Halloween 2017

Another Halloween has come and gone.  The kids weren't as excited as they used to be about dressing up.  Parker decided he was too cool for dressing up this year and opted to stay at the house and help Cory hand out candy.

Lily and Eden were supposed to be Mustard and Ketchup this year but at the last minute Lily changed her mind and wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

Eden was crushed that Lily backed out on their plan, so I did what any Mom of the Year would do... I put a smile on my face and agreed to be Mustard.

Eden was so excited about this condiment partnership!

We went to Mrs. Becky's house and Mrs. Brightwell's house and then came back to our neighborhood to trick or treat.

When Lily was 2 years old, she also went as Dorothy.  One of my all time favorite pictures of Lily was that Halloween when she couldn't decide what candy to eat so she just chose them all!!  I knew that we had to recreate that picture now that Lily was older and I love how it turned out!

And just to prove that I can sometimes be a Pinterest mom- we had mummy pizza for dinner before we started trick or treating.  Don't ever let my kids tell you that I'm not a fun mom!!

Pumpkin Patch 2017

It took us all month, but we finally found an afternoon to take the kids for our annual pumpkin patch pictures.  

Holland and Lily- best buds!

It was a little harder to get a good picture this year because Holland is at the stage where she doesn't like to sit still, but we were still able to get some cute pictures.

Just the girls!

And the two boys! (I sure love these two!)

The "bigs"

The "middles"

The "littles" (who aren't so little anymore)

I love looking back and seeing how the cousins have grown and changed over the years!  I hope we are able to keep this tradition up for many years to come!

Happy 7th Birthday Lily!

Today we celebrated our sweet Lily as she turned 7 years old!  It's hard to believe that my baby is seven!  Time flies when you're having fun!

We started her celebration a day early with breakfast at Suzanna's.  The waitress made her a special Mickey Mouse pancake for her birthday!

This morning before church we let Lily open her presents.

The birthday girl requested a puffy pancake for breakfast.  We kept things pretty simple today and will celebrate with a party in a couple of weeks

Happy Birthday, sweet Lily!  Seven looks good on you!

7 Years Old

My sweet Lily Claire,
     Today you turn 7 years old!  You are such a sweet, spirited girl and you make me smile every day! I am so glad I get to be your mom!  Here are a few things I want to remember about you as you turn seven:

- You are still very tall for your age.  You are the tallest girl in your class and maybe even the whole first grade!  You wear size 7/8 clothes and size 4 shoes.  It won't be long before we are sharing shoes!

- You are a very good, non-picky eater.  You willingly try new things and usually like whatever you try.  You love all fruits and some vegetables but the one thing you still don't love is beans.  You also love tacos and cheeseburgers.

- Your favorite thing to do in the whole world is rock/snuggle with me in your rocking chair.  We snuggle every morning before school, after school, and before bed.  I hope you never get to big for me to rock!

- You are very creative and love to draw/paint/craft.  You are always making me pictures to hang on my door.

- You are a very good reader and are starting to read chapter books.  You are one of the top readers in your class.

-You love school and Mrs. Brightwell.  You have a lot of friends but your best friend in first grade is Jery Jobe.  You two are inseparable!  You are such a good helper and are always doing "teacher jobs" for Mrs. Brightwell.

- You have started tumbling and love it! I don't think it will be long before you are doing back handsprings on your own.

You are such a wonderful completion to our family! You make us laugh and keep us on our toes! I can't imagine what our family would be like without you!  I hope you have a great birthday and wonderful year ahead!

I love you to the moon and back, Mommy

1st Grade Field Trip to Mainstay Farm

Today I got the privilege of spending the day with Lily at Mainstay Farm, a local pumpkin patch.  Cory and I are currently in Dallas for his yearly MS treatment, so I dropped him off at the hospital and headed back to Cleburne to meet up with Lily and her classmates.

We started the field trip roasting marshmallows at the fire pit. 

After a hay ride around the pumpkin farm, we walked up the hill to the treehouse play area.

Lily's favorite activity of the day was the huge jumping pillow!

After playing in the sand and hay barn, we ate lunch and then it was time for me to head back to Dallas to pick Cory up.

Mrs. Brightwell's 1st grade class

Spending the day with Lily was such a treat!  It's rare that I get to spend the day with just her.  The weather was perfect and I know she had a lot of fun with her friends!

Sur la Table

For our birthdays this summer, my mom gave me, Emily, and Meredith a cooking class at Sur la Table.  Because of our busy schedules, we have not been able to coordinate a time to go.  We finally found an available night and last night we met up for a very fun cooking class.  We made several types of tacos complete with homemade corn tortillas.  

The best part of the night was getting to eat what we had prepared!  The tacos were delicious and I can't wait to recreate some of the recipes for Cory and I at home!  Thanks again, mom, for a fun girl's night out!