Field Trip {1st grade}

The boy's 1st grade class had their first field trip of the year this week.

We went on a guided tour of the state Capitol building.

our guide was ms Georgia. 
She knew her Texas history! 
And taught us a lot about the Senate, House of Representatives
 and told us about famous people who our city and counties are named after.
 It was interesting and amazing!

this is the Senate chambers. 
 They meet here to make new laws every odd year.
the seats on the 2nd level are open to the public
to come listen in while they are in session

ms. georgia pointed out the famous pioneers in texas in this giant painting

and we memorized the location of the san jacinto monument... east of houston :)

this is the house of representatives

so beautiful this time of year

our little class of 1st graders

17 sweet boys and girls

6 girls and 11 boys

oh my!

we are excited to go back in the 4th grade to learn in-depth

 the workings of the senate and house of representatives

photo session {coopcorb}

the boys were so cooperative and into our little photo shoot
 it was early morning with the best light
 i could have taken hundreds more pics
 of course after 5-7 they were ready to just "explore now"

both of them have light, sensitive eyes
  can't stand to be looking towards the sun for more than a sec

i love all the outtakes

this is so them
but not the right spot or angle
thankfully they were willing to relocate for another try

as well as this one - so them

we got our "money" shot, as we called it
for our christmas card 
(stay tuned)

and i think they boys were pleasantly surprised how fun posing for mom can be

and i want to cry now because they are so handsome

and big

not my babies anymore

like, at all

sniff sniff

girl's day away {fredericksburg, tx}

ericka and i went to the hill country wine country. 

Texas wine country :-)

about 30 minutes outside of town

scenic back country roads

that lead to neat shops

 and scenes like this

we started at this quaint little stop in the middle of no-where

Sister Creek Winery

award winning wines

perfect location

friendly people

cheap to try it out

and goooood wine

our favorite was the Pinot Noir

red wine

then onto a big fancy vineyard/winery

Becker

cool atmosphere
i want to take adam back for sure

and our last stop was a wine tasting store
for Messina Hof wines
with these pretty yellow flowers outside

a tv to keep an eye on the score
texas/tech game

cozy spot to sit and charge my phone
and rehydrate with lots of water
no more wine
8 different samples is plenty for one day

and we met up with some of ericka's high school friends 

ericka, ginger, stacy, jennifer

fun girls

our wine touring ended with this beautiful sunset

then a fabulous dinner

at the Navajo Grill

i really enjoyed our day touring texas "wine country"!

halloweenie

we had a great Halloween
celebrated party style a few days early

annual party at the vadala's
costumes, good food, games, always a craft for the kiddos
hayride, and bonfire
fun times
with our peeps!

look at all our little kiddes

we even had a vending machine costume

cooper went as Luigi

even the adults dress up

adam was the holy ghost

snoop dog in front

i was a nice black kitty

and there is count corbin

he was a vampire

great times

great memories

no more pictures