Thanksgiving 2010

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. It was so great being able to spend it with all our family! Since everyone contributed to the big meal it wasn't overwhelming and we actually had time to relax and just enjoy spending time together.

Little Goose and her Dad
You don't have to wonder where she gets her silliness from!

Tyler was happy to color while we cooked...

The feast!

Anna, Carla, & Karen

I didn't take many pictures as I wasn't feeling so great after the meal and tended to just stay on the couch. Hopefully Carla got some good ones and will post them soon! (hint hint) Regardless, it was so good seeing family and hanging out. This Thanksgiving came at a perfect time for our family - reminding us to be thankful for what we have. It also helped me to try and be thankful for our trials and know that they are for our learning and growth. I am especially thankful at this time for the gospel and eternal families, I love my family so much and I am so grateful for the blessing they are in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2010

Halloween was great this year - lots of parties and of course, lots of CANDY!! We let the kids pick out what they wanted to be for Halloween and they did a great job. Natalie wanted to be a cat, no surprise there! And we already had everything for that so it was easy. Nathan still fit in his "Dash" costume from last year and it didn't take much to convince him that he should be Dash again! Even easier!! And thanks to the recent craze with the newest Toy Story movie, Tyler was more than happy to be Buzz Lightyear (Nathan's costume from several years ago). So not only was our costume- hunting easy, it was also super cheap!

Our first big shindig was the Trunk-or-Treat for the Kyle Ward. They let us crash their party and it was fun seeing all our old friends. It was a week before Halloween so the perfect kick-off for all the candy eating!

Trick-or-Treat!

Our ward's Trunk-or-Treat was the next week, the night before Halloween, and I must say that it didn't compare to Kyle's when it came to all the fun kid games that Kyle had. But the kids still had a blast going to all the trunks for candy! And the best part was that it started earlier so Dan got to come for the first part (the wonderful chili cook-off!!) before he had to go to work.

Tyler really got the hang of going to each car and saying "Trick-or-treat!" then saying "Thank you" until they said "You're welcome" - it was so cute!

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year we had a big family dinner and Surprise party for Dan's mom, Carla, at their house. The kids got to go on a scavenger hunt for clues to where the treats were hidden - they loved it!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Fun with Natalie!

I've finally downloaded all the pictures from our big and small cameras so I can share them! Here's some fun pics I found of Natalie-

Natalie's school had a Science Carnival with stations set up for all the kids to learn about different science principles - this one was about making bubbles (messy!!)
What rolls? What scoots?

Nathan & Tyler were just as excited about the popcorn being sold

Natalie with her 1st grade teacher, Ms. P - can you tell how much she loves her teacher? :)

Showing off her terarium she made at a b-day party

Dressing up! Goofy girl!!!

Stylin' girl!

A favorite activity at our house - tickle fights!

My silly, fun family - how I love them!

Fun at the Beach!

We enjoyed the last weekend of September at the beach in Corpus Christi. It was our only chance to go before Dan started working the weekend shift and it worked out perfectly - Fall arrived the day after we got back with our first cold front!

We stayed right on the beach (literally spittin' distance to the ocean!) and spent all day going back and forth from the pool to the beach since it was so close. We were there for only 3 days but we enjoyed every minute of it - relaxing on our hotel balcony on the 7th floor, watching the sun come up each morning, catching the rays, building sand castles, and lots of swimming! Oh and don't forget all the eating! Pretty much everything that is usually on the "no" list was our diet that weekend - chili dogs, chips, soda, donuts, pizza, ice-cream, candy, bbq, and more! Good thing it was only for 3 days!! haha

I took tons of pictures so here's the best in the most condensed form I could make it...

Time to relax!

Our kids are fish in water :)

Playing in the sand is pretty fun too!

Fun in the sun!

The USS Lexington - right next to the hotel we stayed at!

It was so good to get away for a weekend and enjoy time together as a family. We've been so busy with the move and getting settled into our new life here in Texas - and this beach trip was the perfect cure! I'm missing it already and can't wait to do it again in the Spring!!