Walnut Church Halloween Party

After we got back from Dallas, I took Ashton and Jordan to the Halloween party at Walnut Church. Jordan's preschool is at this church, and they put on a GREAT Halloween party, complete with dinner, trunk-or-treat, a hay ride, a train, face painting and games. We really had a lot of fun. This year, I really let the girls come up with and put together their own costumes, and they looked really cute. Ashton went as a hula girl and Jordan as a cow girl. Regan is going to be a leopard but she was too tired to go to this party, so watch for upcoming pictures of her.

Day Trippin' in Dallas

On Saturday, Tod and I got to spend the day in Dallas. It was so much fun and such a treat to be away with no kids!!! It was really the first time we have left Regan for an extended length of time. The young girls (age 12-18) in our church congregation were doing a 10 hour service project...so we were able to drop our girls off at 7:00 in the morning at one of the leader's homes and pick them up again at 5:00 pm! And it was free!!! They served the girls breakfast, lunch and snack and had a whole bunch of great activities for them to do. Meanwhile, Tod and I headed to Dallas (about 3 hours away). Our first stop was at the Dallas Temple where we were able to actually attend together! The flowers were beautiful and in full bloom- amazing for the last week of October. We then went to see the Dallas Cowboys practice facility and then ate at a little sandwich deli (sat outside!) before heading home. It was such a great day. It was wonderful to be together and remember what it was like to hang out with a best friend without kids screaming and talking and clamoring around, and all the stress of everyday life. It's good to be reminded of how amazing your spouse really is and what it is that brought us together in the first place! We definitely need to do this again!

Rope Swing and Corn crib

As promised, here are the pictures of the attractions that were new to me at the pumpkin patch. First off, was the rope swing. Now, I've seen rope swings before but never one where you climb up and then swing from hay bale to hay bale. Of course, Tod dared me to try and since I can never pass on a dare, I just couldn't resist. After watching the girl in front of me totally lose her grip and face plant on the ground, I was a little bit nervous. Luckily, I was able to hang on for dear life and make it across to the next bale. Then I had to try it a few more times to try to perfect it!

The other attraction was by far the biggest hit for Ashton and Jordan (and Tod, too). It was a real, authentic corn crib- where they store the corn after it is harvested. Anyway, the kids loved taking off their shoes and jumping into the corn kernels. They would have stayed for hours if we would have let them. As you can see, Regan didn't really appreciate it. The pictures have a strange tint because the lighting in the corn crib wasn't the best.

Pumpkin Patch Time!

It's that time of year again, and even though the weather is warm and we are in Texas, I was convinced that our pumpkin patch tradition would live on!! So I found a pumpkin patch in Fulton, Arkansas and we headed out. It was really great being in shorts and t-shirts instead of coats (slightly strange, but something I could get used to)...and the girls had a good time on the wagon ride and in the corn maze. Since we've spent the last few years in Iowa, we have been to several different pumpking patches, but this one had 2 attractions I have never seen before. Stay tuned for those pictures.....

Cheerleading Country

Yes, folks, we are officially in cheerleading country- where they start 'em young and train them to be the best. Yesterday was the annual Pleasant Grove Hawks cheerleading clinic at the local high school. All the little girls from the elementary school go to the clinic and then they perform at a pep ralley and a football game. Ashton had a lot of fun, and we are always proud of her for trying new things especially since she doesn't know a lot of the kids from the area. These pictures were taken at the pep ralley- the football game is next weekend.

Race for the Cure

Yesterday morning was Race for the Cure in downtown Texarkana. It is a 5K race to benefit breast cancer, and it was such a neat event! The weather was perfect- around 70 degrees- and the environment was energizing and inspiring. All survivors of breast cancer wore pink t-shirts and it was an honor for me to participate in an event with these amazing people. I was happy because I ran the race in 26 minutes and 30 seconds, a couple of minutes faster than a few weeks ago. I did feel like a might throw up after I crossed the finish line, but I was able to recover! This picture isn't the best as it was taken after the race, but at least I will remember the experience.

Caldwell Zoo

Last Monday, we went down to Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas. It was a beautiful zoo and so clean and nice - I'm always impressed by a clean zoo! The animals were all in natural habitats and were very active, so the kids were really loving it. We went with the Cook family- some wonderful friends we have met since moving to Texas. Our husbands work together and our kids are all about the same age, so it's a great match! It was a fun day.

More Fun at the Duck Derby

I wanted to add a few more pictures of us at the duck derby last weekend. After the race, there were a whole bunch of children's activities and the girls had a really good time. There were miniature ponies to ride and brush, a rabbit pen, a train, and a face painting booth. Regan's favorite thing was the bounce house, and she went right in and crawled around with the big kids.

The Duck Derby 5K

On Saturday, I ran my very first real 5 K race! For some reason, this was something that made me really nervous (as you can see in the picture where I have my hands clasped together before the race started). I have been running for a while, but actually doing a race was something new, something I've always wanted to do. Tod found out about this annual event and convinced me to try it. It turned out to be a really good experience for me. It was really hard because it was about 90 degrees, very humid, and windy...but I had only two goals going into it...one, finish in under 30 minutes and two, run the entire way. I did both, so I considered it a success! Towards the end, I almost wanted to stop and walk, but then I saw my little girls cheering me on and Tod was barking at me to speed up to make my time goal, so I dug deep and kept on going. The race was held at Wright Patman dam and it is actually a fundrasier for the local hospital. The main event is when they dump 15,000 rubber ducks out of a dumpster (using a crane) into the spillway and then "race" the ducks. First prize was a new car...no, we didn't win, but it was still a good day!

The Cousins!

Last weekend, the Harris family stopped here in Texarkana on their way up to St. Louis. It was so fun to see them and we had such a great visit with them. Kyle is one of Pat's sons which makes us step-siblings. The word "step" has such a negative connotation, but in our case, it has become such a neat thing! His wife Emily is an amazing person and they have two adorable kiddos- Jaden who is 7 and Ty who is 3. Anyway, the girls had an absolute blast with their cousins...Polly Pocket villages, tractor rides and a huge slumber party that lasted until past midnight! It was so good for us to see some familiar faces! The next morning, the Harrises took off pretty early and Jordan woke up later crying, "Where did the cousins go?" We hope to see them again soon. Thanks for stopping by guys!

Happy October!

It's a wonderful time of year and even though it is still hot in Texas, we are enjoying getting into the fall spirit. Over the weekend a package arrived for each of the girls and inside, they found these fabulous Halloween shirts! Thanks, Grandma Cindy! The girls couldn't wait to wear their shirts, so yesterday they wore them to school. Even Regan was tickled by hers and kept pointing to the little spider and laughing.