms and legs in different positions to call some of the super heroes.  As they did the super hero would show up on the screen next to them and do something.  Had spiderman, hulk, captain america, iron man, black widow and a few others.  It was pretty cool.

Then we went to an agility course.  It was a room with lasers through the room.  You could choose easy, medium, hard and you would go through lasers trying not to cross the lines.  You have to put your hand on certain lights and then come back to the front.  Landon choose medium and he did good, but crossed 2 or 3 of them.  Amy and I did it together and we didn't  cross any lasers.  Go us :-)

After that we flew with Iron Man.  As you moved side to side you moved him and putting your hand out could shoot the machines coming after you.  It didn't work great, but was still fun.  Amy and I competed, Matt and Mike did and Landon and Jason did.   Then we headed to grab a quick snack and wait in line for the hulk thing.  Landon and Mike did it. As they punched the Hulk punched, when they put their hands up he jumped.  We also go to make our own super hero that we emailed to ourselves, but not sure we got it.   

Then we went to the next area.  More areas to learn about super heros and villians.  There was control room where you could click where villans were in different parts of the world and see who they were and try to defeat them.

Then we headed to another dome which showed movies of super heros and some about them.  Next we went into a theater.  We all got seats.  It was 4D experience where the recruits were leaving on a ship.  The seats moved as we took off.  Then the bad guys attached an knocked us down.   Of course they needed our help to beat the bad guys.  We won with the super heroes.  Yea!

Then we ended up in the gift shop.  We got pictures and shield badges for the boys.  Overall it was a fun time.  We headed back to town for a late lunch at Mi Cocina which is always good

Landon and I got dropped off and we didn't have to much time.   It started raining and Greg took Kasey and I up to Tom Thumb for first girl scout cookie booth sale.  The girls ended up selling about 90 boxes which we thought was good.  They also earned $43 for ACO and $40 for cookies for troops

I left Kasey after a little while to go watch Landon play basketball.  Good game they won, 14 to 0.   Then Grammy and I went to get Kasey.  Then we headed to Landon's soccer game.  We got there about 1/2 time.   The boys lost 2 to 1 but played hard.

After that we went to get a quick dinner at MooYah since it was late.  Then headed home for kids to get in bed.

Needless to say we were a bit tired.

1/30 - I worked from home today.  Landon had living library at school.  Each of the kids picked someone to research, be and give a memorized speech on.   Landon was Milton Hershey.  We bought him a suit for the occasion and as mustache which wouldn't stay one.  When we went in, each of them had a flashlight in front of them.  When you turned the flashlight on their chest they would wake up and give their speech.   Kids were all kinds of people from Sacajawea, Albert Einstein, the first female Dr in the US, Babe Ruth and many more.  The kids all did a good job and we were proud of Landon.

We picked up kids from school.  Landon went home with friends, and Kasey came home and finished her 100 day shirt while I finished working.  We went to pick Landon up at 5 and headed to dinner at a new Italian restaurant.  I thought it was really good and had a good atmosphere.  

Both kids were tired but they wanted to go to Family fitness night.  We left Greg at home.  I had to go to quick PTA meeting, and kids were good reading the library during the meeting.  Then we headed to different places to participate in family fitness night.  Fun activities - make some of the kid created healthy snacks, put silly string on a skeleton, break a board, try out lacross stick, and more.  Kids seemed to have a good time.

1/24 - We got to sleep in a little today. Kasey was very excited she slept in until 7:20 something.  We slowly got up and ready.  Kasey and I went to deliver girl scout cookies while the boys took Patch for a little walk and some play time.   After that we went to Elkes for some lunch.  Then headed to Landon's soccer game. He got to play forward for the first time on this team. He scored the first goal, and played well up front.   We had to leave at half time to head to basketball.   It was a tough physical game, but the Warhawks won by 1 point.   After that Greg and Landon went to sand his pinewood derby car.    Kasey and I went to Hobby lobby for some paint for the pinewood derby car and some supplies for Kasey's 100 day of school tshirt.  She decided she wanted to do 100 sequins of differnt kinds, glued on with glitter glue.  She spent at least 10 minutes picking the glitter glue color.  :-)

1/23 - After day at work and school we met up with 3 other families at Mi Cocina.  Kids got to run around and have fun, and adults got to talk and enjoy a few drinks.  Fun times!

1/18 - Greg let me sleep in which was nice.  We got up and went to get kiddos, then met up for lunch at Freebirds.  After lunch, Kasey and I sold some more girl scout cookies and the boys went to make pinewood derby car.

Kasey has sold a total of 156 boxes of cookies - I think that's pretty good for first year of selling.

In the afternoon the kids went to the park to play with friends.  We headed home and had some pizza and pizza rolls and watched some football together :) 

1/17 - We started the day with 8am basketball game.  The boys lost a very physical game.  Landon was pretty upset.  Kasey was there selling some girl scout cookies.  Kasey and I  sold some girl scout cookies in the neighborhood, while the boys walked Patch.  They took Patch on a walk without a leash and she did pretty well.  Kasey also did well selling cookies.  We went to have lunch at Elkes.

Landon had a soccer game in the afternoon.  The teams tied, but it was a good game.

After the game kids went home with Grandparents for the night.  Greg and I headed to get some stuff for Landon's derby car, and then we walked around Total Wine which is fun.   We went to Del Friscos for a great dinner.  We actually got to sit at our table where we got engaged.  They are moving the restaurant next year so it was fun to sit there again.

We had a very good dinner and fun night.  Then we went to see a movie.  After not sleeping well the night before I ended up sleeping through most of the movie.  oops!

1/15 - What a day.  Kasey had a very loose tooth.  Last night we tried getting Kasey's tooth out.  We tried dental floss but didn't work.  She remembered that Landon bit a biscuit one time and his tooth fell out.   She wanted biscuits.  Greg got up early to make them :)  She didn't lose it then, but after carefully brushing her teeth Greg said let me try one time to pull it out.  And he did.  She was so excited because it had been hurting and she couldn't eat everything.

The other thing that happened is we brought Patch home from doggy boot camp.  She had been gone for 6 weeks and we all missed her.  We will still need to work with her some, but she was excited to be home.   Relaxed a lot.   We'll see how it all goes, but we are all excited to have her home with us.

  

1/11 - It was supposed to mix rain/snow/sleet overnight.  I guess it didn't really get below freezing so it was just wet and cold.  We relaxed mainly.  Kids wanted to watch Spy Kids 3 while I read some.   We cleaned up some, I got ready and then Landon and I watched Gaurdians of the Galaxy.  He had read the book I got him for Christmas on trip to see Patch yesterday.  It twas good movie and fun to see him become interested in more grown up shows.

Kasey and I had girl scout meeting that afternoon.  We learned about money and cookies - girls will be selling starting this Friday.  So exciting.

1/10 - Landon had a 9am basketball game.  Unfortunately they didn't win, played a tough team.   We came home for him to change clothes, and then headed to Ennis to visit Patch.  She gets to come home Thursday.  She's definitely doing better.  We'll see what she does when she comes home.

It wasn't supposed to rain, but of course when we got down there it was raining.    

We went to early dinner at Mi Cocina which was nice.

1/9 - I wasn't feeling very well.  The night before I had to take some Aleve because of headache (for me to take something it has to be pretty bad).  I woke up and called to get an appointment.   I didn't want to have flu that's going around, and wanted to make sure if I needed to fly down and drive mom and dad back that I was well enough for that.  Dr said I just had cold.  Instantly I felt a ton better.  I did a little shopping then spent the rest of the day working from home.  Got to be home when kids got home, and we had Greg's Chili at home.

1/8 - I got a text from Grammy and Gramps (they were on a cruise).  They were diagnosed with the Flu and had to be quarantined t o their room.   

1/6 - Kids went back to school after a few weeks off.  Kasey's alarm was set wrong so she got up about 20 minutes late.  They made it to school ok.  Greg walked the kids because last day before its supposed to get really cold.

Landon had a late game so we had neighbor come over to get her in bed while Greg and I went to the game.  His team won 5 to 2.

1/3 - Greg had Cub Scout training all day.   Kasey and I got up and went to get a little breakfast and a drink at Starbucks.  Then we went to pick Landon up from his slumber party.    We went home for a little while and decided to go pick up lunch.  Landon wanted to stay home eat and watch football game, Kasey wanted to go out.   We ended up getting Taco Bell and watching some football.

That afternoon took Kids to Grandmas so I could do a little shopping before Greg got home.  

That night we had an adult only game night.  There were 7 couples.  We had drinks and appetizers, and played a charades like game with multiple rounds.  It was fun.  We had some good laughs and I think everyone had a good time.

1/2 - We had a very busy day.  There is a special exhibit at the Perot museum about math so the kids and I got up and headed down there.  They got to race bikes, make a cart in a game, play games, see body heat, program a space vehicle to move and get rocks, save the earth from astroids, race snow boards, build a building making decisions to see if it will resist weight, wind and earthquakes.  It was fun.

We then walked over and had lunch at El Fenix.  We shared nachos like Grammy and I did and another dish because Kasey wanted a taco (which she shared with Landon.

We headed home.  We talked Landon into letting us listen to new Annie soundtrack on the way home.   We got home, got Landon packed for his birthday/slumber party then we headed to meet some of the neighbors at a rollerskating rink in Plano.  I haven't roller skated in many years.   Kasey stayed on the wall for most of the time, fell some but did well.  Landon got off the wall a lot, and near the end told me he was skating better than me.

We took Landon to his slumber party then Kasey asked to go bowling.  She tried Splitzville but they had 2 hour wait so we went to Allen Bowl.  We bowled a game, then we headed up to Durkins for dinner.   Kasey was pretty tired and falling asleep on the way home.

1/1/15 - We slept in til about 9, slowly got up and ready and went to get kiddos.  When we got home, Greg set up the new TV and old TV so he could watch multiple football games at the same time.  By the time the later games came on, he had replaced the old TV with the newer one.

We pretty much hung out at home and relaxed all day which was nice for all of us.

Christmas Letter 2014

Hello family and friends:

I hope this letter finds everyone doing well and that you and your family are well.

We’ve had a good year.   We’ve been keeping busy as usual. I’m still working for TI (working too much) and Greg is still working part time.   I have been traveling a lot in US this past quarter, and glad to be home for the rest of the year.  My role at work is going to change some next year, hopefully it will be a good change.  I had my 20 year high school reunion which was a blast.  Great seeing lots of people haven't seen other than facebook.  I'm volunteering on PTA at the school and Kasey's Daisy Scout leader.  Greg is in leadership team for Cub Scout Pack, and he helps with cub scouts and coach all the sports teams.

We joke that this was the year of vacations.   Our biggest vacation was going to Brazil for World Cup in June.   Greg went for 2 1/2 weeks with friends we travel with and was able to go to all 3 first round USA games and Japan vs Greece.  They had a great time in Rio between games and got to go to Natal and Manaus.  I was able to go for about 8 days.  Friend Tracy and I flew straight to Recife.   We were there a few days on our own enjoying the beach, caipirinhas and some site seeing.  We got to go to town and watch USA vs Portugal game with a bunch of other Americans.  Greg and crew in Manaus got stuck on a boat that stopped working, and got to sweat at the very hot game.   Now when things go wrong we say that we've been Manaused.   It was a great trip once we all got together we enjoyed more beach time and fun dinners hanging with friends.

End of July and early August we went on a family vacation.  We went to the North East and got to visit friends that used to live in our neighborhood.  The kids had a great time playing with their friends and we enjoyed visiting and relaxing.  We first went to Doylestown Pennsylvania and got to go to Hershey Park and the beach in New Jersey.  We then took the Kids to New York City for a few days.  We got to go to Time Square, 9/11 memorial, M&M store, Central Park for a Carriage ride and the Central Park Zoo, We took the Staten island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and we brought in Smith and Wollensky yummy steaks, sides and even wine.  The kids got to have Gatorade in champagne glass :)  Then we got to see Top of the Rock and headed out that Day to Connecticut to visit other friends.   We got to pick blueberries and peaches, Greg and the kids went on a huge maze in a sunflower field.  We enjoyed our trip a lot.

In August, I took a girls trip with my mom and 6 cousins.  We had wide age range, but had an amazing time.   We stayed up late, enjoyed ourselves, ate lots of good food, and met some fun people.  Great trip.  I highly recommend it for fun girls trip :)

Then end of September/early October I was going to Germany for work.   Greg was very nice and let me go a few days early to get to see some sites.  I got to go to Salsburg Austria, Neuschwanstein Castle (castle that inspired cinderella castle), got to attend Oktoberfest, and see Marienplatz.  It was a fun few days.

Greg has had A&M season tickets since 1994, and I've been sitting there since last game of 1997 season.  We took kids to  LSU game on Thanksgiving for our last game in those seats.  This weekend they will blow up that side of the stadium to build up new one.  Its the end of an Era, but also beginning of one :)

We still have Patch, she's currently at obedience training school for 6 weeks.  She's learning to listen to us, and hopefully jump and chew less :)

Kasey is now 6.  She graduated from Preschool in May and started Kindergarten in August.  She has the same teacher that Landon did, and she's enjoying it.  She's already boy crazy in a kindergarten sort of way.  She thinks she's very fashionable (even though her outfits often don't match), and she's great at sharing what she's learning.   She's started reading some and is slowing starting to sound words out.  Kasey played soccer in the spring and fall.  She played with a few girls from her school, and her coach was someone I used to work with at TI.  Kasey was a good sweeper because she didn't like running, but by the end of fall season she was done with soccer.  She's still in dance.  She was in ballet and tap and had a recital she did great in around June.   This fall she's taking Hip Hop dance.  She's the youngest one in the class, but enjoying it. Kasey is also a Daisy Scout, and I am one of the leaders.  We are enjoying it and fun to hang out with the girls and see them decide things.  They planned our holiday party with Frozen theme, various snacks and an art project to make snowman artwork.   Kasey has a personality for sure.  She enjoys telling stories, doing art (loves drawing friends, family and our dog patch), she has a locked diary, and she enjoys leading people doing various things.  She's a lot like me in a little body.  

Landon is 8 ½ now.   In the Spring he played soccer and baseball.  He's now on baseball team with school friends which is great.  Over the summer he took several Allen sports camps for baseball, basketball, & football. He likes baseball a lot but really likes all sports.  In the fall he started playing kid pitch baseball and played soccer.  He took pitching lessons, and I've never been so nervous for him as when he was pitching. Landon is enjoying school.  His favorite subject is math.  He was elected by his peers to be class Mayor and got to sit up front and ask questions to the Allen Mayor on a class visit.  He's studying Ancient Greece in his gifted and talented program which he's really enjoying.  I sent up my photo album from when we went to Greece and saw some cool stuff there.   This winter he is playing indoor soccer and basketball (both new teams).  Landon is still in Cub Scouts and enjoys doing activities with that.  He's started enjoying more grown up TV shows - we now watch The Flash, some cooking competitions on food network, Castle and Star Wars Rebels.  He still loves legos and creates different people all the time.   He's also very into Mindcraft, and recently got some books to teach him how to do more.  Fun to see his creative side.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year.  May God Bless you this coming year.

Love,     Dana, Greg, Landon, Kasey & Patch Myers

November Update

11/29 - Kids and i got up and went to have Breakfast with Grammy, Gramps, Lorenda and Frank.  Yummy eggs, Bacon, ham and kolaches.   We got to visit for a little while.then had to go.  Landon had a ton of energy and wanted to be super active jumping over things and bouncing things.

Then I took kids to Grandmas house.  Greg and I went to funeral for good friends dad - Jerry Wright in Fort Worth.  Amazing funny man that will be missed by all.  Several sorority sisters were there to support Tracy.

Then we came back went by Party City and Papa Murphys to get ready for Kasey's friend birthday.  She actually lost her friend party for behavior, but we let her earn back having a few friends over for pizza, a movie and going out for ice cream.  The girls had a good time. They watched the movie for a little while then decided they just wanted to play upstairs.  I hung out downstairs with Patch.   Kasey wanted to open gifts and then we went to Pacuigo for some gelato.  After that I let them play for about 5 minutes outside and then I took the girls home.  They all seemed to have fun

11/28 - What a day!  We got up and drove back from College Station.  Then we had to get ready to have 13 people to our house for Thanksgiving Dinner and Kasey's family birthday.   This means we had to clean, get seating ready, get stuff out and do some cooking.  As usual Thanksgiving was great.  We had special guests Lorenda and Frank who came up to visit.  Always fun to see them.    Lorenda was there 17 years ago when everything started with Greg and I.

Kasey got some pumpkin pie for her birthday dessert which she liked.  Then she got to open presents.  She tried to help reading some words on her birthday cards, and she got many American Doll clothes, dog and dog accessories.  She was super excited.  We also got her some stuff she had picked out at the school book fair and at Claires one day shopping.

We were all pretty tired 

11/27 - Kasey woke up in the middle of the night getting sick.  Of course she was fine by morning.  She asked that we go to the chicken for lunch.  Who are we to turn down that request.   We got up, had some breakfast and got showers.  We headed to Aggieland outfitters, to do some shopping.  Got a few things for the kids and teachers.  Then we headed to the Chicken. Greg dropped kids and I off.  We ordered food and got a table while they took Doug's car to the parking lot.

With playing dominoes, pool, watching football we stayed there all day until time to go to the game.  We brought many layers to our last game in those seats at Kyle Field.  Greg and Doug have been in those seats for 20 years and I've been sitting there for 17 years.

Greg and I took a few pictures.  Our relationship started 17 years ago this day.  Greg, Doug, my mom and 3 fun cousins (Lorenda, Courtney and Ashley) came to College Station with us to go to bonfire and hang out.   We spent time then at the Chicken, the Dry Bean, went to Bonfire, Greg had to take me potty behind a dumpster (which he still brings up often)...   

Fun times.  Then we went to the game.  Not a good end to season or our last game in those seats.

11/26 - We decided to go down to College Station a little early so that we could go to Student Bonfire.   We picked up Burger Street and took to Grandmas as we dropped Patch off.  Landon was hungry.  For breakfast he had pumpkin bread, a yogurt and a bagel.   For lunch he had a double cheeseburger and ate it all.

We left a little after noon to get to College Station.  We met Doug at Cory's house to drop our stuff off.   Then we went to pick up Double Daves for pizza rolls for dinner.  We had heard last year that there were lines on the highway getting to bonfire so we went early.  We ate our pizza rolls, had some brownies and drinks.   The boys started playing football.  Kasey was walking around with her ladybug blanket being queen and trying to keep the guys from stepping in manure.       Everyone had fun.  Landon got to run around and loved playing football.  He would run routes and try to catch the ball.  He tried to catch 10 and eventually did.  Bonfire was supposed to be lit about 8pm.  About 7 we decided to walk up to it.

We were able to get right up along the fence to take some pictures and hang out.   At 8 they came on saying that the line to get in was really long so they were waiting some to let more people join.    They had a talk by Hunter Goodwin who is a good friend of one of the guys that Greg and Doug grew up with.

Then they did some ceremony - Walking around with the torches.   Then they lit the bonfire.  Since we were right up front, it got hot really quick.  We moved back and watched it some.  It was pretty cool - probably about 1/2 the height of the last one we had been to, but still amazing and fun.

The kids enjoyed it.  With all the sparks coming off Landon said I want some of the pixie dust.   Kasey was pretty scared but liked watching from further away.

It was late so we went back to leave.  Traffic was horrible, I think we sat there for almost an hour moving very little.  Both kids fell asleep.

11/25 - We started off the holiday week (meaning me being off work) by having family portraits.   We had them at JC Penney.   We drove separately so Greg took the kids, my makeup and headed home while I picked pictures.  As I finished I discovered that my keys were in my makeup bag.   Greg, the kids and patch brought them back up to me :)

11/22 - There was a thunderstorm overnight, and guess who ended up in our bed - Ms Kasey.  This means none of us slept very well.   At 6am Kasey says mommy you said we could get up early and do zumba or hip hop.  Yes Kasey but not at 6am on SAturday.  AFter several can we get up nows, we got up about 6:45 to do some zumba.  We all got ready.  Kasey and I were going to get our hair cut.  Greg was taking Landon and a friend to Allen Eagle High School playoff game.

Kasey and I got tea and hot chocolate on the way to getting our haircut.  After that we met Grammy at the salon for manicure and pedicures which was fun.

After that Kasey and I argued about where to eat lunch.  We settled on going to Collin Creek mall to the food court.  We got Chick fil a.    After lunch Kasey really wanted to go see Santa so we did.  She was very excited and told him she wanted an American Doll.  

Then we went to do some shopping for family gifts which was also fun.  Got Kasey some last minute birthday gifts.

We had a fun day.  Kasey even thought so :)  We came home and rested some before the boys came home.

11/21 - Landon is staying at friends house for birthday party so Greg and I went to dinner with Kasey and Mi Cocina.  Then we had dessert and Pacuigo.  I've started reading a book to Kasey called Angel Tree.   I haven't read it before but I think it will be a good book.

11/20 - I had been in Denver since Monday.  It was cold but good trip.  I got back Thursday afternoon.  Mom and Dad picked me up and brought me home.  I got to go with Greg to pick up the kids.  The Daisy Troop went to ACO to deliver our holiday food and get a quick tour of the food pantry.  Then I took one of Kasey's friends home, and then took her to dance.  Kasey threw one of her fits saying her stomach hurt. The teacher had to drag her into class crying, but she stayed and did pretty good.  Not sure if she gets nervous with me there or just thinks I'll let her get away with it.  Silly girl.  We came home and went to early dinner with the boys at Spazo.   Then came home Kasey got in the shower, and Landon and Greg went to cub scout pack meeting.

11/16 - We had our 2nd daisy scout meeting.   The girls brought holiday food for ACO.  We had a couple girls drop and a couple new friends join.  The girls are fun and seem to enjoy it.  The moms had a cookie meeting, and I worked with the girls to plan their holiday party.   They chose a Frozen theme, had lots of ideas for food, and wanted to do a winter art activity.   It should be fun.

11/15 - We got up and headed to College Station with our several layers of clothes.  We went to get the key, drop our stuff off and went to Wings and More for lunch.  We got luck and found 3 chairs at the bar so we just sat there to eat.  Some friends from the neighborhood were also there.  After that we headed to North Gate.  We went to Duddleys.   Our neighborhood friends came by a little later.  Greg helped their two kids (same age as ours) play pool.  We joked with their son that if he became friends with Kasey he could come over and play pool at our house.  We went to put on new clothes and headed to the game.  It wasn't to cold, but rained almost the entire game.   Aggies unfortunately lost :(

11/14 - I ended up working from home for the day.  I got to have lunch with Landon which was a surprise to him.  Greg packed us both a Twix so we both got a surprise.  Then we went to the book fair so Landon could let me know what he wanted.  That afternoon we took the kids to the grandparents for the weekend.   We then went out with friends to Mi Cocina to celebrate Juan's birthday.   After dinner we went to have some wine at Cru.  It was fun!  Doug stayed at our house because we were headed to college station the next morning. 

11/11 - Kasey and I had a quick girl scout meeting with new Daisy Mia - she's from Kasey's class.   We met at Market Street and had a hot chocolate.  Kasey and I stayed for a few minutes talking about her birthday

We went home and then got ready for Landon's baseball tournament game.  it started at 7:30pm so we had a sitter for Kasey.  Boys started off good in the field, then had some bad plays and got down 8 to 1.  They came back in the 4th inning to 8 to 6.    They weren't able to score after that so lost, but they played hard.

11/9 - Since Patch was locked up most of Saturday we let her sleep in our room vs in her crate.  Of course this means we didn't sleep great.  I woke up at 3:30 with patch right next to me her head on the pillow.  It was hot, I guess that she puts out heat like Greg does.

We finally got up about 8, had a breakfast sandwich.   I did laundry while Greg went to get kiddos.    Greg had to run to work.  Kasey and I went through artwork pile to document when she did them.   Then we got ready and headed to scout meeting.  After that 10 families all headed to Allen Americans hockey game.  The boys got to do color guard for the National Anthem which was pretty cool. They got to go onto the ice.  Landon held the Texas flag.

Then we all sat together to watch the game.  Kids had fun dancing, eating and being kids.  They got to give high 5s to the team as they went off the ice.

11/8 - We had another busy day as usual.   Baseball tournament game got rained out so they rescheduled for Saturday at 8am.   That's really early for a Saturday.   Greg and Landon left to get there to warm up and Kasey and I took a little longer to get ready.  The boys started out pretty rough after three innings, they were down 7 to 2.   In 4th Inning Landon was pitching.   He did pretty well and they went into bottom of the 4th 7 to 2.  The boys bats were pretty hot.  They came back and scored 5 runs.  Since that's the run rule, we went into overtime.   In overtime they start with 2 guys on base and 1 out.  Top of the inner Yankees held them to 3 runs.   In bottom of the inning, Landon started out on base and got a run.    They guys got 4 runs to win the game.  They were so excited.  Landon got 2 hits, an out at 2nd, and did pretty good pitching in the 4th inning.  It was a nail biter.  I couldn't sit down.

Then we went to Rudys for Yankees end of season party.  We had some breakfast tacos, the kids had cupcakes.  Coaches got cool gifts Lyn made with Yankee symbol and picture of the team on it.

We left there to get ready for Landon's soccer.   Bengals were playing the top team in the league.  The boys played really hard.  They scored on a corner kick that was awesome. They tied 2 to 2.  One of the other teams goal was a penalty kick in the box on a bad call.  Everyone was really excited

After the game the team went to Braums to celebrate.  Everyone had ice cream.   The coaches were recognized and we ended the season with our heads up.

A&M was playing Auburn at 2:30, the way they were playing we assumed it would be a blow out.   The boys went to get basketball uniforms squared away, and Kasey and I went clothes shopping.    We had fun finding clothes, and we tried some on as well.   When we got home I checked A&M score and they were ahead 14 to 0.    At that point I didn't want to jinx it so I didn't start watching.  We did other stuff still checking.   Greg took kids to Grandmas house.   It got to the point that Greg had to turn on the game.  We saw the very end of the game - A&M beat #3 Auburn which was pretty unexpected.

That night we went to Bobs with Doug, JJ and Wayne to celebrate Doug's birthday.   We had fun talking, enjoying great wine and food.   We even got some dessert!  Fun night.   I wanted to go out for a drink, but I was the only one.  We went home.  

11/7 - Kasey got Knight of the Week for the first time.  She was very excited and we were proud of her.  Rounded out a good week for all.

11/6 - Landon came home and told Greg he didn't have written math homework.  Later he told me the story that they are starting to have timed multiplication table tests.  3 minutes to do I think 1 through 10 times tables - not a lot of time to think. This was the 2nd one they had taken.  Landon got all of them correct and finished everything in time so he didn't have written homework.   He was the only one in the class to get them all correct.  He was proud and so were we.

11/4 - Today was 3rd grade mayoral elections.   All of the kids had to write a speech with something they think should change, something they want to improve and something they like about their school.  Most of the parents were there and each kid got up and did they speech by memory to the class and parents.   They all did really good.  It's tough presenting in front of people.  I had fun working with Landon on his speech, we wrote it together.  He had some good ideas about the speech and ways to make presenting more dynamic.   His "platform" was that he wanted to have PE every day, play on the playgound every day, and he really liked the computer lab.  At the end he said - I'm Landon and I'm here to Pump You Up (Like Hans and Franz from Saturday Night Live - they have a new commercial so it got a laugh).   We were proud, Landon got all the way through his speech, used hand gestures, and presented his points well.    The kids voted on who the class mayor would be.  They narrowed it to 7 kits, then narrowed it to 2 and then elected a winner.   Landon won class Mayor - he was so excited and surprised.  Fun experience.  As Class Mayor they are going on a field trip in December to the Mayors office.  As class mayor he gets to shake the Allen, TX Mayors hand and ask him a question.  I hope I get to chaperone and be there.

11/3 - Landon had a late soccer game that was a make up game.  It  was at 7:30pm.  We had a sitter come stay with Kasey and get her to bed so everyone could go to the game.  Grammy, Gramps and Pops came to the game.  We thought it would be cool, but ended up being pretty nice.  They boys ended up winning 3 to 0.  They were so excited about winning and had fun playing.  Landon had an assist.

11/2 - Guess who came down  right at 7am.  Both kiddos had been up a little while and came down at 7.   We hung out for little while, had some wrestling, and then we had breakfast and hot chocolate.

We went to friends birthday in the afternoon.  Kids ran around outside and we talked with adults inside.  Fun!

Greg had coaches meeting and went to FC Dallas playoff game.  Kids and i went to BJs for dinner together.   they were tired so it was a little long and had some complaints from both.

Landon has been working on his speech to try and become class mayor.  Kasey stood up at the end of dinner to give her own version.  Wish I had recorded it.  She started like he does saying her name, that she wants to introduce herself (play, pretend).  She talked about what she wanted to change.  It was perfect!

got the kids in bed a little early which they needed

11/1 - We started off November with a rough sports day.   We started with pictures for the soccer team.  Landon played for first 15 minutes or so until we left for baseball.  Soccer team was playing a good team.   They played hard, and ended up losing 3 to 2.  At baseball the team ended up winning big, but Landon had a tough game.  He pitched an inning and had a rough time, and struck out twice.   All the grandparents and I left baseball early to see Kasey play soccer. Grandma took her to the game, she had to go potty.  Then her tummy hurt and she decided she couldn't play soccer.  We all sat there while she didn't play trying to convince her to play.  Nothing worked unfortunately.  

Kasey and I met Greg and Landon at Elke's.  Landon and Greg were sitting with Landon's classmate Katie.  So Kasey could sit with her family with her sister Lizzy who she used to play softball with.  She wasn't sure but sat there.   Since her tummy hurt we just let her have soup - she also had few carrots and a little fruit because of course as soon as we left the soccer field her tummy magically felt better :-/

We came home watched the end of the A&M game - they won, but should have won by more.   We got Zorbas for dinner, ate at home and the kids watched at least part of Rise of the Guardians before bed time.  It was night for time change.  We told the kids they weren't allowed to come downstairs before 7am

October 2014 Updates

10/31 - I was out of town, had to get up 3:30am Dallas time to fly back.  Worked most of the day.  Left work early, went to vote, and then headed home to get ready for Halloween.   We went to the Cracknells with several of the neighbors.  We had pizza, drinks and friends.  We got some pictures of the kids and headed out for trick or treating.  Kasey was Elsa and Landon was  a Texas A&M baseball player.   We had fun going around the neighborhood.  I brought Kasey back to get her in bed.  I let her have 1 piece of candy.  So then she wanted to go outside and see if trick or treaters were coming, she had to go potty, her tummy hurt, several things to keep her from going to bed.  So much for 1 piece of candy.

Landon and Greg went back to the Cracknells.  The boys sorted their candy, did some trading and then came home a little later.  We all had a good time!

10/26 - We got up and got ready.  I went to pick kids up.  Landon had to work on writing his mayoral speech.   We worked on what he would talk about.  His platform is about exercising more so I suggested that he use the Hanz and Franz - we are here to pump you up as catchy slogan.  He didn't really want to use it so Greg suggested saying it the same way but saying I'm here to change, our school.   He came back monday and wanted to do pump you up.

The boys went to soccer practice.  Kasey and I played work.  She was my boss telling me what to do.   She had me learn how to draw a human.  She would show me how to do it and ask me to do it.  We drew a person, wrote the name and then drew dog and labeled it.  then we turned the paper over and we drew whatever.  Kasey drew a dragon and castle.  I drew tree with grass, flowers, butterfly and sun.   We had fun.

10/25 - Another crazy day.  We got up for next baseball game.   Kasey started the day with throwing a huge fit, she lost a few birthday parties and decided to quit soccer (she didn't play in her game, but next day she decided to at least finish the season).  We'll see how this attitude issue goes.

Landon played in soccer game and lost 3 to 1, for some reason the guys are struggling to score.

I left a few minutes early to catch elementary reunion.  I got there at the end, but got to say hi to several people which was fun.  I went home to say goodnight to kids.   I got to tell mom and dad who was at reunion.

Then it was time to get ready for my 20 year high school reunion.  it took place at Rough Riders ballpark in Frisco.   Greg drove Rebecca Hughes and I up there on his way to FC Dallas game.   We were one of the first people there.  As people started arriving and checking in.  most people were having a beer.  Sarah and Rob showed up and shared a beer with us.  It was fun catching up with everyone.  Friends from elementary school, middle school and high school.  

We went in at 7:30 - Patrick Floyd and Amy Hendry planned it.   Patrick had Sarah Martin Wolff sing God Bless America to get it started.  Everyone was getting drinks and food and catching up.  I won't remember everyone but some people there.  From Elementary - Anne Lenhard, Nick Thrash, Mark Williamson, Christa Dean, Allison Giddens, Delana Thompson, Linda Dedo, Christy Apple, Christy Lavendara, Lori baker, Mike Oneal, Jeff Neyart, Jason Boslow, Kevin Sendry,Mike Cihock, Traci borcetino, Yong Lee, Lee Worley, Patrick Floyd, Jaime Folkert, Sarah Martin, Abby Farmer

Then from middle school people like David Walton, Andy Chun, Cory Koop

High school friends like Mike Eaton, Steve Falk, Brian French, Amy Hendry, Leith, Rob Worley. Kristen Buttram, Kirsten Knipp, Josh Gibbons, Gary St John

Anyway there were many there.  We had a great time catching up.  At the end we all went on the field for a big picture of everyone.   Greg was able to get in at the end when he came to pick us up.  Then several of us headed to Henry's at shops at Legacy for a few drinks.

We left about 1am after a very fun night.

10/24 - Landon had a make up game.  He ended up pitching 2 innings.  It was a tough game.  Our team was visitor, and we ended up losing by 1 run.   Team lead most of the game.  It was bummer.  Landon did pretty well pitching, some good and some bad.  he did get a game ball for it.

I brought home Kasey right after the game because it was late

10/23 - We had parent teacher conferences this week.  Both went well. They seem to be doing well and are liked by teachers which is good.  We are proud of them.  Landon is reading at early 4th grade level.  

In addition to Kasey's friend at school another little boy gave her a necklace and made art for her.  We are in so much trouble.

10/19 - We had 2nd daisy scout meeting.  One part of it I was asking the girls to decide if they wanted to go to a theater performance or plan a holiday party. It was kind of quiet.  Kasey says, can I say something.  I said sure.  She asked the girls to vote.  Who wants to do theater performance - no one; who wants to plan a party - everyone.   That's my girl :)

Afterwards Kasey and friend Violet played at the park while we waited for Landon to finish soccer practice.   We went home and kids and I decided to go to dinner.  We went to small place near by called Spazo.    They were playing the cowboy game so Landon was ok.  We had some pasta and got to spend some time together.

10/18 - Greg got up at 6:15 to get ready and head to the airport.  He was day tripping Alabama for the A&M game.   Kids and I got up, made some english muffin breakfast sandwiches.  We got kids ready for their soccer games.  Landon's team lost 2 to 0, struggled with scoring.   Kasey played pretty well at sweeper.    After games we headed to Elke's with Grammy and Gramps for some lunch.    After lunch we went to Dairy Queen.  Landon is much like me that we don't like vanilla.  We got a snack, and I had Landon taste their vanilla.  He agreed it was better than most vanillas.   

We got home and chilled out some.  We started watching A&M game, but it got ugly fast.  Then we went to the school so kids could ride bikes and play some with Cracknells.  I took Patch up there but didn't get to walk to much.

We headed home. After our late lunch and snacks we weren't really hungry.  We decided to have movie night.  Kasey and I watched Dancing with Stars and Landon watched the first Harry Potter movie since he finished the book.

Greg got home close to midnight.

10/17 - We had school fall festival.  We all had BBQ - Landon wanted to sit with his friends instead of us.  He sat with Travis, Andrew, Austin and a few others.  We had some good BBQ and some homemade desserts.

Then we went to walk around.  Spent some time outside doing some games.   Kasey decided she wanted face paint so we waited in line for a while.  She got a princess crown.  After that we went back outside.  Kasey found Bryce.  They had glow necklaces, and were walking around in field.  They walked around talking for about 30 minutes.  It was cute.

10/13 - I had to work some in the morning. Kids were off school  Then kids and I had lunch with Grandma and Pops.  Then we did some shopping.  We went to party city to finish out Kasey's Halloween costume.   Then we went to cake carousel looking for Frozen castle with no luck.   Then we went clothes shopping at Kohls.  We walked in and I saw a dress for me I liked.  Landon asked - are we shopping for dresses or looking for robes (which is how I convinced them to go clothes shopping).   We had fun.  Landon finally found some long sleeve and pants he liked.  He also got a full pullovers that he can wear with his tshirts as it gets colder.  Kasey found some Frozen stuff that she loves.  She would try them on and dance around saying stuff like oh yea, I'm Elsa.  Kasey got a Olof robe and Landon got a sports one.

We got home and kids wanted to put on all their clothes.  Kasey had a dress, sweater and her robe on.  She was dancing, doing karate and talking to us. Landon put on one of his pull overs, and then ended up in pajama bottoms and shirt.   Kids and i started watching Star Wars 6.  Greg came home from work and we all went to dinner.

We came home, kids showered, Kasey put on Elsa costume and became queen.  Landon and I watched the rest of Return of the Jedi.

It was a fun day.

10/12 - Patch woke me up about 6:45, and then kids were up by 7:10.  We chilled out for a little while and then got up.  We had donuts for Breakfast and chilled out until Greg got home between 11-11:30.

We decided to go to lunch at a new Pizza place in Fairview.  We weren't overly impressed, but we got to eat outside because it was nice out.  We were going to do a little shopping because Kasey needed new shoes.  She chose not to listen at lunch so she lost shopping, and even had to spend some time in her room when we got home.

We all hung out, Landon did some powerpoint - he's making one on the Carolina Panthers along with others.  Kasey and i spent some time looking at Frozen cakes.

We all went to FC Dallas game.  We went early to get parking, had a cupcake then went to the game.  They were playing LA Galaxy and this was Landon Donovan's last regular season game in Dallas.

It was kind of misty.   FC Dallas ended up winning 2 to 1 scoring near the end of the game.

We had discussion in the car what Kasey wants to do when she grows up.  She started off saying that she will have a limo when she gets older so I asked what she will do to make enough money for a limo.  It ended up that she would drive the limo, and drive all of us around for free.  Later she said Landon would buy the limo for her and she's drive everyone in the family around.

10/11 - I flew back from Germany.  All kids games were cancelled from rain which is good and bad.  Greg left early to head to College Station.  He met up with Steiners and saw the Pearsons as well.  Kids hung out with Grammy and Gramps for the day.

My flight was late, and then it took forever to get my luggage - I had to check because I had a bag of stuff I bought in Germany.

Gramps picked me up and took me back to their house.  Since my flight was late we had to leave right away to get home.  Kasey had convinced Grammy to make tacos, so luckily I got a to go box so I got some too :-)

I got the kids home.   Got Kasey to bed right away, and then Landon and I watched the Flash a new TV show.  We liked it and enjoyed it.   After Landon got to bed, I took a long shower, and then watched some more Game of Thrones.  I made it until about 11:30 when Patch and I went to bed.

10/10 - We had our last day of meetings in Germany.  Luckily we ended a little early.   We said goodbye to everyone.  One of the ladies gave us some really good chocolate from Germany.

We headed back to the hotel to rest some and pack.  We left for dinner - with recommendation from one of our colleague's we went to Erding, Germany.   we ended up in downtown area at beirgarden.   It was Erdinger brewery.   It was great, sitting outside having special Weiss beer.  We enjoyed some Spatzle and Schnitzel.  It was really good and good way to end our trip.

We headed back.  I stayed up and slept about 1 1/2 hours.  Got up at 3:30 to shower and get ready to head to the airport.   We got to the airport, had some breakfast and waited.   I slept on most of the frist flight to Madrid.  Then we had to walk about 30 minutes to get to our next gate.  We didn't have much time to spare.   We were on long flight in 767 so there were no individual video players.  There were also several teenagers on flight (French) that kept kicking my seat, standing in the isles talking, laughing.   Made for long flight, but I made it.

10/9 - We had good day at office.  then we were having dinner with the local team.  they took us to an Italian place in Freising.  One of our local team members is Italian and knows the place very well.  He ended up ordering drinks, food and dessert.  It was amazing - home made ravioli, spicy pasta and great spaghetti.  it was so good.  The wine was Montepulciano which was nice.  he also ordered us a dessert tasting - Tiramisu,  cocolate, flan, and something else.  It was great.   he also ordered us a nice after dinner drink - I don't remember the name, but it was good.

A few of us walked back to the hotel.   We all had some drinks and hung out in the hotel bar for a while.

10/8 - After day at work we decided to head into Munich for dinner with one of the ladies from the office.  We were having dinner at Marienplatz.  I really wanted to get a Dirndl for Kasey.  There was a shop in the Munich train station that I wanted to get back to.    We took a long train ride - local train so many stops.   When we got to Munich station we had to find our way to the store.  It took a little while but we found it.  Then we met up with others at Ratskeller in Marienplatz.  It was right by the Glockenspiel.   It had great scenery, very good food.  We tried a Germany champagne I think it was called secco.  We shared a meat platter and german pancakes for appitizer.  I had pork with mushroom sauce.  It was all very good.  Of course we enjoy the pretzel bread

We hung out in the area for a little while then took the train back to Freising.

This is what I wrote on Train for 10/8

Starting at marienplatz

After not sleeping to much got up for work.  We headed to office for mainly internal meetings.  We got to office took elevator to 3rd floor then we had to walk down to first floor for our meeting

Long day but good discussions.  We ended about 4, talked with one if ladies and headed out.  We all changed quick and headed for the train. We got on local train from Freising to Munich.  We stopped at central station for a specific place I wanted to get something.  Took a little while but we found it.  I got Kasey a German dirndle.  Then we went few stops more to Marienplatz.  We got out there where we met colleagues for dinner.  The restaurant was under city hall and the glockingspeil with very cool decorations. Restaurant called Rathskeller Muchen. 

We just passed Claim station.  Some how we started talking about giving birth with no epidural.  Joking talking with Brad on train about Bradley method

10/7 - Team met for breakfast, we met with distributor all day long.  We headed back to hotel and headed to quick dinner nearby.  I wanted Greek but got out voted to go eat Tai.  It was pretty good.  We got to sit outside to eat which was great. 

10/6 - Today was internal meeting day at work.  We walked up and down 3 flights of stairs. At least we got some exercise.  After work we headed back for a bit and walked into town for dinner.  We went to Kathi's steakhouse.  They put us in back room but was great food.  I had lamb.   We went back to hotel had a few drinks before heading to bed. 

10/5 - We got up early, we had to leave at 7am to get to Neuschwanstein Castle in time to get our tickets.   Very pretty drive to get there.  We got there just in time to get our tickets.  We took a bus up the hill, and then went to bridge where we got some cool pictures of the castle.  Then we walked up to castle for our time for tour.   we took tour inside, walking many steps and seeing some of the places that were finished.    it was pretty cool seeing the paintings on the walls, the bedroom furniture that was very detailed  - the tops had pillars and spikes on top.  He has running water in his room, they had lights in cave area, they had buzzers to call staff.   Pretty cool.

Then we decided drive a bit to beirgarden to have some lunch.  We sat out on patio Schloss Brauhaus Schwangau.   The food was good, we had Oktoberfest beer, great weather and nice scenery with mountains.

Then we drove to Oberammergau which is where Passion Play takes place.  Many of the buildings there have paintings on them.  We walked around for a while seeing buildings including few with kids nursery rhymes like Hansel and Gretal, The Sky is Falling and 3 little pigs.   There were several others with religious paintings or just beautiful paintings.  We did a little shopping, stopped for some ice cream, walked around a little more then headed back to hotel.

That night we went to the oldest Beer brewery thats still working in the world - Weihenstephaner..  We had great beer called Vitus, and food was good as well.  As leaving they had champaign made by that brewery and Sam Adams so I thought we should try it.  Wasn't so great :)  Oh well tried something new

10/4 - We got up early to head to Munich for Oktoberfest.   We tried getting money which ended up being harder than we thought.  We headed to Munich on the train, got some money at the train station.  Then we headed to Oktoberfest.   We just followed the people.  Almost everyone was wearing traditional  German outfits - girls have dirndl and guys wear lederhosen.  We got there a little after 9am.  There were rides, several tents, vendors selling some food and gifts.    We went into Spaten tent.  It was decorated very well - blue and white all across the ceiling.  Wooden cutouts of German women and men.  There was a stage, but no one playing at 9:30 in the morning.  We got two beers and a big pretzel.   It was basically a very big room of a bunch of people sitting very close together drinking beer and talking.  We sat across from a couple from Italy who where there for their 2nd time.

After that we decided to go walk around some before Marian and John got there.  We did a little shopping, looked at other tents, and then sat and did some people watching which is very fun there.   People were continuously coming in from multiple places and seemed that not that many people were leaving.

When Marian and John got there we went back in and decided to try and get into new tent Marstall tent.  We went up to the door, and everyone was holding up fingers how many people they had in their group.  The "bouncer" was choosing people based on seats available.   It didn't take to long and we got in.  They took us to our seat and said we had about an hour and half in the seats.  We ordered beer, got some food and enjoyed the music and scenery.  I had Bratswurst.  We got some pictures with a few of the waiters and waitresses which was fun.

The tents are all temporary, but hard to believe with how extensive they were.  Lots of wood, walls, each had restrooms, kitchens, stage, etc.

After our time we headed to walk around.  There were so many people there that it was like being in a heard of cows.  We went to look at all other tents, did a little shopping.

The other ladies decided to go back to the hotel and John and I decided to go to Marienplatz.  We went down there and saw the glockenspiel, and I was able to get new Germany soccer jerseys for Greg, Landon and a few friends.  After watching we sat outside and got hot chocolate and coffee and did some people watching.  After that we headed back to hotel.

We went to dinner in downtown Freising - walking distance from hotel.  We decided to have some some German food.  Good beer and some good pork.  Walking back we had some Gelato.

10/3 - I arrived in Germany.   I flew through Philadelphia on US Airways, which was weird.   

Breaking up that way the flight from Philly to Munich was about 7 hours.  I'm used to 10 hour flights to Europe.  When we were about 1 1/2 hours from landing they woke us for breakfast.  Basically drink and muffin top.  Really a muffin top?

I got in and took van to the hotel.  I was staying with Colleague because we were there for few days on our own dollar.  I got to the room, took a shower and we decided we were going to head to Salsburg, Austria for the afternoon.  We took the train, ate some pizza along the way.  It took little over 2 hours to get there.  Once there we found tourist info.   We decided to take a bus tour where you get on and off with spin to Sound of Music which was shot there.   We first stopped at gardens that were really pretty with view of castle and churches.  Really nice.  Then we drove around what seemed like the same place several time.  We stopped by nice area with pond and the sound of music house.

After it was time for the bus driver to go home, he dropped us off near the first.  There was a large local wine tasting - tents, lots of wine and snacks.  We found one of the tents and ordered a local wine.  I also tried something called Sturm which is wine before it's fully ready.  Its sweet, and has some carbonation to it, but it was good.  Fun experience

Then we walked into town some.  We found an amazing Christmas store that has many decorated eggs of all kinds.  The lady I was with and  both bought about a dozen of them they were so cool.  Fun gifts.  We walked a round a little to see where Motzart was from and cool fountain.  Then we headed back to Freising.  

We decided to have dinner at the hotel German restaurant.  Food was good, but service was really slow.