a trolls halloween

We have been a little Trolls-obsessed ever since we watched the movie at the dollar theatre with Uncle Jeffrey.  I don't know why we never saw it when it came to theaters the first time, but it really is such a fun movie.  Thanks to Netflix, we have watched it a million times, and even had a Trolls party where we invited some friends to come watch the movie with us. (Brooke also thought we needed Troll plates, napkins, cups, and decorations, haha.  I gave in on the cups and plates because they were on clearance at Party City.)

Well, when we started talking about Halloween costumes, Brooke wanted to be Moana (she had a new dress-up from Nay Nay), and wanted Colby to be Maui.  We went with that idea for a few weeks, but one night as we were dancing to the Trolls soundtrack, I suggested that we be a family of Trolls for Halloween.  Everyone (Kevin included) was super pumped, so we knew we had our Halloween theme!

Brooke was Poppy, Colby was Branch, I was Lady Glitter Sparkles (seriously), and Kevin was King Gristle. My costume wasn't the greatest because I didn't want to spend a ton of money, but I did have a cute shirt my friend made that said "Lady Glitter Sparkle, seriously." Kevin looked awesome in his costume, but my favorite part was that some people didn't know who he was, so they were just really confused about his crazy hair and teeth. 

I didn't get very good pictures at our Ward's Trunk or Treat, but they're better than nothing!  It was actually SO freezing at the activity, so we didn't stay as long as normal, and Colby was pretty whiny because he was freezing.

Halloween night was a little warmer, and we were able to go do a little trick-or-treating with Grandma while Papa passed out candy.

Something funny to remember about the night was Colby's reaction to the people coming to our door.  We were eating dinner as kids started Trick-or-Treating, and each time the bell would ring, Colby would run for the door shouting "Nuther One."  It was adorable because his enthusiasm didn't die down as the frequency of trick-or-treaters increased :)

Another random sidetone: rooke didn't want to wear her Poppy hair piece, but at least her hair was pink! We used a can of pink hair spray to achieve the look, which was super easy.  The not so easy part was washing it out, haha.  She had a light pink tone in her hair for a few days after we washed it.

Overall, we had a great Halloween and we're already talking about our theme for next year!!

green meadows

We always love going to the Green Meadows petting zoo, and although we normally go with friends, this time we went on our own. Highlights include: climbing the enclosures to get a closer look, taking the hay ride around the park, feeding the goats, watching the pig races, and petting all the baby animals.  

I adore Colby in this hat, which we actually can't find.  Nor can we find the replacement hat I bought him since this one was getting too small.

It's fun to see my kids really get into things, like feeding the goats.  They probably fed them 20 handfuls each because the place was empty and the animals kept coming back for more! I just tried not to cringe at the goat slobber in their hands. 

We lucked out by going right after lunch because the school groups were just leaving, and it was still too early for schools to be dismissed. I will have to remember that for this Fall, but Brookie will be in KINDERGARTEN!  How is she old enough for this?? It's all a little surreal to me.

pumpkin patches

I love our Fall traditions, one of which is meeting family up at the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. It's a free event, and they have so much to offer!  Hay rides, mazes, bounce houses, playgrounds, and zillions of pumpkins and photo opportunities throughout the property.

Random side note: our water heater went out the day before, and I could not bare to wash my hair in the freezing shower, so I had to wear a hat!  I did take a shower, but it was a quick one, haha.

The hay ride was definitely a highlight, and Colby was so excited to see the wooden Spiderman cut-out as we went along the path!  I didn't even realize that he knew who Spiderman was, but as soon as he saw it, he was screaming and pointing. 

I'm not even sure what these characters are, but Colby's face was too precious not to capture.

Then it was on to the pumpkins...

The girls always love putting pumpkins inside the wagons, and us adults are always amazed at how much weight they can pull. And there's always a game of tag...

A few days later, we went to a pumpkin patch in Arlington, which is another fun tradition.  We met up with the Sturgills and Crumptons, and despite the blazing heat, we still had fun!  One Texas tradition that I don't love: the blazing heat during October and November.  It makes the Fall activities, less Fall-ish :(

Pictures courtesy of Danielle: 

Every year we take pictures on these hay-bale horses, and Colby was really hamming it up this year. 

All the munchkins...

 I love that my kids have known these friends their whole lives, and I'm grateful for the 10 years of friendship with their mamas! ( We missed Tracy and her crew, who were all out of town.)

race to stop traffick

One of the speakers at TOFW was Tim Ballard, an ex-CIA member and founder of Operation Underground Railroad (an organization which assists governments around the world in the rescue of human trafficking and sex trafficking victims-with a special focus on children). It was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time to hear his stories about covert operations to rescue children from sex-trafficking.  He shared a little bit about his family, and always recognized the Lord's hand in his many ops.  I am obviously very sheltered because I had no idea that so much of this trafficking was going on in the United States as well. I left the conference vowing to be more vigilant with my children when we're out and about, and also desiring to do something to help.  

That night, Kimberly was looking on the organization's website, and found that they were doing a 5K and "fun run" (probably not the best name for it) to raise money.  I really wanted to support this cause, and although it was last minute, our friends (Hawkins & Smiths) joined us as well.  

Brooke, Whitaker, Carter, and Elias

We started out walking, but then the kids started running, which meant that Joanna and I were running along behind them while the dads stayed back with the strollers.  Towards the end, I was trying to get Brooke to slow down so that we could cross the finish line together as a family, but Brooke said "I just really want to win the race for Daddy."  It was super sweet, but hilarious because there were tons of people ahead of her.  We waited for a bit, then her and Kevin ran to the finish line together.

As Colby and I neared the end, he also wanted to get out.  We had forgotten his shoes, but I let him get out and run across in his socks, haha. Everyone was clapping and cheering, which was seriously funny.

After all participants were done, they had a short program, which totally had me in tears.  It was just a somber event for me because of what it represented, and as Brooke wrote her name on the wall of abolitionists, the emotions hit me again.  I cannot imagine what those children go through, and I probably don't want to know. I wish I could do more, but at least I can support this race if they come to Dallas again.   And I'll announce it to everyone I know!!

ice skating date

We have been talking about doing an ice skating date for quite some time, but we finally made it a reality!  This rink is at the Parks Mall, which is also home to the carousel my kids love to ride.  I think we actually toyed with the idea of taking them last year, but they don't allow strollers on the ice (which I have seen at other places), so there was no way we could take Colby. 

Needless to say, the littles were pumped up and excited about the whole experience.  Getting to wear ice skates was SO exciting!

Brooke was not quite as independent as I thought she would be, but I was probably expecting too much for her first time.  It was also WAY harder than I thought it would be to hold onto Colby's hands and skate with him.  He kept swinging his legs out, or sliding one out and then spurring the ice with his heel.  Lots of fun, I tell you, haha!  It actually was really fun, but my back was sore by the end of the outing.  Thankfully, they didn't last too long, and I didn't even care because we had only paid a few dollars thanks to coupons :)

We ended our "family date" with some ice cream from Chick-fil-a, which is always a win in our book.  And now that I'm writing about this event, I remember another reason we went on the date.  We had been filling a "kindness jar" with little pom-poms for each nice thing the kids did for each other.  Mom gave me us a book called "The Kindness Bucket", and it has been a super effective way to explain that we fill each other's "buckets" by being kind, and "dip from their bucket" when we are unkind.  Once our jar was full, we had decided on ice-skating as our family date to celebrate all that kinds :)

picture day

My dress-loving girl was happy to wear this soft dress for picture day, and we spent a little time curling her hair before school.  I wasn't sure how the professional pictures would turn out (real smile vs. forced), so I took a few of my own.  We adore you, Brookie Boo.

FHE at the lake

Shortly after buying our current home, Kevin and I were on the phone as he drove home from work.  As he crossed over the bridge, he made a comment that he didn't know how he could drive over the bridge every day and not have a boat at the marina.  I laughed, and told him that he better take the long way home so that he didn't have to cross over the lake every day, haha.  We weren't buying a boat after just buying a house!  But all joking aside, Kevin loves boating so much, and it has become part of our family.  This year, Jerry and Bev let us move the boat to Joe Pool Lake (right by our house), which gave us the chance to take quick rides after work. 

Kevin has been IN HEAVEN...

And I had fun trying out my new camera...