Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was very special for me because I got to see my grandparents and ALL of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well as their kids! Here's a picture of everyone on my Mom's side of the family. Unfortunately, I didn't get one of everyone on my Dad's side.

The little ones had a lot of fun playing together all day. Hide and seek, swinging, pulling the wagon, and tree climbing were the primary means of entertainment for them. It was a gorgeous day for it too!

Aside from Thanksgiving day I wasn't very good about pulling out the camera, but I did get a picture of Jackson learning to use his Granddad's sling shot!

I also got one picture of my Dad with both kiddos at my Mamaw's house.

It was wonderful to see everyone! We got to spend Thanksgiving day with my Mom's side of the family, Friday with Ross' family, and Saturday with my Dad's side of the family before heading home on Sunday. I'm really disappointed that I didn't take more pictures the rest of the weekend...I'll try to make up for it next time! There are lots more pictures from Thanksgiving Day in the album though.

Lighting

We moved into our house almost 2.5 years ago. Within a month or two we bought a new light fixture for our entryway, and it's been sitting in the garage ever since. In addition to that, all of the bulbs in the old fixture burnt out about a year ago, so we've been living in the dark for a while. The problem was that we have 26 foot ceilings in our entry. They don't make ladders that big, and paying someone to do it involved building scaffolding, which was really expensive. Being the clever guy he is, Ross began doing research and finally decided to rent a single man lift. It fit through the front door and would lift him all the way up!

It was a great idea. We rented a trailer, and two men loaded it for us. It weighs a little over 800 lbs and lays down to be hauled. The challenge was getting it off the trailer and into our house. Ross spent almost an hour debating what to do when several guys showed up across the street to work on refinishing a pool. He was over there before they were out of their truck and asked for their help, which they eagerly provided for $20! It was the best $20 we could have spent.

Once the lift was inside, Ross went to work! I think he enjoyed playing with a piece of heavy machinery for a few hours, and when he was done we had a light fixture we love and one we can change the bulbs in easily!

There are a few more pictures of the fun in the album.

P.S. That's my new car that towed the trailer...I'd gotten it 3 days earlier!

The Zoo

We spent the afternoon at the Houston Zoo with our friends, Emma and Clara, today. We always have fun when we get together, and today was no exception! The kids walked hand in hand to the entrance of the zoo...such sweethearts!

We picked up a wagon, and everyone had a turn pulling it around.

It's been a while since we've been to the zoo, so this was really the first trip where Audrey has recognized the animals by name or sound or both, which was lots of fun! They were all simply fascinated by everything.

There are more pictures of the all the action in the album!

Daddy Time

I absolutely love the laughter that fills our house when Jackson and Audrey have a little Daddy time!

Little Indian

The daycare did a Thanksgiving Feast this week, and Jackson's class dressed up like Indians. They each had their own Indian name, which was painted on their shirts. If you've been around Jackson for any length of time, you know his name suits him! Their teachers did a great job on their outfits!

Big Girl Bed

Audrey's big girl bed arrived on Tuesday afternoon, so we set it up and began the transition that night! We transitioned Jackson when he was right at 19 months old, and he did great! Audrey is almost 20 months, and she is doing pretty well too. The first night was definitely rougher. She kept climbing out of her bed and crying, but after several rounds of consoling her and getting her to relax, she finally fell asleep. She fell out of the bed twice that night and once the following night. Last night she made it through the night without falling out of bed at all. Hooray! Most mornings have been similar to how Jackson responded. She wakes up, starts talking, and waits for one of us to come into her room before she gets out of bed. The first night she slept much later than usual, so we actually had to go into her room before we heard her say a word. I think she was already awake though. Here are some pictures of her crawling into her bed for the first time, and as always, there are more pictures in the album.

LA Tech Homecoming

We made our annual trip back to Ruston for engineering advisory board meetings and LA Tech's homecoming. This is the first year I haven't had to go to any meetings, so I enjoyed some extra time with friends and family! Here are some pictures of Jackson and Audrey playing in my grandparents' backyard. Jackson enjoyed pushing us on the swing and pulling Audrey around. He was quite the gentleman. He would pull one of the sides off of the wagon to make it easier for Audrey to climb in and out. They were too cute playing together!

G.G (Great Grandmother) spent some time swinging with us too, and I just love this picture. Can you tell they are related? I think they look so much alike!

We missed the homecoming tailgating since the kiddos needed naps, but we did make it to the game again this year. They loved it! I didn't take any pictures at the game, but there are some more of the kiddos playing in the backyard in the album.