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!

Saturday Sports

flag football team pic at 10:00

game at 11:00

quick Subway lunch, game at 1:00

home briefly, then R's game at 3:15

Field Trip to the Farm

Tuesday the 21st was fall field trip day for Crosby and Rhett.  I was sad that I couldn't go on both trips--I wish they had been on different days.  Rhett's 5th grade class went to the Discovery Center, and Crosby's Kindergarten class went to Rutlege-Wilson Farm.  Everyone had a great time.

C was really looking forward to his first school bus ride!  It just happened to work out that they had bus safety day on Monday, so he learned a lot and was prepared for the ride!  :)  

C's teacher had the class divided into groups, and I was asked to keep up with Crosby and three of his classmates.  That sounded simple enough, but as soon as they got off the bus I realized it was going to be more difficult than I thought!  Ha!  They pretty much ran full speed in four different directions for the entire day.  We had a great time though, and I made it back to the bus stop with the kids I was responsible for.  :)

The classes rotated through different stations of the farm, and our class did the hayride first.  This was Crosby's favorite part.  

The decorations were fun to look at along the way, like the giant hay bale spiders and chickens.  The kids were cute looking at everything.

Next we went to see the animals...pigs, goats, chickens, a donkey...

Later we had a farming lesson in the barn classroom.  I thought the red barn was pretty.  We had such nice weather that day.

The instructor told the kids about farm products and also introduced them to their guide pony for the blind, Firefly.  Everyone got a turn to pet him, which was very sweet.

And the playground area was wonderful!  The kids loved it!

I loved getting to spend the day with this sweet boy.  He is such a joy to me.  And I enjoyed getting to know his teacher and his friends better, too.

A great day on the farm!

October Days

My favorite month is going by too fast!  The fall colors are beginning to show, and I'm loving the cool mornings and warm afternoons.  

The boys playing catch one afternoon.

Alexee planted these flower seeds way back in the summer, and they finally bloomed last weekend--very pretty!  She was happy to see them in bloom.

Last Friday afternoon Rhett was invited to a classmate's birthday party so we dropped him off there then Alexee, Crosby and I went shopping for "Beanie Boos".  I didn't even know what Beanie Boos were until then, but I learned they are a popular toy among their friends so they wanted to use their allowance to purchase some of them.  They were both happy with their choices!  Rhett had fun at the party, and he had a make-up soccer game Friday night.  He's liking soccer--he told me tonight that he didn't want the season to end.

Saturday was a little bit crazy.  Here's what I thought the schedule looked like:
9:00 Crosby-soccer
10:00 Crosby-football
11:30 Rhett-soccer game 1
1:00 Crosby-soccer (make-up game)
3:15 Rhett-soccer game 2

So we had a rushed Saturday morning, C played soccer, we hurried across town to the football field...and saw his team packing up to leave.  The football game was actually at 9:00 also so we missed it.  I felt so bad for getting things messed up.  Ugh.  So we went home briefly then went to Rhett's game.  We found out at C's first game that the make-up was actually at 2:00 instead of 1:00, so that gave us a little time to run back home and eat lunch.  Lane had to go to work that afternoon, but my parents drove up to watch the last two games, came by the house for a little while then treated us to dinner!  It was a busy but good day!

The boys played hard and did great!  Alexee was a supportive sister.  She turned lots of cart-wheels on the sidelines and played with her new Beanie Boos. 

We were so glad Mom and Dad joined us!  Mom was trying to create a shield from the wind--the soccer fields are kind-of up on a hill and the wind was chilly!  Each game I added more layers, but I don't know that I ever got warm. 

Monday morning I went to a baby shower for a new friend.  It was a really fun time together.  I'm thankful for the sweet girls I've met here, and I can't wait to meet M's baby girl, Lucy!  The shower was at this neat little bakery--such a cute place, and the cake they made was delicious.

The first quarter of school ended last Friday, which is hard to believe.  Things have definitely seemed extra hectic lately--the weeks just fly by, but I'm thankful for every minute of it!