Deep in the Heart of Texas

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Halloween 2015

I'm not sure why Halloween always seems to be an "off" night for us. But it always is. Maybe it is gathering at Peyton and Emily's which I know really stresses her out. Maybe it is because the holiday always happens on a busy weeknight (although this year it was on a Saturday!) At any rate, I always don't seem to get enough pictures and it seems to be over in a flash.

This year we gathered at Peyton and Emily's for Chick Fil A. It gets dark so early that we set out around 5:30 pm or so. Our neighborhood is really fun because there are so many kids and so many people that participate. The kids have a blast getting all the candy!

Finding frogs in the rocks!

This cutie as a dragon. Mourning the fact this will probably be the last year I can dress him myself. :-(

Ninja Will (second year in a row - this is a great costume!)

Army John

Peacock Alivia (second year in a row!)

John's BFF - Blake Mezger as Darth Vader

Me and Matt! I wear the same t-shirt every year. . . I know. . .LAME!

The LOOT! I love to see them trade and talk about their candy. It is such a hoot. We usually let them indulge for a few days and then pick 8 pieces and I will take the rest to work

Cuties!

Mimi and Matthew

Halloween 2015

Halloween always seems to be a stressful night for me. I am not sure why. Maybe because it is on a random night, the kids stay up late, eat a ton of candy and run around the neighborhood in the dark. It just seems to be a press for some reason. This year Halloween was on a Saturday which helped some, but it still was a bit stressful. I just drove into town from the International Dyslexia Conference (IDA) in Dallas but Matt was such a champ while I was gone and kept the house clean and the kids well-fed while I was away. :-)

Alivia decided to wear her peacock costume again this year. It really is a cool costume and probably fit her better this year than last year. Will was going to be Luke Skywalker but then at the last minute decided to wear his Ninja costume from last year as well. I have to admit, the Chasing Fireflies (although VERY expensive) were definitely worth their money since my kids have worn them two years in a row. John was the cutest Army man around. And Matthew was a dinosaur. I know this is the last year he is going to let me dress him so I was relishing it!

We started the night off at Peyton and Emily's with Chick-Fil-A and some grilled dove with bacon. Then we headed out for trick or treating. The kids just love it so much. And one of my favorite parts is to have them come home and dump their candy out and trade and mix and match. It is fun to watch. The weather was beautiful, too which was an added bonus.

The kids boys were looking for frogs in the rock - a favorite past time!

Be still my beating heart. How precious is this picture? He looked adorable in this costume.

My ninja!

John and one of his besties, Blake, as Darth Vader

Friday, October 30, 2015

Will is a new creation!

Will gave his life over to Christ tonight while he was reading with Matt. Very exciting!

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Fall Break to Broken Bow

After our trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico last October, we decided every other year we would have a kids+adults trip alternating with an adults only trip. So this October we all met in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. It was about a 7-hour drive for us but we drove to Denton one night to stay with the Burkes and then the rest of the way the next day. All in all, it was really easy.

The house we rented was amazing! It had 7 bedroom and 7 bathrooms and was really beautiful. Red, Anna, me, Al and Mandy each took a meal or two to prepare which made it really easy. There is a National Park just a few miles down the road where we went hiking and fishing. We also took a neat canoe ride down a beautiful river. It was really fun to catch up and re-connect and let the kids play with each other. They all get along so well. It was a nice change from our lakehouse as well.