Carolling....

The Daisy troop that Sophia is in went carolling this morning at an Alzheimer's facility that is in the neighborhood. There were quite a few girls that came and they did so well! I hope they spread a little holiday cheer to the residents!

Our Elf....

Clyde the Elf comes every year to watch and report on good and bad behavior. Each night he flies back to Santa to tell him the news of the day...and each morning he's in a new spot. The kids love to be the first one to find him. Had a bump in the road recently when Joshua touched him...which is a major rule "no touching the elf or he might lose his magic!" There was lots of tears that day but after a night at the Elf Hospital, Clyde was okay! This morning he was riding Sophia's Barbie horse. After a lot of laughter...Sophia drew this picture of him....

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Christmas Program

Joshua was in the NPDS Christmas Program...and he did SO well. Walked up to the front, sang loudly "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus" and sat with his class. At the end everyone got up to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." His class all held hands. So cute!!! Makes me both happy and sad to see #3 doing all the things that the first 2 have already been through!!

A list for Santa....

Santa made a stop at NPDS this year...and brought candy canes, donuts and juice. What could be better?? Jake and Sophia both told him their top wishes. Joshua didn't want to get too close!

Big Boys....

This little guy looks SO big! First year in pre-school has been a big success (most days!). And now we have this great picture to remember his year in the Young 3's class!

Flag football with the 7 and 8 year olds! Jake had a great time and by the end of the season...they were looking kind of like a "real" football team!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We spent the whole week in Kansas for Thanksgiving. Mike wanted to hunt and the kids and I had not been up there in a long time. It had been 3 1/2 years since Jake and I had gone and Joshua had never been up there!! The farm is a perfect place for kids.....lots of stuff to do! The house is more than big enough for extra people (we got the whole upstairs) and Rich and Dianne are SO good to us. The kids loved all the new things to play with and do. Lots of time throwing rocks in the creek, lots of puzzles and toys inside, lots of VERY good food (Dianne is quite the baker!!!) and time with cousins. Mike got a deer on Wednesday (whew!! trip was a success!!). On Thanksgiving we went over to his Uncle Larry's house. There were lots of cousins there!!! It was a great trip (long car rides were a big tough!!) but we were glad to get home today!

Evelyn (4), Ella (5), Sophia and Riley (7)The tree swing in the backyard.

The red barn made a great backdrop for pictures!!!

On the road by the creek.

Rock and Roll...

Brenda talked me into doing the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon. Me...who is NOT a runner. And...little mental determination or competitiveness (when it comes to athletics!!). We trained for 3 months. One rolled ankle put a minor bump in the road, but for the most part we stuck to the schedule. Race day was warm and humid!!!

Picked up our stuff on Friday...but didn't want to wear the shirt until I "earned it" on Sunday!

The group that ran together. Brett and Brenda finished a couple minutes before me. Kevin was a bit behind...he did almost NO training. Very impressive!Sophia drew a picture of me crossing the finish line. I hope that's what I looked like

Baylor Homecoming Weekend

We missed Baylor Homecoming last year...so we made sure to go this year. It's such a great parade and the kids have so much fun. It was a jam packed weekend....playing on the new swingset, the parade, lots of fun with DD, a campfire at the river, BB gun target practice....and lots of outside play time!

We went to the river late Saturday afternoon for a campfire. We roasted hotdogs and made smores. A good time was had by all (if you forget about the 2 dropped hotdogs followed by crying children!). Roasting a hotdog takes some concentrated effort!!

Grant and Sophia playing Go Fish on the swingset. Wonder who won???

All ready for the parade to start!

Sweet cousin pictures!!

Family Reunion

The weekend that I was doing Ole Market was the big Dorman Family Reunion. It was really sad that I had such a major conflict. But, Mom took Jake and Sophia up so they could enjoy the weekend and play with cousins. They had a blast!! Lots of ranch fun!!!

Jake and Grant watching cousins swim in the river. Later Jake got to go swimming too!

Dorman Generation 4. So many kids I'm not sure I could name them all!!

Happy Halloween.....

You might not be able to tell, but Hello Kitty, Darth Vader and Obe Wan were having a great time at the Halloween party!!! We went to a very festive party before trick or treating. Lots of fun was had by all....and we still have some candy left!!

Literary Pumpkin

The school has a Literary Pumpkin Contest each year. The kids have to decorate a pumpkin to look like a book character. I was ready to help Sophia make Fancy Nancy....because I figured that's what she would pick. But, she wanted to do The Grouchy Ladybug (which was really easy!!) and she won a Best Effort award. I'm not completely sure what that means, but she was excited to get a special ribbon!

Jake did the character from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. There were several others just like his. :(

Next year we'll have to think outside the box!!

Joshua's First Halloween Parade

After many years of watching the big kids get to wear their costumes to NPDS for the annual Halloween Parade....it was finally Joshua's turn!!! Darth Vader was a big hit and didn't take out any of his friends with his light saber (which is a big accomplishment!!!).

Snack with friends after the parade.

Reformation Fest

Reformation Fest was last night at church. Lots of good food and fun!!

Bike Rodeo 2011

As always...the Bike Rodeo brings big excitement. Sophia wasn't too sure about participating, but once she found out her friends were doing it, she decided to do it too. Both kids did very well and had a lot of fun. No winners this year....Jake was bummed that they didn't "say his name on the announcements"...but maybe next year!!

The youngest (and grumpiest) Bike Rodeo participate. He wanted to go through the course so badly so I waited until the very last Kindergartner went...and then let him go. People were cheering him on and I don't think he liked all the attention. He even got a ribbon at the end just like the big kids!!