All you need is smores

Ryan has some extra vacation days he is using up before graduation and we had a few days to go camping this week! We headed up to Huntsville State Park during a particularly warm spell (record highs! nice...) We had fun being in nature as a family. We hiked and biked but didn't get a chance to canoe because the wind was blowing something fierce and we didn't want to battle it. We did go fishing and Kate declared she wanted something on her fishing pole that the fish would want to eat. (I guess she finally realized it was pretty pointless with just the plastic tiara on the end.) She was so excited and so careful as she was casting it in. She intensely watched the bobber waiting for it to bob down. I prayed she would get a little fish action because she was just so darn excited about it but no luck. After a little while she decided fishing was not for her and she ran off to play with her brother. Kate and Sawyer spent the majority of their time using their imaginations and all the sticks and leaves they could find to make up crazy games as they wandered around the campsite. It made me so excited to finally have a backyard someday!
When we were settling into our tent that night we realized we had only brought 3 sleeping bags and our sleeping pads to share between us...no pillows or blankets and none of the kids blankies. Luckily it wasn't cold but I can definitely say we were all less than comfortable!
It is always fun to spend time together as a family camping. We were talking about our future outdoor plans and we are pretty sure this is our last October campout in 90 degree weather! And that made us happy!

YMCA Halloween

This morning after breakfast Kate said, "now I need to put my halloween costume on!" She knew it was Friday and that meant it was YMCA Halloween party day...she had been counting down to it all week! She was slightly disappointed when I told her we weren't going until after dinner tonight but we talked about it and anticipated it all day long. It was so fun to finally have everything in their costumes ready and finished and see it on them. When the time came I had to really fight Sawyer to get his on for some reason. I had to explain to him over and over that Woody does not wear green cargo shorts and then finally resorted to telling him that green cargo shorts meant no candy and Woody costume meant candy. He finally consented. After he got it on he was pretty excited and kept running back and forth between the mirror and the family room.
When we got to the YMCA there were a ton of things to do...games to play, pumpkins to paint and a little trunk or treating. Sawyer got the hang of it pretty quickly and was pretty much in candy heaven. We had fun seeing our friends and about 20 strangers all dressed up as Buzz Lightyear (we definitely were not unique in our theme this year!) It was a fun and exhausting night that ended in a big long line to ride the....camel! That's right, a real life camel! As soon as we were walking in to the party and Sawyer saw it he said, "Don't wanna ride that!" and I laughed and said okay. I figured we could skip it easily. But when I told Kate she insisted that she really wanted to ride it...and really, how often do you get the chance to ride a camel...for free? So we waited and when it was our turn I asked Sawyer if he wanted to go with Kate and he said yes. The camel lady ended up putting him in the front next to a scary skeleton (who was also a line jumper) and the picture of Sawyer when he first got on makes me laugh when I see it. every. single. time. In the end I think they were both glad they did it. What a fun way to start off the Halloween festivities!!

And remember when Woody's forehead got burned by Sid in the original Toy Story? Sawyer was channeling that in his portrayal of him tonight.

Oil Ranch

Every fall we have had here in Houston we have gone as a family to Dewberry farms and loved it. They are unfortunately only open on weekends and this year Ryan couldn't find a Saturday off so we had to switch it up and head to the Oil Ranch. It was nice because it wasn't nearly as crowded, although the crowds that were there were all school groups. Crazy school groups. We had fun riding horses, milking cows, getting lost in a little hay maze that ended in a big metal slide that made me nostalgic. Kate was scared but brave, Sawyer was brave but almost fell off and Ryan was excited but...a little old. There was also a train ride and a tractor ride that led you to an area with a few cows that you could feed. I have never been that close to a cow and I never want to be again! Those things are huge and have huge wet, slimy noses and they were AGRESSIVE going after our little cow cookies. We all got slimed. On the way out we bought the kids some cotton candy and they got to pick a little pumpkin out of a pile. Kate took the job really seriously and spent a lot of time choosing the perfect pumpkin. By the end we were exhausted. It was a hot afternoon and we are excited that it is more than likely our last pumpkin patch excursion in near 90 degree weather.