Thursday, December 01, 2011
Birthday Sampler
We took Morgan to the ACU campus for his 6th birthday portraits. Daddy's photography skills certainly came in handy. Here is a sampling of the shots he took. Morgan looks so grown up; it's sad!
Thanksgiving 2011
We doubled up for Thanksgiving once again. On Tuesday we drove to Abilene to spend a few days. We took Morgan's birthday portrait at the ACU campus on Wednesday. After Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday, the 4 of us (minus Viola) went to the see "Hugo" at the theater. On Friday we drove to the roost for a Griffin Thanksgiving dinner. Then we spent the weekend in Liberty Hill. I squeezed in a day of shopping on Saturday. And Matt & I even enjoyed a hot date at Best Buy/Barnes & Noble/Target/Denny's.
Morgan was very interested in the cooking as usual.
Working hard or hardly working?
My Dad's Thanksgiving shenanigans– we all watched from the kitchen window.
My babies are getting too big...
The crew
Everyone in attendance, minus Matt.
MawMaw and some of her grandchildren.
Thomas, Baby V, and Uncle David
After dinner, Rachel set up the tree and the cousins decorated.
Baby V chillin' with her cousin Will.
Morgan was very interested in the cooking as usual.
Working hard or hardly working?
My Dad's Thanksgiving shenanigans– we all watched from the kitchen window.
My babies are getting too big...
The crew
Everyone in attendance, minus Matt.
MawMaw and some of her grandchildren.
Thomas, Baby V, and Uncle David
After dinner, Rachel set up the tree and the cousins decorated.
Baby V chillin' with her cousin Will.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Halloween 2011
This was our first year to carve pumpkins. Of course the kids loved it! We even roasted the seeds. The only problem was we did it too early so 2 out of the 3 pumpkins were too rotten to light on Halloween. So now we know.
On Halloween, everyone had a lot of fun getting fixed up to go out. Doing the makeup was a big highlight. For the costumes, I used a combination of stuff we had and a few new things like a pirate bandanna for Morgan and wigs for the girls. The idea for Baby V came pretty last minute as I realized she is the perfect age to dress as Raggedy Ann– just like my mom dressed me and my sisters.
We had planned to go to an event at the Petroleum Museum, but it was so swarmed when we got there that we turned back. Instead, we went with the Smiths to the Trunk or Treat at Grace Lutheran. Somehow our Halloween plans never work quite right, and we keep ending up there. It's actually a great place– plenty of candy but not too overwhelming. We had plenty of time leftover for the great candy binge of 2011 when we got home.
Matt's serial killer grip
How the pumkins looked when we lit them the first night.
Getting fixed up
At first she was afraid of it, but she let me put it on.
So adorable!
Bbay V was ridiculously cute; it just wasn't right!
We couldn't get them to tear their eyes away from the candy....the look on Emma's face says it all.
Meeting up with buddies!
Baby V and big Raggedy Ann
The line-up...we've seen this before at a few birthday parties.
The binge
On Halloween, everyone had a lot of fun getting fixed up to go out. Doing the makeup was a big highlight. For the costumes, I used a combination of stuff we had and a few new things like a pirate bandanna for Morgan and wigs for the girls. The idea for Baby V came pretty last minute as I realized she is the perfect age to dress as Raggedy Ann– just like my mom dressed me and my sisters.
We had planned to go to an event at the Petroleum Museum, but it was so swarmed when we got there that we turned back. Instead, we went with the Smiths to the Trunk or Treat at Grace Lutheran. Somehow our Halloween plans never work quite right, and we keep ending up there. It's actually a great place– plenty of candy but not too overwhelming. We had plenty of time leftover for the great candy binge of 2011 when we got home.
Matt's serial killer grip
How the pumkins looked when we lit them the first night.
Getting fixed up
At first she was afraid of it, but she let me put it on.
So adorable!
Bbay V was ridiculously cute; it just wasn't right!
We couldn't get them to tear their eyes away from the candy....the look on Emma's face says it all.
Meeting up with buddies!
Baby V and big Raggedy Ann
The line-up...we've seen this before at a few birthday parties.
The binge
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Island Living
After months of waiting, we finally did our big kid-free vacation. We dropped the kids off in Abilene, drove to Liberty Hill, and flew to St. Thomas for a week. We arrived on Sunday night after a grueling all-day flight schedule. We checked into Island View Guesthouse, met our hostess, and settled in.
On Monday we picked up our rental car, figured out how to drive on the left side, and commenced a driving tour of the whole island. We also did a little shopping that day and went to Morningstar Beach. On Tuesday we visited Blackbeard's Castle– which actually has nothing to do with Blackbeard– and rented a jet ski at Sapphire Beach. On Wednesday we took the ferry to St. John. It was even more beautiful than St. Thomas, and is kept mostly as a national preserve. we shopped a little, visited the ruins of a sugar mill, and then hiked about a mile to get to the beach we wanted. There are not many roads in St. John. Once we got there, we swam out to a smaller island where we had our first snorkelling experience. I almost bailed initially, but in the end decided to "be a sport". On Thursday we did a kayak tour to nearby Hassel Island. It was a 3-hr tour, though by no means as ill fated as that name suggests. We got a vigorous workout in the kayak and came home with a really outstanding sunburn. On Friday we returned to favorite, almost-private spot– Bluebeard's Beach. We had discovered it the night before. After that we spent a little more time Hull Beach, just reading & relaxing. Every day we enjoyed amazing meals comprised of mostly local seafood. The whole weeks was bliss– no working on our marriage and no car accidents!
Special thanks to Memaw & Pepaw and Papa Wes & GG for your loving care of our kids while we had our getaway.
At Hook, Line, & Sinker
Blackbeard's Castle
the jet ski
Epernay Wine Club & Bistro
At on overlook on St. John
part of the hike to the beach at St. John
In the background is the island we swam to for snorkelling
A 17/1800s fort on Hassel Island
Another fort, oldest on Hassel Island
Our kayak
At Gladys' Cafe
Our favorite beach
Udder Delite dairy bar
On Monday we picked up our rental car, figured out how to drive on the left side, and commenced a driving tour of the whole island. We also did a little shopping that day and went to Morningstar Beach. On Tuesday we visited Blackbeard's Castle– which actually has nothing to do with Blackbeard– and rented a jet ski at Sapphire Beach. On Wednesday we took the ferry to St. John. It was even more beautiful than St. Thomas, and is kept mostly as a national preserve. we shopped a little, visited the ruins of a sugar mill, and then hiked about a mile to get to the beach we wanted. There are not many roads in St. John. Once we got there, we swam out to a smaller island where we had our first snorkelling experience. I almost bailed initially, but in the end decided to "be a sport". On Thursday we did a kayak tour to nearby Hassel Island. It was a 3-hr tour, though by no means as ill fated as that name suggests. We got a vigorous workout in the kayak and came home with a really outstanding sunburn. On Friday we returned to favorite, almost-private spot– Bluebeard's Beach. We had discovered it the night before. After that we spent a little more time Hull Beach, just reading & relaxing. Every day we enjoyed amazing meals comprised of mostly local seafood. The whole weeks was bliss– no working on our marriage and no car accidents!
Special thanks to Memaw & Pepaw and Papa Wes & GG for your loving care of our kids while we had our getaway.
At Hook, Line, & Sinker
Blackbeard's Castle
the jet ski
Epernay Wine Club & Bistro
At on overlook on St. John
part of the hike to the beach at St. John
In the background is the island we swam to for snorkelling
A 17/1800s fort on Hassel Island
Another fort, oldest on Hassel Island
Our kayak
At Gladys' Cafe
Our favorite beach
Udder Delite dairy bar
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