Dinner Conversation

Tonight, at the dinner table, the conversation went like this:

Lauren:  "I'm going to be the first person to walk on the sun."

Carter:  "That's impossible."

 

Lauren:  "No it's not, I'll go at night!"

 

Carter:  "There's no response for that."

 

~ Laughter erupts ~

Our Flag Runner

"We" (as in our high school football team) made it to the playoffs.  Carter couldn't be more thrilled, and will be running the flags!

Halloween!

Lauren was the only one who wanted to carve pumpkins.  I waited until Halloween day to go to the store to get her one which turned out to be a bad idea as everyone was out!  I drove to several different stores but had no luck.  So, we ended up carving a "Cinderella pumpkin". . . not the best for carving!

 

Dinner . . .

 

Lauren & her bestie, Caitlin, dressed up as the Pokémon characters Pikachu & Ash Ketchum . . .

Our rule is that once you're in high school, you can no longer trick or treat.  So, it was up to Lauren to stock our candy stash!  She went with a group of her friends . . . 

Taylor had to work, and Carter went to a buddies house.  They dressed up and tried to scare cute little "trick or treaters" coming for candy.  Evidently, it was effective and very funny!  :)

I hope you had a very Happy Halloween!

Middle School Band Night

Last Friday night, Lauren got to play with the High School Marching Band during half time at the football game. It was a big deal for the Middle School Band members!

 

And, of course, Carter was running the flags each time we scored!

Infowars.com Interview

Dave was interviewed for an Alex Jones Infowars.com segment last week.  Check it out!

Hands down, the most stressful party to date!

Yesterday, we had Carter's birthday party at K-1 Speed.  We had it there last year too, and it was so much fun he wanted to do it again!  It started out great . . .

They got to do 2 races.  The first was a qualifying race consisting of 14 laps.  The final race was 16 laps.  At the end of the first race, his friend Justin's go-kart was hit full speed from behind by another friend's go-kart (a complete accident).  It was super scary to watch as Justin's body went limp and his head fell to his chest.  He didn't move for what seemed like forever.  The workers ran out onto the track and he was unresponsive for several seconds (which seemed like minutes).  He had been hit so hard it had knocked him unconscious.  He was shaky and had a bad headache.  Basically, they think he had whiplash and maybe a slight concussion.  I couldn't believe it.  I felt terrible.  He did not get to do the final race but seemed to be okay after a few minutes.  By the time the party was over, he seemed like his normal self.   Although he still had a headache. 

 

So, needless to say, I was very nervous about the final race.  We've been to K-1 speed several times and have never seen anyone get hurt.  It seems safe.

Halfway through the Final Race, Carter came around a corner and hit his brakes to avoid another rider which made his go-kart slide.  As his slid, another friend who was right behind him t-boned Carter.  The go-kart that hit Carter actually went on top of Carter (the go-karts weigh 500 lbs. each) pinning his leg between the steering wheel and the other go-kart.  I knew it was not good.  I could hear Carter screaming and all the workers ran onto the course.  Carter was thrashing around in the go-kart crying.  It was awful to watch.  I kept asking the workers if I could go onto the track to him but they would not let me.  A few minutes later, the manager came over to me and said, "We need you to come and look at his leg.  We need to know if you want us to call an ambulance or if you want to take him to the ER yourself."  Um . . . what?!  Luckily, one of Carter's friends dad had stayed at the party and he happens to be the athletic trainer for our high school.  He is the one who is first on the field when a player gets hurt.  He assesses the injury to see what course of action needs to be taken.  So, he looked at Carter (he also looked Justin over).  He was able to get him to calm down, and straighten his leg.  After looking him over, he didn't think we needed to rush to the hospital.  He said it was more than likely a bad bruise.   I'm so thankful he was there!

 So, his buddies helped him to our table . . .

 and we finished the party with pizza and cookie cake.

I drove straight from the party to our pediatrician.  She too said it was probably just a bad bruise.  She said if he was not able to walk on it by morning, then we would need to go get x-rays taken.  Thankfully, he was doing much better by this morning.  He's still sore but I think he's going to be okay.  His shoulder is actually bothering him more now.  We didn't even notice that his shoulder was all skinned and bruised as we were so focused on his leg.   It was a very stressful day!  But, Carter said  that he still had a fun birthday party.  I'm so glad.  And, FYI, we will not be having his party there again next year!  :)

The Big Four - Oh!

On October 1st, I turned 40 years old!!!!  Thanks to these lovely ladies . . .

~ Julie, Denise, & Laurie ~

I woke up to this . . .

Lauren said, "Look, someone decorated our house for Halloween!" 

 

 I have to say, driving my van around made me feel really stupid.  Everyone kept honking, waving, etc.  But, the kids thought it was the best thing ever!

 I think they're just jealous cuz' I'm still so much younger than them!  :)  I can't wait until they're 50!  Watch out girls.  The fun has just begun! ;)  Seriously, I have the best friends. Ever.  And I am so thankful for them.  They made me feel so special . . . and loved.

 

My bestie, Laurie, brought me over this incredible basket complete with 40 of my favorite things . . . 

 I love it!  Thank you Laurie.  And she took me to lunch.   I think she was trying to make up for vandalizing my yard like that & causing me to miss my class at the gym due to the surprise she left in my van that took me forever to dispose of!  :)  

 

That evening, Dave & the kids took me to dinner at County Line on the Lake (my favorite!)   Afterwards, we came home to open presents . . .

 Carter got me a gift card to Shakes.  Yum!  He did this completely on his own.  He rode his bike to Shakes and bought me a gift card with his own money.  He's such a sweet boy.

 

And, of course there was cake . . .

 It was a fabulous day!

Clarification

Yesterday, I posted a link to an article in the Wall Street Journal that Dave was interviewed for. The article says, "Dave Matheny started selling gun silencers about three years ago as a hobby and took in about $19,000 in his first month. He now sells close to $1 million of the sound-suppressing devices each month from his Austin, Texas-based Silencer Shop." 

 I just wanted to clarify this statement, as I think it is a bit deceiving & I've gotten a lot of comments about it. That's in sales, not profit. Actually, our profit margins are not very high as we don't make a lot of money on each sale. We need volume. The numbers are a bit deceiving as it makes it sound like we're rolling in dough. Which, is not true. We've never "made so much money yet had so little money" if that makes sense. It's been crazy. We've put our life savings into this business (and have yet to be paid back by the business), not to mention all our time for the last two years. All of our profits have gone back into building the business. It's very expensive to grow your business. Not to mention, getting into a store front, etc. So, as of yet, we haven't seen much extra money. It is paying our bills, but that's about it. We've worked holidays, weekends, etc. Dave rarely gets home before 8:00 p.m. and has been working 6-7 days/week for 2 years. We have put in the sweat, blood, and many tears with hopes that it will pay off. Sadly, the government can shut us down overnight for reasons that do not make any sense. 

People don't understand the laws, or silencers. Silencers are a safety device.  Nothing you see in the movies is even remotely true.  They are not silent, they make your gun hearing safe.  There are many good, legitimate reasons to own a suppressor.  For instance, if you own a gun for home defense chances are, if you have to use it, you will not have time to find your ear muffs before defending yourself.  Which will result in permanent, irreversible hearing loss.  Many ranchers (especially in Texas) use suppressors to fight the very destructive, expensive wild hog problem. And, silencers make your gun harder to conceal (which is actually a deterrent for criminals).  They are like a muffler for your car.  They help with noise pollution. 

It's redundant to do back ground checks on silencers as they do extensive checks before you can buy a gun. So, if you can own a gun, you should be able to get a silencer without jumping through all the hoops. Not to mention, that silencers are already highly regulated. It's not a "loop hole" for criminals. When you purchase a silencer, you have to register it with the ATF, then wait 6-8 months for the ATF to send back your approval before you are able to take possession, and you pay a $200 tax stamp/suppressor. 

I'm not trying to sound like I'm complaining, we feel blessed that the business has taken off and is doing well. It's fun to see your hard work pay off. I just think the numbers don't tell the whole story and wanted to clarify.

Wall Street Journal quotes "Mr. Matheny"

Dave was contacted by the Wall Street Journal about a regulation that President Obama is trying to pass which directly affects our business, Silencer Shop.  If you'd like to read it, click here!    

Fifteen!

Carter turned fifteen years old on Wednesday!  He can hardly wait to get his learner's permit.  I can't believe he's old enough to learn how to drive.  How can that be? 

 He's such a great kid!  I feel so lucky.  Happy birthday bud!  We love you.

Nail Art

Lauren is really into nail art.  She comes up with such cute ideas, thanks to pinterest!

(Penguins)

 

 (Flowers & Stripes)

Seventeen!

 

Almost Seventeen!

Taylor will be seventeen tomorrow!  I can't believe it.  I know everyone says that, but it's wild.  I mean, didn't I just turn seventeen not very long ago?  (don't answer that.)  Now my oldest is turning seventeen.  I love watching her mature into a beautiful young lady, but it makes me sad that we only have two more years before she heads off to college.  Everyone tells you they grow up fast but you don't realize how fast until they're all grown up. 

 

Anyway, for her birthday, I wanted to plan a surprise party.  Unfortunately, she accidentally found out two days before the party.  :(  Oops.  But, all was well regardless.  Her friends came to our house at 8:00a.m. Saturday morning for breakfast before heading to play paintball . . .

~ Rachel, Emily, Taylor, Matt, & Jessica ~

 

 

They played from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. then headed back to our house for pizza, cupcakes, & ice cream! 

 They had a blast!  They all hung out at our house until Taylor had to leave for work.  I love her.  She is such a fun girl and has such a great group of friends.