Baby Hottinger coming soon...

Yesterday Nicole and I threw a work shower for Janelle. It was so much fun! The Michigan baby stuff was totally adorable too. Baby Cavin isn't too far behind!

Belize

We're going to Christmas for Belize! I'm so excited. We're spending a week in Belize with Dana's family and then heading to Mexico for Sara's wedding. I can't wait!!!

Germans, Fighting Knights and 10K Races

Dana is in Chicago this weekend for a guys weekend. He's having a blast and been doing so many things that I can't even summarize them here. He'll have to add them later! Highlights are probably seeing the Cubs play at Wrigley on a beautiful day, catching up with a lot of friends he doesn't get to see often, and eating a lot of good food.

This weekend I was busy! Saturday I ran the 10K Tour des Fleurs race at White Rock lake with my friend Ryan (from my church group). I absolutely loved it! I am NOT a runner... yet I ran the whole way (or jogged at least) and I loved every second of it. I'm hooked! Now I'm looking for a 15K or half marathon perhaps for later this year.

My dad got stuck here again on his way to Chile (American seems to always have plane issues when he is flying through Dallas). The upside was that we had a really nice afternoon together and enjoyed lunch on the patio at Taco Diner.

After that I went to the Octoberfest with the Cavins and Boyles. There's nothing like good German beer, sausage and streudel to gain back the calories you burn off in a 10K. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL here though, so it was just fantastic to walk around outside.

Finally I went to Medieval Times for dinner in honor of Erol and Will's birthdays. Although the event is probably targeted to 14 year olds, I was excited because I've always wanted to go. The show was pretty cool! More high-tech than I had imagined. My (blue) knight didn't win, but he still performed well. The food was absolutely horrible, so I was glad I had indulged at the Octoberfest festival.

The sermon at church today was awesome as usual. I feel so blessed to have found Watermark. It was all about money, and how materialism in Dallas is such a problem. "Generosity is the antidote to Materialism" was the big takeaway, and I couldn't agree more. The message was basically about the importance of volunteering with and giving to those less fortunate instead of focusing on ourselves.

Hurricane Ike hits Texas

Hurricane Ike hit Texas this weekend. While overall we were extremely lucky (especially compared to folks in Houston), we did have a pool party that was rained out. No worries! We just hung out and enjoyed Christine's favorite treats (Chick-Fil-A nuggets and Cookie Dough ice cream cake... yes, we're really that fancy). Dana made the most amazing drinks - Pineapple Mojitos! So yummy.

We had invited over our friends with kids for a birthday celebration (it's a 6 week event apparently) since we knew they wouldn't be able to join us at trapeze lessons in Austin in October. With all of the kids, the party felt a bit like a 1 year old birthday party (rather than a 32 yr old party) but we loved it. That's just what life is like these days!

Monday night we went to an awesome Cowboys football game with Erol and Danielle. The game was so close and our seats were on the 50 yard line, so we had a lot of fun.

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Perfect end of summer weather

This weekend we are taking it easy and enjoying the PERFECT end-of-summer weather we are having. It's been in the 80s and totally gorgeous.

Friday night we had dinner with Michael & Janelle at Gordon-Biersch brewery. I can't believe they only have 9 more weeks left until Baby Hottinger arrives. Saturday night we went to the Rangers game with Ryan & Stephanie. The Rangers killed the Red Sox and we had a terrific time just enjoying being outside.

Happy Anniversary Ron & Judy

Dana's parents celebrate their 40th anniversary today. They inspire us in so many ways! Hope they're having a wonderful celebration.

Christine turns 32

Christine celebrated a low-key, happy birthday this weekend. One of her sorority sisters, Sara, visited for the weekend with her fiance, James. Aren't they cute? We're really looking forward to their wedding this Jan. in Mexico.

We enjoyed some amazing food, relaxed in the pool, played a lot of Taboo and Cranium, visited a sculpture garden and built some shelves for our living room. (They're architects, so we can't let their talents not be fully utilized when they visit)

Christine's Quirks

Christine just got tagged by Kelley to list 6 quirky things about herself! This tagging thing is a fun game of sorts that is totally new to us. Here are some things that come to mind…

1) I really don't like waking up to an alarm clock. My attitude totally changes on days when I'm able to wake up naturally.

2) Having nice nails is important to me (I think I get this from my mom). If my nail is chipped I'll obsess over it and not be able to focus on anything else until I get it fixed.

3) Half-used toiletries really bug me. I get a great sense of satisfaction when I get to put out a new bottle of shampoo or hand soap, etc.

4) I love the concept of jewelry but I hate the physical feeling of wearing it. It's the first thing I take off every day when I come home from work...

5) I feel extremely claustrophobic when I sit in the backseat of 2-door cars

6) My passion at work is working on Health & Wellness snacks, yet I still must eat at Chick-Fil-A at least 2x per week

Now it's our turn to "tag" someone. We'll tag Janelle and Gretchen...

Dinner with the Sheas

Last night we had a really fun dinner with Danielle, Erol, Mina and Tom. Erol makes amazing bleu cheese buffalo burgers and Dana made a pear gorgonzola salad that was soooo good. Afterwards we went to a bar in Greenville to hear one of the bands play who is trying to get into Austin City Limits. It was a blast! We've never really hung out in the Lower Greenville area but the crowd is very different from what I had expected (more like us but younger and much less grungy than I had thought) and the bars look really fun. The band was great! Danielle knew one of the musicians in the band because he's also a Consultant at Deloitte. You would NEVER have guessed that if you had just seen the band - which was cool. It was fairly hard/loud rock but they had a female violinist as well who was rocking out. I think that was my favorite part! It made me wish I hadn't given up violin in the 3rd grade : )

Getting ready for Baby Boyle...

A couple pics from Haylee's shower for baby #2