Tis the Teason...

for hot chocolate and bundling up!

It was our first chilly day yesterday, so the girls and I celebrated by making hot chocolate. 

Lila settled on cold milk, but Maddie tried the hot chocolate deliciousness with me. 
J was our cameraman.  I think he did a really good job!

 Love this look--stripes and all--and I especially love her hands in her pockets.  She kept them in there for a while, too, while she bebopped around the yard.  It was cold for this little Southern Belle!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween finally arrived on Monday and the kids had a spectacularly spooky day. They began by getting dressed up as Batman and Tinkerbell and heading off for a fun filled day at school. 

When we arrived, The Red Crayon was reading a Halloween Tale to all the kids.

After the story was over, it was time for the kids to enjoy some yummy snacks.  Jackson passed on the pumpkin shaped rice crispy treat that had candy corns in it--way too crazy for him!  No worries, I happily ate it for him:)

The whole kooky class.  One of the dad's came dressed as Mr. Incredible.  How cool is that?!

Maddie's class party began thirty minutes after J's, so I was able to scoot over there just in time to snap this fun class pic.  Maddie and her sweet friend, Bryn, were both Tinkerbell this year.

Their class got to ice and decorate big sugar cookies.  Maddie decorated hers, took a small bite, but then decided that she would really rather just eat the icing straight off the knife.  Oh dear!

We love Madison's teacher!

A few short hours later it was time for the real deal.  Trick-or-treat!!

I was so excited that Baby Tinkerbell decided to wear her costume!

"Enough with the pictures, let's get this show on the road!"

The grandparents walked around the cul-de-sac with us and got to see the kids run up to their first few houses.  They were a bit timid at first, but very soon got the hang of it.  By the time we got out into our neighborhood Maddie and Jackson were running up to the houses, ringing the doorbells, hollering "trick or treat!" and most of the time even remembering to say "thank you" after receiving their candy.

Forty-five minutes later their candy baskets were full and they were exhausted! 

About half-way through trick-or-treating Lila decided she had observed enough and told us that she wanted out of the red wagon.  She walked the rest of the way, carrying baby in her right arm and her candy basket in the other.  Such a big girl!

The three musketeers with all of their loot.  They got an extreme amount of candy this year and the smiles on their faces say it all.  Best day of the year. 

Lake Pointe FF

Sunday afternoon we decided to check out our church fall extravaganza.

The kids had been waiting for the bounce house ever since the night before.  They ran right for it once we got out of the car.  Before we left that evening, Maddie had run through it five times and J had done it three.  A toe injury derailed J man from making it thru a few more times.

After the bounce houe, they were ready to play a few games--Little Feliz  practiced throwing a football and won a little candy...

and then they found the firetruck and had to go check it out. 

The whole time that J & M were having fun, little girl was very content to hang out with her daddy.

We must have been temporarily insane, b/c we let both of them get their faces painted!  J got a Ranger "T" on one cheek and #32 and #25 on the other, for Hamilton and Kinsler.  Maddie went with a purple heart.  Both were touching their faces and the wet paint about a minute after getting it painted.

After face painting, it was time to go check out the Duck Pond game, where Gigi and Boom were working.  J caught every duck in the water...

and then Maddie did, too.

After that it was time to let Lila do a fun thing--train ride, here we come!  J went to play with Daddo, while the girls and I rode the train.  We all enjoyed our fun afternoon outdoors and the kids came home with even more candy.  The candy stash was beginning to grow! 

Fall Fest #1

Saturday night we began official Halloween festivities.  The kids got all dressed up, except for Lila, who was so not feeling her Tinkerbell costume!  After many tears and literally pulling it off of her shoulders, daddo took pity on her and changed her clothes.

 Then we set off for the Mall where Memaw and Poppi's church was hosting a Fall Festival. 

While the big kids stood in line for the first game, Lila was content to hang with her daddy.  I'm pretty sure she was still a little put out with me for trying to get her to dress up:)

We did the fishing game first because that's where M & P were working.  Memaw was working behind the curtain and made sure the kids both got really cool huge balloons.  It's nice to have connections!

Then we were off to many other games, like Noah's Ark...

where all of the kids did so good.  Lila even took a turn and threw those animals in the boat. By that time she had figured out the program--play the game, get some candy.  The girl loves candy.

"Mom,  I need some more candy!"

"Really guys, this is just not going to do!"

Dallas Arboretum

Fall at the Dallas Arboretum.  It doesn't get much prettier.  Last Friday the gang and I headed out to see all of the pumpkins and enjoy a really beautiful day outdoors.

Right after we arrived, Daddy Long Legs hopped up on this huge pumpkin.

On our way to the pumpkin patch, I snapped this pretty picture.

After the little one refusing to wear the tutu at first, we finally convinced her it was not that bad!  There were many factors to contend with, such as babies and birds.



If Lila saw either one of those, she was off and running towards it!  By the way, there are many babies and many birds at the Arbo.



Another hurdle was Madison's alter ego, Batgirl, who decided to come out during our pictures.  So random!  Months ago when Jackson decided to be Batman for Halloween, he tried very hard to convince Maddie to be Batgirl.  She declined, rather adamantly at times, and I didn't blame her.  For some reason, though, she decided last Friday was the time to channel her inner superhero!  Here she and J are both showing off their superhuman strength...

...and here again with a really mean face!

One of the main reasons we went this year was to see Cinderella's Pumpkin House.  I thought Maddie would be in heaven.  When I saw this carriage, I thought her head might pop off with excitement.  Needless to say, she was not all that excited about the carriage, but I thought it was really cool! 

After a picnic lunch it was time to go pet the animals.  Lila's favorite was this horse.  He was in his own stall and she could reach over and pet him.  The horse was very laid-back.

Unlike this baby goat who pursued Lila quite a bit!  We guessed it was her fancy tutu that caught his eye.  She was not amused, though, and we had to leave pretty quickly!

J, on the other hand, told me that he could stay in there and brush this goat for "a week." 

As soon as Lila escaped from that silly billy goat, she found her some more black birds and was off and running.  That's pretty much how we spent the last hour at the Arboretum--chasing laughing children.  Their smiles were infectious, but we just did our best to keep up!

World Series!!

Right before we left for church yesterday Jared got a very important call.  Two tickets to Game 4 of the World Series had just become available!  I didn't even have to hear him say anything because the look on his face said it all.  When he hung up I had tears in my eyes and told him to tell J the good news. 

 A few hours later, dad and son were at the ballpark ready to cheer on the Rangers!  No one else deserves to go see the Rangers more than Jackson.  He is such a loyal fan!!

 Right after the national anthem was sung, these two cool choppers flew over the stadium.  The night was off to a fantastic start for our little guy.

 When you sit up at the very top of the stadium, you can get some awesome shots of the field:)

They had such a great time.  They ate jumbo dogs, although Jackson waited until the 2nd inning to eat his (b/c that's what he had done at the last game--our Mr. Creature of Habit!), drank lemonade and then flagged down the Cotton Candy guy when it was time for dessert.  They swung their rally towels and hollered loudly the whole time, even chanting "Na-po-li! Na-po-li!" as Mike Napoli stepped up to the plate.  Seconds later the stadium erupted as Napoli hit a three run homer.  Awesome.  So very awesome.

 

The Rangers pulled off a huge win and the boys stayed until the very end.  I am certain that J will remember this for the rest of his life.  World Series at age 4.  Pretty darn amazing. 

Let's go Rangers!!

Pumpkin Carvers

Yesterday we went to a pumpkin carving party with Jared's coworkers.  We brought our own tools and stencils and Jackson worked long and hard with Daddo to carve a really cool pumpkin.  By the time they were done it was time to enjoy burgers from the Hamburger Man, so we just brought home Maddie's pumpkin to do later this weekend.

That time came after we got home from church today and all three kids were set and ready to help out.  No time to even change out of their church clothes!  Madison chose a scary witch to carve.

After Daddo cut a hole in the pumpkin, Maddie helped clean all the goop out of it.

And tada!  Two really cool pumpkins.  It's a little hard to tell without them being lit up, but there are two ghosts on the left and a witch on the right.  We are all set now for Halloween night:)