The Polar Express

Back in July we booked tickets to ride The Polar Express with our friends on November 7.  We had all been looking forward to the special weekend!  Emily and the kids arrived in time to ride to carpool line with us Friday, and the kids were excited to see them when they hopped into the car!  We ate an early dinner at home, the kids changed into their Christmas pajamas, then we went downtown to the train station for the 6:30 ride. The train came right up to where we were standing, which was so neat to watch!

Love these sweet kids and so glad they're all friends!  I thought they looked super cute in their fuzzy PJs.  

The picture is blurry below, but they made it "snow" as you walked to your assigned train car!

Once we were seated,  this nice man came by to check our tickets.  He asked each child his/her name and hole-punched their first initial into the ticket.  I plan to laminate the kids' and hang them on the Christmas tree (with their silver bells).

I loved seeing their sweet expressions. :)  It was such a fun evening.

Next they read the book, and we followed along.

They served cookies and hot chocolate...

...and Santa stopped by!  

He greeted everyone and gave each child a silver sleigh bell.

The lights were pretty from the window.  It was such a neat little trip-I'm so glad we went!

***

On Saturday the boys both had soccer games.  It was great having friends there to cheer (They were very sweet to brave the cold, windy weather with us for 2 1/2 hours--Brrrr!)  The girls sat under a blanket with their notebooks and wrote stories about the train ride.

Bundled up and ready for Crosby's game (that's Rhett under the Harley Davidson blanket-ha!)

We came home for just a little while to warm up and eat lunch then we went to Silver Dollar City.  Rhett invited a friend from his class to go with us too, so Lane took the older boys to ride roller coasters before we all met up to watch the parade.

Everything is outlined with Christmas lights--I love it!

The Flooded Mine

Dinner while waiting for the parade to begin.

This was the last float of the parade.

We enjoyed funnel cakes and other unhealthy amusement park food!

A great group of kids--I think they all had a lot of fun!

What a perfect way to start the holiday season!

Halloween Weekend

We had a really fun Halloween weekend.  That Friday morning I went to Crosby's class party.  I helped with the craft station where the kids made egg-carton spiders.  The kids were all so excited about it being party/trick-or-treat day!  I didn't take many pictures, but here's Crosby with his group when it was their turn to make the craft.  The school had early dismissal so we were able to get on the road early for our weekend trip to Little Rock.  We'd made plans a while back to spend Halloween there, and we were all looking forward to catching up with friends!

We made a quick stop at our LR pediatrician's office for the kids' flu mists then checked into the hotel and changed into costumes.  Alexee wanted to be a black cat this year, Rhett wanted to be a Clash of Clans Giant, and Crosby's costume choice went from Batman to cheetah to puppy to Captain American and finally to Ironman.  :)  It was funny trying to turn Rhett into a giant with quilt stuffing. 

We met three other families at Larry's Pizza for an early dinner before trick-or-treating in our old neighborhood.  It was GREAT to see everyone!!!  

(Above is the picture we used as a guide for R's costume.)  It was strange to trick or treat at our old house!  Below is a picture of the group on "our" porch.  We ended the night in my friend Ali's neighborhood for just a little more trick-or-treating.  We caught up with the hayride and rode a short distance which was fun (and chilly!).

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel then took the kids swimming.  Lane's parents drove over to visit for the day--it was great to see them!  We all went to lunch at one of our favorite lunch places, Izzy's. 

 

After lunch we went to the Apple store and Alexee and I made a quick stop by the new HomeGoods.  Crosby ran into a buddy at the Apple kids' table.  :)

Saturday afternoon I took Alexee to K's birthday party, Rhett went over to a friend's house and Lane and Crosby hung out with Bobba & Grammy.  (They had fun going to the bookstore and to Purple Cow for milkshakes.)  K's doll tea party was SO CUTE.  I loved the details of Emily's decorating--it was all so adorable!  Alexee had such a wonderful time.  I could tell she loved being there with all the girls, and I was so thankful that it worked out for her to go.

The Razorbacks played at 6:00 Saturday night, so Lane wanted to watch the game.  We picked up Chick-Fil-A for dinner (another thing we miss, although they are finally building a CFA here, scheduled to open next spring).  The Martins came over to the hotel so the guys could watch the game and the kids could swim--it was a really fun evening!  

And on Sunday morning we loved getting to go back to church at Fellowship.  I really don't even know what to say about that...it was wonderful to be there, but also tough to be reminded how much we miss being a part of that church family. :(  

                                              

We met one of L's med school friends and his family at Mellow Mushroom for lunch before leaving town.  We enjoyed visiting with them, too.  It was a great weekend all around!

Red Ribbon Week, Leadership Assembly and Fall Fest

Last week was Red Ribbon Week at school.  We also had parent/teacher conferences.  I can't believe they've already been in school for nine weeks!

Monday:  wear red

Waiting for another parent/teacher conference...

There was also a leadership assembly Monday morning at the elementary school.  Alexee was recognized for her role in student council.  :)  Each student applied for school jobs at the beginning of the year, and Alexee chose to be a part of student council.  She's enjoying it!

She liked getting to help with the American Flag!

One red ribbon day was mustache day.  Crosby came home from school with a Sharpie mustache.  :)

Wednesday night the kids went to a church fall fest with some friends.  Alexee was happy to get to try out her cat costume for that!  Crosby just wanted to wear a Batman shirt and cape, and Rhett decided to wait and dress up on Friday for Halloween.

It was a chilly night, but the bonfire was fun!