Thanksgiving 2014

We had a fun Palmer Thanksgiving!  Tami, Kaye and kids live in Frisco, and Dennis and Barbara live in Prosper now, so we met at the McRads' for the big Thanksgiving lunch.  We were late, of course, but at least my turkey rolls were cute!

And I almost ate this little turkey up!

After lunch we went to the park across the street, watched football, and hung out with family - a great Thanksgiving for all of us!

Trunk or Treat and Halloween

A few days before Halloween, we had our ward Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot.  I wasn't going to go because James wouldn't be able to make it, but we decided to stop by and show off our baby Nacho.  My friend Emily had the cape and red bloomers, so I just had to spend $2 on pants and draw on a sweet stache.  It was awesome.  He didn't even know how hilarious he looked, and he just owned it.  It's safe to say he was the hit of the ward party.  

On actual Halloween the next night, it was pretty cold, so we put Grayson back in his Jake and the Neverland pirates costume.  It's pretty awesome as well.  Hazel felt and looked like a princess in her sparkly mermaid costume and Ariel wig.  She didn't like when Daddy put on her red wig though because she said it's for looking beautiful, not scary.

My mom sent James and me some pirate costumes, so were a pirate family and a mermaid.  This year was our first year to actually go trick or treating with the kids, so we started small with about 8 houses.  We didn't have many kids come to our door, so between all of the trunk or treating, trick or treating, and the candy I bought, we ended up with plenty to last us all year long!

Pre-Halloween Parties

Maybe it's the musical theater mom I grew up with or the costume room we always had, but I love Halloween!  I think it runs in the family too because everyone always seems to go all out.  My friend Jackie had a little kid Halloween party at her house, and there's nothing better than little toddlers in costumes.

Instead of carving a pumpkin this year, we painted baby pumpkins.

For preschool we had a Halloween party since we were conveniently on the letter 'H'.  I couldn't help myself and made some healthy treats I found on Pinterest.

Then the adults had a little party of their own.  It was a Murder Mystery Party with a Mardi Gras theme.  I was Connica Gothika, and James was a lawyer and the victim's best friend, who turned out to be the murderer!  He hid it well; no one guessed it.  We all had a great time pretending to be someone else for a night.

Family Camping

Last spring we went camping in Tyler, but this fall we decided to try some place a little closer.  We went to Erwin Park in McKinney.  Sadly the Formans weren't able to join us, but we tried to have a great time still!  The Robinsons came for the night time, and we roasted hot dogs and s'mores and sang to Shayla for her birthday, which was the next day.  The Nylanders stayed the night with us, and we burned cooked our breakfast in the morning before heading out.  Next time we'll know how to use the charcoal - it was a good learning experience.  James had fun using some new gadgets and camping gear for the first time.  We'll be pros at this camping thing before long!

Arboretum

So the day of Hazel's actual birthday came... and I realized we were going to sit at home all day if we didn't plan something.  So off to the Arboretum we went!  It ended up being so fun and the perfect day for it.  We got lucky because on Mondays, they have extra free activities like a petting zoo and face painting, so both kids were in heaven!

Later that day we gave Hazel her birthday present, which was a pink and purple princess bike.  She loved it!

Love this sweet four year old!