Thanksgiving Comes!

Life just seems to be flying by this autumn. If you can call 80 degree weather autumn :) We've had such nice weather. We just got a "cold" front in yesterday. I think we stayed in the 60s and it was quite chilly this morning. But it's back to the mid 70s for the rest of the weekend.

Our school had a really nice Veteran's Day program on November 9th. I thought Bekah's class was going to sing but it was only the fourth and fifth graders that stood up, everybody just learned the songs. So, Bekah looked awfully cute with her red white and blue, even if she didn't get to stand on stage. Paul was star of the week in his class that week as well. He and I taught his class how to make a paper airplane. That was fun. They are both doing very well in school.

This week was busy with Bekah's teacher's birthday, Thanksgiving lunch at the school and helping Amy clean her house after the renters moved out. Today the Kindergarten classes are having a feast to celebrate their pilgrim/indian unit. Should be fun! Pictures will, of course, follow in the next couple of weeks.

The kids get all of next week off from school, which Paul is really excited about. So, we are planning some fun activities, like making cards for wounded soldiers. Some of you may have gotten the email I forwarded about sending cards to Walter Reed Medical Center. And, I get to cook the Thanksgiving turkey this year. Pray for me! Ha! :) I found a recipe I want to try and my mother in law was more than happy to let me have the honor this year.

And, of course, the wonderful tradition of shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I am so excited! We just have so much fun (my sister in law and I) and are hoping my friend Karri can come along this year.

And then, Bekah's birthday is the following week! I can't believe she's six. She has requested a Ballerina party so the boys may be a tad bored (cousins and neighbors). I think I'll send them out to play football or something while the girls do girly ballet things.

Such exciting times! Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Princess Bekah and Pokemon Trainer Paul on Halloween on the way to the church party.

Story...Bekah told me for weeks that she wanted to be a strawberry for Halloween. So, I made a strawberry costume. On Halloween, I got her dressed in her costume and was fixin' to do her hair and she said she didn't remember telling me she wanted to be a strawberry. She wanted to be a princess. Luckily for her, because I was fuming, she had that princess dress in her closet. Hence the princess in the previous picture. Well, the school does not do Halloween, they do a story book character parade instead (we can't offend anybody at any time, you know) so I made her wear the strawberry costume for that and carry her Strawberry Shortcake books. At least it got some use! And doesn't it look cute? I was proud of myself for figuring out how to make Bekah into a strawberry.

L to R: Bekah, Emma, Frank (scarecrow) and Taylor. Emma and Taylor are our good friends. They didn't want to take a picture with the scarecrow so Bekah sat with them. You can also see Taylor's dad holding her hand. Emma was Thelma and Taylor was Daphne from Scooby.

Bekah and Ruby. I watch Ruby part of the day during the week. Her family lives across the street from us. Bekah loves to hold her!

LBJ Ranch with Mom and Dad

Mom, Paul and Bekah in front of the Texas White House (LBJ's home). We took a bus all around the ranch which is a National Park. Since Lady Bird's death, they have started renovating the house and will eventually open it to the public.

Dad, Paul and Bekah. Isn't this a cute picture? I wish it didn't have the glare.

OK, you can't tell from the picture, but Dad is looking at a butterfly. We really enjoyed looking at the butterflys. There were these black ones that had yellow stripes on the underside of their wings that were really cool.

LBJ ranch is a working ranch. They have their own brand of cattle and everything. On the tour we stopped at the barns and saw a couple cows, a horse and stuff. The kids are looking at a baby hiding under the mama cow.

Mom and Dad on the bus!

I'm not very good at getting pictures taken. But there are few cute ones.

Labor Day 2007 with James

Just got these pics to cd. We had a lot of fun on Labor Day weekend with James. The boys went fishing and we went to the beach and to the zoo. I must have forgotten to take my camera anywhere but the zoo cause besides a few at the apartment, those are the only pictures I have!

The kids and tim looking at the Komodo Dragon.

I can't remember what this exhibit was. I just wanted to get a picture of everyone. We didn't last too long, it was really muggy and sticky that day. But the zoo was free!

Since James has no furniture, we all slept on the floor. Not that Paul and Bekah mind. They can sleep anywhere. Us old people had a hard time, though! :)

Visits, School and Cool Weather

Well, we just had a great visit from Mom and Dad. I've not got those pictures to a disk yet so I'll have to put them up later. But we had fun doing some things in Austin and the surrounding hill country. We went to the Botanical Garden and Nature and Science Center, which were very cool. We also visited the LBJ Ranch. We had extra special fun at the Half Price Bookstore, of course! The kids just loved having them here. Bekah sewed her buttons with Granny and Paul was able to show Grandpa his rock collection. All my extra kids loved having them here as well. Rian thought the world of James and Grandpa and wanted to spend all her time with them. It was so cute.

In other news, I am looking into starting school in January. I'm a little nervous about that, but it would be a wonderful opportunity for me. Probably looking at Elementary Ed, which would give me summers and vacations with the kids.

Paul is running for Student Council as a third grade representative. He is excited about that, although I did make sure he understood that he may not be elected. We'll see how all that turns out. I'm not really sure how he'll do giving a speech in front of all the 3rd - 5th graders.

Tim shot two deer this year, so far. We cut up meat last night for sausage making. Not my favorite activity and I've told him that we do NOT need anymore! :) Although, the fresh deer meat is delicious, as Mom and Dad found out. We usually cut some up and freeze it for use all during the year but Tim wants to try the sausage making this year.

Our weather is turning cool! Yea! It finally feels like fall. The kids actually wore sweaters to school this morning. Next week, when it cools even more, they can wear pants to school. I love when the weather turns. It really makes it feel like the holiday season to me. I am trying to figure out how to make Bekah into a strawberry and Paul into a Pokemon trainer for Halloween. HMMMMMMMMMM..........



First day of school! My silly kids. The serious picture did not turn out. They are both doing so well. Paul has all As at the moment. Bekah keeps asking when she will be able to read.










The Kindergarten teddy bear picnic. This was so cute. They ate teddy grahams and played with their bears. Bekah is on the far left in the light yellow shirt. All the kids thought this was sooooo fun.








Bekah lost her two top teeth. She was so proud. When she lost her very first tooth, she was very nervous about it. Paul had to reassure here that it would grow back in. Surprisingly, she hasn't cried when she loses them. Blood, even a tiny speck, can make her lose it.







Look sideways and you can see Paul and Tim scraping the popcorn stuff off of our ceilings. What a messs! But it looks so much better with texture and paint. We've really been please with the final outcome. I'll have to get some picture up of that.







All the Hefner cousins. Starting on the left:
Zach, Bekah, Caleb, Paul and Jacob. Youngest to oldest. Or shortest to tallest, :)

Tagged!

Well, my turn. Enjoy!

Jobs I've held:
1. Wife, mother, homemaker extraordinare, TX
2. Adminstrative Assistant for HOA management company, TX
3. Receptionist/Office Manager for small company, TX
4. HEB checker (grocery store), TX
5. Worked at a computer company in Orem, UT making hard drives
6. BYU grounds crew
7. Worked at at tourist Candy Store in NV
8. Cleaning Lady for small office in Evergreen, CO.
9. Co-Owner of cleaning company with best bud Elizabeth, CO
10. McDonalds (for a whole six months!), CO
11. Babysitter, CO and Sonora, CA

Places for a Weekend Getaway:
What's that? :) We have had some nice getaways at B & Bs around here. But I really like to have a soft bed in a clean place with cable tv.

Guilty Pleasures:
1. Reading all day and doing no housework.
2. Watching a favorite show or movies all day.
3. Drinking a coke and eating chocolate-at the same time!

Movies I could watch over and over:
1. Sgt. Bilko - never fails to make me laugh
2. Princess Diaries one and two
3. Sahara
4. Cheaper by the Dozen one
5. Lord of the Rings, all of them
6. Little Women
7. Elf
There's a lot more!

Places I've lived:
1. Portland, OR
2. Fresno, CA
3. Sanger, CA
4. Sonora, CA
5. Evergreen, CO
6. Provo, UT
7. Virginia City, NV
8. Orem, UT
9. Leander, TX (Last 11 years!)

What was likely the first thing you thought of when you saw your husband for the first time?
Who is that wierdo with the long hair and why is he always hanging out here? :) Well, you certainly can't judge a book by it's cover. He was so unlike other guys I'd been attracted to but you never know what God has in store for you.

Places I've Been on Vacation:
1. Orlando, FL (I've been twice)
2. Las Vegas, NV (before kids)
3. Los Angeles, CA for a friend's wedding
4. Portland, OR (have lots of family up that way)
5. Brown Deer, WI(my wonderful and beautiful sister lives here, love ya!).
6. Various towns in Iowa and WI as Mom and Dad moved around.
7. Austin, MN (Andy and Dana and family)
8. Minneapolis, MN area to visit Em and Ben
9. South Padre Island, TX (right after a hurricane!)
10. Houston area to visit James in his various locations
11. Port Aransas, TX

Favorite Foods:
Pizza, Chinese, and guacomole, at the moment.

If in a "jam" with your spouse what are your tactics to get out of the "doghouse"?
I usually just have to wait it out (although, I wouldn't say I was in the "doghouse" just because he was mad at something.)

Websites I visit daily:
1. Hotmail
That's really it for daily. Just don't have the time!

Best first Kisses landmarks:
First kiss with hubby was in my apartment. We sat there forever waiting for one of my roommates to leave!

Places I would rather be right now:
1. Getting a pedicure
2. At a resort somewhere lounging around reading a book not thinking of all the work to be done and the children to be watched this afternoon

Now I get to pick 3 blog friends to tag:
I don't have three blog friends, so whoever read this, YOU'RE IT! :)

School Is In!

It's been awhile! The kids have been at school for over four weeks! Paul is in third grade and he's doing well so far. Third grade starts all the testing and such so it will be a new experience come spring. He is in the advanced math class which is great for him. His teacher is pretty young and we weren't sure about her at first. But, I should have just trusted God, because she seems like she'll be great. I am a little sad that there aren't as many opportunities to be in the classroom, but I know she has some big projects she'll need help with later. Paul's favorite subject is still PE. And we do have a really good PE teacher.

Bekah did a lot better her first week of Kindergarten than I thought she would. By the end of the first week she went right in without crying. Her teacher is sooooooo wonderful. Of course, on assembly days and when there is a substitute we start off teary, but once she gets busy with school work she is fine. She just loves everything about it. She was the student of the week last week and that was really fun. I am probably going to end up as room mom, or co-room mom.

I, of course, am keeping busy at home. The work never ends, plus we are painting the main living areas of the house now. Last week we scraped the popcorn stuff off the ceilings and sanded. This week or next we'll put up the new texture. Hopefully we can get it done before Mom and Dad get here. And, if that weren't enough, I still have little Rian three or four days a week and I just got a new crew yesterday.

We have new neighbors across the street. They are super nice, but don't speak much english. We talk through the children. Anyway, the mom just got a job so I watch the baby (7 months) for a few hours in the afternoon and their 4 yo girl and 8 yo girl after school until the teenagers get home from school. It went pretty well yesterday. I know it's a lot, but it's only until the end of the year and I really wanted to be a blessing to this family. They have a total of like eight kids in a house that's no bigger than ours!

And, if that weren't all, I am going to teach spanish to kindergartners for 30 minutes a week. I am really excited about that. I also teach a class a church on Sunday nights. Am I a little overwhelmed? YES! But I really feel like the Lord is going to make all this work out.

Well, considering all that, I better get going. I still have to do the tag questions from Emily!