Mommy-Addy and Daddy-Ella Day

What a fun day we all had today!  Was somewhat of a divide and conquer family day.

Mommy-Addy Day
Michael got to take Addy to her first Aggie game, but I got to take her to her first Aggie game where she actually saw the Aggies score and win!  Granted it was not a pretty game, all that matters is that we got the "W".  Was a gorgeous day to sit outside and watch football.  Fortunately we had a  blanket to snuggle up in when the sun moved and we ended up in the shade.

 We got to watch the corp march in - I got a lot of questions about the corp and I had no idea what the answers were.  I suggested Addy Google them when we got home.  We did conclude that she did not want to join the military when she was older and I told her that I was OK with that.

 Addy in Kyle Field

A game day selfie!

Daddy-Ella Day
A bit further down South, Michael and Ella were having an adventure of their own.  I must say I am a bit jealous too.  They went to Moody Gardens Aquarium and did the penguin encounter.  They got to hang out with penguins and learn about them and watch them do art.  The most fantastic part is that they actually won one of the "paintings" that they watched the penguin paint.  Here is the penguin, her name was "Mo", doing her thing

And here is Ella holding up the masterpiece.  It is hard to see but it is black and yellow footprints.  Super cute!

Happy Halloween

 Elsa and our wizard of Gryffindor

 Yarwell neighbors did not disappoint!  The kids had a blast running up and down the street collecting candy! 

 Here are our spooktacular pumpkins we carved.  Didn't realize how small the cat eyes were until we finally put candles in them!

Let the Halloween Festivities Begin!

First step was a visit to the St. Luke's pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkins to carve.  Fortunately there were pumpkins galore to choose from.  I think we looked at every pumpkin before we settled on "the ones".

Then a play date with our wonderful neighbor friends ended up in a big pumpkin carving party that was super fun.  Ella was settled on carving a cat pumpkin, done.  Addison started off wanting a dog then changed her mind 10 times and finally decided on a "W".  I realized we don't have pics of the carved pumpkins, but we'll capture those on Halloween.  

 Ella dove right in and was unphased by the goo!

 Addy the carving pro.

Addison carving with her neighbor BFF Will.

 Then the annual trip to Zoo Boo.  Best part of this trip was that it was the 1st time they got to wear their costumes!  Addy is a member of Gryffindor from the Harry Potter book series and of course Ella is Elsa from the Frozen movie. 

 If you will remember back to our San Antonio vacation last year when we went to the wild animal park and the zebra head in the car that made Ella terrified of zebras - well, I think that she is trying to overcome her fear by riding the zebra on the carousel at the zoo.  It was a BIG step.  In the past she has refused to even look at them at the zoo.  Even sitting on the back of a fake one is impressive. 

Happy 8th Birthday Party

 Addy got to celebrate her actual birthday with a trip to College Station, but Sunday she got to celebrate with her friends.  It was  "Magical" party!  I was originally thinking a small girlie  get together, but she really wanted to have a magic show at her party, so magic show it was.  The magician was super and a fun time was had by all, young and old. 

Addison's 1st Aggie Game

Let the brainwashing begin in full force - Addison went to her first Aggie game on her birthday.  The game on the field was terrible, Aggies lost miserably, but Addison seemed to have a great time.  Michael took Addison and they got to experience some of the on-campus pregame festivities we've never seen and then they stayed through halftime.  Unfortunately the game didn't start until 8:00 PM so it was a long night, but she says she had a great time and wants to go back!

Michael had read about the new cannon we have to go with the new stadium setup and actually saw it.  It is pretty serious.

And here is a little game day "selfie" in the stadium.  I think that she has the gig 'em down pretty good!

Yarwell Kids

We love our neighbor friends and they are the cutest group when they get together.  They pretty much act like brothers and sisters at this point.  So fun having the kids run between the 2 houses.  My house is oddly more calm with the 4 of the vs. my 2 alone! 

Rowan

My job is not glamorous and very few people have a clue what I do even after I explain it to them, but most people understand when I tell them I work for an offshore drilling company.  Few perks come along with working for an offshore drilling company, but one fun opportunity is getting to go on one of the drilling rigs.  Not something your average Joe gets a chance to do.  One of the rigs was in the Sabine Pass Yard for some repairs and inspections, so my group took a trip to visit.  Was actually my 3rd time on a rig, but I think that this may be the 1st photo I've taken on one. 

 Group photo on the helideck.  The structure directly behind us is one of the legs on the rig.  Bethany with a mildly crooked hard hat..

Photo from the yard with the rig in the background.  The rig is in the water jacked up about 10' above the water line.  It is a big chunk of steel that can still float somehow.  And in this one my hard hat is really crooked.  Nice.

Orange

 The first Friday of October was a "fall break" for HISD so we decided to make a quick trip to Orange to visit with Granny.  We were all excited for the trip, but Ella and her lack of calendar concept seemed extra exited and asked about the trip daily for a solid 2 weeks.  There were a lot of conversations that went a little something like this
Ella:  "When are we going to Granny's?"
Me:  "Next Friday"
Ella: "Tomorrow?"
Me:  "No, not tomorrow, next Friday"
Ella:  "In two days"
Me:  "Sure, whatever, yes, in two days"
So finally our trip to Orange was here.  Us girls had a great time shopping, park playing and relaxing.  Highlight for me was possibly dinner at Casa Ole!  It was also fun when Ella found the pictures on Granny's coffee table in the living room and we went through a lot of pictures that I had not seen in a long time.  Always a good time in Orange - we love you Granny!

Labor Day Weekend

Bit more rain than we would have liked, but it kept the crowds away a bit which was nice.  Fortunately we got some playtime on the beach and it must be hermit crab season (if there is such a thing!) because there were tons of them.  Michael collected a couple and then taught Addison how to feel for them in the water and pick them up.  Before long we had quite the crab collection.  The weather was making the currents really strong so there wasn't a lot of water play so the crabs were quite the source of entertainment!  Here are the girls and their crab friends

Not sure when we'll get back to the beach and it is a bit of a bummer that we didn't make it down more this summer, but this was quite the summer of travel for the Wolf family and we still had tons of fun. 

First Day of 2nd Grade

Kolter Elementary - Ms. Reardon's Class

First Day of Pre-K

And last first day at Bertha Alyce! Ella is in the owl's class with Ms. Laura and Mr. James.

Denson History

We made a stop by Great Grandma Brewster's house in Meridian, MS on our way back home. There were people sitting on the front porch so we felt a little funny taking too many pics and lingering but we can now say we have seen it at least. Little bit of family history for the record books.

Uncle Jack

On Wednesday Michael made a passing comment about the Jack Daniel's distillery. A bit of internet research later and next thing you know, our first destination on Thursday is Lynchburg, TN.  We now know a whole lot more about whiskey making, very cool tour and impressive facility.  Girls did remarkably well on the tour. They did remarkably well on all of the tours we did this week, we actually got compliments from other people, so it isn't just us being biased!!  

Here are the girls and Jack

Ella being silly

Michael and his girls in front on a whiskey barrel at the actual Jack Daniel's facility.  We also learned more of the history of the Jack Daniel's barrels we have as planters in our back yard. Too bad ours don't have the brand on them like this one.

Final Day In Nashville

We had a nice relaxing final day in Nashville. We were excited to have Denise and Connie join us at Belle Meade   Plantation. We learned about the horse farm and saw some cool old buildings, including a pretty swanky mansion. Then had a nice lunch at the plantation followed by a great family dinner to end the visit.

The family on the front porch of the mansion

The girls relaxing with Aunt Connie

Yummy Italian family dinner

We can't thank Denise, Steve and Aunt Connie for the generous hospitality. We had a wonderful visit and loved spending time with family.  I am pretty sure that the girls will continue to talk about Cousin Laura for a very long time!

Opryland

Today was all about the Opry!

The Grand Old Opry

Backstage in Dressing Room #1

Lots of picture with guitar opportunities here in Nashville.

Standing on stage in "The Circle"

Future Opry comedy act stars

Fun boat ride on the General Jackson and great lunchtime entertainment. Think it was more country music than the girls had ever heard!

And we ended the day with a visit to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and here are the girls horsin' around with some random "art" at the resort.  We also took a little boat ride around the little river and watched a fountain show to music. The fountain show was like the little baby sister to the show at the Belagio in Vegas. Or maybe more like a distant cousin.

Downtown Nashville

We spent most of the time at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum.  Although we are not really into country music, I think that the visit was enjoyed by the whole family.  The museum was primarily made up of artists' guitars or other musical instruments and outfits from the beginning of country to modern day artists.  I think that the girls enjoyed looking at the instruments and when we got to the sparkly more current artists' outfits, that was a bit hit.  Taylor Swift had a rhinestone guitar on display that Ella really liked.  

We decided to take the tour of RCA Studio B which was really neat.  It was an old timey recording studio used by a lot of the country greats and of course Elvis.  Elvis is everywhere in Tennessee, even outside of Memphis.  It was a fun experience but the girls got tired of standing so they decided to share a seat next to one of the old recording devices.  A super cute photo op!

Addy is standing in front of one of the mics and podiums used by a lot of the old country stars when they were in the recording studio. 

Broadway is the main drag in Nashville full of honky-tonk bars and clubs, restaurants and boot shops.  There were some really tall boots and this is Ella standing next to a pair that was half as tall as she was.  The girls liked to go around the story and say which ones were their favorite. 

We visited the Pawn Star's place in Vegas, so we couldn't miss American Pickers Nashville Store.  No major purchases, other than an Antique Archaeology hat.  

We met up for dinner to celebrate cousin Laura's birthday.  Unfortunately we didn't get a picture when Laura was around, but the girls really enjoyed being able to celebrate with her.  Here are the girls with Aunt Connie at her house before dinner. 

Memphis

The first half of the day started with a car ride and 30 of Elvis' top hits to get everyone ready for Graceland. Not sure the music was a huge hit with the Wolf family, but Graceland was certainly worth the stop. It was quite a throwback to the 70's. The green shag carpet in the Jungle Room brought back memories of my childhood.

The girls seemed to enjoy the planes and the pink cars that Elvis had. I think they liked the mansion tour as much as any 4 and 7 year old would. 

Standing by the bed in Elvis' plane.  

Big plane!  It isn't very often that you get to walk around underneath a plane. 

Elvis' pink jeep. 

Elvis' front porch. 

The girls hangin' in Elvis' backyard. 

Then we made our first trip to a Triple D "dive". We thank Guy and the Food Nerwork for taking us to Uncle Lou's fried chicken. I know we would have not stopped there on our own!

Time to get to the final destination. Nashville here we come!