Thanksgiving week

We had such an awesome week off with the kids!  SO nice to have no alarm to wake up to, no lunches to make and just enjoy time with family & friends! We are so blessed and SO thankful!

We started out the week with a visit from my best friend from high school, her sweet husband and new little baby Savannah Grace!  The boys loved her and the best part was when we had to borrow a high char and Riley decided he wanted to be a baby for the week and sit in it for every meal!

Melissa and I have been friends for 24 years! how crazy is that?!  We have seen each other through a lot of trials and happy times in life!

She is such an awesome mom!

On Thursday morning, we drove to my in-law's farm in Ivanhoe and spent a couple of days there with them, my sister-in-law, and all the nieces! 

There are hay bales, hay bales everywhere!

The kids had an absolute ball jumping from one to the next!

I even got up there with them to see what the fun was all about!

Uncle David playing "good guy/bad guy" with the kids.  Riley loves Uncle David!

The dads & all the cousins together.  SO happy.  What a blessed time. 

Our sweet nieces.  Madison (15), Mary-McKinley (8), Monroe (12)

My precious boys.

Riley wouldn't get in the picture, so David put him on his back.  Hilarious!!

Playing guitar with Riley.  Awesome!  Love this guy!

Reid was SO in his element being on the farm and feeding the horses.  He loved every second!

Can you guess what they are spelling?  It's all about this... We LOVE our family!  So thankful for the week with everyone and time to visit, eat, and just let kids be kids.  Thank you Lord for all of these gifts that don't cost a thing. 

Halloween 2013

So I'm catching up a little.  Just a wee bit behind on the blogging world, but that's okay.  Sometimes it's nice to take a break and just sit back and enjoy the little things in life!

My Spiderman and Thor this year.  ALL. INTO. SUPERHEROES.  All. the. time.  Love it!

Our fun neighbors we trick or treated with this year.  Love all the costumes!

The 3 superhero BIG boys!  Ironman, Ironman, and Thor!

We gathered at the Valdes' beforehand to take in a few snacks before the long trek of trick or treating!  

Before we headed out for the plethora of candy overload!

Love these sweet boys and my awesome husband! BEST dad on the planet!

The boys had a great time this year and went further than I thought they would.  After 3 streets they were both ready to go home.  Reid couldn't wait to pass out candy.  It was another fun, eventful Halloween! Until next year....

Don't blink

Tonight I let the boys paint their pumpkins that they had sitting on the porch.  A good Halloween Eve activity, right? They were thrilled and as we were cleaning up, the Kenny Chesney song, "Don't Blink" came on.  I can't get the words out of my head. "Don't blink.  Just like that you're 6 years old and you take a nap.  Wake up and you're 25 and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife."  Tears just started welling up in my eyes and I couldn't get the sweet images of my boys and their little bodies out of my head.  I must have kissed every inch of them tonight all the way down to their toes, and gave them extra hugs.  Reality check.  Yes. 

Pumpkins & the Arboretum

We went to the Dallas Arboretum last Friday morning since Reid was out of school.  It was absolutely THE perfect weather day for it! Bear with me... it is hard to sift through all the pumpkin pictures!

Roo Roo has only been here once before I think.  He had a ball and loved picking up pumpkin after pumpkin, after pumpkin.... well, you get the picture! 

My favorite pumpkin house.

"Wook, Mommy, more punkins!"

My loves.

My fav of the day.

These 2 have been friends since they were 6 months.  Can't believe they're now SIX!! 

All of our precious friends that joined us. Riley seems to be engrossed in the faces too much to make his own! 

Happy October.  Probably my favorite fall time of year!  Bring on the "punkins"!

Before & After

I had taken this picture earlier this month and just LOVED it!  I wanted to photo shop it, but really don't have a whole lotta knowledge about that stuff and never have taken the time to learn it... now I really want to!

Because look...  I sent it to my amazing friend, Vaune, who is a photographer extraordinaire, and look what she did to it!! Thank you V!

What we've been up to....

Getting to spend extra time with my Roo-Roo lately since Reid is in kinder.  Loving these little moments with him!

We gave Reid a spider-man shaving kit for his bday.  He loves to shave in the bathtub every night now!  Wants to be just like daddy. 

These 2 love spending time together every most days.  And they never, ever fight.  ;)

Daddy had air force duty this weekend again.  I'm so proud of him for sticking it out for almost 20 years!  Only 1.5 years to go! 

 

 

Reid has been coming home with lots of pictures from school lately and I'm loving every one.  This one is my favorite of the week!

And I just had to pick up these beauties today.  LOVING the pretty fall colors! 

We are making it through mornings of getting up early, packing lunches every night, Reid playing flag football and tennis, and Riley doing soccer tots.  We have officially hit BUSYness in this house!  It's fall and the cooler weather is here!  YAY!! 

Avengers party ~ take 2!

Reid was ALL boy at his avengers party this year.  It was so fun to watch him be Mr. Tough Guy!

And Riley was right in there with all the 5-6 year old boys... never missed a beat!

Our little Avenger friends!

Tug-of-war with pool noodles!

And what superhero adventure is complete without a pillow fight?!

And jumping through hoops!

My sweet girls... Amy & Monica. Love these ladies.

My boy was truly THE happiest I have ever seen him.  I can't get the picture of his smiling face out of my head.  It was truly THE perfect party & day for him!

It is safe to say that all of our superhero friends "saved" the day!

Time to fill those superhero bellies with some energy blasting treats!

Riley-Roo and one of his faces.  Love this kid.

Superhero cupcakes ready to blast off into Reid's 6th year of life! How is our baby SIX?!

Make a wish sweet Reid!

Happy happy birthday to our precious, amazing, creatively funny Mr. Reid.  We have loved you since we knew you were growing inside of my womb, but we didn't know just how much we would grow to love you these last 6 years.  You are smart as a whip, creative, protective of your family, sensitive, rule follower, lover of music and all things in nature.  You make me want to be a better mommy every day and you challenge me in ways I never dreamed possible.  I think you will do big things one day... not sure what that is yet, but for now, I am content with your sweet little 6 year old, genuine, protected spirit.  I wish we could keep you this way forever, but alas, you must grow up.  It is inevitable.  I love you more than this life we have on earth.  You are a gift from our Lord.  I praise God for you EVERY DAY!