Picture with Santa

For our family night last night, we went to see Santa. You may think that it's too early to have this experience but with four kids and one being a baby, we didn't want to stand in line and wait. So, we didn't! We went straight up there and there was only one person in front of us. It's a family tradition to hit Bass Pro shop and do all the fun activities after we take the photo.

The picture was funny because Dakota didn't know what to think so we couldn't get a smile from her but at least there were no tears. Gotta love meeting Santa Claus. :)

Halloween and the Zoo

We went to the Southwest Airlines Halloween Party with the younger two kids. Dakota was Snow White and Drake was Thor again. :)

 Cotton candy eaten like it was an ice cream cone

 This big kid had a total blast. He loved having all the attention! :)

 Dakota was so tired by this point that she could only take a picture with her bottle in hand

 Halloween in our new neighborhood!

 David and Dakota

 Me and the boys

 Took a trip to the zoo yesterday. David had a sinus infection and so I left the baby with him and we took off!

 Dilan feeding the giraffe and Drew getting to pet him

 We saw the feeding time with the Lions. This was a great trick they would do for food!

 Penguins!

 I love how you can see the penguins swim

 Pony rides! Dilan was smitten with this pony. She smiled the entire time.

 The kids wanted to take this picture - so cute!

 We rode the carousel three times!!!

 Drake didn't like the carousel at first as he made me sit on one of those benches with him and go around and around. Then, he rode a lion that was stationary on his second try, and finally I got him to ride a monkey that went up and down on his third ride. He kept laughing and saying, "I'm riding a monkey!" Love this kid!

October Happenings

Crystal Beach near Galveston, TX 

We took a trip down to the beach for my cousin's wedding

So, you've noticed I can't quite keep up with my blog. I'm pretty overwhelmed these days so getting around to documenting everything is a challenge. But here is a recap of October!

We traveled to Austin for our nephew's baptism. David baptized Ethan on his 8th birthday.

 Preschool picture day prompted me to take my own photo of this lovely lady

 We celebrated a TX win over OU and David's 36th birthday!

 We visited the pumpkin patch when my brother and his family and my mom and Sam came to visit

 Dakota's first pictures in a pumpkin patch and she quite liked the hay

 Drew and I went on a tour of the Police Station here in Frisco with his cub scout troop. Little did we know the city symbol is the state of Texas with a longhorn and a train in it. We definitely moved to the right place!

 We took another trip to the pumpkin patch when my sister and her family came in town.

 Drew ran in the fun run at his school. 55 laps total - the kid loves to run!

 Drew scored a soccer goal this season and I promised him any train he wanted if he did. Here he is pictured with his new train named Connor.

 We carved our pumpkin - After I drew the face, Drake decided to give it kisses

 The kids picked out what shapes for the eyes, nose, mouth, etc. and I drew the final version on our pumpkin

 David always carves and I clean out the stuff

 Tried to get a family picture with our pumpkin after the kids played outside with the neighbors

Dilan and Drake's first days of preschool

Dilan started preschool and for those of you who are not on Facebook, here are the pictures! Both kids are loving it. Dilan feels like such a big girl going to school three days a week, bringing her lunch, and being there from 9-2. At the end of the first week, she earned enough wockets in her pocket for a prize. She picked a new pencil.I am grateful Dilan loves school and she came home and wanted to do "homework." Upon practicing writing the number 2, she got frustrated and said, "I'm going to break this pencil!," all with a smile on her face while she said it. I think I'm in for a challenge when it comes to school work and Dilan but right now she is loving just coloring and drawing.

Drake's first day was exciting. He went right in, sat down and began eating his Ritz crackers that were at his seat. Lots of kids at his age are crying down the hallways and it doesn't even phase him. He has been my most adjusted kid with nursery at church and now mother's day out. Drake pointed at his class today as we dropped Dilan off and asked about it. I simply told him he was going to get to go tomorrow. He didn't get upset but is looking forward to it. He also carries his backpack everyday we drop Dilan off and he doesn't go to class himself. Drake is potty-training right now. He has the pee-thing down and it only took a few days for that and buying pull-ups. But we are working on being fully potty-trained. :) 

First day of 3rd grade!

Drew started the 3rd grade today. Mrs. O'Hare and Mrs. Brown are his teachers although Mrs. O'Hare (seen above) is his homeroom teacher. Mrs. O'Hare is for math, science and spelling and Mrs. Brown is for reading, language arts and social studies. The picture above and below are from Meet the Teacher night where me and Dakota went with Drew (David was down and out with a sinus infection) to sort his supplies and see his classroom too. 

 Drew diligently labeled all of his folders and notebooks.

 Pod 2, 3rd grade 

First day of school has arrived!!!!

David and Drew

 Me and Drew

 Drew on his first day of 3rd grade showing off his new shoes...

 and new backpack.

 Kids wanted a picture with Drew too. Dakota was inside the house. At about 11:30 today, Dilan asked if we were on our way to pick up Drew. She already missed him and so did I!

Drew said his first day was GREAT! He loved it and can't wait to go back tomorrow. He helped bring lunchboxes down to the cafeteria and when they switched classes in the afternoon, he wanted to sit "at the boy table" which was where all his friends were. But he decided he would get in trouble there so he sat at a different table. Sure enough his friends got in trouble. Our big kid is already making good choices in 3rd grade! Favorite part of the day: "Everything!" :)