Cousins!

My brother blessed his baby on Sunday and there was a great gathering of cousins!

Poor Archer was a little overwhelmed by all the chaos I think...

but I have no doubt that he will enjoy adding to it very soon :)

All the cousins on the Bardo side of the family were able to be there - 

We were especially glad that my brother's family made the drive from Tennessee

and brought a birthday celebration with them as well!

We partied at a fun park in North Houston...

pizza, cupcakes, candy, fun games, and

miniature golf!

We might need to work on his technique a little.

Daniel and the Lion's Den

 

 When Leah turned 8, she was able to start attending Activity Days - a program our church created for girls ages 8-12.  There are only two other girls this age in our ward so they were thrilled to have Leah join their ranks.  I absolutely LOVE these girls!  They encourage each other to read their scriptures and share their testimony on Fast Sunday.  I will take quality over quantity any day!!

So... the point of this post is to share the culmination of almost a year of hard work on the part of these girls and their awesome Activity Days leader.  Since just before Leah joined them, they have been working on a puppet show of Daniel and the Lion's Den.

These amazing girls made the rod puppets (including paper mache heads), wrote the script, and came up with songs to turn it into a musical!  Then they performed it twice for the Primary and again for the Young Women and other assorted ward members.  They did a wonderful job!

I'm posting a video of one of their shows here for those who are interested.  Be forewarned that it is about 10 minutes long, but it is very enjoyable.  I apologize in advance for the shaky camera work in the middle when Eli decided he needed to sit on my lap.

In case you couldn't tell from the video, Leah was the voice behind the Daniel puppet.

She had such a great time working on this project!  

I can't wait to see what they come up with next...

Daddy-Daughter Campout

Or as one of the dad's phrased it... the "giggle and fairy fest" was this weekend out in Krause Springs.

Andrew got home from a business trip to Tyler just in time to load up the car and head out with Leah.

It was dark when they got there, but they had a great time roasting smores and playing with the other girls.

The next morning was beautiful and they were better able to enjoy the area.

Some of the girls were even brave enough to take a dip in the cold spring waters!

Definitely a success that they'll be looking forward to next year!

Halloween Fun

This was the first year my kids have requested "scary" costumes which I blame on our obsession with Heroica.

Here is this year's lineup:

Leah as a vampire

Lincoln as a werewolf

Peter as the cutest zombie ever seen

And Eli as a fireman (the only non-Heroica costume).

We were able to squeeze in several wearings of the costumes thanks to all the festivities going on.

 We had our school carnival, which we invited some friends to attend with us.

Then there was our ward trunk or treat.  Eli couldn't quite get the hang of saying  "Trick or Treat" so he would call out "Yay! Halloween!" as we approached each car.  It proved to be just as effective, if not more.

We spent the actual Halloween day hanging out among the Truffula Trees at a neighborhood festival.

and enjoying the loot from the trunk-or-treat. 

Ahhh... there's nothing quite like having a lollipop for each hand (and probably a few spares in his pockets)

Since we had already collected plenty of candy, we decided to forgo trick-or-treating that night and instead enjoyed toenail soup with moldy eyeballs and sorted our candy for the Candy Witch.  It's a well known fact that the more candy you leave for the Candy Witch, the cooler the toys you get... so our kids were very generous this year and were rewarded with PlayDoh sets, Polly Pocket dolls, and Legos!

Definitely a good trade!

Eli is THREE!!!

Eli (aka Captain Chaos) turned three last week, but since Dad was in Puerto Rico we waited until he came home for the festivities.  

He was thrilled to be able to open presents just for him and loved the coloring books, puzzles, Mr Potato Heads, and his new baseball cap.

While all of my kids are very active, Eli is by far my most physical.  He has the most amazing balance and can climb things most three year olds won't attempt unless mom is standing nearby.  I've learned to just hold my breath and be ready to run to the rescue (although that rarely is needed). 

He and Peter have a great time playing together (usually) and it is sometimes a challenge to keep them busily engaged in something constructive.  I can always tell when I'm falling down on the job because I find lipstick smeared all over my mirrors and bed or cheese scattered across the carpet or yogurt paintings on the windows.  Sigh.

We love his craziness and his energy even when we are left exhausted at the end of the day.

Thanks for keeping us on our toes Eli!

Happy Birthday!