Oh What a Thanksgiving

We made the road trip down to SAN ANTONIO for Thanksgiving weekend. Wow, was it a weekend!!! My sis had her little babe while we were on our way down on Wednesday. That was the big exciting news. We got in late Wednesday night and pretty much just went to sleep after eating some Ravioli for dinner (thanks Geo). Then, on Thanksgiving Day we got to see the little George Austin at the hospital. This was a treat.


We also made some tasty pies for dinner with George. One was a double layer pumpkin and the other was an original that we all pitched in to create. It had a gingersnap crust with cheesecake flavored pudding as the filling. We topped it off with some butterscotch and pecans. Not too bad. We went over to friends of George and Kimberli's for the feast. Mark and I got to spend the rest of the day with Lu Lu and Sweet Elise. We had a good time tending the children.




We were also able to go to the San Antonio temple, shopping on "Black Friday," the Alamo, famous San Antonio Riverwalk, and out to dinner. What a great weekend!!!







Mark and the little Shopper...Elise

P.S. Last "Black Friday" we got ENGAGED!!! How the time flies....

Last Day as a Razorback...

I had such a great experience as a student teacher here! My cooperating teachers and the principal were wonderful!!! On my last day, they presented me with this HUGE gift basket full of teacher stuff. This was very unexpected and I could not believe how kind they were to buy me all of this stuff out of their own pockets! I have learned much and am attached to both the teachers and students at this school. I will miss them!!!

One week to go...

I have five more days as a student teacher!!!! YAY.

October Spooks

Some of the highlights of October for the Tews:
1. Mark gets rid of the Poison Oak from Louisiana trip. This is a picture of his legs. The left is the "infected" one and the right is what he looks like normally....sad story :(

2. Orange Dinner with some friends (orange bread bowls, cheese broccoli soup, pumpkin shaped orange jello, spooky spider ice cubes, and orange soda)


3. Some tasty treats...pumpkin bars and spider cupcakes.


4. Playin' the game we love, TENNIS

5. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!

Seussical the Musical

FIELD TRIP!!!
The other day I went with the 3rd graders to the lovely.....Seussical the Musical! The children were well behavied and we only had a couple kiddos fall asleep. I couldn't figure out how in the heck they could fall asleep with the rather annoying and loud music blasting in the background but hey, at least the children were quiet, right?

This was my second time seeing Seussical. I think two times will be enough for the next fifty years or so. I would have to say that Dr. Seuss is a genius but the play just doesn't do him justice! Horton Hears a Who is a wonderful book but the musical.....yikes.

The nice (or not nice) thing about children is they will always tell you what they think. (we had one today say, "Oh! I know what wrinkles are... Mrs. So and so has them all over her face, right?) Anyway, the children thought the play itself was "lame" or "okay." They were glad to get out of the school and go on a field trip and I was too :)

Road Trip: Midland, TX

We went to Midland to visit our fam Jeff, Heather, Parker, and the new addition Addison. We had a good time seeing the other end of Texas where the wind mills turn and the oil rigs pump. We went to the temple while we were there. That's 15 different temples visited and 290ish to go. Maybe someday when we're 80, we can say that we've been to them all.

We had a good time meeting Addison, seeing the new homestead, and visiting with the Tews! Thanks J&H!

Life in the Elementary World...

I have loved doing my student teaching in Texarkana! It is very different than the Utah culture but I have really enjoyed it. I can't believe I am already about half way finished...

Students in...

Texarkana:
"Where da foos?" lovin' that southern accent
Pony tails and braids GALORE
Love to talk about God
Football/Dallas Cowboys is life.
names-Lakifah, Jeremiah, Jacquetta

Utah:
"Como estas amigo?" lovin' that ESL accent
Teachers are forbidden to mention religion
names-Carlos, Vanessa, Brandon
Utah Jazz Fanzz

Both:
Hannah Montana is the best!
Love to sing BOOM CHICA BOOM
Cute and enjoyable children!!!!

Service Project

We went to Houma, LA with about 20 people from our ward to help with some hurricane damage clean up last weekend. Mainly we did yard/tree removal stuff. It was pretty amazing to see the damage. I couldn't really figure out why people would still live there after having several hurricanes...?


Mark enjoyed using the chain saw...Men and their power tools :) I mainly drug the branches into a big pile in the front of the yards. We camped out in tents on a lawn at a church. What a weekend!

It was a neat experience. There ended up being about 1,400 members volunteering from many cities!

Tew vs Anderson Beijing 2008

The standings thus far in the Tew vs Anderson Olympics are as follows:

Speed on Steroids:
Gold - Heidi Anderson
Silver - Mark Tew
Bronze - Mike Anderson

2 on 2 Beach Volleyball:
Gold - M & L Tew
Silver - M & H Anderson

Upcoming Events are as follows:
Beach Volleyball scheduled for Monday at 4:00 p.m. Central Time - Tew vs. Anderson rematch - Links Sand Volleyball Arena. Live coverage on ESPN

Table Tennis scheduled as soon as we can find a table. Mike vs. Mark. THE match to watch. Live on ESPN 1 and 2

Yahtzee after Sunday dinner possibly scheduled for Sunday if the boys get back in time from LA- Tew residence- No coverage on Sundays

Par and Subpar

Marky and I went golfing together the other day. I did golf a few holes but then decided to stay the official caddy :) Mark has really enjoyed practicing to become a pro golf man....which sort of concerns me at times. Luckily, for now we can enjoy free golf and a nice backyard view without the maintenance.

Road Trip: Dallas Temple

We went on a road trip to the Dallas Temple last Saturday. It was a beautiful day in Dallas. We ended up doing a trade off with Mike and Heid to tend little Mase Man. He is such a good kid! We went to the Cheesecake Factory for a yummy dinner and had good conversation in the car. What a fun day!

FUN in the SUN

It was a nice, hot day on Saturday so we decided to go swimming here at our complex! We also baked in the sun while watching the golfers compete in a tournament.

Sunday Dinner

We had a great time with our new neighbs for Sunday dinner. Actually, Heidi and I go way back. We were roommates our first year as Aggies and promised that we'd be neighbors when we "grew up." Now we're just living the dream here in Texarkana.....sadly, they will be moving in a bit. :(

We LOVE playing with their cute cute son. He loves attention!

This was dinner tonight. Mark made celery sticks full of peanut butter as a side to to the stir fry. We each had one big long celery stalk to munch on.

P.S. if you notice, I have sweats and a jacket on. (yes, we do live in the southern humidity and hot weather) Mark has on a short sleeve shirt and b-ball shorts. This is the story of our lives in the home, car, or wherever we may be...Lacey=cold Mark=feels good or Lacey=perfect temperature Mark=sweating
My own parents have gone through the same thing their entire marriage and probably will throughout eternity. My dad always packs a blanky for my mom when they are in the car so he can crank the AC. I wonder if this is true for most if not all couples in the world...?

fRiDaY nIgHt dAtE

We went to TEXAS ROADHOUSE on a date last Friday. It was mmm mmm good! We ordered some tasty dishes.
~hot rolls- these were complimentary and came with tasty cinnamon butter.
~mini cactus blossom as an appetizer- battered onion with special dipping sauce.
~ribs- we dare say as good as Hamilton's in Logan. deluctable.
~mashed potatoes- loaded with cheese and bacon.
~steak fries- good seasoning but could have been a bit crispier.
~house salad- with Ranch dressing, Mark's favorite.
Although I haven't asked Mark specifically, I would say we both would recommend TEXAS ROADHOUSE to our friends as a Friday night date...but be sure to call ahead of time because it was definitely a full house! Yeeehaw!

YAY! I MADE IT!!

I guess the title says it all. WHOO! I made it to the new homestead! After a LOOOOOONNNNNNGGGG thirty hour drive, I'm here! Lamely enough, I didn't take pics of the drive out here, the van, or the trailer with all of our junk...I mean stuff.

It was very fun living at my mom and dads for a couple of weeks but it's great to be "married" again. Mark's parents were kind enough to help us with the move. We had a nice few days to visit and party here. Student teaching starts next Monday. Life is good.

Cute Little Girls After Church

Nieces have got to be one of the funnest things on earth!!! I love mine! This is after church today....two HAPPY girls and one MAD one...

Bees Game on the 24th of July

We have a fun tradition of going to the BEES GAME every year on July 24th. We always go as a family, watch the game, and enjoy fireworks after. I felt a little sad that Mark had to miss the fun on his first year being an official member of my family because we have such a GREAT time at the game! Baseball, Chicago dogs, family, and fireworks, what could be better?

Gundi Reunion

We had a BIG Gundersen family reunion over the weekend with my mom's side. It was so much fun to see all of the cousins. I learned that there are 175 of us now (including second cousins). WOAH! That's a whole lot of fun! We stayed at a lodge up in Provo canyon where we played pingpong, pool, volleyball, horseshoes, etc. We ate a lot of yummy food too! I had a great time there.