Thanksgiving

We've been up to lots of holiday fun. Our Thanksgiving camping trip with the Hales in Huntsville State Park  turned into a Wednesday night cookout when the weather got rainy and the temps dipped to the 30s. It was hard to be really disappointed when the preparation and cleanup was so much simpler. A long evening in the outdoors was just right.

On Thanksgiving day Scott and Jimmy fried a turkey! It took only an hour to cook, and made for stress-free meal-prep. Plus, the guys really enjoyed themselves.

We all really enjoyed having Scott home during the day too. Mostly because he does incredibly fun things like tie cars to a rope, then tie it around his waist and jog around the yard.

Bikes too.

One morning I slept in and woke up to find the guys had built an enormous train track. 

And then on Saturday it snowed! Well, it snowed at one of the mega churches in our neighborhood at least. So while Scott was watching the BYU-Utah game, the boys and I went and listened to carolers, rode a camel...

 ...drank Wassail with our friend Andrew Kearns...

...and got pelted with snowballs. Joseph got hit twice by ones that'd been packed hard and then told me he'd rather ride the camel again. Before we left, the boys each put a snowball in a cup. And they are now awaiting summer in our freezer. 

 Today we had some rain and the boys convinced me to let them stand outside with umbrellas. It didn't take much convincing. They were adorable!

Then Joseph declared he was "cold wike a wizard!" (Because they had just watched a lizard climb up the house) and they came inside. 

{More} Halloween!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed passing out candy tonight -- possibly even more than collecting it themselves. I was tempted to send their own candy out the door too...

Ah! The anticipation!

They gave freely.

But it was hard work, and it was already past their bedtime. So frequent rests were taken on the stairs.

But I am so glad they could keep their eyes open.... because the best was yet to come! Our neighbors Chad and Sheri hooked their four-wheeler up to a trailer and took the boys on a hay ride around the neighborhood. Twice! "I am so exciting to go for a ride!" the boys kept chanting. Ian was fascinated by the "big junks of hay" we sat on. It was the perfect end to a fun evening!

Happy Halloween!

Tonight was our ward's Trunk or Treat activity. We had a great time!

Ian has been telling people for weeks that he was going to be a tree for Halloween. I loved the idea, but have been somewhat baffled as to how to create it. Finally, after several other unsuccessful attempts, this is what we ended up with. (a colander spray-painted brown, with silk branches laced through it) Although Ian didn't love to wear the tree-top, he loved how he looked in the mirror. 

He looks kinda majestic, doesn't he?

I loved the tree idea in part because it went so nicely with Joseph's monkey costume. And tonight as we were getting ready, Ian said "I am a tree so that Joseph can come swing in my branches!" Ian caught the vision too.

I loved this picture of when Joseph noticed his costume included a banana.

He kept admiring it!

After I set out our candy in front of our car, Ian and Joseph riffled through our bowl and set aside all the best  ones (lollipops) for themselves. 

There was another monkey at the party. The eyed each other closely and then walked away.

Joseph loved bobbing for apples. Ian was on a candy-only quest and was consistently a car ahead of Joseph and I.

I wish I'd gotten a picture of Joseph from behind -- his monkey trousers were constantly falling down leaving his diaper exposed. I loved hearing Joseph say over and over "Mommy! My muh-key pan-ths are fah-wing down 'gen!" This was pretty distressing to him. 

We came home with a ton of candy, and Ian said "Mommy, tonight while I am sleeping I think I am going to come downstairs and start eating all my candy." I believe him, so I hid it on the top shelf of a locked closet. 

Happy Halloween! 

Other Recent Happenings

 The car Scott drove on our first date has hit a milestone. Keep up the great work, Gold Car.

 Scott went to the BYU-TCU game in Dallas last weekend.

The boys and I went to a sandbar hidden within a densely forested area. It takes about 10 minutes of hiking to get there and we never would have known it was there if our friends hadn't led us to it. Fine, nearly-white sand and some shallow, cool water made for a perfect outing. What a great place! Bonus: another fork in the path takes you to an alligator pond! With real alligators!

Way back in September we spent a day at Double Lake. It rained on us the entire time, but the Linford Family, a huge watermelon and some hot dogs made it a fun time anyway.

Joseph could eat an entire melon. Rind included.

His expression for "cooooold!"

 Preschool with the Larson boys and I is off to a slow start. But one very popular activity has been "sorting". I give them a pile of items and they sort them into an egg carton. Note: Don't give them edible items again.

Ian really enjoys having a "big boy bed" without a front on it. We took it off a few months ago, and here Ian is demonstrating all the things he can do with it.

When it was time to pray he exclaimed "I can kneel next to it just like Daddy's bed!" After we prayed with him, he asked if we could please leave as he would like to go to bed.

He still falls out every night, but doesn't usually wake up. Once he apparently decided to save a step and just put himself to bed under the crib. It's also not terribly uncommon for Scott and I to come up to bed and find that Ian has sneaked out of his room and is asleep behind a chair in the hall, with only his legs sticking out.

Joseph is fixing to potty train himself. He asks to go to the bathroom all the time and actually goes. He got some underwear for his birthday, now I just need to get up the courage to start. It was only a year ago that we started all this with Ian...

Fall at the Farm

Last week we took a trip to Old MacDonalds Farm in Humble. We've been wanting to go for years and had a great time exploring with some buddies from church.

 

We knew this place was for us when we heard it had a train! The deer frolicking around the tracks were a bonus.

 

Ian was delighted.

Ian and Joseph didn't trust the animals in the petting zoo. Apparently it was less intimidating to place feed on their backs than near the snout.

 And Joseph would stand as far away as possible while stroking them.

Joseph didn't care for the petting zoo part -- but he was rather taken by the llama. "Can I hold him?" he asked.

 Later I found him watching the cow. He's standing like a cowpoke, isn't he?

A family picture by the big red barn.

Most of the animals weren't interested in the feed. The goats were only interested in the bag.

There was stuff everywhere for little boys to climb and explore.

And we couldn't ask for better weather. I love Texas in Fall.

One barn was filled with hay and had a rope swing. Ian loved it!

Joseph did not.

I loved how the tin walls looked. What a handsome little guy!

A couple towheads waiting to ride a pony.

Joseph loved it! I held on tight to his hip while we took a tour of the corral.

Ian rode around without me and had a grand old time chatting with the quiet horse guide.

Ian asking the peacock to spread its wings.

 Joseph touched nearly every pumpkin before selecting "the one". He'd find one he liked, then carry it over to another one, set it down and pick up the next. Over and over. He finally selected one with a very long stem.

Surprisingly, Ian was very willing to pose around all the fall decorations.

Then we took the pumpkins on one last train ride around the park. 

Some parting shots of the boys looking like turkeys. 

Are you convinced?