Happy Halloween!

Two girls came home from school ready for night to come as fast as possible!

Laura Ingalls and Oscar the Grouch went trick-or-treating tonight!

An enlarged picture of Slimey the Worm on Lana's costume. He was Oscar's sidekick.  He just makes the costume all the better!

They met up with friends...

...loved these doggie skeletons...

...and got an authentic eerie fright by this crazed chainsaw wielding man!!!  People really got into Halloween this year in our neighborhood!

Maisy, Daddy and I enjoyed our time with our trick-or-treater girls on this chilly and frightful night!

MagNoLia

A mother-daughter road trip to Magnolia!! Yippee!!

We shopped, ate, talked, laughed and had the best day together!!

 I loved our little day trip and will treasure our time spent together!

Mema

Mema underwent surgery as treatment for her recent diagnosis of breast cancer.  The surgery was successful and we wish her a speedy recovery!  We love her so much!

Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls

This morning we were invited by Sydney's family to volunteer at the Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls. 

 "Buckner Shoes for the Orphan Souls, the largest humanitarian aid project of Buckner International, provides new shoes and socks to orphans and vulnerable children in the United States and throughout the world.

When you donate new shoes through Buckner, they will be received by one of the world's most vulnerable children.  And while Shoes for Orphan Souls serves children all over the world, 30 percent of our shoes stay in the United States, offering hope to children in communities just like yours.  Since 1999, Buckner has distributed more than 300 million pairs of new shoes and socks to children in 82 countries."

We worked on cutting tags off shoes, binding them together with a sturdy rubber band and inserting a handwritten note between the souls of the shoes.  We prayed and thought about the children who will be receiving these shoes.

When we were finished for the morning, the kids went through the Barefoot Experience -- what it would feel like to play under the same ground conditions without shoes.  Ouch!

We were so glad to be able to help such an amazing cause this morning and we plan on returning and serving again!

 

Fair Day, Fair Night

As soon as the girls got home from school, homework was quickly done and we headed to the State Fair!  Fall forecast: 75 degrees and clear, blue skies.

Does it matter that it's not officially dinnertime yet?  No way!  Our first stop was the food court for giant pizza slices.

Howdy...

Not pictured was our visit to the Hall of State to see the "Texas in the First World War" exhibit.  Very interesting.

After doing our research on the new crazy food winners, the girls wanted to try Fernie's fried Texas sheet cake.  It was rich and delicious!

Our favorite building is the Go Texan Pavilion (formerly the Food and Fiber building), but since it was later in the evening, exhibits were closed and hardly anyone was in there. 

I propped the camera across from us and set auto-timer for our family of four picture!

On to the Barnyard...

To conclude our visit this year and for the girls first time ----

a ride on the 212 foot high Texas Star ferris wheel!  Our view was breathtaking and the night lights made it magical! The girls were so giddy with excitement!

 We had ourselves a fine time, Big Tex; thanks again for a great year!

Not Quite Fair Day

With the girls out of school for Fair Day, we took advantage of the time, but did not go to the Fair.  We plan on going another day next week, so stay tuned.

Today we visited the Gentle Zoo and enjoyed hands-on time with animals, jumping on the Ga-Ga pillow, and perusing the pumpkin patch.

Harley the ferret

Old-school Cracker Jack in the box with a prize inside!

 We had a fun family day and look forward to the Fair next week too!