Thanksgiving 2013

Turkey Day was spent in College Station with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Joey and (soon to be) Auntie Liz.  We had so so so much fun, with very full days, a lot of them spent cooking and eating. =)

Wednesday:

Traveled from Dallas to College Station, made the apple pies and got out the really cool apple peeler which Sam mastered, and Matthew enjoyed (too) many of the peelings!

 

 

We also made AWESOME Corn chowder for dinner and rolls that we thought would never rise.

Rachel and Kodie passed through on their way to their Thanksgiving with the Bennions and of course they brought Clara!

Thursday:

Dawned, and the men folk drove down the Houston to play in a Turkey Bowl with Andy and his friends.  It was going to be cold and they dressed accordingly.

 

The rest of us got a few things going for the FEAST and then headed out to deliver meals to those at home alone who needed a pick me up....

The FEAST...

Friday was fun:

We went shopping (of course), the kids took a much needed walk to the pond, we played our annual family soccer game (a total kick in the pants) and Matthew was "Back pack man" as he rode on Stephen's back because he wasn't going to be left out of the fun.

Friday was also YUM!  Liz' FAVORITE dessert is Creme Brulee, and for her birthday she was given a torch to make it herself, but not the fuel (because you can't ship it), and Joseph was charged with that task....but never got around to it.  So she brought her torch, we got the fuel and we made some YUMMY desserts.  Kaitlyn especially liked them!

And then the boys tried to find other things they could light on fire with the torch....

Saturday was Stupendous....

We played in the leaves with Aunt Sarah, helped to clean the house for a Bridal Shower that Mom and Sarah threw for Sarah's BFF and while the shower went on we went and saw "Frozen", had a quick Chick fil a dinner and then camped out in Grandma and Grandpa's room watching the Aggie game during the shower. 

November notables

November 2013, here is what I want to remember...

Lindsey turned 6!  She seems to be in a rush to be bigger and older and wiser....

 

 

She had a great birthday complete with a field trip with her school to a pumpkin patch, Grandma McKneely was here and she helped to decorate a cake (with a photo of her on the top per her request)

It was a really busy night as Katilyn and Sam had their first "duet" piano recital.  It was fine and they did well.  Kaitlyn's duet partner had backed out so she did her duet with her teacher.  And Sam did his with one of this best friends Luke Hess.

 

 

A few days later, Lindsey had Stephen come to be the watch dog at her school (it was also 50's day to mark the 50th Day of School)

 The girls went on a ward daddy daughter camp out and Stephen was chief breakfast maker, the girls had fun!

 Lindsey and Sam finished up their Soccer seasons....

 And mom met Glenn Beck, kind of...

Mom and Kaitlyn have begun participating in a new Choir called Millennial Choirs and Orchestras.  They've been based in Orange County, CA and in Mesa, AZ but this fall they branched out to include Utah Valley and Dallas.  It has been a thrilling experience.  Glenn Beck, the famous talk show host, has been an avid supporter of our choir and during our one and only run through with the orchestra he showed up (because they were filming a documentary about the making of the choir) and he was there to be filmed.  He took a moment to talk to us and I found him to be the same person I've seen/heard on his show: passionate, humble, and real.  There is no "show" with him, he is authentic and I liked it.  Anyway a few of us went up to get a photo with him....ta-da!

Halloween 2013

 My children have the BEST DAD EVER!  Literally 10 minutes before we're leaving for the ward "Trunk or Treat" Stephen gets me to help him pull together his "Dr. Gru" outfit, complete with plastic grocery sack taped to his head to make him look bald.  The kids were already a hit in their Minion Costumes (Thank you Pinterest for helping me make them) but Stephen's participation made it over the top!

 With our favorite elders, Elder Toth and Elder Ramsdell

 Minions.....

 And we had one that didn't want to be a minion, she wanted to be a rock star....

Pumpkin Patches (times 3!)

 

So we like pumpkin patches, it's a fun outing, but somehow Matthew and I ended up visiting 3 of them this fall, all in a short time frame.  Here is how it happened.

Trip #1
Was to our local "Owens Farm" for an outing with Matthew's preschool friends.  It was a cold day, and a CRAZY BUSY day there as it seemed at least 12 elementary schools had sent their kids there for a field trip....and of course we each got a pumpkin (that's 2 just so you can keep count).

Trip #2

Aunt Debbie was in charge of a pumpkin patch at her church and Rachel and I brought our toddlers for an outing and then lunch at Chick-fil-a.  Matthew was so cute and tender with Clara it melted my heart.  And we bought 2 more pumpkins (one was a perfect one for a Frankenstein one and Matthew chose a BIG one!  Pumpkin count=4) 

 

 

Trip #3

Was actually the day AFTER Halloween, which is LINDSEY'S BIRTHDAY!!  And her class had a fieldtip to the Pumpkin Farm in Celina, TX.  Grandma McKneely had decided to come to visit for Halloween, Lindsey's Birthday AND a piano recital which would happen that night.   And because there were 4 of us, our paid admission got us 4 more pumpkins.  (Pumpkin count = 8)

 AND ONE FINAL PUMPKIN was purchased by me for a classroom activity for Sam's class.  They wanted to open it up and see what the inside was like.  I assumed we wouldn't get it back but we did....

PUMPKIN COUNT=9!!!  And according to Stephen that is WAY TOO MANY!  oh well....

Lindsey is the Marvelous Maverick!

Lindsey was awarded the "Marvelous Maverick" award at school!  This is a BIG DEAL!  It's done at a morning assembly in front of about half the school.  She got this award for her good attitude in class.  Way to go Lindsey!

Last boating of the season & a campout!

(October 2013) It's the end of the season, our final hurrah with the boat and we decided to make a camping weekend out of it.

We tried to boat, but it was really really cold so we weren't out for long (and the water level was low so we had to use a different boat ramp without a dock and that was exciting (read this as stressful) for this newbie boater.

Sam even got to drive...

We also enjoyed some fun on the playground there at the club...Dad was in a fun mood, Matthew enjoyed the swings and the day provided some beautiful photos of our kiddos...

And camping was wonderful!  The weather was nice, the children really enjoy all the outside playing and were so helpful and kind with each other (like the older kids would run with the younger ones to the restroom regularly and push the younger ones on the swings etc.)

One eventful moment was when Matthew had to "play" with the flashlight and unscrewed the top off of it while in the bathroom and promptly dropped one of the batteries down the only spot in the drain where it could be lost!-of all the luck!