Holidays 2009 Part 2: Thanksgiving & Brooks' 1st time "hunting"

Fall is such a fun and busy time of year for our family. Each October we go home so Bryan can help my dad get the farm ready for hunting season.  Hunting season is a big deal in our family and I know Bryan looks forward to the day he can take Brooks & Bennett with him.  Brooks decided he wanted to go hunting.  So, we all dressed in camo and headed to the farm.  My family's farm is out in the country and such a peaceful, beautiful place.  I love to spend time there.  It is a tree farm(no horses, cows, etc) about 30 minutes from my parents house.  My parents are putting in a hunting cabin.  So this year the guys will have a place to go,after the morning hunt, to have breakfast, watch football, and hang out.  Mom, the boys, and I will go down a few times I'm sure. 

Brooks in the deer blind

Fun day with my boys

Baba and our little hunter

Brooks and Poppa on the tractor

We spent Thanksgiving 2009 with my family.  It was the last holiday I got to be with my Papa.  He was living at my parents house while taking dialysis.  He was really sick, but I got to spend quality time with him that I will treasure forever.  Each night, after we put Brooks to bed, I would go into his room to watch TV and talk to him.  I thought it was so sweet that Brooks would go into Papa's room throughout the day to check on him.  He loved his Papa so much!!

Brooksie and his Papa

My mom and her parents

A treausered photo, my family praying and giving thanks for our many blessings.

Thanksgiving 2009 family photo

2009 Holidays Part 1:Pumpkin Patches & Halloween

So, I'm almost one year late with this post, guess better late than never..Ha!!

Bryan and I took Brooks to a Pumpkin Patch about an hour north of our house. We heard that it was great with lots of activities for the kids. What we didn't know, was the entire city of Houston would go the same day and time as we did. We waited in line for 1.5 hours and I was one hot, tired, preggo mommy. Totally worth it, Brooks had a blast!!

Picture of our sweet boy waiting in line
They had:
~tractor races

~rope swings

~look at that handsome "Cowboy Brooks"

~a big play area(I didn't get a good picture b/c we were busy chasing Brooks through it)

~Brooks' favorite was the zipline

You could go on a hay ride out to the fields to pick your pumpkin, but our little guy was to busy playing to do that. He protested and we were too hot & tired to fight him.

2nd Pumpkin Patch at one of the churches near our house:

Daddy met us there on his way home from work

I loved this antique wagon filled with mini pumpkins

Brooksie with his loot

Halloween parade at Brooks' preschool...isn't Spiderman a cutie???

Carving pumpkins

He really got into it this year

I love the built-in muscles
Talking to Baba on his way to trick or treat
This house had a few scary decorations and daddy needed to go with him!!

My favorite picture of the night!! After we returned home from trick or treating, they sat in the front yard waiting for kids to come by. Brooks thought this was sooo much fun. Sweet boy.

Upcoming Post: Halloween 2010

Brooks is going to be Batman and Bennett a bat!! Can't wait. :)

Labor Day In Llano

We spent the long, holiday weekend with my family at "El Rancho Not So Grande." Our brother in law's, Dane, family has a place on the Llano River in the Hill Country that we love to visit. It is such a relaxing place. Our time there was filled with yummy food, fishing, hanging out in the river, fellowship!! It is so nice to be able to hop in the car and spend a long weekend with our loved ones. Thanks D & T for hosting us, we had a blast!!

Family dinner at the Hilltop Cafe

Brooks' uncle Dale working on counting with him
He looked so cute in his madras shorts and monogrammed polo. I love the simplicity of dressing a little boy.
View from the "watering hole" where we love to hang out..isn't it beautiful



B & B fishing in the river
Maggie Mae(golden) & Rambo(chocolate lab) enjoying the cool river
Tonya & Dane's children..

The fam hanging out at the river My little "river rat", he swims so much while we're there & just wears himself out.