What we did this Fall

Since the boys birthday we have been busy with the ordinary and not so ordinary.

The boys played soccer for the Fire Dragons and Jaime coached. They took tennis lessons and started going to gymnastics again. We attended the Plano Balloon Festival, we hung out around the house, carved pumpkins, went to the Dallas Symphony, explored the Dallas zoo with friends, and went to carnivals and festivals. My dad visited in October and we got to go to the Texas State Fair twice as well as many other entertaining things. My cousin Kim and aunt Janice arrived in November and we all had tons of fun together being tourists in Dallas. We enjoyed an Uptown food tour, the Dallas Arboretum and Chihuly exhibit, the Sixth Floor Museum, the Gaylord Texan Hotel, the city of Grapevine, and the Historic District. We hung out at home, made Indian headdresses, ate, drank, and played.

Once again, here is a video catch up:

The Month of Pumpkins!!

October was a busy month and full of fall fun and pumpkins as can be expected.

We enjoyed some welcome rain, spent time with family, visited a few pumpkin patches, enjoyed a Halloween concert at the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center, spent a day with friends at the Dallas Arboretum, played at home, carved pumpkins, went to the farmers market, celebrated fire safety month, attended a workshop at the Dallas Museum of Art, celebrated my 40th birthday, attended a community festival, enjoyed cooler weather, and, of course, went trick-or-treating. So, as has become usual, here is a recap of our October - hope you enjoy!!

Ft. Worth Alliance Air Show

Whenever we have the chance, and our schedule allows, we like to attend the Ft. Worth Alliance Air Show. We were able to attend the show a couple years ago, and wanted to head back again this year. It was neat to see how much more the boys enjoyed it now that they are a little older (and we brought along proper ear protection). It's technically a "free" event, except that you have to pay for parking and any refreshments you want on-site. I think it's a wonderful way to spend the day with my family, and I think we are already planning to attend next year.

The State Fair of Texas!!

We lucked out and got to attend the State Fair of Texas with some of our family this year. The Fair is a totally different experience when visiting with young people, but it's still one of my favorites.

This year was the 125th anniversary the Texas State Fair, and it seems to get better and more expensive every time we attend. Despite having to take out a second mortgage to pay for everything, we still managed to have loads of fun, stay up too late, see KC & the Sunshine Band, and eat plenty State Fair food. The boys LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it.

September

A look back at our September........

Highland Village Balloon Festival

So, there was this small balloon festival that we weren't sure we wanted to go to. The thought of waking up the boys on purpose didn't sound especially appealing for a Saturday morning. So we told the boys that, if they happened to wake up early, we would go and see some hot air balloons.....

Little did I realize that Alex would wake up at 2:00 in the morning asking to sleep with me so that he wouldn't miss the balloons!! Then it was Connor's turn. He work up sometime between 2:00 and 6:00am concerned about the same thing. I told them I would set my alarm and make sure everyone was awake.

6:00 in the morning came much too quickly for my taste and I remained unconvinced that waking my sleeping children was a good idea. I decided that I would sneak into their room and whisper that anyone who wanted to see balloons needed to wake up. Alex immediately hopped out of bed and ran down the hallway with Connor not far behind. And so it was decided that we would attend the Highland Village Balloon Festival.

We dressed and grabbed a few bananas and headed out. When we arrived, we found a good spot for our picnic blanket and then enjoyed a pancake and burrito breakfast while watching the balloons. After they all took off, it was time to play with our free Smoky Bear Frisbees for a bit before checking out the car "show" and then some of the vendors. Once it started to get too hot and there wasn't much going on, we headed toward the house stopping along the way for some homemade ice cream, lunch, and a little shopping.

It turned out to be a great Saturday morning and everyone even took an afternoon nap!! Guess that's the bonus of waking your kids up before the sun.