Trunk or Treat or Tricking

I'm WAY behind in posting, so this will be quick.  On Wednesday, October 30th, we had a Trunk or Treat at church.  My friend Shanna and I had a Wizard of Oz theme and went all out.  I got the basic idea from Pinterest, but had to improvise when the weather didn't cooperate.  It was about 85 degrees that day and raining.  My mom made me a blue gingham dress and I was Dorothy and Shanna was the Scare Crow.  We had at least 800 people there that night - it was crazy!  Hopefully next year we can do it outside and spread out a little. 

Here's my Woody.  He was not happy about wearing his costume that his Mimi made, but he didn't have a choice.  For several weeks, we've been talking up Woody but he was determined that he wasn't going to wear that outfit.  

Here's Woody and Ace (Jack Thomas). 

Eat your heart out Pinterest! 

We didn't have a game, so our "attraction" was walking on the yellow brick road to get candy.  It worked out pretty good. 

The boys weren't going to dress up, so I made them signs.  LOL. 

Jason, Shanna and Brayden Hill - sweet friends of ours! 

Here's our friends kids: 

I'm not sure how many tootsie rolls he ate...with the wrapper on. 

This is Brandt and Tori Harrison - he and J are a month apart.  We couldn't believe they were Buzz and Woody, but of course my child wouldn't cooperate.  There was too much going on that night.  But it was still cute.

The next morning was Halloween, and I wasn't going to start a fight by making him wear the Woody shirt, so we went with overalls instead.  He was still a cute Cowboy. 

I went to the party at school and they enjoyed cookies, cheetos, and juice boxes.  The candy that we got from the class was more than he got trick-or-treating. 

That night, we went around the corner to Jeff and Mandy's to trick-or-treat with Jack Thomas.  We did that last year and it's a fun new tradition to let the boys do that together.  

Here they are begging for candy. 

As shy as Jackson is sometimes, he didn't mind going up to someone's door with Jack and saying "trick-or-treat".  

Can't believe how much they've grown in a year! 

Despite all of the worldly background, Halloween is a favorite holiday of mine.  The weather is usually nice and it's fun to see the kids dress up.  Who knows what he'll be next year, but I'm sure he'll have more of an opinion.

Happy Birthday to Me!

When one is in the middle of a debt snowball, there's not much room for birthday presents, but Brent surprised me with a cake at a Lifegroup party back in October, so that was a nice surprise.

Love these girls very much!

My little scarecrow. 

I don't guess 34ish will be too bad after all. 

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Well, another fall is upon us.  I can't believe this is his third fall/Halloween, although this one may be the most interesting because he is not interested in dressing up.  

I can't believe that we have a blonde-headed child.  

This past weekend, we went to the pumpkin patch with some friends.  The weather was perfect - not too hot and not too cold.  He's still really shy around some people, but he was excited to get to run around.  

Walking the hay maze with daddy.  

We went to Hicks Family Farm and they had a new little barn built to show off the animals.  There was a cow, goats, horses, chickens, and of course pigs.  He stayed at arms length from all of the animals, but was amazed at seeing them in person.  

Here's all of our friends that were there:  Eli, Jake, Avery, and big Jake.  And yes my child is crying because I put him up there and he didn't want to be.  But he was fine.  

It is nigh-near impossible to get a good family picture these days.  But here we are on the hay ride. 

Wow - that's a big punkin! 

Probably the best one from the day.  He was excited about holding this little pumpkin. 

Another family fun outing!  I love my boys. 

This week is super busy at work, plus all of the extra curricular activities at church.  It looks like Trick-or-Treating this year will be rained out, but honestly that's fine with me.  We'll do all of our candy collecting the night before at Trunk or Treat.  Jackson is supposed to be Woody from Toy Story, but he may end up being a farmer.  Just depends on what he feels like wearing and if I feel like making him wear it.  

Case in point....

Ah the joys of being two! 

A Month's Worth of Updates

If you couldn't tell by my lack of posts, this past month has been super busy.  It's been a lot of fun though, so hopefully these pictures will provide a brief snapshot of what we've been up to. 

I got my hair did - it's always changing, but really I couldn't afford being a true blonde.  I added some natural color low lights back in my hair to help stretch out the coloring.  I really like it and it helps with the budget too! 

A few weekends ago, we went to Bryant to celebrate my dad's birthday with him, Mimi, Sar-Sar and Uncle Josh.  Of course we had to wear our Razorback gear because we're fans, but sadly were disappointed.  (It was the A&M game I believe).  Jackson loves going to Mimi's house and playing with his Aunt Sarah (he's always called her Sar-Sar).  Mimi was reading him the Pout Pout fish book and he can just about read Brown Bear himself.   

Of course, we have to brush our teeth.  Because if we don't, then Sar-Sar will get on to us.  He goes back to his second dental appointment next month.  He's gotten pretty good at brushing.  

The first weekend in October, Brent and my dad went on a pheasant hunting trip to South Dakota.  This was Brent's first time going on a hunt like this and he did really well and had a good time.  He had me laughing so hard at the stories he told.  I'm glad he's having fun with it, but I'm also glad he's not obsessed with hunting and turning me into a deer widow.  

Most of the gentlemen on this hunt were my dad's friends from McGehee.  I think he got a little taste of what a Honduras trip would be like, without the cots of course.  

My dad was THRILLED for him to go.  Obviously with having two girls, he never really had a true hunting buddy, so I'm glad that Brent and now Jackson can do that with him.  Cause I ain't interested in the least little bit.  ha! And I also have to mention that Brent didn't have someone to take him hunting as a kid, so having this experience now is also special to him.  God sure did know what he was doing when he put us together.  

At on the homefront, we had to keep up with the latest news on our iPads.  And yes, he knows how to work it.  Probably more than Mimi does.  ha!  

There is just something about being at Mimi's house.  The food tastes better than Mommy's.  I won't deny that it does.   

We came back home and stopped by Home Depot to pick up some mums and pumpkins.  The Cabot fire truck was there for a kids event, so he wanted to see it.  He loves seeing any kind of big truck and hearing the sirens.  Typical boy.   

Finally got my pumpkins and mums.  Hopefully they will last a while.   

My secret sis brought this really beautiful red one.   

The next morning, we got dressed for church and then wanted to have pictures made with Mr. Scarecrow.  He didn't want to wear the cute outfit I had picked out, but mama has veto power and used it.  

Giving Mimi a kiss.   

My handsome two-year-old.  Can't believe how big he looks.  (And yes he has blonde hair).  

Last week, I got his school pictures back.  I was not happy with them, but of course I had to purchase a few just for keepsakes.  He needed a haircut really bad and they combed his hair funny, but at least he's smiling good.  What a difference a year makes! 

He loves to drag out every toy we have and play with all of them.  There is no discrimination in cool toys and Sonic toys - he loves them all. 

We ride in "Mommy's car" every morning and he loves to watch Monsters, Inc.  It's become a mild obsession honestly, but it's still cute.  For some reason this morning he wasn't happy, and just looked wore out.  Bless his heart.  Commuting is hard, ya'll! 

Last weekend was Cabotfest. Brent has really never been a fan, but we went last year and it was kind fun, so we wanted to go back this year.  Except it was hot and humid, and we all needed baths after we got home.  Not sure it was worth it for the corn dog and Kona Ice.  Jackson is in this really shy phase right now, so any strangers or even friends of ours who talk to him make him try to hide behind me.  So because of that, he wasn't interested in jumping in the bouncy houses.   

What can I say - this boy loves fire trucks! 

My sweet boy.  I just look at him and can't believe he's mine.  He is truly God's blessing on our lives.