K & K Meador (+2): life in november

At the beginning of the month, I volunteered for the Apex Glow Run at Daulton. I actually really despise the Apex fundraiser because they pressure to kids to continually bug their parents about donating money for a solid week! The Apex Team comes to the school every single day to pump the kids up, teach them lessons (the only good part), and then remind them to ask their parents to donate.

But I DID love helping out with the run and seeing my kiddos :) In the past, the kids were given t-shirts and volunteers would make their laps on their shirt, but this year each student was given a ribbon for documentation. I was amazed at how busy I was just constantly marking laps for the kids, haha. These kids were fast and highly motivated!

We met up with Kaylynn (Brooke's softball friend) at Clayton Chandler park and it was fun to see the girls pick up where they left off. She is such a sweet girl, and I really enjoyed the time to chat with her mom.

We went to a Thursday night football game, but the real motivation for attending the game was to see Ellie performing in the marching band. They had an amazing show, and it was fun to see her in action. Brynlee Murray (from our ward) also danced with the drill team, but I didn't recognize her from where we were sitting.

The Kids Heart Challenge turned Colby into a jump roping master! He won a jump-off at his school, came home with a new jump rope, and practiced ALL weekend.

We celebrated Auntie Mel Mel's birthday on Sunday afternoon, and since I felt bad that they invited us to dinner on her birthday, I brought chocolate chip cookies. Her girls had also made brownies, so we had lots of sweets.

The Peacocks gave Colby his birthday gift since they were out of town the week we celebrated, and he was SO excited about his new games: Bop It and Battleship.

We finally got back to piano after a long hiatus. I regret taking a break, but we were just too busy with sports the last two months that I couldn't add piano to the afternoon schedule.

Grandma and Papa were staying a few nights at an RV park in Grapevine, so we drove up to visit them. They've been trying to figure out the best mat to even out the sofa bed, and the kids were happy to give it an official "test."

The kids were disappointed that we didn't end up making s'mores like we originally planned, but they did eat their fair share of marshmallows and chocolate bars!

We finally had time to play the games my mom sent for my birthday, so we FaceTimed her so she could play Sagrada with us. Obviously, we wished we could play in person, but having the technology to play when we're nearly 1,700 miles away is also pretty great.

We had another Six Flags adventure as a family, and despite the brisk 45 degree weather, we had a great afternoon/evening together.

The highlight was when Colby won this Dallas Cowboys football! I am NOT into carnival games, but he found a game card on the ground that had one $5 game on it. He settled on this football game, but since you only had one throw, he wanted Kevin to throw it because he was confident that he could make it. Kevin decided to pay an additional $5 to get 3 throws. Well, Kevin missed the first one, then told Colby to try. He stepped right up and threw it straight through the hole!! I didn't get the actual throw on video because he was so fast (as opposed to Kevin who kept warming up his arm, haha), but I did catch the reaction on video. Brooke threw the last ball and missed, but Colby was on cloud nine!!

The ball kept him entertained the rest of our time at the park!

Sunday was our Primary Program and the kids did such a beautiful job. Colby's line got a chuckle from the congregation ("I know Heavenly Father loves me because he created my adorable sister, my family, and the world.") and Brooke gave a short talk about Daniel and his courage and faith in the lion's den. Brooke didn't want to practice out loud with me, but she looked so grown up as she periodically looked up at the crowd as she spoke. She also did her own hairstyle, but sadly, she had to rush into the house after church to use the restroom and I never did get her picture. But I was so proud of my littles and the way they shared what they knew!

We made it to the 60th day of school!! And Brooke is now officially embarrassed when I try to take her picture at school, haha.

Colby rocked the necklace Kevin made for his halloween costume :)

Daulton had a school fundraiser at the Arlington Skatium and the kids begged to go! I was super tired that night, but I'm so glad we went anyway. The turnout was amazing, and Brooke kept telling me how confident she felt in her skating. It's way easier to skate on a smooth surface than the concrete around the neighborhood, so I have a feeling that we'll go back again soon.

Mrs. Howell, one of Brooke's third grade teachers, came to skate and all the kids were elated. Mr. Gammon, the principal, was also there and the kids kept chasing him around the rink.

Brooke was very proud of the mini-pies she made at Activity Days. She absolutely loved this activity, but it was quite chaotic in the kitchen with so many girls trying to make so many different pies. (All while sharing the kitchen with the youth from another ward who were serving a multi-course dinner!) I was glad they needed my help, but I was relieved when it was over.

After-school playtime with Claire...

We celebrated Danielle's birthday with tacos at Torchy's. Andrea was also supposed to meet up with us, but she went to the wrong location and just ate by herself. I am so incredibly grateful for the past 15 years of friendship with Danielle, and we laughed that we showed up wearing nearly the same outfit!

Funny story: Kevin was replacing our garbage disposal over the weekend and he asked me for Colby's screwdriver bits (the ones Papa gave him from Summit Racing). I went to the garage to grab them, but Brooke, who overheard, tried to be helpful and quickly grabbed Colby's (toy) drill for her daddy. When she realized her mistake, we all had a good laugh.

I used to be a firm believer in waiting until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas, but since I broke my own rule last year, I decided to do the same again. Decorating the Saturday before Thanksgiving was perfect!

We have so many sweet memories with these Christmas toys, and although I worried that the kids might've outgrown them, they apparently have not :)

I adore this Daddy/Daughter photo, but I can't handle how grown up Brooke is getting! She is becoming such a beautiful young lady and it's both exciting and sad at how fast the time is going by. (Colby and I didn't go to church because he started throwing up on Saturday afternoon and continued through the night.)

The kids had the whole week of Thanksgiving off of school, and Colby had his turkey hat ready for the occasion :)

We finished all the holiday decorating and headed to meet the Funderburks at Six Flags for Holiday in the Park.

The good thing about going with older friends is that you somehow have more courage to try rides you're scared of. This was about 10 minutes after we entered the park! El Diablo makes six complete loops and has 11 seconds of upside down hang time, so I was proud of my brave girl.

Then these girls wanted to ride The Texas Giant, and since I didn't want Brooke to go without me, I joined the girls and Mandy went on a ride with the boys.

Our first time on the old steam train, which goes from one side of the park to the other...

Mini-Batman with Jack and Logan...

Colby was so excited to show me these cute feet in Boomtown...

Kevin met us at the park after work and we stayed until closing! We loved all the lights and Christmas music throughout the park.

Including the "Singing Reindeer"...

We rode The Joker for the first time and I was screaming THE WHOLE TIME! It was unlike any ride I've ever been on before, and the unknown was freaking me out. It was also completely dark outside, so being whipped to and fro in total darkness felt crazy. But I also loved it, so I'm sure I'll go on it again. I was shocked that Colby agreed to go with us, but I'm pretty confident that he won't agree to do it again, haha.

We ended the night with a Daddy/Daughter ride on El Diablo. Brooke couldn't quite convince Colby to try it, so him and I just watched :)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving (previous post), and went to Six Flags the Saturday after. It had been drizzly all day, so the crowds stayed away. It was a bit cold, but otherwise great!

The kids even worked on their secret handshake, which ends in a tight squeeze :)

We ran into the Danielsons while we were there, and Brooke loved having Lily stay late with us.

Lily was also just the motivation Brooke needed to try those huge swings that go 40 stories into the air. Kevin went with them and said they were legit terrifying due to the breeze, haha. They also went on the Harley Quinn ride, but Colby wasn't interested.

He also wasn't interested in The Texas Giant with Kevin and the girls, so him and I rode the antique cars a few times. (Kevin is really trying to convince Colby to try it, but he hasn't succeeded yet.)