Be Ambitious

For the last 3 years we have called Texas home.  During this time, we have experienced many things that have helped us feel more "Texan" like visiting the Texas State Fair, learning to cook brisket, replacing Thanksgiving turkey with ribs, and occasionally using the term "y'all", "fixin'", and "all y'all".  This past weekend we had one more experience on our road to becoming Texan when we caught ourselves some opossums!

One night I was up late reading when I heard some weird noises coming from our font porch.  I looked out the window to behold a opossum creating a hole into our attic by separating the beam holding the rain gutter from the house.  I ran to grab my baseball bat, but, by the time I got out there, all I saw was a nasty rat-like tail disappearing into the void it had just created.  To my displeasure, the opossum had navigated through the hole and into our attic.

For the next few nights we could hear that vile varmint scratching around our attic, particularly over our bedroom.  We had a few sleepless nights, and I naively thought it may just leave on its own.  Plus, I was too tired to do anything about it.  That next day I accessed the attic a few times and I failed to see our unwanted visitor.  That is until I heard more scratching over the garage. This meant I knew exactly where it was.  I grabbed my flashlight and baseball bat and went back to the attic.  As I shined my flashlight on the location over our garage I came to two disheartening conclusions: 1) there was no way to walk to where it was without potentially falling through our ceiling and 2) there were TWO opossums.  As I shined my flashlight on them, one of them just stared back at me with its cold, black beady eyes as if to taunt me.  They were just too far away for me to do anything and I think they knew it.

It was 10:30 p.m. so I did what seemed like the most logical course of action, I called a professional.  After discussing options for opossum extraction, he informed me it would cost $400 to get both of them out.  This suddenly was not longer an option.  After various google searches, I decided opossum extraction could not be that difficult, and I took it upon myself to rid the attic of our nasty new residents.



The next morning I went to Lowe's and purchased a live animal trap.  I also learned that opossums like dry cat food.  I proceeded to go home and set the trap in the attic baited with some cat cuisine.  I periodically checked the trap and, alas, nothing.  Perhaps I overestimated my extraction capabilities and underestimated the opossum's intelligence.  I went to bed that night discouraged because the trap was empty and I was probably facing another night of tortuous scratching.


Surprisingly we did not hear any noise that night.  The next morning I went to check on the trap and low and behold, I bagged me a opossum!  I was very excited.  There was something invigorating about catching the opossum.  Maybe it was the fact that I came up with a plan that actually worked!  As weird as it may sound, I felt like I had accomplished so much that weekend as if I, in some primal, barbarous manner, had completely conquered nature!  I was the master of my domicile!


With some help of a friend, we got the cage out of the attic and went to release the captured critter.  Our friend brought his family along and his girls named the opossum Smiley.  So Smiley and his cage got loaded in my trunk and we drove it to a nice wooded area (many, many miles away from civilization) and released it with the hopes it never finds its way back to our house.




Smiley's release was really eventful!  As we opened the cage, Smiley, sensing freedom, took off out of the cage.  I wish I could say Smiley's return to nature was efficient.  We could not help but laugh as Smiley ran away using a very slow bow-legged waddle.  To make matters worse, either Smiley was not paying attention or it just could not see well during the day, but it proceeded to run face-first right into a fence.  Although it kept me up at night and was a major inconvenience, I have to thank Smiley for making the release extremely entertaining!


Returning home, I knew I still had one more opossum to catch.  I closed up all access points to the attic and reset the trap.  After three days we discovered Smiley's friend was not in our attic anymore as I found it trying to get to one of the now inaccessible access points by attempting to climb up the side our our brick house.  So, I moved the trap from the attic to the backyard.  After catching some squirrels, I'm happy to announce that this morning marked the capture and successful release of Smiley's friend.  I believe our attic is now opossum free!  So if this whole Ph.D. thing does not work out, I think opossum extraction may be a viable career alternative.  After all, I now have both experience and a trap!

Nate's soccer team photo is so cute! I am really going to miss him playing and chatting with the other parents. Nate's missing all his soccer friends so much already! We had such a good season.

Thanksgiving didn't go exactly as planned this year. We were planning on combining with another family when, the day before Thanksgiving, I got a call informing me that their baby had the flu. We did the best we could to be flexible and not let that change our plans too much. Both families prepared their halves of the Thanksgiving meal and then we divided that in half and delivered our halves to each other. It made for some really good memories. Thanksgiving is supposed to be interesting, right?
My kids are such hams for the camera.  I don't really mind because I think they're both so darn cute!  Before dinner we goofed around and watched some football (background.)
Robert and I aren't huge fans of turkey so we let our friends take that part of the menu.  We stumbled on a great rib recipe a couple of years ago and that's become our turkey.  This is our second year using ribs instead of turkey and I think we'll keep that tradition alive long after we leave Texas.  I also love the fact that Robert is the one that takes on the protein dish on Thanksgiving day.  I'm one of those people that must have certain sides every year or it's just not Thanksgiving to me.  Unfortunately, there are many, MANY sides I must have.  Robert's ribs turned out great, as usual, and I am so glad he was there to help me out that day.
Ummm, ribs.....
So this was our half of the Thanksgiving meal.  The ribs, as previously mentioned, homemade jellied cranberry sauce (I love it!), yummy yeasty clover rolls smothered in butter and sprinkled with fleur de sel (out of this world!), cornbread stuffing and horseradish mashed potatoes with caramelized balsamic onions.  That was a mouthful!  It was so hard to choose a favorite.  Our friends later delivered the turkey, corn, and green beans.  I forgot to get a picture of that.  Whoops.
The kids and Robert before we dug in.
Robert after polishing off many ribs.  He was a happy man!
Nate and me eating our yummy dinners.  Isn't he cute?
Nate is a professional poultry bone cleaner and was happy to rise to the Thanksgiving occasion.  He took the turkey leg and made quick work of it.  He was a happy boy!  Father and son definitely take after each other.
"Yummm, turkey leg, I'm gonna eat you!"
I love the holiday season because it just gets me back to being grateful.  Unfortunately, I fall into forgetting my blessings very quickly and easily. I feel like I am continually blessed.  What a beautiful Father in Heaven we have!  I forget Him but he still gives me so many wonderful things that I didn't even know I needed.  I am so thankful for my family, good parents and siblings, children who are healthy and imaginative and breath life into me everyday, a spouse who works hard for us and is still so involved,  a warm and comfortable home, a job for my husband, delicious food in our bellies every day, and especially the knowledge of my Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness for me.  How can I not be overwhelmed with gratitude?

Since first seeing Les Miserables a couple years ago, Robert has become a bit obsessed. He listens to the soundtrack all the time. I think he's knows it better than I do now. I love the he loves it so much because it's something we can share together. I also love that I was able to introduce him to it. So, when the show came through Houston this year we had to get tickets. Robert wanted great seats this time so he could see the actors better. We ended up a little off to the side but close enough to see the actors faces. It was wonderful and the show just flew by. We decided that the show tickets would be a combined birthday present for both of us this year. So since it was a special occasion we got dressed up and we were so giddy that we would be able to be adults for a few hours.  This is us outside the babysitters house right before we left for the play.  I have to say that I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get more pictures.  Robert wasn't very cooperative with that.  I understand not loving to be in pictures but I really wanted this documented!
This is downtown Houston.  Not so bad, huh?  We were on our way into the theater.  There is a picture of me just like this one but I don't think it's blogworthy.  It's not the most flattering, if you know what I mean!  :)
We got there early enough that we were able to get some drinks and sit out on the terrace and talk.  It was so nice but a little surreal.  I kept looking around for the kids.  We have a rule on our dates that we try not to talk about the kids because we want to focus on the time we have right then on each other.  This gets harder the older and more involved the kids get.  Anyway, it was really nice not to have to worry about them running around and just catch up with Robert. 

After our drinks I tried to get Robert to get a picture with me in front of the show poster but he wouldn't because it was so busy.  I knew we wouldn't be allowed to take pictures once we were inside so I accepted my picture rejection and happily sat with my husband and enjoyed the amazing show.  I can't tell you how many times I teared up.  I find the music and story so moving.  I am in awe of the talent the some people possess.  I am so glad they'll share it with me.  Anyway, now I'm so stoked and excited for the movie release of over Christmas.  I'm pretty sure Robert and I will be there opening night!

Nate had a great experience this year with soccer. We played through the YMCA and got so lucky with our team, but especially with the coach. Nate's experience thus far hasn't been great and he really hasn't been taught the game. He refuses to learn from his parents so we have to cross our fingers every season for a good coach. This year we absolutely got it.

Nate has huge team spirit and loved his Dallas team. He made lots of great friends and looked forward to each practice and game. We had to remind him that soccer wasn't just about being social, that he had to work hard and play hard while he was there.

 Nate's favorite this season was being goalie. I think that's because he wasn't as confidant with ball handling as a lot of the other kids on the team but he wasn't afraid of stopping a ball. He'd stand ready in front of the goal with his gloves on so serious. He did a great job, too! He never let a ball past him!

Nate's team was unstoppable. They had no losses. There were a handful of really gifted kids on the team. They would run the ball from one end to another and take the shot all by themselves. The middle to the end of the season the coaches really stressed passing the ball and most of the other kids got involved as the ball came down the field.

I hope Nate sticks with it. He's really interested in trying other sports, but he's really enjoyed soccer, too. I hope he gives it more effort when it comes to dribbling and passing. He reminds me of me a little because he'll look at the other kids on the team and realize he's not the best and lose confidence to get better himself. We hope we get the same team and coaches next year!
Nate loved to cheer his team on.  He was always a good sport when it was his turn to sit out.
Playing defense, just like his daddy!

I loved to watch him sprint hard after the ball.
Ready for the pass..
Getting in there after the ball...

Getting ready to try and steal the ball.

Nate learned so much and came so far this season.  We feel really blessed that it was such a great time for him.  Hopefully the soccer fire has been lit for him.

Scarlett has lots of pictures that Nate is not in. It's hard to get pictures of Nate like I used to now that he's in school. He's so sweet and adorable and I feel terrible that he's not in as many pictures now. Scarlett, however, is the subject of almost all the photos we take during the days we are out.
After playing in my purse...
After I tell her she can't play in my purse anymore...
Sweet girl.  After her nap...
Not getting to take a picture with the camera...

Morning hair...
I just love how cute this is...
Playing on the playground before we pick up Nate from school...
More playground...
Also love this one...
She's so happy...
She's pretending by herself.  I did this as a kid, too...
Uh oh, Mom, I need to go potty...

Halloween this year was, as usual, was all Robert. I wish I was one of the moms that gets really into it and thinks way ahead and makes elaborate costumes for their children. I know the kids would love it, but I just didn't grow up with that so I'm not even thinking about Halloween until the week of. It's pretty slim pickins at that point so we always have to get creative.

Robert loves to do family themed costumes so this year we were the cartoon characters from the Disney network's "Phineas and Ferb". Originally, I was supposed to be Candace or the mom but when I chopped all my hair off we had to make some adjustments. I was Doofenshmirtz, Robert was Ferb, Scarlett was Candace and Nate was Agent P. We had a lot of funny looks and questions but it couldn't have been that bad because some people guessed it. This is us before the trunk or treat began.
Nate as Agent P.  I think the duck whistle is what made it great.  He was so happy!
Scarlett as Candace.  Coloring her hair was an experience.  I don't know that I'd recommend it on such a young child.  I should have taken a picture of her car seat.  It was bright orange by the time we got to the church parking lot!  She could have cared less once we got there, though, she was all about the candy.  She picked up on trick-or-treating so much earlier than Nate did.  She was ripping through the cars like nobody's business.
I tried all night to get a picture of the two kids together.  It was to no avail.  I couldn't get them both to look at the camera for the life of me!
After all the trick-or-treating was over and the sun went down we got to talk to some friends while the kids went to town on their candy.  Robert was confused for the Joker a lot that night.  I think that was disappointing to him because he'd been walking around with giant purple pants pulled up really high all night.  When did the Joker do that?  Anyway, in this picture I'm trying to be sweet and cuddle in with him (I rarely do this for pictures) and completely oblivious that he was messing around and pretending to lick my face.  Gross!
The whole fam again after the haul.
The monster in Scarlett after I cut off her supply.  Pretty, huh?
Halloween was a lot of fun this year.  I love that both the kids are older and know what to do.  Coaching them through the tradition is a thing of the past!  Now I just have to remind them to always say thank you!