Turkey Trot

Avery is in a red shirt and jeans, right in front of the Mom in orange.

 The week before Thanksgiving break, Avery's school had a Turkey Trot for all the students.  First grade ran just before 9:00 and the morning was pretty chilly, so I was glad that Jan came over to stay with Kendall and Judson while I went and watched Avery run.  As we watched the two groups- boys and girls- getting ready for the race, another Mom and I were commenting on how it was a perfect example of gender differences.  There was a general hum coming from the group of boys and you could just feel the testosterone flowing as they stretched and jumped and flexed their muscles in preparation for the 1/2 mile run.  The girls, however, were mostly still and quiet until some of the teachers began leading them in cheers to help them get pumped up for the race.  Avery started off really well and about halfway through the race, she was in the top 10 first grade girls.  But then she started losing a little steam and slipped back a bit, although she still finished well in the top half.  I was proud of her for giving it a good effort.  Way to trot Avery!

The teachers and Moms that were helping tried to get the girls pumped up for the race with some cheers.

almost halfway!

on the last leg of the race

having some cold water after the race and watching the boys run

Southside campout

 Every year our church has a camp out at Mineral Wells State Park one weekend in October.  This was the second time in a row that we all went out for the day and then Scott and the girls camped there overnight.  Every year so far has been pretty much the same- the adults talk, play volleyball, horseshoes, frisbee, etc while the kids (the little ones at least), play in the dirt and in the tents, and maybe with whatever bike, scooter, ball, etc that someone has brought.  This year was no different.  Avery and Kendall and a bunch of the other little kids spent a good part of the day making mud pies and playing in the extra tent that we brought for that exact purpose.  Judson also played in the dirt a little, but spent a good deal of his time throwing and chasing any ball he could get his hands on. After a long day of playing, a yummy spaghetti dinner, and s'mores around the fire, Judson and I headed back to Ft Worth.  Soon after, Scott and the girls bedded down for the night in the tent. The girls slept right through a wicked thunderstorm that nearly blew down the tent, but Scott did not fare as well and was awake for an hour or two in the middle of the night.  After breakfast and a church service overlooking the lake, they headed back to town and met up with Judson and I for some lunch.  It was a fun time for our family and it will be neat to see what memories the kids have of the yearly Southside camp out one day.

Judson spent a lot of time digging in the dirt

He also spent a lot of time getting on and off this scooter, which I still have no idea who it belonged to

raiding the backpack outside our tent after he woke up from his nap

Avery was one of the oldest of the "little kids", and was a ring-leader of the mud pie making

According to Kendall, a bat works just as good as a shovel for digging in the dirt

hands work pretty good too

one of Avery's mud pie masterpieces

Two Princesses and a Dog (not a frog)

The girls both chose princess-type costumes this year for Halloween, so I thought it would be cute for Judson to be a frog.  But I never did find a cute frog costume, so instead we had two princesses and a dog.  Technically, we had one princess (Kendall), a nutcracker ballerina (Avery), and a dog, but that doesn't make a catchy title for my post. :) Kendall got to wear her costume and trick or treat around the church at school on the Monday before Halloween, and Avery's school had "Hero Day" on Halloween, so she was able to wear her costume to school too.  Our neighbors across the street invited us and several other families to eat pizza and hang out at their house on Halloween evening and let the kids all go around trick or treating together.  Well, poor Kendall started running a fever on the afternoon of Halloween, so Scott and I took turns hanging out across the street with Avery and Judson.  After some Tylenol and rest, Kendall felt up to putting on her costume and going to a few houses on our block, so it wasn't a total loss for her.  Avery had a great time trick or treating with the other kids and Judson and I followed behind and collected a few treats of our own.  Judson was NOT a fan of the hood on his costume or the zipper coming all the way up to his neck, plus things were a little crazy trying to keep up with everybody, so I never did get a very good picture of him in his doggie costume.  He sure did love to carry it around a cuddle with it though! 

Princess Kendall dressed for costume day at school (I messed up the layout of this thing and I can't fix it!)

Avery the Nutcracker Ballerina

Avery's costume had a little music box that could be tucked into a special pocket in her dress so she could play music to dance to anytime she wanted.

Sickly princess Kendall on Halloween night. She was not going to let a little fever keep her from all that candy!

There were a few houses that really went all out.  A lot of people just sat in their driveways to hand out candy and it was a very neighborly, fun atmosphere throughout the neighborhood.

the kids enjoying their goodies

my little Jud dog

Kid with Character

At the end of every six weeks, Avery's school has an awards assembly called Wrangler Round-Up in which they give out awards for perfect attendance, citizenship, academics, and character.  Avery's teacher had told us at our parent/teacher conference that she had chosen Avery to receive the Kid with Character award for the first six weeks for the trait of responsibility.  Scott and I were of course very proud, but we kept it a secret from Avery so she would be surprised.  So on the day of the assembly, Kendall, Judson, Memaw, Dedaw, and I all walked down to the school to see her get her special award.  She received awards for perfect attendance and good citizenship first, and then near the end of the program she received her Wrangler Kid with Character award.  She was really surprised and excited, especially about getting a special sign to put in our yard since it is a highly coveted item in our neighborhood. When I picked her up that afternoon she couldn't stop talking about how she just couldn't believe that she had gotten that award in her first six weeks at her new school.  It was exactly what she needed to help convince her that she might end up liking Granger just as much as Harvest Christian.  And of course the first thing we did when we got to the house was to put her sign in the flower bed so she could enjoy her accomplishment.  Way to go Avery!  We are so proud of you!

being recognized for perfect attendance and good citizenship

receiving her Wrangler Kid with Character award

Fossil Rim

At the entrance to the park they had some dinosaur statues and signs advertising Dinosaur World, which was just down the road

 A few weeks ago my parents, Scott and I and the kids decided to take a little day trip over to Glen Rose to visit the Fossil Rim Wildlife Park.  We went several years ago when Avery was 2 and Kendall was a baby, but we thought the girls would enjoy it more now that they were older and that Judson would really like seeing all the animals too.  We did the drive-through tour with several bags of food and enjoyed seeing and/or feeding rhinos, giraffes, deer, ostriches, cheetahs, zebras, and several different kinds of deer-like African animals.  We also walked around in the Children's Area where we saw pigs, macaws, and goats.  The girls were impressed by the macaws that could say, "Hello", and Judson's favorite part was petting the goats.  We also had lunch at the little cafe, which sat up on a ridge overlooking the park.  It was a pretty neat view and you could hear all the animals calling from up there.  My Dad folded down the back seats of his suburban and sat back there with the girls while Scott drove us through the park.  Judson enjoyed not having to be strapped in his car seat and sitting between my Mom and I.  All 3 kids liked throwing food out the car windows for the animals, but Judson didn't like it when they got too close and would start crying.  We made it back home by 4 or so that afternoon. which was just enough time to order food and set the table for my Mom's "Italian Bistro" birthday party we threw for her.  The girls helped me plan it, and we all agreed it would be more fun to have a candlelight dinner here at our house after a busy day at Fossil Rim rather than go to a restaurant.  So we ordered Italian food from Oliva, set the table, lit some candles and had a fun little dinner to celebrate Mimi's birthday.  We topped it off with presents and chocolate birthday cake and ice cream- yum!  It was a  great ending to a super fun day!

Judson and I starting out the drive

Avery with the goats at the Children's Area

One of Judson's favorite parts was petting the goats.  Luckily they tolerated him really well.

This pair took a break from munching their hay to watch us drive by

You can't really tell here, but we were noticing that when you get close up to a zebra, the stripes actually look more beige than white

Judson enjoyed helping Scott drive for a little bit

Several of the cheetahs were pacing along the fence

I think this giraffe was smaller than some of the others, but I can't remember for sure now

Avery and Kendall decided to share the front seat for awhile so they could throw food to the animals

Judson and his Mimi

Poppi and the girls in "the back-back"

Judson watching an animal gobble up the food he threw to it

This guy wasn't shy about coming to get a snack

Mimi, Poppi and Judson

Judson on the patio outside the little cafe

Most of the giraffes were lying down in the grass when we drove by

the baby rhino was really cute running around

Future Bobcat Dazzler?

 Several weeks ago Avery participated in the Pretty in Pink dance clinic that was put on by the Bobcat Dazzlers drill team at Byron Nelson High School.  Even though she only knew one other girl that was there, she still had a great time having pizza, learning a dance, and doing a craft.  A week after the clinic she got to participate in a pre-game performance at the high school football game.  She loves to perform, so this was definitely right up her alley!  She did a great job and we enjoyed getting a glimpse into the football games at the kids' future high school!