Saturday, November 30, 2013

Sissy and Fisher

On our way home yesterday from visiting family for Thanksgiving, my sister sent me a text asking if the kids could spend the night with her.  I said yes (except for EG) and so after we got home they repacked and she came to pick them up.

She took them to Chick-fil-A and they were going to hang out and watch Home Alone.  About 9 o'clock last night, she sent me these pictures.  Priceless.


The girls have spent the night before.  But, this was Boop's first time.


Boop and Fisher, the chow/lab mix watching the movie.


Boop comforting Fisher during a scary part.


The boys relaxing together.

Fisher is a chow/lab mix.  Just like our Angel was.  The chow/lab make them so loyal and protective I believe.  Makes me seriously consider one for my boy . . . 

Monday, November 25, 2013

Fall Festival

Every year we have a Fall Festival/Halloween party for our Sunday School, neighbors and friends.  We have a house full of adults and kids and always, always have a great time!  We provide the chili and everyone else provides whatever else we need. 

We eat early so the kids can trick or treat.  I didn't get a group picture with all the kids.  I think it was just a little too chaotic.  In a good way!  Some of the kids have come to our house from the past 10 or so years.  For some of our guests, it was their very first time.



EG a fairy ballerina.


Boop, the cheesehead.


We decided that NG was too old to trick or treat, so she and 3 of her friends stayed behind to hand out candy.  She "dressed" up anyway.  She put a big cup under her hair and combed it straight up and put it in a hair tie.  It was pretty cool!



Little Mama was a spy.  With red lipstick and pink hair.  The one thing I love about making our costumes with things we have around the house is, the kids have to be super creative.  And I like that.  I think they do to.


For us, this party is the start of fall around our house.  It gives us a reason to decorate and enjoy time with friends.  Old and new.  It gives us an opportunity to really get to know our neighbors and to have a little fun.  It is a celebration of fellowship, food and fun.  A great combination . . . 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

First Football Game


On Friday we were blessed with a couple of free tickets to this weekend's football game.  Boop was thrilled to go with his daddy!  The game was at 3:30 and they met my sister and tailgated for a little bit.  Then went in early to watch the team practice and warm up.

The game was a rout 80-7, our team winning.  But Boop and daddy stayed until there was only a few minutes left.  When they got home they were both exhausted.  Boop loved it and can't wait to go again some day. . . . 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Legoland

Legoland in our area offers a great deal for Homeschoolers.  Our whole family got in for the price of one maybe two full price tickets.  It was a deal that was definitely worth taking advantage of!  The only requirement is that we had to go on a Monday.  But, that was no big deal.  So we, and two other families, got up crazy early on a Monday in early October and went to Legoland for the day.  The kids had a blast.  Which really goes without saying.

I have to tell of our car ride down though.  Part of why I right a blog is to journal our family events.  The day before, Boop woke up with an upset stomach.  He spent most of the morning throwing up.  No fever.  We hung out at the house while everyone else went to church.  By Sunday night he was fine.  So we made the executive decision to go.

We woke up at 4/4:30 the next day, piled everyone in the car and about half way through our 4/5 hour trip EG starts throwing up.  All over her clothes, in her carseat.  I won't say anymore.  So we had a choice to make, either turn around and drive over 2 hours back home or just keep plugging on and doing what we could.  

We cleaned out the seat as best we could.  We rearranged the car and booster seats and stopped at Walmart for disinfectant wipes, paper towels and a whole new set of clothes for EG.  By the time we finally arrived at Legoland, an hour or so past our target time, all was well.  Everyone felt well enough to ride rides, eat food and play.




The entrance.




Our friends were already in the park riding some rides.  And this is the first ride the kids took.  It was sort of a water ride and the guns on the boats would shoot water on the onlookers.  And a stream of water could cover some of the riders in the boat.  The kids had a blast trying to shoot us with water.  This is a picture of the "big" kid having fun shooting water too.



Best buds.





Lego horse ride.


I forget what this ride was called but it would go up a little bit and then drop.  And sort of just keep jumping up and down.  I hesitated letting EG go on given her stomach.  But, she talked me into it.  The expression on her face halfway through the ride was priceless.  She wanted off.  And quick.  Thankfully she didn't get sick.  She didn't ask to go back on again.




Boat driving school.  The kids had to steer the boats.  Not an easy task.



Car made out of Legos.


Driving school for the littles.






Driving school for the bigs.  The had an area mapped out like a bunch of streets with a roundabout and stop signs and stop lights.  There were about 12 kids out "driving" and they had to obey the signs etc.  It was fun watching them figure out what to do and avoid accidents.  I think it was one of their favorite rides.






This was one of my favorite attractions.  Two of the three first responder vehicles were manned with peeps from our group.  The hand to hand crank the vehicles to make them move forward.  Then get out, hand crank water to put out the "fire" and then hand crank the vehicle back to the starting point.  All the boys, a couple of the girls and all the dads participated.  They were quite competitive and the dads got in on the fun as much as the kids!





My favorite part was all of the little scenes made out of Legos.  The above few pictures are scenes from Star Wars.  The detail was amazing.  I could have walked around this area for awhile.


Statue of Liberty.  Legos.


New York City.  Legos.  Isn't it amazing?


Washington, D.C.


Our state's Capitol.


The Castillo de San Marcos which was build hundreds of years ago.  A couple of weeks later, the kids went and toured the actual fort.  (Another blog post.)


Space Center.


Boop's favorite.

The park closed at 5 and we drove the 4/5 hours home.  The return trip was not as eventful.  The kids had a blast and I am glad we made the effort.  We are really blessed to have so many fun things to do relatively close to where we live.  And the ability to go and do and see . . . 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Book Club

For our book club we have been reading about our state's history and a lot of other fun stuff.  And, as I am sure I have mentioned before, we have been taking field trips around the area that pertain to our history.  

These are pictures from our last book club get together.  As it turns out there is an historical state park about 10 minutes from our home.  The park tells the history of The Lake Jackson People.  There are about 3 Indian mounds on the site and we arranged a guided tour with the park ranger.  I think we all learned just a little bit more about our local history.  Plus, it was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time playing in the park.  I think we stayed until early afternoon!



Park ranger explain the history of the people.


Replica of the pottery they made.


The stairs up to the top of one of the mounds.


Picture of Boop because he finally lost a tooth.  (The other two bottom teeth had to be pulled.)


The kids giving their reports.

I think book club is one of the kids' favorite parts of school.  I know it is one of mine . . .