Pledge to the flags

Now that the girls are attending an american school they are also participating in all the american routines.  One of them is the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.

'I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.'

I don't know if this is the case in all of the states but here in Texas they are very proud and therefore there is also a Pledge for the Texas flag!

'Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.'

Pumpkin carving

Halloween wouldn't be complete without a carved pumpkin, so this weekend both girls picked one out at the supermarket.  After deciding on templates we set to work.  First we had to clean the insides of the pumpkins and take all the yucky stuff out.  Then the girls transferred their chosen templates onto the pumpkins. With a little saw they then cut out all the part and Thijs did the final touch by drilling out the eyes. (let's just hope they keep for another week till Halloween)

Well done girls.  I think it is a pretty good result for a first pumpkin!

and just for fun, a little one that I made myself

We've been boo-ed!

A few nights ago the doorbell rang.  When Thijs en Floortje opened the door there was no one there except this pumpkin filled with Halloween goodies and the note shown below. 

It turned out we had been Boo-ed!  The note says that you have to continue the booing by delivering a Halloween treat to two of your neighbors the next night.

Which of course we did!!! What a nice tradition! 

What the ....?

Can you imagine my surprise when I found this message in my mailbox last night!

I have no idea how and why this person decided to follow me as I am definitely not a Perry supporter.  Needless to say, I figured out how to use the Twitter 'block' option and applied it (however might be funny to follow back just to see what rubbish they will tweet)!

Houston Aquarium

One of the nicest things about moving to a new city is exploring all the new places.  After a nice breakfast in an outside garden we went to the Downtown Aquarium in Houston on Sunday.

Not as impressive as the Atlantis or Dubai Mall aquarium but a nice afternoon nonetheless.

Marathon Kids

The girls have signed up for Marathon Kids.   This is a program where kids agree to walk 26.2 miles (a full marathon) in parts between now and April.  It is designed to make kids aware that exercising and healthy eating are important.  Last Sunday we joined the kick off here in Cinco Ranch, not far from our house.  It was a beautiful morning with no wind at all and as we were walking around the lake this hot air balloon just hovered over our heads.

Rules and warnings

And another funny one I came across

Rules And Warnings For Yankees

• If yew forget ah Texan's name, refer tew him as "Bubba". Yew'll have ah 75% chance of being right!
• Jus' because yew can drive in thuh snow and ice ain't gonna mean we can. Stay home thuh two days of thuh year it snows.
• Don't be surprised tew find movie rentals, hamburgers and bait in thuh same store.
• Save all manner of bacon grease. Yew will find out why below!
• If it ain't fried in bacon grease, barbequed or grilled, it ain't worth eatin'!
• Remember: "Y'all" is singular, "All Y'all" is plural and "All Y'all's" is plural possessive.
• Get used tew hearing, "Y'all ain't frum 'round heah, are yew?"
• There ain't nuthin' sillier than ah Yankee imitating ah Texas accent, unless it's ah Texan imitating ah Boston accent.
• Folks walk ah lil' slower heah!
• Don't be worried if yew don't understand folks down heah. They ain't gonna understand yew either!
• Thuh "He Needed Killin'" defense is valid down heah!
• If attending ah funeral in Texas, remember, we stay until thuh last shovel of dirt is thrown on and thuh tent is torn down.
• Yew can ask a Texan for directions, but unless yew already know the positions of key hills, trees and rocks, y'all are ah whole lot better off trying tew find it yerself.
• Most Texans dew not use turn signals and they ignore folks who dew. In fact, if yew see ah turn signal blinking on ah car wuth ah Texas license plate, yew may rest assured that it was on when thuh car was purchased!