Its Been Awhile

One of the "OK" pics
Another

Carey and her winnings!!

This is what most of the Christmas pics looked like!!! Jett did not enjoy the photo shoot.

Another great shot!

At least he is not frowning.

I know it has been awhile since I have written so this post will be a wrap up of the past few weeks. First, we had a great Thanksgiving. We hosted my family at our house on Thanksgiving Day. We had great food (if you like turkey), watched football, and then played LCR and Carey won (see picture with her winnings). I have also been busy shopping for Christmas. Two Fridays in a row, me and my sister Cathi went and shopped til we dropped. But this past Friday we both finished!!!! We had a blast spending the day together and going to lunch but we missed you Molly. And on Saturday we all headed to San Antonio to shop (Carey still need to finish) and to stay downtown and go to Rick's company Christmas party. Carey watched Kendall and Jett while we went to the party where they had REO Speedwagon. It was great...one of my fav 80's band. The kids love staying in a hotel ...just like me. Rick doesn't get near the thrill that we do!! (wonder why??) Then we came home on Sunday and I decided to try to get pictures of the kids for our Christmas cards. Nothing like waiting to the last minute. But I really dread trying to get a good picture of all 3 at the same time. It turns into a circus. I probably took at least 50-60 pictures and ended up having only a handful to pick from. All in all we have had a busy and fun couple of weeks and I hope I get motivated to write more often...

I got a new header!!!

As you can see I got a header, which I have never had!! Carey did it for me! YAY

Catch Up

I think they liked the rides!!!!

Feeding the dolphins

Dancing at the Sesame Street show

Santa at Sea World

Today we decided to take Kendall and Jett to Sea World. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. It was so much fun to watch the kids watching the shows. Kendall's favorite was the Sea Lions and Otters and Jett's favorite was the Sesame Street show. And I think they both liked feeding the dolphins and having them swim right up to them. We got season tickets so we will be going back a lot (with Carey next time).

After Sea World and lunch at Rudy's Bar B Que we headed for Walmart for some Thanksgiving shopping. We are having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, however, I would much prefer a steak and potato meal. Just not a turkey and dressing fan. We are having my family over for lunch and then we will go over to Rick's family that afternoon. It will be nice to visit our family that will be in for the holidays. And maybe I will even start to decorate the house for Christmas on Friday or Saturday.

BTW...Jett is doing great with his potty training. He has graduated off the little potty that was in the living room (I know!!! but you do what you have to do) to the BIG potty!!! And was rewarded with another bigger "Bang Bang" (gun).

Carey started basketball season a couple of weeks ago. And being the "runt" of her team of Freshman and a lot of Sophmores she was pretty much told that she probably wouldn't play much. And she thought that was OK until the first game came and she played very little. Then I think she realized she cared more than she thought about basketball. She knows she is going to have to work extra hard to earn more minutes on the court. It wouldn't hurt if she would have a big growth spurt soon too!!!

Weekend

Jett's 1st Bus Ride
Kendall & Jett at the Air Show

This weekend we went to the Air Show at Randolf AFB. The kids had a good time getting to go into a lot of the planes and watching the show. And Jett rode on a bus for the 1st time. He is obsessed with buses for some reason and was so excited to ride one. Then we went to Russell and Eva's for some burgers and fun. Today we stayed around the house and didn't do much of anything. I really need to get busy and start thinking about Thanksgiving since I volunteered to have it here for my family.

Happy Halloween

My "Fairy Princess" and Football Player
Showing his muscles!!!


Dancing around the yard!!

Ready to go!!!

Yeah!!! Both looking at the camera.

Kendall at the Pumpkin Patch last weekend.

Jett picking out his pumpkin.

Kendall, Jett, and I just got back from Trick or Treating. They had lots of fun going from house to house getting candy. What kid would not love that?? Afterwards, a couple of the churches had fun games for the kids to play and more candy. We had a great time but missed Carey(in San Antonio) and Daddy(working).

Jett's New Trick

GOING POTTY!!!!

He has done so good. He is so funny, after he goes he will do a little dance and sing a song. He is so proud of himself. Rick told him if he went potty he would get him a new "bang bang" AKA a gun. The bribery worked like a charm this time. Of course he has had a few accidents, but he really has done great. And I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I hate potty training...it's no fun.

Happy Birthday Carey!!!

Today is Carey's birthday!!!! I can't believe she is already 15 years old. How can that be??? It seems like she has grown up over night. She is such a smart, sweet, caring, and beautiful young lady. I am so proud of her. And I am so blessed that God chose me to be her Mom. Happy Birthday Carey!!! I LOVE YOU more than you can ever imagine.

Cabo Vacation

One of Rick's Dorado fish

Us Para Sailing (so much fun!!)

600 ft from the boat

View of the Marina from our hotel room

The "Arch" in Cabo

Rick and I went on a getaway for a few days in Cabo San Lucas. We left on Thursday morning and got home on Monday afternoon. We had so much fun. It is gorgeous there. The weather was perfect for the first 2 1/2 days and then it rained on Sunday. We have been so lucky having good weather everywhere we have gone, I knew our luck was going to run out sooner or later. But that's ok...we still had a great time!!! It was so nice and relaxing. We went para sailing together on Friday...and that was AWESOME!!! I was a little reluctant to do it but I am so glad I did. It was so quiet and peaceful up there. Rick went deep sea fishing one day and caught 8 Dorado's(Mahi Mahi). I spent that day relaxing and getting a massage. Then we went to the beach on Sunday and got rained out so we spent the rest of the day watching movies in the hotel room. It was so nice to get away with Rick and just relax. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who loves to travel (even though that is what he does for a living) and see new things and places. How did I get so lucky??!!!Thanks Rick!!!!!! Where are we going next???? ha

Before and After

The day before she got her braces on!!! (She is going to kill me for posting this!!!)

1st day of braces!!! She looks so young!!!

Finally!! 2+ years later!!!

Carey got her braces off on Tuesday!!!!! She is so thrilled. Her teeth look great. Going back to look for the before pictures made me realize how much she has grown and matured in the last 2 years. I can't believe she will be 15 in 2 weeks!!!! YIKES!!! Congrats Carey!!! Love ya!!

Update on Jett

First of all, Jett is doing much better now. But his upper lip got pretty ugly there for awhile. On Monday morning I took him to the dentist to have him check out his tooth. After xrays and $100 I don't know any more than I did before I went. He told me that he may or may not lose the tooth, it may or may not turn gray, and he may or may not have damaged the permanent tooth. URH!!! I'm not saying the dentist doesn't know what he is talking about but I am the type of person that likes answers. I'm supposed to take him back in 10 days but we will see. Not sure I want to spend another $100 to find nothing out. Also, the swelling in his lip had only gotten worse from Saturday. I mentioned this to the dentist and he told me that if it wasn't better in a couple of days to bring him back for an antibiotic. Jett was not acting like he felt good all day and had started running a fever and his little lip was so swollen. I went to try to clean it up with water and hydrogen perioxide and it was so disgusting in there. His little lip was bloody and had puss draining. So I decided to take him to the ER. We got there about 8:30pm and the waiting area was full. After about 3 1/2 hours the dr. said he had a bad infection and couldn't believe the dentist didn't give him an antibiotic that am. Anyway, they gave him a dose of antibiotic before we left and an RX for the next 10 days. We got home about 2 am but I was very glad we went. He was noticibly better by morning and has gotten better everyday since.

First ER visit

Jett with his swollen lip and busted chin

Friday started out as a good enough day but ended up being lousy with a lot of drama. We picked Kendall up from school and headed for Yoakum for Carey's volleyball game. The varsity played first for some reason so we watched them get beat in 4 games. They are a very talented team however, Yoakum was even more so. Then it was the JV's turn. I could tell during warm up this was not going to be good. Yoakum has a great JV team as well and lets just say it was not pretty. However, to our JV teams defense, we are made up of mostly Freshman, and I think most of the teams that we play are against older girls. At least that is what I am telling myself so that it doesn't seem so bad that they have had such a disappointing season. Anyway...after the game was over Jett is running on the gym floor just playing with Kendall and he trips and falls and screams. His mouth is bleeding really bad and I could see that his front teeth were not looking right. While we were cleaning him up a local lady, who was soooo helpful, went to the football field to get the dentist who watching his son play. He was so nice to come and look at Jett. He looked at his chin which had a pretty good gash in it and said he thought that it would need stitches. Then he looked in his mouth at his teeth. His front tooth was pushed up into his gum and was loose. Dr. Brayden moved it back were it belonged and told us that he may lose it. But said that Jett sucking his thumb was actually good because it would keep that tooth where it belonged. The Dr. and the lady (I know...I'm bad I didn't get her name) were so sweet and helpful. We were so lucky to have a dentist come and set his tooth. Then we were off to the ER in Yoakum. Thank goodness we were in a small town. They glued his chin shut, put a bandage on it and we were off in 45 min. Jett was so good at the ER. I'm not sure what he was thinking but he just had a blank look on his face the whole time. And Kendall was so sweet to her little brother. She is very protective over him. She was even crying at the gym after he fell.

Then we were off the Houston for a wedding on Saturday. About 10:15pm or so my phone rings and the caller ID was Carey. She went back to Stockdale with a friend because her dad was picking her up for the weekend. When I answered she was crying which threw me into a panic. She finally got out that her and her dad had been in a wreck in SA. They were apparently rear ended by a truck going pretty fast. The driver did not stop so I assume he was probably drunk. But there was a cop near the accident (not sure if he saw what happened or what) but he went to chase him down and eventually caught him. Carey was fine... just scared...THANK GOD!!!! When something like this happens it puts everything in perspective and makes me remember the important things and what really matters in life. We made it to Houston and had a good weekend visiting with Connie & Delwin and their family.

Yea!!! It's Fall

Today has been a good day. First, my dad got out the hospital. He went in on Sunday "not feeling good". He has not been feeling well for a while and really has not looked good either. After all the tests came back, his cardiologist determined that he had had a minor heart attack on Sunday. He ended up doing a catherazation (spelling???) and he needed a stint put in one of his arteries. But he is doing much better now and looks soooo good. Hopefully, he will get back to himself again soon.

And...today it felt so good. We got our first cool front on the 1st day of Fall. I am so ready for cooler weather.

Catching Up

Carey ready for volleyball practice Kendall and Jett watching Daddy

Jett being goofy in his monkey hat that Kendall made him.

Parade Home



***I can't figure out how to put pictures anywhere but on top of the post!!!***

Okay...I am finally writing again. Not because I have anything really exciting to write about but because Carey and Rick keep bugging me. Rick says I am going to lose all my followers. HA HA I am laughing as I typed that. But I guess I can tell all 4 of you what I have been up to lately.

We just got back from eating out at Shorty's in Falls City. I was great as always. Some of Rick's family were in town so we all went to dinner together. It's always good to visit with all of them.

Last weekend Bobby and Jo kept Kendall and Jett (Carey was at Leakey) so that Rick and I could go to the Parade of Homes in San Antonio. I love looking a pretty houses. It is one of my favorite things to do. These houses are amazing. I think the smallest was about 4800 sq. ft. and was about 1.5 million. And of course they are furnished and decorated too. I bet all the home decor in each house is as much as the house. Crazy!!! But that is what I like to look at. It is just fun to look at how the other half lives. But I will say we did get an idea from a house on what we want to do with our back deck....someday!!!

We have also been busy with school. Kendall is still enjoying kindergarten. It just amazes me how much she has learned in just a couple of weeks. She is starting to read sight words and seems eager to learn to read. Carey stays busy with school, homework, and volleyball. She is doing very well in all her classes. I wish I could say the same about her volleyball team. Unfortunately they are not doing as well as I think they can. They have so much potential but something seems to be missing. Hopefully it will come together in time. And Jett...he stays busy at home with me. He is such a sweet boy (I know I'm biased but he really is). He brings a smile to my face all day long.

That's pretty much all the "Hastings Happenings" as of late. I will try not to wait so long to write next time.

More Pics

Kendall & Jett in their cute t-shirts

Jett playing a game on the computer.

Jett checking cows with Daddy.

1st Day of School for the girls!!

BACK TO SCHOOL

CLASS OF 2022

Kendall started Kindergarten today!!! She was so excited. She even woke up on her own before 7am. That is so not like Kendall. I can't wait to hear all about her day when she gets home.

CLASS OF 2013

Carey started her freshman year in high school this morning. She was excited and nervous at the same time. But I just chatted with her on the computer and everything was going well. I can hardly believe she is already in high school. It seems like just yesterday I was walking her into her kindergarden class. She is growing up way too fast. We will be sending her off to college before I know it. I can't even think about that yet.

Busy Week

This past week has been a pretty busy week. Carey has either been at volleyball practice or a volleyball game. And, we have been getting ready for back to school. We have had Freshman orientation for Carey and also a meeting for the Mac laptops they are issuing all the students in high school. And Kendall got to her meet her teacher on Friday afternoon. She will be in Ms. Hummel's class this year. She is only one of four girls in the class. I'm told all the Kindergarten classes are like that this year. I think she'll have a great year.

On Thursday, the kids and I got up early and headed to the San Marcos outlet Mall. The outlet mall has always been a hit or miss with me. I will either find no bargains or a lot. We had good luck though. Kendall and Jett got new tennis shoes plus some clothes for the fall. Jett's foot is now bigger than Kendall's. I think he is going to be a big boy. Everyone usually thinks he is at least 4...until he starts sucking his thumb. Then he looks like a big baby!! ha! Oh well...the dr. says not the worry about it yet. Anyway, Carey got some cute things while we were shopping too. I think her and Kendall are set for school for a while.

That's what we have been up to this week. Today, Kendall has a birthday party and Jett is going to Papaws and Grammy Jo's for a couple of hours. Then they will probably go swimming.

Weekend Fun

Deer coming up to the trailer

Dalton (son of Rick's co-worker) & Kendall standing up on their tube ride

Carey

Me

Eating burgers

Grayson & Jett

Kendall & Jenny

Kendall, Carey, & Rick

Jett taking a break from swimming

Jett getting ready for a ride

Jett & Mikah

Mike, Mikah, Carey & Kendall

Sheldon & Kendall

Grayson & Kendall

Mike & Jett

This weekend we were at Canyon Lake camping. The lake is about 15 ft low but there is still are a few boat ramps open to put the jet skis in the water one last time for the summer. Our good friends, Mike and Gwen and their kids, Sheldon, Mikah, and Grayson came from Brownwood too. We enjoyed visiting and catching up with them. We jet skied, swam, rode bikes and just relaxed watching the kids. On Saturday Molly, Robert, Bobby, Andy, and Jenny came with there jet ski to join the fun. Gosh...those boys LOVE the jet skis. Then on Saturday evening we grilled burgers for everyone. We did pretty much the same thing on Sunday until it was time to pack up and leave. We thought Carey had volleyball practice on Monday morning so we planned on coming home Sunday night....but about the time everything was put away and packed up, Carey got a text that said she did not have practice until 4 pm on Monday. :( Oh Well!! We had a great time camping and are looking forward to a trip in the fall somewhere in the Hill Country. PS: I still did pretty good on my diet...even with Molly waving brownies and cookies in front of me.