Discovery Green

After Carson's game last Saturday, my mother-in-law suggested we go to Discovery Green and enjoy the nice weather. We've never been before but have heard about the kid-friendly area reserved right in the middle of downtown, along with their outdoor ice skating rink for the holidays.

After walking around to check out the place, we sat on a hill and watched the boys enjoy the playground.

The guys had fun on the hill too!

Including Deacon, who wasn't too sure how to maneuver on the incline!

When the rest of the family arrived, they got the football out and played.

By the time we were finished playing at the park, the rink had opened for skating, and Santa even showed up for the occasion!

The skates they had for younger kids were awesome because they came with double blades! We had been nervous about how Carson would do, especially since he was still wearing his soccer uniform, but he skated circles around us!

Grandma rocked!! While all of us were too chicken to get out there, she pulled on those skates and went out there with the kids!

Carson had SO much fun; he skated forever! We each took a turn going out there with him while the others rested!

By that point Deacon was tired and ready to go, so we left with him, while Carson and everyone else went on a trolley ride through downtown looking at Christmas lights.

Baked!

During the holidays Carson's daycare opens up the lobby for parents to sell homemade stuff. They are overflowing with tons of cute crafts that range from hair bows to Christmas decorations. The daycare doesn't take a cut, they just like for parents to do some holiday shopping and money making. The director has asked me the past couple of weeks what I am bringing, and I tried to explain to her that I am not super crafty, especially not crafty enough for someone to actually purchase something I have made.

Last week she asked me again, and I told her I could make some cake balls. She said that would be perfect. So all day Sunday I baked. I even used my favorite site to make a sign to display by my desserts.

I filled up the bowl with about 3 dozen balls and dropped them off Monday morning.

I spent yesterday and today baking, coating, sprinkling, and wrapping another 3 dozen to add to the quickly selling goodies. Three days of work and I will make about $70...not including food cost...probably closer to $50....lol

Carson's birthday is on Thursday and tonight I asked him what he would like to take to his school to share with his friends for his birthday.

Guess what he wanted??

Looks like I will be baking, coating, sprinkling, and wrapping 2 dozen more cake balls for Thursday...

42 Weeks

Now that we have our Christmas tree up, you are in love! Your favorite part is the mesh wrapping the tree which you use to chew and rub on your face. It is going to be fun these next few weeks keeping you away!

Captain Carson

Saturday was Carson's last soccer game of the season, and he ended it with a bang as Captain! (Basically, the kid whose parents bring snacks that game gets the title. Guess who made snacks??)

The weather was perfect and Carson's team did a great job competing against the Frogs. After the game we met a CC's Pizza for his team party, where he received his trophy.

...and team pictures!

He had a great soccer season and now that he is almost five we are thinking more sports are in store for him. When we asked him tonight what else he would like to play he said tennis and football too.

Christmas Tree Farm

Last weekend on our way home from Grapeland we stopped at Mill Hollow Christmas Tree Farm to cut down a tree. We have never done this before and we had so much fun!



They had so many activities for the kids, we didn't even have time to do everything before we were wore out!

Trikes

Jude, the "petting dog"

Haystack

Pumping water

Tire rolling was Carson's favorite

Clubhouse

Carson was ready to chop down a tree!

But first, we roasted FREE hotdogs for lunch! Yes, they were FREE!

Carson wanted a tree for his room, and for $4.95, we were willing to oblige.

Next, we found our tree!

Did you expect a better picture of the boys with the tree?? hah!

Brian did a great job of cutting down our tree with the dull hand-saw. He said next year we will bring our own.

...but it eventually came down with the help of Carson!

The boys looked so sweet dragging their trees

Once we paid for the trees, they put them on a shaking machine to get all of the dead needles out

While they tied the trees to our roof, the boys and I went to play in the tree house

Then it was time to go! Poor Deacon was tired and ready!

When we got home we were all so tired from the trip, we decided to wait until the next day to decorate. Plus, it had sprinkled on the way home so the trees were a little damp.

I stopped on the way home from work the next day and picked up some mini ornaments and a star for Carson's tree. He felt so big decorating it all by himself. And I didn't even feel the need to stop him when he put three ornaments on the same branch. :)

Our tree turned out perfect as well!

Elf on the Shelf

I had to share this with y'all before the holiday passed! While we were waiting to have our photos taken last week, Brian walked next door to Borders and came back telling me about a book set called The Elf on the Shelf. My sweet husband knows me so well and thought this would be something right up my alley!

He was right, the set is totally fun and Carson already loves it!

The way it works is that you get an elf doll and a book (cost about $30 at Barnes&Noble). The story tells about Santa sending an elf to your house to watch over you and report back on if you were good or bad that day. Each morning he shows up in a new spot in the house for kids to find. The catch is that you can't touch him or his magic will disappear and he isn't allowed to talk to you. I wasn't sure if Carson would buy it, but sure enough he loves his little elf that he named Starry. He is so excited to wake up in the mornings and look for our hidden little elf! (And it works wonders for when Carson is in a less than stellar mood to remind him that Starry is watching...)

Starry has jumped from our fireplace, to the light fixture, to the bathroom, and this is where he appeared this morning:

...on Carson's mini-Christmas tree! Luckily, his hiding spots haven't been too tricky, or we might be running [extra] late in the mornings!

Thanksgiving Holiday

When Brian and I started dating we would spend Thanksgiving dinner-hopping so that we could see both of our families. After being together for eight years, this was our second year to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house! It is so nice to have everyone in the same room, and what's even better, everyone brings their best dish so it is a table full of our favorite food! I let my granny know that she was not allowed in the door without her fried squash, and Brian's deal-breaker is the green bean casserole.

This time around Carson broke the large end of the wishbone!

After dinner we played Mexican Train and looked through Black Friday sales ads.

...and Deacon hung out looking cute!

The next morning my mother and I woke up at 2:45 am and hit up HEB Plus by our house. It was so organized and we got everything we went for!

After shopping we loaded up for a trip to Grapeland for the weekend. Brian tried out the new gun he received for his birthday and attempted to deer hunt in the cold. Unfortunately, he didn't see a single deer while out in the stand. My dad gave him a hard time, because we didn't have any trouble seeing deer from the house.

He even recruited Carson for one of his trips, without luck...