Halloween 2012

This year we changed things up a little from our normal Halloween festivities. In the past we've always had a group of friends over to our house for a Halloween party followed by trick or treating. We noticed last year though that fewer and fewer homes on our streets were passing out candy. So, we decided to hang out with our new friends from Luke's school this year. 

We went to Noah & Sadie's house this time. They are the Soldier and the Hello Kitty in the picture above. They had dinner and trick or treating plus it was early enough to have the kids out,  trick or treated, and finished all before bedtime :)

Brady & Meg!

Mom & my two big boys!

Owen decided at the last minute that he didn't like his costume. As soon as we got it on he kept saying 

" I Stuck!" " I Stuck!". I am translating that as, "this is very uncomfortable mom!" So, Daddy & Owen stayed home while we hung out with our friends and stocked up on candy :)

Trick or Treat!!!!

Some of the kids in our bunch.

Luke & Noah

The Moms!

It was a great night! Brady & Luke are really at the age now where they look forward to Halloween which makes it so much fun for me as well. I think of these as the "good old days" that I will look back on and cherish forever.

Field Trip!

Brady's PreK-4 class took a field trip today to the Fire Station! 

The children listened closely as the Fireman showed them all his tools for fighting fires. He also went over fire safety tips which they had many questions about.

They even had a chance to walk through the fire truck and see everything up close!

Here is Brady's class with the Firemen who did the tour for them.

Mom, Brady & the Firemen. Such a fun day!

My little cutie!

Go Bears!

This year our Baylor Bears have not played as well as we would like :(

We are hoping their defense will step it up before next season so we can win some games and get back to the Bears we know and love! (we love them regardless, but you know what I mean)

No matter if they are winning or losing, Baylor games are always a big deal at our house. For sure everyone gets their Baylor shirts on and usually Daddy gets out his smoker and makes brisket or ribs so we can enjoy some great meat during the game. It's even gotten to the point where if the Bears are on and the boys are invited to go to some one's house or something they pick to stay home. I know that makes Caleb happy! He always has at least 4 people who will cheer loud with him!

Sic 'Em Bears!

Playoff Bound!

Oiler Black won this week to have a chance to play in the playoffs! It was such an intense game I didn't even have a chance to take any pictures! I used these pictures which I never posted from last week. These are two of my favorites so far.

Touchdown Luke Allen!

Luke plays so hard every time he gets on that field. He HATES to lose and he does everything in his power to not let that happen. I like watching sports in general, but there is nothing in the world better than cheering on your little guy who plays like Luke plays. It makes me so proud! 

The game he played this week which put them in the playoffs was down to the wire. In the final seconds of the game the Cowboys had the ball right at the goal and Luke played amazing defense and stopped them. It was awesome. Not to mention he scored 3 touchdowns in the game as well! The rest of the team also played great. Even Luke said when he got in the car that he was so proud of his team today. 

Everyone played to win!

The best part about that win is that now EE & Nonah will get to come to Luke's game! They will be in town this weekend so they can see him in action! Go #10!

Fall on the Farm

Today Brady's class had their turn at Fall on the Farm. I decided to attend Brady's class and just let Owen tag along since he doesn't have school today. Owen's class will go together tomorrow.

Sweet little baby goat :)

Owen loved the petting zoo, while Brady could pass on the petting zoo...

Owen and this little goat made friends right off the bat.

Brother pony ride!

 
Brady's turn!

Brady's favorite part was the vegetable harvest. He couldn't wait for this part.

Oh look!!!

Owen did a good job harvesting as well.

Barrel Train rides are a must at every Fall on the Farm. Right?!

Brady's class! PreK-4

Saturday= Game Day

 It's football season around here and we are staying pretty busy! Luke's team practices twice a week and has a game on Saturdays. 

Between the Pearland Oilers, Oiler Black, Baylor Bears, & Houston Texans it's all football all of the time :)

Luke's team played one of his classmate's team this week which was a lot of fun! The Cowboys won, but it was a great game and the boys were still friends after the game ;)

Devan & Luke

My favorite quarterback!

I am always so proud of Luke at his games (i know most moms are), but he really plays hard and gives 100%. I love that about him. He doesn't take his games lightly. It is very important to him to do his best and win. This is their second time to loose this season which I believe has been good for Luke. It's just as important to learn how to be a good loser as it is to be a good winner. Sometimes that's a really hard thing to learn though...

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken last weekend with the very talented Ginny Henderson. She is so much fun to work with and takes great pictures. Ginny is also an inspiration to me of a Godly wife & mom- I just love being with her. (not to mention the fact that she is a Baylor Bear)

She got some great pictures of the boys and of our family. I didn't post the one we picked to use for our Christmas card yet....that will come later ;)

Luke- 6 years old

Brady- 4 years old

Owen- 2 years old

Aren't they cute! I'm such a lucky mom.

A few family pictures...minus our little Griffin

Boys being boys!

Thanks Ginny! We love our pictures!

A Camping We Will Go!

This weekend we took a camping trip with a couple other families from church. 

We went to Jellystone Park in Waller, TX. It was a great time and we will definitely be back!

Our family in front of our cabin. Owen stayed with us the first night. We had to drive home for Luke's football game on Saturday, so Owen stayed with Grammy & Papaw for the second night. 

He enjoyed his first camping trip!

When we got back to the park after the game, Daddy, Luke, & Brady hit the water slides for some action!

Caleb and Dan racing down. They continued this almost the whole afternoon on Saturday. Fun Fun Fun!

Saturday afternoon a cold front blew in which made it perfect camping weather.

Headed to the costume contest. Oops...the Allens forgot our costumes :(

(The McGinns were with us on the camping trip too, but had to leave before this picture was taken.)

Watching the costume contest. 

Note to mom: DO NOT forget their costumes at home next year...

Making s'mores in the cold!

Early morning snuggles in the cold before we left. 

What a fun camping trip!

The Oilers Win It Again!

After the Oilers lost their last game they were hungry for a victory. They came to win this week!

Pre-game huttle to pump the players up.

Luke running for a touchdown.

Playing some defense!

Oilers win 33-18! Good game boys!

Brady is always so proud of Luke. So sweet!

Luke with Coach Allen

Conversations

I have been really thinking a lot lately about the conversations I have with my boys. To frequently I am guilty of nodding my head and hearing them talk, but not really listening. Until recently... I am realizing that the conversation they want to have with my are very important to them. These are the things on their minds that they want me to know about and I need to take the time to stop what I am doing and really listen.

Luke wants to tell me who he played with at recess. What plays he made in football practice. How he got that scratch on his cheek. What cool moves the red ninja on Ninjago makes. He wants me to know that he was noticed today in class for his good behavior and that he didn't talk at lunch when he wasn't supposed to. Do I think his tooth is loose?

Brady wants to ask me why did I take my fingernail polish off? Why don't I put some more on? He wants me to know that he likes it when I pack him gummy snacks in his lunch. He played basketball at recess today with Gavin. What letter does Daddy's name start with? And what letter does my names start with? How did Robert Griffin get that 2nd name (his nickname)? What is a redskin? Why are Indians sometimes called redskins? He wants me to know why he doesn't like to watch Dora the Explorer anymore. It's to much of a baby show and he is not a baby. He likes big kid shows now so please don't turn that on for him.

Owen wants to show me his trucks. He wants me to read to him and quiz him over the pictures on the pages. He would love for me to stop and watch this new cool trick he can do. Sometimes he just wants me to "hold you". Or show me how "I do it by myself". He wants me to listen to how good he is at making his animal sounds and how scary his tiger sound is.

Those are the things in my kids every day life and they are a big deal. Just like I need my friends to listen to the things I find important- they need that as well. So, I am gonna do my best to take the time to really stop and listen.

Pumpkin Patch 2012

We couldn't wait any longer. The day we saw the Pumpkin Patch was open we were ready to go!

 The weather was perfect and the last costume we were waiting on came in the mail on Saturday! 

We were out the door as soon as Luke got home from school.

The boys have hit the age were they don't want me planning their costumes for them anymore. I was able to sway them into getting all of the "Justice League" characters since they wanted to be superheros anyway. They agreed on Superman, Batman, & Flash. 

Brady takes his costume VERY serious as you can see...

They ran around the pumpkins for a little while then hopped on the tractor for a test drive and quick picture.

Everyone picked their pumpkin and we were headed back home from another great time at the pumpkin patch!

Here's what we ended up with...

Tall in back: Daddy

Left of Daddy with a little green: Mommy

Long Stem in the Middle: Brady

To the right of Brady: Luke

Bottom Left: Griffin

Bottom Right: Owen