Has it already been a month??

Well, let's do a quick update on October.

Ed went to his first Kuk Sool Won tournament in Katy. Kuk Sool is a Korean martial art, like karate, but different. No special reason why we picked that over karate, just semantics. It was easier to get to and the class times were flexible. Anyway, he competed in four events. He received 3rd place in 2 of them. His metals are HUGE!! We were very happy for him. They start out as a white belt, then blue, then yellow, red, brown, then black. For each belt color, one must earn 1 to 2 "stripes". They 'test' every other month. If they pass, they earn their stripe or next color belt. So, it takes about 6 months to get to the next color belt. Ed is now a brown belt. He will test again on Saturday for his first black stripe on his brown belt. He will have to get around 10 black stripes before he can test for his black belt. When he has 2 stripes on his brown belt, he earns a title and the 'junior' belts have to call him by his title. So ---- GO ED!!!!

Since there are several birthdays in October and November and their happened to be a big quilt show in Houston, all my sisters and I met with our parents (and Ta-taw) down at "Little Red's" house. "We are family. I got all my sisters with me!!!" We had a really good time. It was great to have everyone there -- all of us together! We celebrated a very special 70th birthday with my mom. The only down side was eating too much and seeing how hard it is for my Dad to get around. For the most part, the two of them seem to deal with it fairly well, but I know it is very, very hard at times. Lots of times. I wish so badly, that there was some way to be closer, to help take off some of the burden. Overall, it went very well and we had fun.

We decided that this may be the last year that we will be able to pick out the Halloween costumes for the little ones. So, we decided to do a family thing. I was Little Bo Peep, followed by my 2 white sheep and my precious black sheep, and Dad was the BIG BAD WOLF. I started working on the costumes several weeks in advance by gathering up items from Goodwill and Walmart. They weren't difficult to construct, just time consuming. Most of you know the rest, since you helped me finish them while in Houston. They turned out VERY cute. I will see if I can post pictures on this thing somehow. Anyway, Just about everyone said how much they liked them and several people told us that if there were a contest, we would have won!!! However cute the sheep costumes were the tape did not stay stuck very well on those white pants. They were leaving their fleece everywhere they went.

After a round of trick or treating, we went to to Jarrell High School football game to watch Ed "perform" with the band at 1/2 time. We usually sit at the end of the stands that are farthest away from the gate. So, we walked nearly the entire length of the stands. As we walked, the crowd started murmuring, pointing, and commenting on our fully decked out costumes. Because of Dad's furry wolf's head and his makeup, it was really difficult to tell who he was. I had a fluffy dress, a bouffant cap, fake eyelashes and cutsie makeup, and a shepard's crook. That followed by 3 adorable, fluffy sheep. I guess it would have been a show stopper. By the time we got to the area we usually sit in, the entire stands was talking and commenting. Ok, maybe it wasn't all about us, but it sure felt like it. All in all, it was a good night. And a nice week because Dad had taken the whole week off.

A couple of last thoughts to leave you with. Macaroni's latest word is "well". As in, "Macaroni, get those puzzles picked up." "Well...... I can't because it is too hard." Except that when he says it, it comes out like "Whhhhaaaaaaallllle" (whale...). And last, but not least. On Tuesday, I had to work, so Dad was taking the kids to their places. He wanted to get his vote in, so he took them with him to the polling place. On the way, he was trying to explain to them that he was going to go vote. They thought he was going to get a Boat. No matter how many ways he tried to explain it, every boat they passed on the way to Georgetown (1 or 2 of them) was met with, "Hey Dad, THERE's a boat!"

Oh, and speaking of voting, our dissenter in the house, Pistol, declared that we (Dad and I) lost and his man won!!! Yikes, maybe that explains why he is such a trouble maker - aka, the black sheep.

Love you all,
Queen Bee