Josh's Weekend Visit

As you can imagine Josh's visit was filled with plenty of Josh and Ellie time!  There was Uno, soccer and plenty of good food.  She wanted to show him everything she's grown to love about Texas.

When he arrived on Friday evening we grilled steaks for a Texas-style dinner while Ellie gladly gave him a tour of the house.  And then off to the local high school - Wylie High - for a small taste of Friday Night Lights and what Texas Friday night football is really all about! It wasn't a late night with all the week's activity and Josh's travel day.

SO up early the next morning we were!  Her soccer game was at 8:30am in Plano - this year's league of Under Age 10 is combined with Plano/Richardson and there is a bit more travel than around the corner.  But it gave us a nice opportunity to show Josh around a bit more.

She won  her game 7-0 while she played a solid game at defense.

The boys had their photo taken at the field as the sun was coming up.  A nice, less-humid day was in store was us on Saturday.

After the game a bit more of a tour with a drive through Plano, and past Allen (Eagle) Stadium so Josh had a feel for just a multi-million dollar stadium at the high school level!  After Ellie's showered and changed from her game we were off to our new favorite place for burgers - Haystack!  We arrived early before the crowd and enjoyed a great lunch!

It seemed like it was almost time for a nap after all that fun!

And the afternoon brought more games - card games, soccer in the yard games and even a bit of rest!

Seems like all you do is eat in Texas, so off we went for authentic BBQ at Lockhart's.  

This is the kind of place that they slice your meat and wrap it in brown paper, weigh it at the register and off you go.  Not even a tray to carry - just packs of brown paper wrapped meat.  And of course the smoke stacks out back to ensure that we know how real this smoke house really is!

Mommy Questions

Ellie:  "Mommy, do teachers make a good paycheck?"

Me:  "What do you consider a good paycheck?  Is it enough to live in a safe place, drive a car that gets you where you need to go and to eat good food?"

Ellie:  "and have insurance!"

Me:  "Exactly!"

Ellie:  "okay cause I want to be a teacher when I grow up."

Me:  "That's awesome!  How much do you think is a good paycheck?"

Ellie: "about $35."

Me:  "Excellent!  You have to do well in school and in college to become a teacher."

Ellie:  "Do I need a Bachelor's Degree?"

Me:  "Yes, and a Master's Degree."

Ellie:  "Wow, that sounds like a lot!"

Me:  "Well, it is.  You have to go to school to make sure you're very smart so you can teach all those students, right?"

Ellie:  "I guess so."

Me:  "Sounds like a good plan!"

Fall is almost here!

Scarecrow Sam at the front door.  

Mommy's helper with her watering can and gloves

When the calendar moves to September, it's time to assume fall weather is just around the corner.  Pumpkins, apples, mums and all things autumn are quickly a priority!

On Sunday we accompanied Bill to Lowe's as he was getting supplies for a home improvement project.  We headed to the garden area and found some treasures for our front door.  Although Ellie was more interested in the purple flowers, I convinced her how nice the rust and yellow mums would look together at the front door.

I had something in mind, and was able to make it happen all together when we got everything back home!  A nice little display with a cheery scarecrow waiting for us each evening to arrive back home!

Soccer Saturday

Our girl may not be the fastest, or the strongest, or the one that scores the most goals.  She is someone who is a team player, helping others, knows her position, loves to win and is always happy to be out there with her team.

She's the 'sweeper', she tells us.  Just in front of the goalie.  She knows her position well.  This season there are a couple of new girls to the team that Coach Mario has on defense and Ellie coaxes them along to 'move up, girls!' or 'come back here!' as she goes.

In the end we're happy she has fun, gets some fresh air and understands the value of being part of a team!

#WeAreWhitt

Ellie's 4th grader teacher, Mrs. Freeman does a great job of posting pictures throughout the day.  The thing is she has 17 students so Ellie's face only pops up once in a while .. and today was the day!

They earn points for different work that completed and of course 'conduct becoming a Whitt Wolf!'

Here is a prize that Ellie earned with her Dojo points ... that wonderful mustache!  And she is happy under that big thing!

Don't call me Shirley

i love the Coke bottles with all the names on them.  No, I've never found my name.  But plenty of "Bill" and even "Elizabeth" ... Today in search of an 'emergency Coke' due to a headache, I got a soda from the machine.  And Shirley arrived!

It made me laugh!  And reminded me of when someone says, 'Surely you wouldn't do that!"  And I always think, "why are they calling her Shirley!"

The Rock for pizza

One of Ellie's favorite spots is a newly opened pizza place close to our house.  It's got lots of families, rock and roll music and great wood-fire oven pizza.  Her favorite is the white pizza with garlic, arugula and prosciutto!  We enjoyed family night dinner there on Saturday!

Watch D.O.G.S.

You  may recall from last year that Watch DOGS is a terrific program where Dads have a special day at the school.  Watch DOGS stands for "Dads of Great Students" and they watch over the school and special events during their assigned day.

The welcome meeting with pizza was Tuesday evening.  I love how they make their way around the cafeteria taking photos of the students with their Dads.  And how gorgeous is this picture of Ellie and Bill!

When I said to Ellie, "I love this picture.  You look so much like Daddy!"  She said, "Yeah, we do.  Our eyes are in the same place."  Which caused me to shake my head laughing.  "Well, yes, your eyes are both where they are supposed to be.  Instead of somewhere else on your face."  She was laughing too!

Happy Labor Day Weekend

We had such a nice, quiet weekend together with Aunt Di and Uncle Bruce.  We ate a variety of Mexican and BBQ meals - including the one above where Ellie picked her favorite BBQ spot - 3 Stacks in Frisco for our night out on Saturday!

There were lots of games - Life and Bananagrams were the most popular.  And let's not forget all the time at the pool.  We were fortunate on both Saturday and Sunday to have the entire pool to ourselves!  It was beautiful and sunny both days - although a bit warmer on Sunday - to enjoy splashing around!

What a treat to have developed a great pattern of visiting over the past year.  We look forward to the next time we're all together!

Central Market adventure

Outside the Central Market are these huge fruit shaped markers where to put your car for curbside pick-up.  Of course, Ellie couldn't resist getting her picture taken next to them.

What a store this is!  The meats and seafood section are not to be beat!  We bought 2 lbs of mussels to steam with garlic and white wine for dinner, found salmon and snapper, and then all the awesome vegetables and fruits too!  They have an olive bar (like a salad bar) that is the length of the store.  Wow!  A huge coffee section to grind your own, and when we went around the corner to the bakery section we knew we were in heaven!

What a treat on a Sunday morning!

An Apple a Day

The wellness seminar focused us on nutrition and eating cleaner.  Avoiding GMO, artificial sweeteners and less additives all together!

The nutritionist had some samples for us.  One of them was these Cotton Candy grapes .. but we were told they are hard to find.  I knew it would be darn near impossible to find something in Dallas once I got back home.

Lo and behold I found them in both Kroger and Central Market ... ah, how wonderful they are!

And of course I couldn't resist this 'purely elizabeth' granola.  It came highly recommended and it is really delicious too!  And, yes, Ellie loves it and the name!

Friends Far and Wide

I had the pleasure of spending time with my good friend, Erica this past week in Bloomington.  She was one of people who prepared me for the interview that got me this job and hence the move to Dallas.  She and her husband, son CJ (3) and daughter, Mia (4 months) welcomed me for dinner one night and one night she and I attended a Wellness seminar.

She is one of those people who I could call for just about anything .. in fact, for awhile she and I had a standing Friday afternoon call to talk about 'pits and peaks' for the week.  What a great phone call to look forward to!

Thank goodness for friends like her!

The many outfits of the 4th grader

While I was away, every morning Bill would send me a photo of Ellie in the outfit she had picked out for herself.  Some were better than others, but in the end she was dressed, and they were both happy!

Bloomington Revisited

The Prius I was forced to drive as my rental
A far cry from my Ford Explorer!

A new wine I found while in the area.  And  an appropriate name as well

Most days took a Venti to get me going ...

A trip to Bloomington wouldn't be the same without a visit to Joe's Station House.

During this past week I traveled to Bloomington by myself.  It was a work trip, but it's always full of great visits and great food.  So glad for the direct flight from Dallas to Bloomington ... makes it that much easier!

Road Guards & Other Duties as Assigned

Ellie and Robin were both picked for the first round of Road Guards this year.  They arrive at school 5-10 minutes early.  They raise the flag and help kids in and out of the cars in the drop off line in front of school.

They were both so thrilled to be asked, and to be serving at the same time made them even happier.  And I knew they were well-matched for each other!

The assignment is for six weeks - so it's quite an honor that not every 4th grader will have.  SO, so proud of her!

She told me the best story from one of her first days 'on the job.' She said she opened the car door to help out a Kindergartener and held her hand until they reached the front door of the school.  That's the customary drop-off place for kids so she can go back and resume her car door opening duties.

Except the little girl wouldn't let go of her hand.  Ellie told her it was okay.  That she could see her teacher from outside the door.  What a good helper she makes!

First Day of 4th Grade

Robin and Ellie
First Day of 4th Grade at Whitt Elementary

How could 4th grade have arrived so quickly?  Seems like just yesterday we arrived home from the hospital, set the car carrier on the counter, looked at this tiny little baby and said to each other, 'what do we do now?"

And nine and half years later this tiny baby with a mind and a voice of her own starts 4th grade!  She's an independent thinker, always a quick wit, thinks she's in charge and is the first one to want to help someone else.

Here she is with her friend, Robin.  They are very well-matched for one another.  Robin is very even keel with a dry sense of humor and witty comments to match those of Ellie.

They are not in the same 4th grade, but have assured one another they will keep finding each other at lunch and at recess.  Two peas in a pod, they are!

Visiting Daddy's New Office or Tom+Chee Lunch

Bill moved into his office at the the new City Line facility over the weekend.  He's been waiting months to make the move .. and now it's here.  So we went in on a Saturday to bring in a couple boxes of personal items and make sure other things had arrived.

The best part for Ellie was visiting one of our new restaurants at City Line.  Tom+Chee is short for Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.  They have an awesome menu, and quick service for those of us who run quickly to grab lunch and get back to our desks!

Below is a special treat of a grilled s'mores donut!  I know, right?  Who would have thought to put that together.  We got one and cut it into several pieces.  And just one bite was enough to know it is delicious!

Meet the Teacher Night

Thursday night was Meet the Teacher Night at Whitt Elementary School.

It is hard to believe that Ellie will start 4th Grade next week.  Where has the time gone?  This is a very exciting year for her as this is the last year at Whitt.  She'll move to Intermediate School next year for 5th and 6th grades.

So she's going to enjoy being part of the model students at Whitt for a year.  They have more privileges and a year-end field trip to look forward to as well.

On Thursday night we met Mrs. Freeman.  She is as excited to be back in school as Ellie.  We unpacked her school supplies, found her desk and even found a few friends from last year.  I'm truly convinced that more people know Ellie in Texas then Bill and I combined!  People were calling her name left and right as we made our way through the school!

She's excited to start, and we can't wait to see what 4th grade brings this year!

Baking Muffins

She asked if we could buy those pouches of mini muffins for her to take to school.  I said, 'what if we made muffins instead?'  And she loved the idea.  So she made herself a batch of banana nut mini-muffins and put them in snack bags to take 3 at a time to school.

She's very resourceful and so, so proud of herself.

And I couldn't resist taking a picture of her hair all piled into this knot in the back.  She's getting pretty good and doing it herself!

School Clothes Shopping

This year's school clothes shopping went a bit differently than years' before.  Most of the clothes are still shorts and skirts - although we've traded Gymboree for Lands' End.  She went through the catalog and pick out things she liked.  It's really all about the quality.  And if I have to move on from Gymboree because she's outgrown them, I found a great alternative!

When it came to sneakers she informed me she was done with Sketchers that light up.  What?  No pink and purple with sparkles?  So off we went to the sneaker aisle.

And this is what she chose.

High-top, black, Converse!  Yes, that's my 9-year old daughter in Chuck Taylor's!  Who knew?  Not me apparently!