Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful time last weekend in Burnet for Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed a traditional dinner with turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings at my grandmother (Nanny's) house. Rex was privileged to sit at the grown-up table.I was very thankful to have both of my grandfathers and my Dad share Thanksgiving with me.
Yummy! Dinner was delicious. Tim and I really enjoyed the whole weekend...lots of food and football (especially the A&M vs. t.u. game). Whoop!
Mara had fun in Nanny's little rocking chair. It's just the right size for her.
Grana loves to read Rex and Mara bedtime stories. Our family is truly blessed, and we have so many reasons to be thankful. Praise God for taking such good care of us!

Locked Out

Mara and I had quite the adventure this afternoon. I went out into the garage to get something, and when I tried to open the door to get back into the house I was horrified to find that the door was locked! Mara had managed to punch the button lock to the garage access door. This doorknob is tough to turn especially when the lock is engaged. Mara tried to open it for me, but was unsuccessful. I then opened the garage, went around to the front door, and tried to get her to open it for me. The front door was deadlocked, but I thought she might be able to turn the deadbolt so that I could get in. I coached her through the door for quite a while on turning the lock, but it was no use. She wasn't able to unlock any of the doors for me. What to do? What to do? My two-year-old has locked me out of my house! I don't even have a cell phone with me to call for help. Luckily, my neighbor was outside loading furniture into his car. I was able to borrow his cell phone to call Tim at work. Tim was then able to call his parents who live only 20 minutes away, and they have an extra key for our house. Thankfully, Tim's dad was able to immediately come to my rescue. Mara was fine through it all. She was happily playing with her toys on the floor of the living room when we finally got the door open. I think she was relieved to have me back inside the house, and she was even more excited to see Grandpa. What a hassle! I've learned my lesson. From now on, I'm keeping a spare key in the garage for just such an emergency.

Our Little Monster

Mara is such a mess! She is really starting to get mischievous. Rex picked these fangs from the "prizes" at Chuck E Cheese last weekend. Mara just had to give them a try too. She gave us all a big laugh with her new grin. She talks all the time now, and we are constantly amazed by the things she says. For example...We were shopping in the toy department at Wal-Mart last week when Mara pointed to a stuffed dog and said, "I see a dalmation." It took me a moment to process what she had said because I would have expected her to say "dog" or "puppy", but to say "dalmation" really took me by surpise. She is also getting a bit cheeky. Sometimes she will walk with tiny baby steps when she knows I want her to come to me quickly...such as when we are going through the front door, and she knows that I am waiting for her to enter so that I can shut the door behind her. She also does this when I want her to go to the changing table for a diaper change (not her favorite activity..nor mine). She walks regular speed until about five feet from the table. Then, she starts with the baby steps just to push my buttons. Where does she get that from? I blame Tim!

Trunk or Treat

Rex and Mara had so much fun at church on Wednesday night. First, they got to wear their costumes to Bible class. Rex dressed up as Jango Fett (he is a bounty hunter from Star Wars). Mara dressed up as Raggedy Ann. After class, we participated in "trunk or treat”. All the children went to the parking lot where adults gave out candy from the trunks of their cars. This was a fun alternative to "trick or treating" in our neighborhood. It was special to be with our church friends. I gave out candy from the back of our van while Tim escorted our kids around the parking lot. There were so many cute costumes! Mara's Raggedy Ann costume was a big hit. I took a picture of her with Ms. Sherry (one of our children's ministers) who was also dressed as Raggedy Ann. I am grateful to Ms. Sherry and Ms. Deneen for organizing this activity because it was a very fun night for everyone!

Mara, my adorable Raggedy Ann doll.

Jango Fett shows off his twin blasters. Rex loved the holster and the blasters that make authentic movie sounds when you pull the triggers.

Mara & Ms. Sherry

Pumpkin Patch

Rex's class finally made it to the pumpkin patch yesterday after it got rained out last week. I'm so glad that it was postponed because the weather was perfect yesterday. Everyone had fun at the farm. We got to feed the animals, play on a giant spider, ride the hay ride, and of course pick a pumpkin. Rex enjoyed all of it, but I think the highlight for him was the school bus ride to and from the farm. While riding the bus on the way to the farm, I heard him say, "This is the best adventure ever!" Rex has a ball on the school bus.
Feeding the goats.
Climbing on the giant spider legs.
Mrs. McClellan's class in the pumpkin patch.