The Oil Ranch

Last Saturday the weather was fabulous! And you can't pass up fabulous weather days, so we decided to take a little trip to the Oil Ranch. We all had a fun time on the ranch. They have lots of different activities and we spent the bulk of the day there. We packed a picnic lunch and just enjoyed being outside and seeing all the animals.

The ranch was decorated for Fall:

Rachel surprised us all by showing us that she's mastered pumping. Any parent knows what a fabulous day this is! I had just taken her to the park recently and she was still having me push her. Who knows how long she's hidden this ability of hers...

There were pony rides. It took a bit of convincing to get Rachel to go. But once she went for a ride, she loved it...

Audrey not sure what to think at first, but she enjoyed it:

Farmers Rachel and Andy:
Having fun walking through a haystack maze:

Audrey checking out the rooster. The girls got a kick out of all his cock-a-doodle-doing...

Going on a hayride:
We fed some cows on our hayride (yes, that's the cow's tongue!):
A Texas Longhorn:
Audrey in the barn:
Having some fun:
Rachel figured it out:
Playing in the hay:
Petting a pony:

Rachel milking a cow... She was terrified to do this. But once she did it, she thought it was the coolest thing. We even went back a second time. And let me tell you, she was one calm cow to let all these kids milk her.

A fun train ride:
Miniature golfing:
The petting zoo:
Audrey loving her shoulder ride:

One more pony ride... And Rachel was so proud of herself because Dad didn't have to walk alongside her this time.

A snow cone mess (the picture doesn't do it justice):

We enjoyed our day at Oil Ranch. As we were leaving Rachel informed us that we needed to come back every day Daddy doesn't have to work. So it was definitely a hit! :)

Super Heroes

Rachel is surrounded by boys here - boys outnumber the girls at church and school. I was a bit worried moving back here, since it was the opposite in Holland. But Rachel has done just fine. One of her favorite boy friends is Jace, which definitely thrills the moms! :) Well, after Rachel got to see all the super heroes that her various boy friends were on Halloween she told me she wanted a batman costume. I informed her that was a boy costume. So, she told me we could look for a bat girl costume. Too smart! Where does she get this stuff from??? So, the Monday after Halloween we headed out to check out the clearance racks. We did find a bat girl costume, but 2 out of the 3 pieces were no where to be found. However, we did find a super woman costume and Rachel was thrilled. I'm such a sucker! I think Andy may have rolled his eyes at me that evening when he got home from work. Needless to say, Rachel's loving the costume to play dress-up in. The other day Jace came over to play and brought his batman costume. So, they had a blast playing "super hero squad" in the backyard.

(Don't you love the pink tights underneath?)

October Adventures

October was full of traveling and Halloween fun. We did squeeze in some good, old-fashioned fun as well. So, here are a few of the highlights.

The girls have graduated from being obsessed with their daddy's closet. Now, it's the jetted bathtub. They love to play picnic with all my oils, salts, and bubble bath containers. And then after a picnic, of course they have to take a nap:

We had some pretty warm days in the beginning of October. So, one afternoon I put out a hose sprinkler and the girls had fun...

Even though it was in the mid-80s, it did get a bit chilly for them once they were wet since our backyard is quite shaded in the afternoon. So, here they are warming up:

Getting some sun:
Pretending to be asleep - love Audrey's grin!

We also made it to the Children's Museum early in October. And this time I finally caved and let the girls paint their faces. Audrey insisted on doing her own:

Rachel loved it so much that she insisted on not washing hers off until bath time. So, when we had to run an errand to Target we got a few double takes, but Rachel didn't seem to mind.

Audrey pretending to shave her legs one morning - this girl keeps it real! :)

After church on Halloween we went for a walk at a nearby park. The girls loved seeing all the turtles as we crossed the bridge. The girls:

The parents (courtesy of Rachel):
Audrey being a goof:
Having fun playing frisbee:
October definitely flew by!

Halloween Fun

We had several days of pure Halloween fun. I will have to admit that once it was over, I was a bit relieved... :) But the important thing is that everyone had fun. The Thursday before Halloween I got to help out with Rachel's class party. So, me and four other moms (wahoo - lots of help)! went in and put on a little party for the kids. Hopefully it's the first of many more opportunities to help out in Rachel's classroom. It was fun to spend some time in Rachel's classroom and meet the kids that she plays and learns with. I was a bit nervous about sending Rachel to school with her costume on for 5 hours. But it worked out and nothing got spilled or ruined...

I had to laugh when Rachel sat down at a table full of boys:

Look at that concentration - making her own candy necklace:
Rachel so proud of her mask and necklace:
Ready for a story:

Friday morning we headed to the Children's Museum. Children could come in their costumes, go trick or treating, and do various other Halloween activities. Just a side note, I was surprised at how many people knew the girls were Dutch girls. Maybe I'm out of the loop, but 3 years ago I probably wouldn't have known what a little Dutch girl would look like in traditional dress. Only one person got it wrong and she thought they were pilgrims, which isn't too far off since the pilgrims came from Holland. Anyhow, the girls had fun gathering their treats. They also enjoyed an art project...

And frosting and decorating sugar cookies:
All dressed up outside the museum:

Friday afternoon my friend Karla put together a Halloween party and invited us. So, the fun continued...

Tongue out - we're working hard!

My girls are totally obsessed with babies right now. Here's Audrey with Baby Jake:

Rachel with Baby Weston:
Most of the gang:

Friday night we carved pumpkins. Well, Andy and I carved pumpkins while the girls played in the backyard. Halfway through carving we asked each other exactly why we were carving pumpkins... But it was fun for Andy and I and the girls were quite impressed with the finished jack-o-lanterns. We waited until Friday because here in hot, humid Texas jack-o-lanterns don't last too long. Mold takes over and they cave pretty quickly. Plus, it had been a super busy week for Andy.

The girls not too sure about the pumpkin guts:
One touch and she was done!
Lots of fun!
Audrey's pumpkin - nice and simple - I'm not too creative:
Rachel's pumpkin - a bit more creative:
On Saturday I had to make sure I grabbed a picture of the girls in their Halloween shirts:

Saturday night we headed to our church carnival and trunk-or-treat. The girls all dressed up with their wooden shoes (just for pictures!):

Audrey loving her black cat bag full of candy:

Andy probably only took the girls around to about 1/3 of the cars. They had enough candy and Rachel was so happy to help pass out candy the rest of the time.

Rachel with her friend Kasiana:

On Halloween I decided, being motivated by a high school friend who always makes the holidays so special for her kids, to make a fun dinner. So, we had mummy hot dogs, carrot fingers, and ghost bananas. And I'll have to admit, I'm a fan of the mummy hot dogs. :) The girls had fun that evening passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. And they didn't even mention wanting to go out themselves. We had enough candy anyways! We got a fair amount of trick-or-treaters this year, probably around 25. In years past we've had like 5... Anyhow, here are the girls Halloween evening dressed in their cute pajamas:

Halloween was lots of fun this year. Busy, busy, busy, but fun. The girls enjoyed their Dutch outfits and they are still enjoying their candy! :)