Happy Halloween 2011

Emily and Peyton invited us over to their house for the annual pre-trick or treating Papa Murphy's pizza dinner. It was much more low-key this year since my parents are in Israel for 2 weeks. And thank goodness for Nanny Alva, or I am not sure my kids would have had cute outfits.

The kids love running around the neighborhood with their cousins, Avery and Paige. Avery (4.5) was Mulan, and Paige (2.5) was Minnie Mouse. They looked adorable!

Alivia settled on the jaguar costume. Alva did her make-up and hair prior to my arrival home. She was thrilled with how she looked and got lots of compliments while we were walking the neighborhood.

Will was a cute little cowboy if I say so myself. Alva found some beautiful black boots for him to wear. He wore his cowboy hat for about 5 minutes before removing it for the night.

And sweet baby John. . . well. . . he is a pumpkin, without a real outfit or hat. He simply would not keep anything on his head and I knew he would last trick or treating for about 30 minutes so I decided to let it go. He was fascinated by candy and kept bringing all sorts of confections for me to open for him. We broke off around 7:20 when he started acting really wild and nutty.

Happy Halloween to all! Let the Holiday Season begin - WHEEEE!

Carving Pumpkins

I usually take the lead on carving pumpkins around our house, but this year I was feeling pooped, so Matt helped out quite a bit. We ate dinner while the carving occurred and John looked on from the high chair pretty fascinated by the whole thing.

I think our final products look pretty good!

Veritas Fall Festival

Alivia's school had a great carnival/Fall festival complete with bouncy houses, pony rides, and lots and lots of candy. It was nice to meet some new families involved with the school. Alivia was so excited about getting her face painted and the mom that was doing it did an amazing job. It was sad to wash it off that night. The weather was surprisingly cold which only added to the feel that Fall is finally here!

Sweetberry Farm

We had a fun weekend at the lake with our friends The Skaggs Family and The Smith Family. We all have three kids the exact same ages. Part of the weekend was spent at Sweetberry Farms which is about 10 minutes away from the lakehouse. The weather was so pretty and we beat the crowds by getting there by 9:30 on Saturday morning. The kids enjoyed picking a pumpkin, face painting, riding a horse and going through a corn maze.

Flappy the Flamingo

Mrs. Foulkrod sends each one of the kids home with her mascot, Flappy the Flamingo along with a journal. We are to take Flappy along with us to interesting events and then write about it in the journal. Here are a few shots from our time with Flappy.

(top) Homeschooling

(middle 2 shots) At the Ranch

(next to last) Eating BBQ in Bertram

(last) Dancing in Alivia's room with Brother and Flappy

Crazy Weekend at the Ranch

This past weekend we headed to the Ranch in Bertram. We had originally planned on going on Friday and spending the night, but when we were about 10 minutes away, I realized I had forgotten John's pack n play. AHHHH! After a few minutes of discussing various options, we decided to head back to Austin and go to Bertram on Saturday and spend the night.

The day on Saturday was full of events like shooting our new Red Ryder BB gun, putting up Matt's bow stand, driving around the property in Matt's truck and the electric Jeep and frosting cookies. That night we had some good BBQ at Tin Star BBQ in downtown Bertram.

Then the rain started.

We had no idea how hard it would rain! It ended up deluging us with 4 inches starting Saturday night. On Sunday we really thought we would not be able to make it out because the dirt roads get really dicey when wet. We all said a prayer and Matt put his truck in low 4WD and slipping and sliding the whole way, we made it out! YAHOO!

The new BB gun was a hit. Alivia asked "Can I shoot a deer?" I almost passed out.

Matt setting up his bow stand in Bertram.

In front of the deer feeder. Do you see my Cabbage Patch doll? We leave two out there for the kids to play with. Alivia loves them.

John was content rolling around in Daddy's truck. He even sits behind the wheel and acts like he is going to put it into gear.

Lake Maverick was in serious need of some rain.

Daddy giving Alivia some tips on shooting.

Frosting cookies on the porch.

The kids loved to ride the Jeep around the property. Will found a decoy dove and kept it with him all weekend. He even slept with it. Hilarious.

Dinner at Tin Star BBQ in Bertram.

WHEW! We made it out after 4 inches of rain. Good driving Daddy!!!

22 1/2 weeks preggo

I've hardly taken pics of me pregnant with Baby Cuatro. Here is one of me at the Ranch in Bertram. I am 22 1/2 weeks pregnant here with my baby boy.