Last night Shreveport had another horrible storm blow through. Last year, the same thing happened.
My brother's house backs up to a bayou and last year his car flooded... his car that he had for one week... water up to the windshield.... totaled the car. Yesterday he was smart enough to move his car across the street to higher and dryer land. His car was fine, but his street still flooded. Neighbors cars were just floating down the street.
A good friend of ours house flooded last year (their house backs up to a bayou, as well). After months and months of living at our grandparents house (which is empty), they got to move back into their house, which was now repaired. Well, you guessed it, last night it flooded again... and they had to call the fire dept. to rescue them!
Here is a link to more damage: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33547370#33547370
We are praying for everyone in Shreveport and hoping that all of our friends and family are keeping dry!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
8 mths.
What's Charlie up to at 8 mths?
-he has perfected the art of sitting
-he is working SO hard at crawling... should be any day now
-he can now have soft table food (which is a whole new world for mom)
-he has 3 teeth and 3 more wanting to come in
-ha says "ma,ma,ma", "da,da,da", "ga,ga,ga" (I don't think he associates these sounds with meaning quite yet) and his new favorite- k,k,k (I do think he associates this with "Hank" because he says it evertime Hank is around)
-his mode of transportation is rolling
-he got moved up to a new "big boy" room at daycare (everyone in there are crawlers... another motivation for Charlie!)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Camp Fern Wedding
Lauren and Larry had a pretty good representation from the Camp Fern crew!
All the ladies...
And a few more...
(Colleen, me, Juls, and Cathy)
(the happy couple)
(the other happy couple!)
(Patrick and Claire... UGA fans)
All the ladies...
And a few more...
(Colleen, me, Juls, and Cathy)
(the happy couple)
(the other happy couple!)
(Patrick and Claire... UGA fans)Congratulations Lauren and Larry!
Weekend Review
This weekend the Leclercq's came to stay with us. (Isabelle, Sophia, Cooper- 9 mths)
When the babies were younger the boys would share Charlie's crib and the girls would share a pack and play in Charlie's room. Now, there is no longer any sharing to be had. They all require their own space. So Cooper stays in his pack and play in Charlie's room and the girls each stay in a pack and play in the office. Neddless to say, it's a tight squeeze! And, for the last couple of visits Charlie has been more fussy than usual when the triplets are in town. I think he feels like his space is being invaded. He all of a sudden has to share his toys and attention and he's clearly not a fan of any of that. All in all though, it was a great weekend and is always nice to spend time with the cousins.
Our gracious parents came to stay with the babies so that we could go to dinner on Friday night (to Tillman's Roadhouse in the Bishop Arts District... great area of Dallas and great food!) and to a wedding on Saturday night (Camp Fern friend... we'll get to that in the next post!). Saturday was full of activities. The babies woke up and played with each other.
Then we gave all of the babies baths.
After naps, we met a photographer at the Arboretum for some Christmas card shots and Fall shots. Let's hope she got some better shots of the kids then my attempt!
Some camp friends came over to meet/see the babies in the afternoon. And, then it was time to go meet all of the camp crew for drinks before the wedding.
Julie's friend, Melissa, had a fun brunch on Sunday morning so that the SMU crowd could come and see the triplets. It was a non-stop weekend!
Special thanks goes to Nana and Poppa for coming to watch all of the babies. I know they love getting to spend so much time with their grandparents!
When the babies were younger the boys would share Charlie's crib and the girls would share a pack and play in Charlie's room. Now, there is no longer any sharing to be had. They all require their own space. So Cooper stays in his pack and play in Charlie's room and the girls each stay in a pack and play in the office. Neddless to say, it's a tight squeeze! And, for the last couple of visits Charlie has been more fussy than usual when the triplets are in town. I think he feels like his space is being invaded. He all of a sudden has to share his toys and attention and he's clearly not a fan of any of that. All in all though, it was a great weekend and is always nice to spend time with the cousins.
Our gracious parents came to stay with the babies so that we could go to dinner on Friday night (to Tillman's Roadhouse in the Bishop Arts District... great area of Dallas and great food!) and to a wedding on Saturday night (Camp Fern friend... we'll get to that in the next post!). Saturday was full of activities. The babies woke up and played with each other.
Then we gave all of the babies baths.
After naps, we met a photographer at the Arboretum for some Christmas card shots and Fall shots. Let's hope she got some better shots of the kids then my attempt!
Some camp friends came over to meet/see the babies in the afternoon. And, then it was time to go meet all of the camp crew for drinks before the wedding.
Julie's friend, Melissa, had a fun brunch on Sunday morning so that the SMU crowd could come and see the triplets. It was a non-stop weekend!
Special thanks goes to Nana and Poppa for coming to watch all of the babies. I know they love getting to spend so much time with their grandparents!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Saturday
After getting home at 1am on Friday night, the whole Allen family woke up at 7am to make it to the Race for the Cure Saturday morning. Charlie and I cheered on Patrick while he ran the race (in 23 min.). 
If you look close, you can see Charlie's two bottom teeth. His third tooth broke through last week. It is on the top and to the left.
After the race, we came home to let Charlie nap for a bit before going to the Farmer's Market Pumpkin Fest with the Horsch's and Lukowski's.
Charlie took some pics with the corn and pumpkins.
There was also a petting zoo, face painting, pumpkin painting, etc. Charlie's a little to young for all of that, but it was fun to just walk around and pick up some fresh veggies and fruit!
If you look close, you can see Charlie's two bottom teeth. His third tooth broke through last week. It is on the top and to the left.
After the race, we came home to let Charlie nap for a bit before going to the Farmer's Market Pumpkin Fest with the Horsch's and Lukowski's.
Charlie took some pics with the corn and pumpkins.
There was also a petting zoo, face painting, pumpkin painting, etc. Charlie's a little to young for all of that, but it was fun to just walk around and pick up some fresh veggies and fruit!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Concert Review II: WP/ABB
Friday night we went to the Widespread Panic/Allman Brothers Band concert at Starplex Amphitheatre in Dallas. It was a great time. The Greers and Horsch's were in full force at the concert.
This is most likely the Allman Brothers last full-scale tour (the original members are in their mid to late '60s and the guitarists that tour with them, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, have their own bands and only tour with ABB as a goodwill gesture), so I was excited to finally get to see ABB live. I have seen WP quite a few times. This particular concert WP played quite a few songs from the "Earth to America" and "Free Somehow" albums, neither of which I own. It still sounded good, just wasn't as familiar with some of it.
I was running late from work on Friday, and we had to book it down to Fair Park. With traffic from the State Fair and Texas/OU, we did not like our chances to get to Starplex before the show started. With some great navigation, precision driving, and ingenuitive parking by myself, we found our seats right as the concert was starting. An assist to Hip Hop Paul Greer for handing off the tickets to my truck as we drove into the parking lot.
Our section had a Hall of Fame security guy. Nobody without an appropriate ticket was allowed anywhere near Section 201. Approximately 800 people tried to sit in the seats in front of us without a ticket and were promptly removed from the section. Truly an award-winning security performance. Although only standing about 5'2", this security guy's performance was on par with the music that we actually paid to see. I wish I had gotten a picture of him, but I figured he'd throw me out too.
These pictures aren't great quality, but you get the idea.
They also played "Wondering" and "Space Wrangler" and the Neil Young song "Don't Be Denied".
ABB did a remarkable job of playing everything I wanted to hear. They opened with "Statesboro Blues" with a photo tribute montage of Duane Allman in the background.
Special thanks to Lauren Caverlee (her last week as "Lauren Caverlee") for babysitting Charlie until 1am, which was about 2 hours longer than we expected to be gone. Thanks Lauren.
This is most likely the Allman Brothers last full-scale tour (the original members are in their mid to late '60s and the guitarists that tour with them, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, have their own bands and only tour with ABB as a goodwill gesture), so I was excited to finally get to see ABB live. I have seen WP quite a few times. This particular concert WP played quite a few songs from the "Earth to America" and "Free Somehow" albums, neither of which I own. It still sounded good, just wasn't as familiar with some of it.
I was running late from work on Friday, and we had to book it down to Fair Park. With traffic from the State Fair and Texas/OU, we did not like our chances to get to Starplex before the show started. With some great navigation, precision driving, and ingenuitive parking by myself, we found our seats right as the concert was starting. An assist to Hip Hop Paul Greer for handing off the tickets to my truck as we drove into the parking lot.
Our section had a Hall of Fame security guy. Nobody without an appropriate ticket was allowed anywhere near Section 201. Approximately 800 people tried to sit in the seats in front of us without a ticket and were promptly removed from the section. Truly an award-winning security performance. Although only standing about 5'2", this security guy's performance was on par with the music that we actually paid to see. I wish I had gotten a picture of him, but I figured he'd throw me out too.
These pictures aren't great quality, but you get the idea.
WP opened with an old classic "Radio Child".
They also played "Wondering" and "Space Wrangler" and the Neil Young song "Don't Be Denied".
I was excited to see what kind of collaborations between ABB and WP might happen. I was not disappointed. Slide guitar virtuoso Derek Trucks came out to lend his strings for two songs with WP, highlighted with his solo on "Blackout Blues".
In between the WP and ABB sets, we saw Connor.
ABB did a remarkable job of playing everything I wanted to hear. They opened with "Statesboro Blues" with a photo tribute montage of Duane Allman in the background.
They followed that up with "Come and Go Blues" and "Midnight Rider". JB came out and played a Bob Dylan cover with them. Highlights of the set for me were "One Way Out", a 30-minute version of "Jessica", and they closed with "Whipping Post", which was the song I most wanted to hear them play. Nicely done. 
Special thanks to Lauren Caverlee (her last week as "Lauren Caverlee") for babysitting Charlie until 1am, which was about 2 hours longer than we expected to be gone. Thanks Lauren.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Birthday in October
Our family has a tradition that we do a birthday dinner, at the place of the birthday person's choosing, to celebrate getting one year older. This year, I chose Bijoux. My birthday was actually on July 3 and we celebrated in Spicewood with some of our friends. And then life got in the way, so we never actually made it to Bijoux... until last night. Patrick surprised me my belated birthday dinner! He got his parents to babysit and off we went on our date. And, let me tell you, it was worth the wait! It has to be one of the best places I have eaten at in Dallas. It's a French restaurant in the Lovers/Innwood shopping center and the food is AMAZING. Thanks Patrick for taking me!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Chocolate Chili... Who Knew?
Here it is... Fall is upon us. Which means lots of soups, chili's, and roasts will be cooked in our household. A friend recommended that we try out this recipe for Chocolate Chili from Stop and Smell the Rosemary cookbook. I was a little weary, but she swore it was great. And I tell you what, it is hands down the BEST chili I have ever tasted. Delicious!!
Chocolate Chili
3 lbs. ground chuck 4 tsp. ground cumin
1 lb. pork, cubed 4 tsp. salt
2 cans (28 oz. each) peeled and diced tomatoes 2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. ground oregeno
2 tsp. coriander 6 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour 4 bay leaves
1 bell pepper, diced 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
Cook beef in a large skillet until brown. Add pork and stir. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, coriander, flour, salt, cumin, onions, bell pepper, oregano and chili powder. Simmer for 1 hr. Add bay leaves and cook 10 min. Remove bay leaves and add chocolate. Cook 10 minutes longer to blend flavors.
Chocolate Chili
3 lbs. ground chuck 4 tsp. ground cumin
1 lb. pork, cubed 4 tsp. salt
2 cans (28 oz. each) peeled and diced tomatoes 2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. ground oregeno
2 tsp. coriander 6 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour 4 bay leaves
1 bell pepper, diced 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
Cook beef in a large skillet until brown. Add pork and stir. Stir in tomatoes, garlic, coriander, flour, salt, cumin, onions, bell pepper, oregano and chili powder. Simmer for 1 hr. Add bay leaves and cook 10 min. Remove bay leaves and add chocolate. Cook 10 minutes longer to blend flavors.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday
Charlie started off his day in red in support of Georgia. (We were at the pumpkin patch down the street from our house picking out our pumpkins.)
More interested in eating the hay than anything else.
More interested in eating the hay than anything else.
Cold weather=cute baby jackets.
The afternoon was spent routing for his most favorite team....
Charlie shows off his LSU gear.
Charlie says "It's OK LSU, we'll get 'em next time."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Weekend Review
Charlie and I went with Jessica and Olivia Bates to OKC this weekend to visit the triplets and Leclercq's. We had lots of fun! We played outside...
The kids went for choo choo rides...
We visited the zoo...
Cute Charles...
Thanks Leclercq's for having us! It was a great weekend... especially with LSU and TCU winning their football games!
When we got home on Sunday, Patrick's parents came over to watch Charlie so that Patrick and I could have a "day date" to the Texas State Fair! Patrick and I ate our way through the fair... we tried the fried bacon (and if that wasn't unhealthy enough, we dipped it in ranch), a corny dog (which I typically don't even like, but at the Fair it was delicious) and a fried snickers (just to top off the unhealthiness). We also went on the ferris wheel, took in a dancing-dog show and went to the car show. It was a great day!
Last night, Patrick wrapped Hank up like a burrito:
After two hours he was still all snuggled up. Sweet Hank!
The kids went for choo choo rides...
We visited the zoo...
Cute Charles...
Thanks Leclercq's for having us! It was a great weekend... especially with LSU and TCU winning their football games!
When we got home on Sunday, Patrick's parents came over to watch Charlie so that Patrick and I could have a "day date" to the Texas State Fair! Patrick and I ate our way through the fair... we tried the fried bacon (and if that wasn't unhealthy enough, we dipped it in ranch), a corny dog (which I typically don't even like, but at the Fair it was delicious) and a fried snickers (just to top off the unhealthiness). We also went on the ferris wheel, took in a dancing-dog show and went to the car show. It was a great day!
Last night, Patrick wrapped Hank up like a burrito:
After two hours he was still all snuggled up. Sweet Hank!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
We finally installed our...
SWING! Charlie can sit it in forever. He loves to just be outside. In fact, yesterday he sat in his swing while I drank coffee and read my book. It was lovely.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Our new favorite place
The Dallas Arboretum! Charlie and I love to go and just walk around. I take a blanket, Charlie plays with his toys, and I read a book while we listen to some tunes. It's very relaxing... especially now that the weather isn't sooo hot.
Here is a picture from last month:
The following are pics from Tuesday. The Arboretum is currently having it's "Great Pumpkin Festival". I've never seen so many pumpkins! Charlie was very intrigued with them.
We are going back today for some more pumpkin fun. And then, next Tuesday, they are having a petting zoo, facepainting, etc. for the kiddos which we will be going to. Come join us!
Here is a picture from last month:
The following are pics from Tuesday. The Arboretum is currently having it's "Great Pumpkin Festival". I've never seen so many pumpkins! Charlie was very intrigued with them.
We are going back today for some more pumpkin fun. And then, next Tuesday, they are having a petting zoo, facepainting, etc. for the kiddos which we will be going to. Come join us!
Thanks Greer's!
Wanted to send a shout out to the Greer's for inviting us to the Ranger's game on Sunday. It was my first game of the season! And, thanks to Michael and Tandra for watching Charlie. (And sorry that you got sick Uncle Meeks!) 
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