Christmas Tree Time!

We made our annual trip to Doyle's Christmas Tree Farm the weekend after Thanksgiving with Kate and Jed. We found our trees in record time and just really had a fun afternoon complete with milkshakes from Chick-fil-a! (That's a normal Christmas tradition, right?!)

Josh and Katelyn were eager to decorate the tree. This year they are full of anticipation of what the Christmas season holds - it's going to be fun!!!!

We Are Thankful

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Shrewsbury this year with YiaYia, Pop-Pop, and Gigi Gallo. It was a beautiful day and very restful with lots of football and food!

After dinner through the month of November, we added leaves to our Thankful Tree. It was fun and encouraging to listen to all that Josh and Katelyn were thankful for - ranging from their toys to their family and friends. They even added prayers in there for when their friends were sick. This will become an annual tradition.
(The snowmen were added later - they have nothing to do with the tree!)

In the stocks...

We spent a weekend in Williamsburg with Yiayia and Pop-Pop in October. It was a nice fall weekend and we enjoyed spending it exploring!

We started in Colonial Williamsburg with the kids in the stocks...

...and then the kids wrestled in the square.
On Sunday, we took the ferry to Smithfield, VA...home of the famous ham. :)

Josh and Pop-Pop crossing the James River

Josh and Katelyn with the wind in their faces

We stopped by a cotton field. Josh talked about the combine that harvests the cotton.

And then we hit the stocks in Smithfield. They are everywhere in Virginia...punishment or cheap babysitting?

A Day at the Zoo

We've been checking the weather for some good days to hit the zoo before winter arrives. Luke and Macy joined us, and we had a great day! When we arrived, two zookeepers were pulling this python out of the cooler - 14 feet long and 140 pounds.

Josh jumped across the lilly pads about 15 times - that is all he wanted to do.

At this point, the girls were baby birds and the boys were dinosaurs.

Besties

Hanging around

The funniest part of this was that no one was looking where they were going and they kept running into gardens and people. They were really cute!

Yeehaw!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

When there are lots of photos to post, I often get overwhelmed and don't post for a while. So finally - here is our trip to Disney World!!! We had a wonderful day. Josh and Katelyn LOVED it. Even Katelyn, who was sick with a fever off and on all day, gave big smiles and cheers when she was awake. :) We HIGHLY recommend Disney World - you'll have a great time!

Family Photo on Main Street in front of the castle. Josh and Katelyn wore their ears all day!

Our first stop was a photo with Pluto. Katelyn said, "He is soft and cuddly."
Shooting Aliens to defeat Zurg

Uncie and Jackson in action

Josh and Katelyn LOVED seeing Buzz! Josh told him how he defeated Zurg.

Grant, Jackson and Josh on the Dumbo ride

This is Josh's face after going down Splash Mountain with Jeff! He convinced Mommy to go on the ride afterwards - she got soaked!

And a major highlight of the day - Jenelle, Chad and Grace came up from West Palm Beach!

Grace and Katelyn had fun together - there was lots of giggling. Grace just joined right in with the cousins and was one of the family!

We got to see Minnie and Mickey - they spent a bunch of time with us and played around with the kids. It was really cute and really a highlight of the day!

We ended the day visiting the Princesses - Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle and Cinderella. The princesses were so sweet and asked Josh and Katelyn questions. They really liked it and grinned the entire time.

Hay Maze

We made a family trip to Valley View Farms hay maze on the last night it was up. You can see the Christmas decorations mixed into the bits of fall that were still left. Josh and Katelyn had a lot of fun running through the hay maze a bunch of times - it never got old yelling into the tunnel at the start of the maze! Afterwards we wandered through their Christmas displays. It was a great family evening!

Field Trip to the Science Center

Josh's class took a field trip to the Maryland Science Center. We spent our time in the dinosaur and body exhibits which was a fun change. The boys were asking to play with the water in the Kids' Room though...maybe next time!

Parker and Josh working on a skeleton puzzle.

Skeleton completed!
Measuring the width of the dinosaur print.

Mrs. Crabtree participating in an experiment!

Josh and Mrs. Pilotte inside a beating heart!

Wedding Bells in Texas

Our travels continued into November with a quick trip to Dallas for a wedding. Jeff, Kevin and Chris were all groomsmen in Tyler and Liz's wedding. Jackson was the ringbearer and made it down the aisle in record speed! It was a sweet celebration to be a part of!

Grant, Jackson, Katelyn and Josh
All dressed up!

Uncie and his favorite niece

Wrestling is a part of every wedding reception, right?