Thankful

As always, we spent our Thanksgiving in Glen Rose at the lodge. The weather was perfect, and it was a very relaxing time. The day we got there, we spent some time with the kids out at the great playground they have.

Nana and her Babies

Now, why do little boys turn EVERYTHING into guns? We don't teach him this stuff, it's like he just knows!I love that my kids love each other. I pray it is always that way. And also, notice my little ginger headed boy!

This is pretty much how Dad spent the entire week

Going for a walk

On Thanksgiving Day, we had a crew of my Dad's family there to celebrate. It's always great seeing them, and we try to squeeze in as much catching up as possible into our short time together.

Dad doing work on the turkey

The whole group

The cousins and their loved ones, except Coop...

My little man could spend ALL day outside! He loves it at the Lodge.

Mom, Caroline and I did some fun cooking. We made pilgrim hats, then tried our hands at cake balls by Bakerella for the first time. It was a blast and they turned out super cute.

Coop checking out the Black Friday ads while we watched the Aggies beat up on t.u.

On Friday, we continued our tradition of heading into Granbury for their Christmas Parade. It always has a religious theme and is a great way to kick off the season.

Boys will be...

This is a very small picture. It's also kind of blurry, but forever it will make me think of my little 18 month old Coop.

Last week, while Chris was working out of town, Cooper threw my iPhone in the parking lot at the mall. GREAT! Thankfully I was able to get into my car and use the bluetooth inside to call my Hubby. The screen was nothing but multicolored static. Because we don't have a home phone, I had to get it replaced that night. Under normal circumstances, I would never take two small children to the Apple Store, but I was desperate. Thankfully, there weren't too many people in that night, so I could keep a close eye on Cooper as he tootled around while I got my new phone. We were finishing up when I saw Cooper running toward the front door. I called out to him to come back and he turned and started running back to me. At that point, I turned my attention back to the fine man that had been helping me. Next thing I know, I hear a CRASH! I look up and see that My Little Man had grabbed the front floor-to-ceiling display of the store and yanked it to the ground. All I remember was hearing a little whimper and then seeing Cooper head off to inflict further injury on the immaculate store. I couldn't quit apologizing or get out of there fast enough! I immediately called Chris. I just kept telling him that I was laughing to keep from crying! I snapped the pictured as I streaked out of the parking lot.

My Coop is a ball of energy. He keeps me on my toes, but has a very sweet heart. He's not mean or aggressive, just BUSY! Man I love him!

Roughin' It

In honor of Chris' birthday, we decided to make a trek out to his deer lease for the weekend. Caroline has been aching to go for years, so we figured she was old enough to handle it. I, on the other hand, could have be overheard repeatedly saying, "I don't love this, but I do love you."

We go out of town Friday evening at about dinnertime. We stopped down the road in Jacksboro to eat at the Green Frog. They have a $5.99 buffet of all you can eat chicken fried steak and fish. Caroline was beyond excited. We needed to tie her to her to get her to sit down!

When we got there that night, there was a rather large infestation of wasps in Chris' little cabin (we're not going to dwell on that...) so Caroline and I spent an hour in the car watching movies while Chris took care of that. Caroline could not wait to sleep on her first top bunk!
Early the next morning, Chris took the chance to do a little deer hunting while we slept. When we got up, we did various jobs around the ranch- filled feeders, fixed some things on the deer stand, changed some camera batteries, etc. Caroline was endlessly fascinated by the deer corn.

Busy girl!

After lunch we took the dogs out to do some quail hunting. It was really fun to see what these dogs are good for, I mean, how great they are in the field.

Buddy, Chris, Tucker

The trip was a great time for all. It was so nice to get away and not have anything pulling at us. Caroline made some great memories, including losing her first tooth! I actually told Chris on the way home that I could have used another day!

The End of a Good Season

Caroline finished up her first soccer season at the end of October. It was a huge success. Caroline had a great time and learned a lot about being a team. I got the chance to see some behavior by other kids on the field that I would have to uhhh, "discipline" out of them it they were mine, but it was always entertaining. Lots of laughs and memories.

Halloween 2010

We had a great, and busy, Halloween this year. Lots of candy and lots of memories.

As usual, my mother took over the costume making (Thanks Nana!) and as usual, they were amazing!

This is the best picture of Coop's costume. He's always running!

On Friday night, we went to the church's fall festival. As always, it was a pleasure. It's a great chance to see all of our friends and participate in the old fashioned carnival.

Saturday night, the kiddos Trick or Treated around Mom and Dad's neighborhood.

Caroline's friend-that-is-a-boy, Kie, came over to knock doors with her. Have you ever seen anything so cute??

What a Ride

This baseball season was no doubt one of the most memorable times of my life. We were so blessed to be able to attend one game out of every series. We actually went to the only World Series game that the Rangers won. It could not compare to the night the won the ALCS, but the mood was still electric. It had a feeling of history.

Laura and Me (we did accidentally get into a car full of strange men that night after the game...another story)

Unfortunately, the Rangers lost the next two games and were eliminated. We were so proud of our hometown boys and can't wait for the next season to start!

Little Runner

Caroline has always loved her Papa, and considering he's a runner, she wants to be one too! Since I am one of the sponsors of our school's running club, she gets to run with us.

We did our first 5K a few weeks ago and she did a great job! She got to run with her teacher, Miss Laughlin. What a treat!

We even ran into Papa after his long run that morning. We also got to see the Brantleys. Caden was thrilled to take a picture with Caroline.
She celebrated the Rangers World Series game that day with a little face painting after the run!

Running is something I want her to love. There is so much to learn by pushing through challenges like running. I hope it's something she can always enjoy!