Halloween just ain't what it used to be...

So, we did NOTHING for Halloween. And this was my (Becky's) fault, entirely. We had 2 party invites from church peeps, and my heart just wasn't in it. We did contemplate going to one of them as Kanye and Taylor Swift. And it would have been great. For real. But we opted for a more low-key Halloween weekend, which pretty much meant we ignored the holiday all-together.

Here is what we have been doing (since our last post a bajillion weeks ago)...

We enjoyed the first night of Fall weather by venturing downtown to Discovery Green for a blues concert. Houston is gorgeous, isn't she?

Gary Clark Jr. was AWESOME. A little blues, a little rock, a little folk sound... so good. The concert was in the middle of Discovery Green and there were hipsters and slightly tipsy elderly people dancing around in front of the stage together. Little kids and dogs and men in suits all gathered together on a big lawn to hear some great music. Fantastic start to Fall.

We use the MetroRail for all of our downtown needs. So we have invented ways to keep ourselves occupied while taking the long ride to and from the city. (1) Sneak glances at cute babies then whisper about their cuteness in a non-weird way, and (2) make faces in the window behind the train driver and hope he/she cannot see what we're doing.

We were able to attend many-an-Astros-game this season thanks to a lovely Christmas gift from Mark & Marleen (who I may affectionately refer to as M&M later in this post... but maybe I won't...). We have started a kind of tradition of eating at one of the few surrounding restaurants that stays open after the game. We have 2 options: a pub or sushi. We opted for sushi at "Convey" for the last game. It's a really cool  place; they send your sushi around on conveyor belts. We feel positively European! But the best part is they give me an extra-large helping of ginger, because I love it so much! Oh, and the plates are super-cute. (I'm sure Clint has different "best parts" about this sushi place that are entirely less feminine. You should ask him about that sometime, maybe.

One of our favorite meal lately has been homemade pizza. This is mainly due to the fact that I finally found a pizza dough recipe that I don't consistently screw up. So our date nights the past couple of months have frequently been Build-Your-Own-Pizza Nights. We even had peeps over to do it with us once! We're really coming out of our shell!

Clint took his first round of Second Year exams. And he rocked them!

My birthday came first this month, so Clint had to go first with the giving of the presents. Notice what a nice job he did in wrapping and stacking those gifts!

And I was very pleased with his choices of gifts.

(This is a "Side Note" picture, meaning it has nothing to do with the rest of the post and interrupts the flow of what I was already talking about, but isn't it great?! I finally got Clint to pull a pose for a pic using the "Think Fast" method. "Clintdosomethinggreatandsmile!" So, this is what he came up with. Sort of a Running Man pose. Very manly of him evenly while I was trying to get him to model for me. (P.S. That is a new shirt. And I believe it is his favorite new shirt. I call it the Candy Cane because it's white and red stripes. So clever of me...))

Next came Clint's birthday. I was less classy with the wrapping of his gift. Poor guy. But he did like the paper pumpkin I made him! Hooray!

One of Clint's gifts from M&M was a Wii. Which he LOVED. And I LOVED! And contrary to popular prophesy, I do not play it more than he does. We downloaded Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA!!!) and the original Mario Brothers. SO great! Saturday morning I woke up with two things on my mind: Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch and SEEEE-GAAAA!

This Sunday the weather was finally perfect for a picnic in Hermann Park. So we hauled our food, BYU blanket, football, frisbee, and the milk I insisted on bringing onto the train and out to the park.

We placed out blanket by the zoo train tracks hoping the little kids in Halloween costumes would wave or say funny things. I guess we were a little too close to the track for comfort, though, because we only got one wave. The rest of the train riders just stared awkwardly. BUT in better news, I apparently am better at throwing a football than Clint expected! Yay!

On Monday (Halloween--yes, actively ignoring it still) we went to purchase pet fish for our FHE activity. Clint has a ring pop because I "proposed" to him that we be fish parents. He was obviously very excited about our new buddies!

Meet Clint's fish Ferdinand--- the curious little explorer.

And my fish Prince Phillip--- the vain one. He totally has a right to be vain though; he has a little mustache (which is what he is so blatantly admiring about his reflection)!

We want to say a big thank you to all the family for making our birthdays so special! Much love to everyone! And we hope you had a lovely Halloween!