Halloween - a little late

A was looking through the pictures on the camera today and realized that I never put anything on here about the girl's Halloween costumes this year. I suppose that since Thanksgiving hasn't past yet, I am still in the clear for putting a post about Halloween up.

This year the girls were dressed in poodle skirts that Grandma McEuen made. We were able to find some vintage looking shoes for McKayela at the thrift store but didn't have such luck for Halee. Nora really wasn't participating too well (if you couldn't tell by the pictures). I guess we should give her a little latitude since this was 2 days before she was admitted to the hospital and I know she didn't feel very good.

Nora actually spent Halloween in the hospital but the girls were dressed here for the Halloween party down at the church that happened on Saturday, before Halloween. I wasn't around for it but Tracy said they all had a good time at the party and that Nora actually perked up a bit once she was at the church.

If you would like to see some of Nora's pictures from Halloween in the hospital, click on the link for "Dustin and Amanda" that is Tracy's sister's page. Amanda and cousin Sophie came out to help Tracy with the kids while Nora was in the hospital.

I recently got to participate in a teaching assignment aimed at building better relationships with military members from other countries. The mission was called "Operation Southern Partner" and included teams sent to Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile over a 2 week span. I volunteered for the assignment and asked to be sent to Paraguay - since that is where I served my mission. At first, I was on the Paraguay tail of the assignment but was later removed from that mission and placed in the Argentina portion of the project. I was disappointed at first and still am a bit since I really wanted to see some of my old stomps but Buenos Aires was beautiful!

I did get to stop, very briefly, in Paraguay. I was able to get off the plane, get a picture with one of the Paraguayan military members there. Speak some Guarani with a Paraguayan Colonel.

Then I got back on the plane to finish a 22 hour trip to Chile (where we stayed for 8 hours before going to Argentina.

Before I left, Tracy had warned me that Nora would probably end up in the hospital at the same time that I was gone. Unfortunately, that prophecy came true, which didn't make it easy for me to be gone.

The trip was good although I will think twice about taking a trip when Tracy has some form of prophecy or when I find out it includes a long flight on a military aircraft (not comfortable).

Sea World

I thought I'd share a picture that Tracy took of us at Sea World this past week. You can see my bald head with McKayela and Halee in the back of the boat.
Sea World is offering a free day at the park for military members and their family. We had a great time there. If you are in the military, check out this deal before it ends this year.

Halee's new glasses

Another one of our children has taken after their dad and has been blessed with terrible eyesight. This child is Halee. She got her first pair of glasses a few weeks ago. It was funny how we figured out that she couldn't see. We were at my mom's house visiting and while we were there we were giving eye exams to my neices and nephews. (we obviously have a strange way of having fun at Grandma's house).

Anyway, Halee asked if I would do her eye exam. I don't think she could even see the big "E" on the top of the chart. It was then that I realized her eyesight must be poor (I guess all the bumping into closed doors wasn't proof enough). It was also then that she told me she couldn't see the TV unless she was sitting in front of it. She never squinted or anything so we really had no clue.

Anyway, we went down and had a professional eye exam and sure enough - she needed glasses. The glasses she chose have a little H and a diamond on them (for Hannah Montana). She fell in love and that is what she is wearing these days.

Hannah Monatana's and San Antonio

Our girls have really taken an interest in Hannah Monatana. They liked her before but after we moved here to San Antonio, they have become almost obsessed with her. We have listened to the music all hours of the day and night. We watched the 3-D movie on Disney Channel. The girls have T-shirts with her image. Is there no stopping the craze?!!?

Also, today was what we fondly refer to as our family birthday (a.k.a. our anniversary). On this date, 13yrs ago, our family was formed. Usually, we end up doing some kind of family outing. This year, we went down to downtown San Antonio, since Tracy nor the girls had been there yet. We saw the Alamo. We walked the River Walk. We had some great Mexican food down there and topped the day off by purchasing some pink cowgirl hats and getting some pictures infront of the Alamo. What says Texas more than that? We had a good time there today. I am happy that Tracy was crazy enough to marry me 13 yrs ago.

We made it! At last!

We made it to SA! The trip from LA to here went pretty well - until about 40 miles outside of SA when our radiator hose slipped off again. I thought the first time was a freak thing, the second time was just weird. Fortunately, we were prepared this time. Got fluid in it and then I replaced the old spring clamp with a screw-type hose clamp. I hope that hose doesn't come off again.

The visit with my sister went well. It was nice to see her since we haven't seen her in at least 4 years - since she has never met Nora. She has 2 kids and our kids had a good time unwinding for a few hours at there home. This sister keeps moving away from us. When we moved to CA, she moved away. When we come to TX, she's moving again. This time to AL. I guess that means we'll be PCS'ing to AL next, but probably not. :-)

As for the girls and Tracy's first impression of the new house...They liked it, aside from some of the wall colors, which can be remedied before our HHG's (House Hold Goods - for you non-military types) arrive here on Thursday.

Another day down - 1 more to go!

I am glad to announce another day of successful travel without any new car troubles to report. Thanks to the time change (going from Eastern to Central time) we were able to wake up early and hit the trail sooner, kind of.
We made great time crossing AL, MS, and into LA. We have seen some incredible country along the way since we have crossed MD, VA, TN, AL, MS, LA and finish in TX. We crossed the Mississippi river today before entering LA. This is the second time we have got to cross that river. It feels cool doing it, like we are a modern day Lewis and Clark expedition.

LA is interesting. I knew there was lots of swamp land here but I never imagined how much. It's truly amazing seeing all the swamps with the tree stumps sticking up all over. Pretty cool! We ate at a local Cajun-style restaurant tonight, which was very tasty! I wanted to eat some crawfish but it was a bit expensive so I had to settle for chicken and shrimp. This trip has been culturally enlightening.