Friends and Family

 Jared and I love a fun weekend with friends, and a weekend in North Carolina was the perfect reason to do just that!  We kicked it off with dinner at Tim's house.  He, Brian and Jared all lived together their last year of college.  It was so great catching up with them and their wives.

It's been 16 years since they graduated college, but these guys always pick back up as if no time has passed at all.

The next day, our NC friends humored us by watching the TX/OU game.  Somehow the Horns won!  We were so happy!  The wedding venue was so charming.  The perfect setting for a low-key wedding.

Jared enjoyed catching up with these guys...

and I enjoyed these gals as well.

Jennifer and I always have a great time together!  Cheers to good friends!

And congratulations to Justin and Angela!

The next day, we flew back home to Texas.  Soon thereafter, we got a rare treat--a visit from my cousin Leslie!  She and Brian were in town from California for the TX/OU game.  So glad we got to have lunch and hang out for a few hours.

The next day, Cameron and I met some friends at the Arboretum to see all the amazing pumpkins!

This girl was all about it.

It was a gorgeous fall day.

All of us were amazed by the pumpkin land...

there was even this pirate ship!

Ahoy, matey!

I love hanging out with this little cutie...

and can't get enough of her personality.  This girl is hilarious.  All. the. time.

Such a fantastic day spent with our friends and my favorite 4 year old.

Fall means...

 a change in the weather and an upswing in activities!

Maverick has continued to grow, but still loves getting snuggles from his peeps.

Fall also means the first Daddy/Daughter camp out with Indian Princesses!

Lila and her school friends had such a fun weekend at Possum Kingdom lake.

They even got to take a ride in this pontoon boat and then hike up that big cliff!

Fall also means that this little cutie is changing by the day!  She's so much fun now and always has the best smiles for us.

It means high school football is in full swing, too! We loved cheering for Plano East this season.

After one game, she even got to meet Ella, one of the officers for the Plano East Golden Girls.  Love!

And we learned that Miss Thang is a huge fan of the Friday Night Lights.

This fall also meant playing in the rain!  So much rain!  In fact, it was the rainiest fall on record in North Texas...I think for at least 100 years.  Jackson didn't mind playing in the rain...

and he especially loved having a donut afterwards to celebrate his left-footed goal!

Fall also means it was time for our first Middle School Fall Social.  I helped organize it and sell tickets at school a few days.

"We've got spirit, yes we do.  We've got spirit, how 'bout you?!"
The fall social was a huge success!

These kids had so much fun--there was a DJ, dancing, volleyball, basketball, tailgate party games, pizza and candy.

We also went to our first MMS football game.  The girls liked watching the cheerleaders and loved the candy that they gave out at halftime.

Gooooo Mavericks!

Jackson and his buddies were much more interested in the game than the girls were:)

And finally, the fall also means it's time for Grandparents' Day at elementary school.  These lovely ladies all enjoyed their lunch and time together.

We love the fall!

Birthday Bonanza

  September is birthday month!  Every weekend the kids went to at least 3 birthday parties.  

It was entertaining, no doubt about it!  Here are some of them:

Happy 6th birthday to Mallory!

Mallory is one of Cami's very favorite friends.  They are just little kindred spirits!  They take dance together, and for her birthday, Mallory's mom hired their dance teacher to come to the party!

The girls loved having Miss Olivia there!

After these little divas performed their hip hop routine, they struck a pose.  Love it.

Cami, Jackson and Lila all went to JP's birthday party at this playhouse in Plano.  

The theme for this playhouse is The Great Outdoors, and there are so many amazing sets to play inside, like this RV.

Lila's friends, Jaiden and Jailen turned 9 and had a crazy fun party at their house.  Their mom even had a face painter there, who was so talented!

Lots of the girls got the unicorns on their face...

my child went full-on Fox! 
She even had a soccer game immediately after the party, and was this close to playing in fox-face, but scrubbed it off at the last minute.

 

Another memorable birthday--Meme's!

We celebrated big for her 88th birthday.

She had her daughter, grand daughters, son-in-law, four great grandkids and Jared all there to wish her a happy day.

Happy Birthday, Meme!

One more favorite was Samantha's 5th pajama birthday.  Her mama had matching pajamas for all the girls...

So cute!  They got their nails painted, hair braided, ate dinner and then got to watch a movie--Peter Rabbit, one of Cami's favorites!

Forgiven

 A few months ago, Madison and Lila had a very big day.  Huge!  They both decided to invite Jesus into their hearts to guide them for the rest of their lives.

Two weeks later, it was time to profess their faith in front of our church.

Inspired by their bravery, Finley, Brooklyn, Chloe and Carter all decided to get baptized as well.
What a day!

I am so proud of this little girl and her strong faith in Christ.  She leads by example and is a kind soul to all who know her.  We should all try to be a little more like Lila.

Maddie and Lila certainly felt the love from so many of our family members!

Jackson and Cami were so happy for Lila...just like her daddy and I were.

We celebrated with a family lunch and personalized cookie cake in their honor.

Such a special day!