Halloween Extravaganza!!

Here's a recap of our activity-filled Halloween! First I took Avery to our MOMS Club trunk-or-treat on Friday. It was absolutely freezing so we literally ran from car to car, posed for a quick group picture, then jumped in our own car and headed to the Starbucks drive-thru.

On Saturday my friend Ginny and her hubby threw their annual grown-up party, so Daniel and I went as Katniss and Peeta from Hunger Games (mainly because Aidan had a bow-and-arrow set, and the shirts were easy to make!). We had a blast hanging out with unimpressed Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney and The Most Interesting Man in the World (Tracey and David) and watching "Psy" and his crew dancing Gangnam Style :)

On Sunday our church had its annual Fall Festival where we got to hang out with Kaelyn and other friends:

Avery had dress-up day at MDO on Tuesday...here she is with her fellow princesses Sage, Becca, and Hailey:

Daniel's office had a trick-or-treat at their office Tuesday afternoon. They had never done it before and it was SO fun! The kids trick-or-treated on two entire floors, then had Chick Fil-A, made crafts, and watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Isn't Baby Ellie a cute ladybug?

By this point the kids had accumulated an insane amount of candy, and it wasn't even Halloween yet! Most of this was put into the bucket to re-gift to trick-or-treaters:

Here are Michaelangelo and Rapunzel before leaving to trick-or-treat on our block:

Happy Halloween!!!

State Fair of Texas

We headed to the fair on Friday the 19th since Aidan was out of school for a teacher in-service (we didn't go on his actual Fair Day because it was too cold!). We had gorgeous weather this time around, but it was also the day that poor Big Tex caught fire and burned :( We actually saw smoke when we were driving along the highway but didn't know what had happened until we got there. It was so sad! They didn't let anyone go to the scene until they had taken him away.

Petting zoo (soon after this pic, one of the goats snatched Avery's paper cup out of her hands and ate it...the kids thought it was hysterical):

Fried cookie dough on the right (my FAVORITE!) and fried s'more on the left that we enjoyed after our Fletchers corn dogs:

Midway rides:

Where Big Tex stood...the sky was very empty without him :(

Memories, courtesy of my mom. Get well soon, Big Tex!

Happy 5th Birthday Avery!!

Our baby girl turned FIVE yesterday and I still can't believe it! We started the day off with some donuts and kolaches that Daddy got from the "breakfast place" (usually our Saturday tradition, but a special exception was made for Avery's birthday!).

Then after the boys left for work and school, Cousin Sage, Hailey, and Becca came over for a mini weekday party. The four of them are in MDO together and are great friends! They had pizza and cupcakes, opened presents and had some playtime!

After that I drove them to Sweet & Sassy for some princess makeovers! It was such a fun, low-key party and perfect for Avery :)

That afternoon we took her new princess bike out for a spin,

then we went to Babe's to celebrate with Cody, Amy, Logan, Sage, Lindsay, and Jason. Avery had to do the chicken dance, of course!

Avery, you are such a sweet and silly part of our family and you brighten our day with your smile. You constantly amaze us with not only how much you're learning, but how you love to learn! You love to do homeschool stuff with me, and you also love the social and academic aspect of going to MDO too. Kindergarten is going to be a great fit for you next year! You love to laugh and play with your brother and your friends (especially Cousin Sage) and you're also a huge snuggle-bug. Daddy especially loves that about you! You're still crazy about animals and always make a beeline over to anyone with a pet. After a few years of thinking you'd be a tomboy, you've surprised me by becoming a major girly-girl. Dressing up and getting your nails done are two of your favorite things to do in the world. I love it! You have a funny little brain and a hilarious imagination, and it is so hard to believe that someone as verbal as you was hardly saying anything just two years ago. Just another way you are amazing! You have a great attitude about trying something new, you're extremely loving and generous, and we are so proud of the girl you are growing up to be :)

This and That

Aidan's school Homecoming was last Friday and it was so fun! Each grade does a banner and march it in the parade. The 1st-graders' banner came in second place, which means the players burst through it at halftime that night!

We went to a Baylor game this past weekend where I got to see some of my KD friends Courtney, Emily, and Casi!

Aidan lost his second tooth! He lost it while running on the playground at school so he couldn't find it. Oh well...luckily we have a very understanding tooth fairy. She's been stiffed both times so far, but still leaves money!

Avery's school went to the Pumpkin Patch last week.

Aidan went to a roller skating birthday party. I went but did NOT skate! He started off with this walker thing, but towards the end he was skating without it!