whirlwind

The past couple of weeks have been ka-ray-zee.  I spent a night at 5th grade camp, Ebola came to Dallas, we had a *little* PR debacle at my school, Sara rocked her first standardized math test, G&G came to visit, I've come full circle with social media, we've had some crazy rain storms, and now we're in the midst of a very full moon (which takes on a whole new meaning when you work in a school).

Let me quickly address the social media bit: I joined Twitter, primarily for work-related reasons.  I also got back on Facebook, but with an extremely limited list of friends.  It's mostly family and college friends with whom I'd missed being able to keep up on a frequent basis. 

My parents came to town for a long weekend, and after being diverted to Oklahoma City because of bad storms, finally made it to DFW Thursday night, only a few hours behind schedule.  

Sara was thrilled to have special visitors on Friday for lunch ...

 ... and getting to be a "walker" after school was a true highlight.

 Our weekend was mostly low-key; we watched some football, enjoyed the beautiful weather outside, and introduced the girls to making homemade applesauce.  Sara did a great job grinding the apples that had been cooked down, and Emma's favorite part was the spray that came from the apples when we cut them.  The best part was that our applesauce turned out perfectly delicious, and I have jars of it stocked in the freezer!  This activity was a staple for me growing up, and I was so glad to start the tradition with my girls. A trip to Ojeda's for margaritas and spinach enchiladas and a viewing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" made our weekend complete!

Last night we headed to the park for an HOA gathering for National Night Out.  Sara quickly spotted a friend from school and spent most of her time on the playground.  

Emma worked her way through a hot dog and a couple bags of chips, and then also did her fair share of running around. 

 

We left when our allergies started going haywire and the girls were covered in a thick layer of sweat and grime.  

Although last weekend's temps were October-beautiful (we had windows open for most of it), we've hit the 90s again this week.  There's a little promise of fall in the wind, though, which does feel different than the summer breeze.  I got my flu shot today, and the girls will get theirs Friday ... so, if nothing else, that lets me know that winter - in some form or another - is around the corner.  For now, I'm especially looking forward to Saturday.  I have a BIG surprise in store for the girls, and I can't wait for them to see it.  Because it's only fair, I'm not going to tell you before Saturday, either.  Stay tuned (pun intended; there's a hint in there ...)!