November 2017

I'm going back and trying to catch up from November. We have been doing so many things lately it is hard to remember what went on more than a month ago.

We had nice weather most of the month so we played outside a lot and Greg and Colton went fishing one day.

Lainey has gotten really good at her scooter!

Colton, Lainey, and I enjoyed our Tuesday/Thursday lunch-n-play dates at the park after therapy.

Lainey finally moved up to a legit big girl bed. She had been on a twin mattress on the floor but we finally got her a real bed. We rolled up a big blanket and put it under the fitted sheet as a barrier to keep her from falling off. She loves it. She also loves to sleep with about 15 items (stuffed animals, dolls, blankets, sometimes books, etc.)

After we had our house cleaned this is what her bed looked like. Look at all her stuff!!

Both girls had festivities at their schools before getting a week of vacation for Thanksgiving. Lainey's preschool had a big feast that Greg, Colton, and I came up for. Cambry's class put on a mini play in their classroom. She was the cutest little corn.

After they were done with school on Friday we headed out to Huntsville to kick off our Thanksgiving week. We met up with a bunch of other families (long time friends from Houston) to camp for one night. Thankfully this time we came prepared with a 10 person tent, which made a huge difference. Let's not forget that last time we camped with the 5 of us in a 3 person tent. That resulted in FOUR of us on an air mattress and one little one on a pile of blankets. Whoa. Anyway, things were much roomier this time. We got there in the early afternoon and the kids had fun playing around while we got the campsite set up. We ate Greg's chili for dinner while the kids roasted hot dogs. We finished things off with s'mores by the campfire, of course. We didn't get the best sleep but hey, camping is not about sleeping. The next morning the kids had fun putting on a talent show for all the adults. I am so thankful for all the friendships and that we can still get together from time to time.

Greg had to drive the air mattresses to the bathroom to plug in the electric pump! #roughingit

After camping we had several low key days where the kids were out of school and we did some early Christmas prep. Then we headed to Waco to spend thanksgiving with the Matterns. Greg got to go hunting with his dad and brother one day. He shot a deer which he hadn't done in about 20 years! We had a fun time going to a park and taking the kids to the movies to see The Star while the guys were hunting. Then we all enjoyed a delicious thanksgiving meal together. On Black Friday Jill and I ended up spending 2 hours in Michaels. We kept discovering lots of great deals and were laughing so hard at how long we shopped there. We came back to Houston and had the rest of the weekend to do more online shopping and put up more Christmas stuff. It felt like a long, refreshing break and we were all excited about December.

Joint Birthday Party

We had a really fun joint party for Colton's 2nd and Lainey's 4th birthday. This is the first year we have had a party for either of them. We didn't really do a party for Lainey's 1st birthday, then I was in the hospital having Colton on her second birthday, and on her 3rd (his 1st) we had just moved to the Woodlands and didn't have any friends. We were thankful that we got to celebrate them this year with friends and family. 

We had their party at the Woodlands Children's Museum. It is nice and small so you can keep an eye on the kids but there is still plenty to do. They have 2 great party rooms and the kids love it there.

We all got a good laugh out of this. I didn't notice CELERBATE until I got home and was looking through my pictures. The banner was from Target, and was pre-threaded on the string. I didn't think to check the spelling and didn't even notice during the party or when I snapped the picture.

I had fun planning out and making their cakes. I wanted them to each have their own special cake.

 I also made these cookies as party favors.

Those sweet birthday kids melt my heart.

Check out the cupcake explosion in Colton's lap/chair.

The kids had fun opening gifts from Nana and Pops, Gigi and Pa, and us. We spread out the friend gifts over about a week's time and they had tons of fun opening and playing with all their gifts.

We are very thankful for these 2! They bring so much joy and laughter to our family. Happy Birthday, birthday buddies!

October Family Fun

I am playing catch-up to document all of the fun October festivities we enjoyed. Fall (and really all of the 4th quarter of the year) is my favorite!

1. 7 Acre Wood

This place is in Conroe, and it is so much fun. We came here last year for the first time and were excited to bring the kids back again this year. It felt like a scorching August day, but we still had a good time. They have a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, play grounds, zip line, putt putt, sand area (Greg's favorite, haha), old boats to climb, pony rides, and other random things.

Cambry had been watching a lot of Spirit (a tv show about horses), so she was really looking forward to riding a horse. We thought Lainey would be too scared to ride but she was super brave and enjoyed it.

2. Pumpkin Decorating

We decorated pumpkins. The kids had face stickers for their pumpkins and the girls added jewels and sequins. I always love an excuse for craft time. I decorated fake pumpkins with gold sequins to add to my fall decor.

3. Pumpkin Carving

We saved one large pumpkin to carve the day before Halloween. The kids had fun digging into the pumpkin guts. Cambry helped some with the poking and cutting out of the face. I wanted to roast the seeds (although no one else seemed interested), but I accidentally burned them. Maybe I'll try again next year.

4. Trick-or-Treat Trail

This was our first time to go to this event. The kids dress up in costumes and they have lots of booths and activities going on at Town Green. It sounded fun but it ended up being extremely crowded and long lines for everything, so we didn't stay too long. It was fun seeing all the costumes, a man on stilts, and getting a free cookie from Tiff's Treats, but I don't know if we will go back again.

5. School Costume Parades

Cambry's school had a book character parade. Since she was dressing up as a unicorn for Halloween, we went with that costume and used the book Uni the Unicorn. I loved watching all the kids parade by in their costumes. As our oldest child, Cambry always seems so big to me. But when I see her at her elementary school she seems so little and adorable. The kindergartners are just so dang cute!

Lainey's school had a costume parade as well so Lainey wore her Halloween fairy costume. Afterward they had a class party and I got to be the book reader. They did crafts and had pizza. Lainey looked beautiful.

Superman helped me read

6. Gigi and Pa's Halloween Dinner

My parents wanted to see the kids in their Halloween costumes so they invited us over for a fun and spooky dinner. Pa's mask may have frightened the little ones slightly, haha. My mom had decorated the table in such a cute way. She also bought the kids these beautiful and delicious candy apples. They loved them. Pa had made us a wonderful dinner of smoked brisket and potato salad. We finished off the night watching the Astros (who later ended up winning the World Series!).

7. Adult Halloween Party

Our friends from our old church invited us to their adult Halloween party that they throw every year. We didn't get to go last year so we were so excited to see everyone this year. My parents had planned to babysit the kids but then my mom ended up getting sick. My dad was so sweet to come by himself and do triple bed time on his own. We were so thankful. Greg and I dressed up like a barista and a frappuccino. We tied for first place for the costume contest.

8. Halloween Night

Cambry had the idea to eat an orange dinner for Halloween night. She planned out that they would eat macaroni and oranges. I thought that was such a cute idea.

Here are the 3 cuties all dressed up and ready to go!

The Unicorn

The Fairy

Thomas the Train

It rained all evening. We were debating whether or not go with our back up plan of hanging out with neighbors indoors but we decided to brave the rain. And I'm glad we did. We still had lots of fun trick-or-treating in rain boots and with umbrellas. The kids were all troopers. Especially Colton. I thought he wouldn't wear his costume because he hadn't liked it during the development phase. But he proudly wore the whole costume up until the very end. He was very slow walking with a bulky box on so Greg would put him on the scooter and push him between houses. He loved it. He was getting lots of looks and compliments on his costume and one person even asked if they could take his picture.

It was a good October!  And that didn't even include Lainey and Colton's birthday party or our Lake Tahoe trip (separate posts). I'm not sure how we fit all that in but I'm thankful for such a fun month.