Fabulous Army Life

Post-Game celebration after a win over Kansas State It's not easy to be a Baylor Bear football fan.  Not a lot of winning games or seasons to brag about and lots of losses to mourn ... but this year has truly been a fun year to cheer on the Bears! What a season this has been and what a fabulous homecoming game!!  Read all about this WIN for the Bears and how it made our team eligible for a Bowl Game for the first time since 1994. Baylor Bear Homecoming Win Right now, I'm sitting at my computer with a Mack Brown press conference on the television.  I am REALLY enjoying listening to his assessment of Baylor.  It's not often other coaches have much good to say about Baylor and this is fun for me.  Coach Brown just listed some of Baylor's "impressive" stats and said (referring to the Baylor/UT game this weekend), "This is not a week we will have trouble respecting Baylor.  They're ranked.  We're not." Our boys have worked hard for year...

Trey works on his pirate pumpkin. Madi starts on the Princess Pumpkin.  Joshua shows off his skeleton pumpkin!  The Princess Pumpkin  Trey's completed Pirate Pumpkin!  Jacob with his Frankenstein Pumpkin The kids made a Witch Pumpkin for MooMoo to keep! 

For the past five years, my mom and step-dad have put on a fabulous Halloween party the weekend before the actual holiday.  Crafts, snacks, games, a campfire cookout and a spooky hayride through the woods are highlights of this very fun event.  It's become something to look forward to for the 75+ people who usually attend.  This year was the first year we've had to cancel the party ... Rain, rain, and more rain kept us from decorating, being able to start a campfire, or take the Gator around the wooded trail. Lots of folks were sorely disappointed.  My cousin's daughter cried when she found out and several friends were left feeling 'stranded' without their annual Halloween party.  Trey was especially concerned as it has become tradition for his dear friend Madilyn to attend the party and spend the night, too.  He was thrilled and relieved to learn that Madi would be able to come whether we had the outdoor party or not.  In the end, the kids stil...

Remembering my brother on his birthday ...   Randal Brant Paclik October 22, 1980 - August 24, 2001 Randal  Randal and me at my high school "Senior Night"  

Our battalion hosted a "Trunk or Treat" in the Motor Pool today. It was a super-fun time ... decorating trick-or-treat bags, making skeleton necklaces and mummy pumpkins, decorating cupcakes, exploring Field Artillery vehicles, a costume parade, and trick-or-treating from the 'trunks' of HMMWVs! LOVE the Red Dragon Families!! Joshua colors a trick-or-treat bag.  The boys work on skeleton necklaces.  Joshua's bag is ready to be filled with candy!  Cristy and me at the Field Artillery photo stop.  Hooah!  Nate and me with Joshua ... Trey was MIA.  Trey exploring the Ammunition Carrier with Kara.  My baby and me  The HHB battery HMMWV with the company commander and (pirate) 1st Sergeant!  The Alpha Battery HMMWV The Bravo Battery HMMWV  The Golf Company HMMWV  After the costume parade, the kiddos all gathered for a photo.  Trey checks out the Howitzer. 

Three cute boys at the Baylor game.

 2010 Fall Festival at Mountain View Elementary School  Trey pins the nose on the pumpkin.  Joshua changes the game from "catch one" to "see who can catch the most first!"  Face painting is always fun.  Trey with his vampire teeth prize.  Joshua at the Craft Table  Trey in the Cake Walk 

Coffee Group members stuff "Boo" bags with candy, treats, and a letter of invitation from the Coffee Group. Once all the bags were filled, each person took several bags to secretly deliver to those members who were not present.

At church last Sunday, we got a homework assignment!  Every week, we get a summary of ways we can incorporate what we learned that day into our daily routine.  It's a great way to remember the message and lead a more Christ-centered life.  This week, we were encouraged to talk about our church, what we like about it, and why it is important to us.  The homework assignment was to write an acrostic poem using our church name, Legacy, as the poem title.  Here is our acrostic poem! The boys were adorable doing this ... and felt they needed the opportunity to explain their choices.  So here is what they had to say: " Loving " because Jesus loves us. " Esperanza " .... after watching the Chilean miners being pulled to safety. One of the miners had a child born during the time he was trapped underground. He and his wife changed their original idea for the baby girl's name and named her "Esperanza" which means 'hope' in Spanish. Trey says Lega...

I joke that decorating for holidays is a genetic disorder that I inherited from my mother.  She's always been fabulous about making holidays feel special and decorating the entire house to fit the season.  My sons now enjoy our own holiday themes and love to help get everything set for a new holiday. Halloween is one of our favorite holidays just because it's purely fun ... and you get lots of candy, of course.  This year's decorations were fun to assemble ... and digging out the 'after-Halloween sale' items from last year is always so much fun!  At the Front Door  Welcome to Spooky Hollow! Hanging Jack-o-Lanterns are much cuter lit up at night! Even the Study's shelves get a few decorations.  Dining Room  My favorite spooky scene!  Love the skeletons drinking from our champagne flutes! More silly skeletons These guys look like they've had a loooong night. Family Room Breakfast Table The Boys' Books...