Birthday fun, 50's style

The girls and I headed to Tomball last weekend for my aunt's surprise birthday party. She is turning 60, but my cousins and mom decided a 50's theme would be fun. The cake was super cute, as were all the little ones dressed in their jeans and poodle skirts. Ashlyn and Makenzie had fun playing with all of their cousins that they don't get to see very often. They also enjoyed our stop at the country to see all the animals and ride the 4-wheeler with their pawpaw.
We are glad we were able to make the trip. Happy Birthday, Aunt Peggy!!

New Gymnastics Class

Makenzie has started a new gymnastics class this fall. She is getting to participate on the beam, bars, floor, and trampoline. She seems to really be enjoying the class which is a refreshing change to the one she took this past summer through a different program. I am sure at some point, she will develop a favorite "rotation." For now, Makenzie is enjoying learning new things and having fun with her great friend Kylie who is also taking the class. Please excuse the last picture....my camera was not agreeing with the lighting in the gym (probably some operator error as well)!

Camping Trip #2

We took our second camping trip with the girls a couple of weeks ago. This time, our friends, the Alcorns, joined us for some great outdoor fun! The girls were supposed to get out there early to secure a campsite, but the guys managed to beat us (Aaron REALLY wanted to get the same campsite that we had last time). We didn't get the same campsite, but the one next to it, which turned out to be just fine. We couldn't have asked for better weather! The girls got to swim in the lake this time which was an fun addition from the first camping trip. It cooled down in the evening which was perfect for s'more making and for sleeping outdoors.
Aaron planned a treasure hunt for the girls in which he made a treasure map, told the girls this awesome story about how pirates long ago sailed the lake, and then sent them off to find the map and buried treasure. It was so fun to watch the girls as Aaron told the story of how the pirates would pull out one of their eyeballs and place it in the treasure box so that there was always an "eye" on the treasure. He found these bouncy balls that had a wiggly eyeball in them, so that was perfect for the treasure box. Makenzie and Kylie did a great job following the map to the hidden treasure. Ashlyn joined in at the end when the older girls started pulling jewelry out of the box. She had to have her share of course!
Our family stayed for a while on Sunday to do some more hiking while the Alcorns headed out to get their little boy whom they were missing greatly.
We had such a great time with our friends and look forward to more camping trips in the future. This time, we will try out another state park.

Zoo Trip with the Torres Clan

My friend Stephanie and I took the kiddos to the zoo several weeks ago. We didn't even see a quarter of the zoo because we took the kids to the children's zoo area and they had too much fun playing in the water. Thankfully, I went prepared! Despite telling Ashlyn that she could just put her feet in the water and walk around, she decided to do a belly flop down in the water like a little fish. She definitely didn't set a great example for Ashton, because he quickly followed suit and we had some very wet kiddos! We did manage to see the Giants of the Savanna exhibit beforehand, and the kids enjoyed the elephants, cheetahs and throwing lettuce at the giraffes. Ashlyn and Ashton loved pulling the wagons for us, but that made for a lot of in and out and switching around of mine and Stephanie's wagon. We've decided another trip to the zoo is in our near future.

Grass Maize with Friends

About a month ago, Ashlyn and I went to the grass maize in Allen with Tera, Trent, and Malorie. Ashlyn and Trent had fun building towers in the caboose, taking a quick trip through the maize, and playing in the little buildings they have there for the kids. The weather was pretty warm, so after about an hour of playing, we headed back to our house so Ashlyn and Trent could play some more. I think Ashlyn was most excited about her opportunity to hold baby Malorie!