Beautiful weather = Go to the park!

Ahhh....fall in Texas.  When it's not freakishly cold or unbearably hot, it's just about perfect this time of year. :)  P and I have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and have spent some quality time at the park recently.  We have a park that is within walking distance of our house, but recently, they were repairing some parts of the sidewalk that made it difficult to access the play equipment.  We had to (gasp!) hop in our car and find another park nearby...thankfully we did, and it turns out that it's VERY little kid friendly! :)  Here's some proof of our shenanigans...

 P LOVES to watch the cars drive by...even better if they are trucks!

 Getting a lay of the land.

 This picture convinced me that we needed another haircut. :)

 His super hero stance.

 Tunnels are good places to roll acorns...

 ...and to be exposed to the effects of static electricity.

 Swinging is also a good past time.

 I love this boy.

 Acorns in a tunnel - Part 2.

 Love those golden locks.

 Cheese.

 Solving the world's problems in a tunnel.

 Think he's having fun?

Hi, Mom!

 I love the park!

PWE's Mom's Big Adventure

I know that a blog title of "PWE's Big Adventures" insinuates that the content of this blog will be focused on PWE and his said adventures, and that is indeed my intention.  With that being said, PWE's mom and dad also have adventures from time to time, and since these adventures do not happen often enough to warrant their own blogs (I mean, really, who would visit pwesmomsbigadventures.blogspot.com with any regularity?), when they DO occur, we will hijack PWE's blog space - if for just a brief moment - to both fill you in, as well as help us remember that every now and then, we have our own adventures, outside of those encountered in parenthood. :)

My newest adventure is that I have been selected to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee for our church.  It was quite a process to get to this place, but I now sit alongside 10 other people faced with the task of finding the next senior pastor.  I am beyond humbled and equally honored to have been chosen to be a part of this group and trust that God already knows who the new pastor will be.  My prayer is that He will give each of us on the committee wisdom and the ability to discern His will for our church.  It's going to be quite a process and will definitely be a balancing act this winter/ spring as J trains for his Ironman, but we are grateful for family that lives nearby and who is willing to babysit :) and know that God will provide what we need along the way.

Here's an excerpt from the information piece they published to introduce each of the slated members to the congregation.  These are my words:

“To have the opportunity to give back to the church that has given so much to me over the course of my life is truly a blessing! This has been my church home since I was an infant, which means the Sanctuary steps I sat on during ‘Time for Young Disciples’ are the same steps on which I said my wedding vows and where my son was baptized last year. Within these walls, I have learned about Christ’s love and have had my faith nurtured and fostered through strong programming, caring teachers, and a supportive community. Second only to being raised in a loving, strong Christian home by parents who live out their faith on a daily basis, this church has played the most significant role in my spiritual development and my understanding of who God is and what it looks like to serve Him alongside other believers.”

“Over the past three years, my husband and I have become very involved in the young adult community here. After leaving my teaching position to be a stay-at-home mom, I have had the chance to spend more time learning about God while taking on additional leadership positions within the young adult community. Through the opportunities to facilitate my small group and co-lead Bible study, I have witnessed how God has been ever-faithful in drawing me closer to Him and have seen that He is constantly at work in my life and in the world around me.”

So begins PWE's mom's big adventure...it should be a good one.

The Dallas Arboretum - Take 1

So we went to the Arboretum on Oct. 8 with the thought that we would enjoy some beautiful fall weather while getting to take advantage of "Mommy and Me Monday," meaning there was a petting zoo and a kid's concert for P.  My hope was that during all of this fun, I might be able to, heaven-forbid, snap a couple of pictures of P in the incredible pumpkin displays that are there for just such purposes.

Let me paint the picture for you:

Oct. 8 was...
1) Columbus Day - a lot people are off from work.
2) Fair Day - thousands of children didn't have school.
3) Gorgeous. - you could not have ordered better weather.
4) Free Kid's Concert Day sponsored by Parents magazine - translates into more wagons, strollers, sippy cups, and tiny people than you would think could possibly be in one place at one time.

I should have known things were not going to go well when my car came to a screeching halt over a mile away from the Arboretum entrance.  By the time we made our way to the front of the line, the parking lot was closed, and we had to drive several blocks down to catch a shuttle.  In my mind, the shuttle was going to be a nightmare.  Turns out that it was the BEST part of the day...seriously.  It was.  See for yourself.

 Is this not JOY plastered on my child's face??

 I believe this one is "jubilation."

 Calming down momentarily as we approach the gate.

 

 Mommy snapping the first of what she assumes will be many pictures.

We finally get in, only to become one in a swarm of other strollers and kids and moms and wagons and grandparents and a few unsuspecting bystanders who just got caught up in the madness.  We made our way to the concert, which P really enjoyed.

However, as is demonstrated in the video, there was lots and lots of falling (don't worry, there was also lots and lots of dancing).  We were on a hill, which is hard for most people to stand on - let alone wobbley toddlers.  And it had rained the day before so it was also muddy.  Just picture my child traipsing through the mud to then walk onto the picnic blanket I have laid out so we don't have to sit in the mud.  Oh the irony.

Of course, there was no eating the lunch that I had so lovingly packed for my child, as there was too much to do.  Too many other peoples' blankets to go and step on, too many hills to run down, too many opportunities to run away from mom.  In the end, we had a Category 5 meltdown.  A "superstorm" if you will.  One for the record books.  There was screaming and wailing and gnashing of teeth.  And all because I wouldn't let P run down the sidewalk (with no intention of turning around, mind you, as this is what our child does - runs...in one direction... until he's exhausted and then assumes that the adult with him will carry him back to point A, which, go figure, they always do) because we couldn't leave our stroller parked on the hillside filled with our stuff - including our nice camera that I wanted to take pictures of the child with.

So I have to carry my child back across the hill kicking and screaming and strap him back into the stroller while he is STILL screaming at the top of his lungs and I'm saying things like, "I am sorry that you're so sad.  It's hard when you really want to run and you're not able to," while I'm thinking things like, "PLEASE, I am BEGGING you...stop screaming!!!  The other moms with clean blankets and calm, happy children are looking at me and judging me as a parent!"  I then packed up our muddy blanket and our uneaten lunch and said goodbye to my friends who I came with WITHOUT SNAPPING EVEN ONE PICTURE IN THE PUMPKINS.  But I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  There were too many people, and P and I had both had all the fun we could handle.

Thankfully, we had to take the shuttle back to the car, and guess what, my child's attitude did a 180!

 See?  Calm and sweet.

 Hi Mom!  Wasn't this the best day ever!?

Let's come back again tomorrow!

Now if I could just have a charter bus on hand as we navigate the rest of childhood...I'm sure it would make things a heck of a lot easier. :)

(I do hope to return to the Arboretum within the next few weeks to snap some pictures of my child in the pumpkins...we'll see how that goes. :))

Before and After

Now this, my friends, is an exciting post.  One that I know will become a favorite for years to come...one that will be revisited time and again...it is the post about our brand new, squeaky clean, non-leaking, humidity-reducing, can-actually-get-below-77-degrees-during-the-middle-of-the-day, new heating and AC system!  Let me hear you now, "Ohhhh....Ahhhh...."

Let me be blunt.  We did not want to do this...who wants to pay thousands of dollars for something that no one will EVER SEE?!?!?  At least when you pay thousands of dollars to do some sort of remodeling people can appreciate it.  I can't imagine that our guests will ever be able to tell that our dual-stage system is actually pulling 30 gallons of water out of the air each day as opposed to the 5 gallons our old unit was capable of, but if you really want to know...you really can feel a difference. :)

 So out with the old...

And in with the new!

And if you're in the market for a new AC/ heater, we went with Advent Air after meeting with reps from three different companies, and we were really impressed with them and are very pleased with the finished product...and if you have any questions about ACs or heaters, let me know. :)  I can throw words around like "dual-stage" and "variable speed" in a conversation like nobody's business.

J's Stonebridge Ranch Olympic Triathlon in McKinney - Sept. 30

J completed his first Olympic Triathlon of the season on September 30th out at Stonebridge Ranch in McKinney.  Unfortunately the weather was pretty gross - chilly and rainy, but that didn't stop him!  He had a great race.  His 1500m swim took him 32 min 5 sec.; the 24 mile bike ride took him 1 hr. 4 min. 54 sec.; and his 10k took him 52 min 46 sec.  So it took him a total of 2 hours 35 min and 25 sec., which ranked him 6th out of 15 in his age group (there weren't nearly as many people out there because of the weather - but we had to assume that the people that were out there were hardcore, so hooray for being in the top 40%).  We were so proud of him! 

P braved with weather along with Pops and Grandma Judy.  We were able to cheer J on at the bike to run transition, twice during the run, and then at the finish.  P was so cute because during the run portion he was able to really see J, and he threw his hand up to point and smiled and laughed as J approached us, and as soon as J passed by us and was out of sight, P started crying...the only solution I can come up with is that J needs to push the stroller while competing...

Here are a few pics from the day...

 

After the race...

 

 While we were waiting for J after the race, P played catch with Pops and was getting the biggest kick out of it!  He would throw the ball to Pops and then just laugh and laugh.  Pops would throw it back, and so it continued for quite awhile.

Pops is ready!

 At this point in time, he throws with both his left and his right hand.

 Eating the ball is almost as fun as throwing the ball.

 Cheese.

 Family pic.

 Our triathlete! :)

Stay tuned for the Half Ironman report...

Uncle Jim celebrates the Big 4-0!

We went down to Austin the second week in September to help celebrate J's oldest brother's birthday.  It was great to see J's family, including P's cousin who P and I haven't seen since he was born!!!

Sweet nephew.

 

Playing with Uncle J.

 Cousins!

 Wish our CA crew was in this picture, too!  Can't wait for Christmas! :)

Labor Day at the Ranch

This post is brought to you courtesy of Aunt Ann and Cousin Whitney who actually documented Labor Day at the ranch this year...as opposed to yours truly who probably just ate lots of snacks and hung out with Peanut. :)  As always, we had a GREAT time, with lots of relaxing, eating, laughing, and just enjoying the beautiful Texas outdoors.  We were so excited to have our newly-married cousin Audrey with us but missed her hubby, Jason, and cousins Ashley, Charlie, and the other Shoup kiddos.  Looking forward to getting us all together at Thanksgiving!

 

This is the beautiful garden where Audrey and Jason were married...the vines have gone nuts!  It's stunning.

 J making his famous guacamole.

 Me cooking up some, I'm just sure-of-it, killer black beans.

 P checking out Cecil from the other side of the door. :)

 What are you doing in there?

 I'd like to go out there, please...

 Cousin Whitney and P.  Love this picture! :)  

Whit is SO sweet to P...he definitely loves her.

 Sweet, sweaty boy on the porch.

 Eating some lunch.

 Hi.

 

Hanging out with Grandpa Ron.

 More sweaty fun on the porch.

 There were 100s of these tiny frogs all around the pond...one found its way up to the house...and onto P's head - with the help of a cousin and and aunt who will remain nameless...but only 1 cousin and 1 aunt took pictures...so you do the math - I'm just sayin'. :)

Girls in the kitchen before dinner.

We love spending time out at the ranch.  A BIG "thank you" to Aunt Jan and Uncle Kevin for opening up their home to us...it's such a blessing to have a place to escape and enjoy time with family! :)