Getting Ready for Christmas

What's there to say about setting up the Christmas tree when we're two months removed?  It was fun?

November 2014 Little Things

November was filled with lots of little things...

like building marble tracks and new jammies that are too big...

like my cute kids and Porky from The Little Rascals...

like using the oven as much as possible and warming up our freezing cold toesies...

because of this...

getting glasses and our last trips to the park...

loving our Daddy and jumping in the leaves...

and Wii on Thanksgiving.

Pirates and a Princess

This Halloween we had a pirate, a princess, and a pirate pumpkin. We went to the ward Halloween party one night and then we spent Halloween itself across the street at the Baptist Church.  They put on a big shindig complete with trunk-or-treating, bounce houses, games, a train ride (barrels pulled behind a quad), and lots and lots of candy.  Our kids had a blast.  I think it was Lindi's first bounce house experience and she was in heaven.  Happy Halloween (three months ago...I know.  I'm a terrible blogger)! 

Blastball

Hyrum thoroughly enjoyed participating in sports at the community center this fall.  Blastball was second on the list and we had a lot of fun watching.  It's a very basic form of t-ball that teaches kids the principles and skills of the sport.

There is only one base and when the kids hit the base it squeaks!  It was so fun, especially at the end of practice when they would jump on it over and over and over again. ;)

Lindi was banished to the hiking pack.  We learned during soccer that she just wants to be in the middle of everything, so walking around the outskirts with Dad was a good solution.

Pumpkins

We bought a $3 pumpkin from Walmart this year, but Grandma Brown still thought it would be fun to check out the pumpkin patch at the Dallas Arboretum.  It sure was!  Aside from the pumpkin village, we also just walked around the different gardens and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.  I think the Arboretum may be one of my favorite places to visit in Dallas.

December Little Things

Maybe if I get caught up on blogging I'll be more motivated to blog about the real life, day-to-day, happenings.  Those are always more fun to write about and read about. 

December was full of lots of big things, but here are a few little things that shouldn't be forgotten.

Our kids are just cute and awesome...and really good at taking selfies.

 My brother came home from his mission and had a cute blonde waiting for him...

My best buddy Lindsay, who probably thinks I'm not her friend anymore because we hardly ever talk, gave us some of her lemons for Christmas!  That was one of my very favorite gifts because I love making fresh lemonade with her lemons...

Lake Ray Roberts

Grandma and Grandpa Brown have a camping trailer that they used to use for out-of-town construction trips.  They don't do those much anymore, so the trailer has been lonesome and we decided we needed to take it out.  So, we planned a trip to Lake Ray Roberts, north of Dallas.  Boy did we have fun.

My favorite part was the cooking.  I made up a meal plan and did a lot of meal prep before we left.  We cooked everything over an open fire.  Pancakes and bacon was a bit of an adventure, but they turned out so good!!  We had taco salad one night and hot dogs another.  We also made peach cobbler in the dutch oven.  Mmmm....

Hyrum and Lindi had a blast playing in the dirt, riding bikes, playing on the beach, and, of course, fishing!  There by the lake they have a kid's fishing pond that they keep stocked.  We went to try it out and Hyrum caught a fish on his very first cast.  It was a proud moment...Just look at his face!

The beach was right down below our campsite and it was the best beach I've ever been to.  The sand was clean and soft and a dream to walk barefoot in.  The water was clear and cool.  I couldn't believe it was a lake!  The kids played and played and played there and would have played more if we let them.

Husband and I enjoyed a kayak ride and Grandma and Grandpa took the bikes out for a crash.  We went for a family hike.  It was just plain fun.  No work for Dad and Grandpa!  We're planning our next trip now!