Warm Winter Day
Here in Texas it's not unusual to have several warm days throughout the winter. Today, Evie got herself dressed and accessorized, packed her ladybug backpack with some essentials, and grabbed the baseball tee, ball and bat and asked to go to the playground. She hit the ball, climbed the rocks and was happy in her own little world!
Christmas Ferris Wheel
Evie wanted to ride the Ferris wheel at our neighborhood Christmas carnival but insisted Sam ride with her. It was the worlds smallest and slowest Ferris wheel, but they seemed to enjoy it!
Galleria Christmas Tree
One of the only must-do activities on my Christmas bucket-list this year was to take Evie to the galleria to watch the ice skaters and see the big Christmas tree. The last time we were here she was just barely a toddler and next year she'll be in Kinder so we made it a point to check it out on Friday this year while Sam was in school. This was probably the last year she'll be able to play on the playground, too. She played hard on the equipment, then we had lunch at McDonalds and then headed to see the big tree and watch the skaters. She really wanted to skate - sorry, Charlie, not this year!
Student Council Christmas Caroling
As a member of Student Council, Sam has had several opportunities to serve the community this school year. The first big event was to sing Christmas carols and present homemade ornaments to the residents of an assisted living community here in Denton. It also happened to be the facility where his teacher, Ms. Segovia, was a volunteer in college, which made it extra-special.
iPhone pic of the StuCo carolers
After the event, Sam and I went out for breakfast at the IHOP by the university and then stopped by the SCRAP store in downtown Denton. We were maximizing our without-Evie time!
Hoblitzelle
Gram and Pops and the kids and I found a new-to-us park in Plano, not far from their house that not only had a cool playground, but a little path through the forest along a creek for us to hike. It was an awesome find.
The weather was great, Sam skipped rocks in the creek, and Evie tinkled in the woods. What a day!
Donut Walk
Walking to the donut shop on Sunday morning - had to stop for a picture!
Birthday Candy
We spent Evie's actual birthday in downtown Denton, hitting all our favorite spots. We started out at Quakertown Park to play on the playground, then headed to J&Js Pizza for lunch, then Recycled Books & Records for books, and then stopped by Atomic Candy on the way out for a little treat! Pretty good birthday, I'd say!
Quakertown Tree
Sam's getting to be a good tree climber. He's climbed several different trees in Denton, but hadn't yet tried this one at Quakertown Park near downtown. He stayed up there for quite a while and enjoyed the view.
Pancake Chef
Evie got a Shopkins cookbook from Gram and Pops at her birthday party. The very next morning we were making...Donut Pancakes! She was a good little pancake chef, but a better pancake eater.
And of course, when you cook in the kitchen, you have to do the dishes!
Birthday Party!
Evie's fifth birthday get-together was a hit! It was doll-themed, though not intentionally, really. I found instructions on how to make a cute clothespin doll that I had to try as a cake-topper, Evie asked for a dollhouse for her birthday, as well as a toy called an "L.O.L. Doll". So it was dollies galore at our house!
Happy Birthday Evie!
Preschool Thanksgiving Potluck
Evie's sweet preschool hosted an awesome Thanksgiving potluck for the kids and their families. Since Gram came with us on our pumpkin patch field trip, we invited Pops to join us for the potluck meal. The kids performed a couple of songs and then we all ate some home-cooked, Thanksgiving food. Yum!
The Park with the Purple Swing
Took a walk to Evie's favorite park - the "park with the purple swing". She could swing on this thing forever...
Halloween 2017 Trick or Treating
We had a GREAT Halloween again this year. The kids kept going and going and came home with quite the loot. Trick or treating is always a fun time in our neighborhood, especially on our street. Neighbors are out on their porches passing out candy and the sidewalks are packed with little costumed critters!
A quick picture with Don and Joyce, our neighborhood grandparents! So glad they live across the street. We are very lucky to have them as neighbors!
A picture with another neighbor we're lucky to have across the street - Ms. Tina! She loves to spoil the kids with treats, and she has a cool pet duck, Patsy.
Sam and Tyler went around together again this year, this time they were both Harry Potter.
Last house - time to go home! Another successful Halloween in the books!
