Halloween 2011

The holiday season has officially been kicked off with Halloween!

Another teacher and I are Student Council Sponsors at my school, and this was our first dance of the year to host our annual costume themed "Boo Bash." I initially ordered a costume online, but when it came in, it was like every other female costume: way too hoochie, especially to wear to a school function. I decided to go for Plan B, a stolen idea from pinterest. Can you guess what we are?


Paper, Rock, Scissors! :)

Brian was super sweet to bring the boys up to the dance to get their groove on. I was afraid it might be too loud, but Deacon absolutely loved it! (Notice him behind us in the pic above.)

Carson had fun dancing and eating pizza too.

On Halloween, we passed out glow bracelets (from Michael's for only $1 for 15, plus my teacher discount of 15% off ). Deacon stayed with Brian to pass them out, while the neighbors and I took the kids trick-or-treating.

By the time we rounded the corner back to our house, Carson's bag was overflowing, so he had to take off his mask and use it to collect candy in!

He has enough candy to last him a while!

Fall Ball

Carson had another fabulous season of flag football and we were fortunate to have really great coaches again! Grandma and Grandpa were awesome fans by making sure to be at every game to cheer him on!



Here are his stats for 7 games (last season comparison in parenthesis):
Rush Touchdowns- 7 (1)
2 Point Conversions- 1 (2)
Points Scored- 44 (11)
Rush Attempts- 14 (10)
Sacks- 3 (0)
Pulls- 13 (4)

4th Annual Friends-giving

Four years ago we decided to start a new tradition at our house for Thanksgiving with all of our friends. Every year you are guaranteed to see your whole family a couple of times at the holidays, but we love our friends too, and the older we get, the harder it is to get together. In this, Friends-giving was created: a potluck Thanksgiving dinner at our house either the Saturday before or after Thanksgiving. Turn-out is usually anywhere from 20-30 guests.

This year was the best yet, with close to 30 friends arriving with their delicious sides, casseroles, and desserts. I keep telling Brian that we need a bigger house just to accommodate seating for Friends-giving!

We provide the meat and beverages for the evening, and Brian does the turkey carving.

I love being in my twenties because every year we have a few pregnant bellies in the room (last year it was mine!), and then the following year we have a house full of new babies! We got a picture of three of the preggo's (found out later in the night that we had another momma-to-be in the mix, but my lips are sealed until the official announcement is made- no, it's NOT me!). Left to right: Lindsey is due with Harrison next month, Amanda has a little boy in her oven due in early January, and Ashley has TWINS coming in April!

With so much food and so many people, we decided it would be easier to circle around the table to fill up plates, and then to sit and grub.

It took a little while to make the trip around, so I used that time to take more pictures...

This is my favorite pic of the night:

...and the sidelines:

Carson and I got the wish bone and I broke the larger end! I can't tell my wish though, or it won't come true.

I was THRILLED to hear over and over throughout the night how much Carson looks like me now, because everyone used to say he and Brian were twins! It is nice to know some of my genes carry over.

Carson was elated to have a house full of boys!! Poor Deacon's room didn't stand a chance! (We put Deacon in our room to sleep so that he wouldn't be disturbed by the loud partying going on.)

Amanda provided the entertainment for the night with a guessing game. She has kept her little boys name a secret, so we ganged up on her and Adam and talked them into giving us some clues:

1. Starts with an "S", but not "St"
2. More than 5 letters
3. "E" is the only vowel
4. It is in the Top 500 baby names
5. There is only one way to spell it

We were about to get the laptop out to start researching, when Lindsey (one of the preggos) guessed it! Since Amanda hasn't told everyone, my lips are sealed, so you will have to figure it out on your own, but it is super cute!

Tracey and Robert were my roommates in college, and I know Sarah through Tracey. :)

These are my friends from work!

Brian and I have known Krystal and Nick forever! Nick and Brian used to work together, and Krystal and I went to the same school. They are now married and have a gorgeous little girl.

Emily is so great about coming every year and bringing fabulous dishes! This year her husband, Grant, was able to come too!

Brandon and Ashley are our favorite Olive's that went on the trip to Grapeland for Labor Day weekend that we blogged about here.

Stephanie (my work wife, hehe) brought her husband, Jason. This is the second year for us to work together and we make a fabulous team!

Jill and Melissa came too! Jill is absolutely adorable and in love!! Melissa won the Trooper Award for coming after her car was towed earlier in the day, and she still made it out to celebrate and was fun like always!

Carson loved Melissa too!

I think we gave the boys a little too much freedom. At the end of the night Carson called us over to see the fort they built in our bathroom...

Ren Fest

Brian's dad used to take him and his brother to the Renaissance Festival when they were kids. When we started dating, we also started a tradition every Fall to make a trip out there as well. We typically take a new group of friends there with us every year and take them to the funniest shows and yummiest booths we know. The way it works is you pay an admission (around $20/person, the boys were free) and then all of the shows (and people watching) are free. Other booths and activities are at an additional cost.

This year we took the boys, and although they were free to get in, we spent a fortune for Carson to do all the activities. We may alternate taking them every other year, and make a grown-up trip the other times.

When we entered the gates, Carson set his eyes on this sword, and of course talked us into purchasing it. He had so much fun just swinging that sword around out there.

Next up, face painting:

Pillow fighting with Dada:

We made another attempt to take the boys pictures together in one of the garden chapels...

They were so adorable in their matching shirts

Carson also tested his strength:

They had a booth for the kids to throw tomatoes at this heckler. He called Carson a girl.

...Carson proved him wrong by throwing like a BOY, smacking him right in the face with a tomato!! Look at Carson laughing!

Our favorite show is the Mud Eaters, where there is lots of audience participation. The crowd getting rowdy scared Deacon, so he and I walked outside of where the show was to hang out in the grass. I didn't mind a bit, since we see the show every year...I could about recite the whole thing.

Deacon didn't mind either because he got to stand up and stretch his legs.

Before we left, we saw this box and had to participate.

One of the vendors had given Carson a pet rock, he used this box to exchange it for a AA battery...lol I'm sure it is a dead battery, but that was what Carson wanted. Who says nothing in life is free?? haha

Dewberry Farm

Days like today, remind me that being a parent can be so much fun! Groupon had tickets on sale for two for $12 to Dewberry Farm a few weeks ago so I took advantage of the bargain. Because the weather has been wonderful lately, we decided to make our trip out there while we could enjoy it.


A few years ago we drove to the farm outside of Katy with Carson and had a great time. This time was even better because Carson was big enough to do everything, while Deacon watched happily from the stroller. We bought Carson the $19 wristband that allowed him to do all the activities, and we both agreed it was worth it.

Here is the layout of the farm (you should be able to click on it for a better view):

As soon as we made it through the gates Fort Dew Hickey immediately caught Carson's attention, so off we went!

Next, the Giant Roller Slide, made with a combination of tiny pvc pipes to roll down. Deacon & Brian went down together, too. But, we learned the bigger the rider the faster you slide, so I about threw down the camera to catch them on their way down and missed the picture.

My cowboys calf roping:

The boys had a blast jumping on the giant pillows (inflated tarps that bubbled up off the ground):

Hay Mountain was fun too with the swinging Tarzan ropes:

Brian had just as much fun as Carson on the "Black Momba" swing:

"Farmer Flinger":

Pedal Carts:

The "Punkin' Hollar" was a sight to see! Over 500 pumpkins carved and lit up inside a dark building.

Carson made me take this one:

Little Farmersville Playground:

The singing chicks were super cute.

"Zeke's Lost Treasure":

Carson rocked the Corn Cannon, shooting at metal signs with cobs of corn.

Corn 'Maize':

We tried so hard to get the perfect pumpkin patch photo of the boys....

Take 1

Take 2 - "Deacon don't eat that!"

Take 3... Brian: "Jackie, there is a line forming behind us..."

Okay, last try getting the boys together for a photo:

haha...maybe next year!