Liam @ MOA

While we were in Minnesota for Thanksgiving, we took Liam to the Mall of America.  He loves going to the  Rain Forest Cafe at Grapevine Mills Mall, but a couple of months ago was sad because his favorite attraction, Tracy the Talking Tree, tragically disappeared, only to be replaced by a giant stuffed tree frog.  Bummer.  Well, much to his delight, it appears that the Talking Tree just moved to the Rain Forest Cafe at the MOA in Minnesota.  He was very happy to be reunited with that crazy tree.  We also went on a few rides in the amusement park.  He.Loved.It.  I think our his favorite was the hay wagon mini-roller coaster, as you can see by the many happy faces.

Thanksgiving Snap Shots



Marin loves her Grandpa.




Grandma and Grandpa with the Bushwar kids




Sweet Avonlea with Mama




Debby holding Avonlea and Ellery...sounds like a song, doesn't it?




Jon in the middle of the Baby Bermuda Triangle



Thanksgiving dinner--restaurant style--at Timber Lodge Steak House. That's right--steak house.  Love it!  Less time slaving over an oven and more time enjoying everyone's company.

Debby and Jeff have their own little Thanksgiving gift this year--Miss Avonlea Grace.

Gary and Noemi--Welcome to the crazy family, Noemi!

The anticipation before digging in!

The kiddos take a turn on Great-Grandma and Great-Uncle David's laps.



Great-Aunt Peg feeds Ellery a Thanksgiving bottle.




Back at Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving dessert

 

Marin's yucky yummy feast--squash.



Grandma Moline with four out of her five.



Some watch football, and some nap.  Ellery is my kind of girl!

Ellery and her Mama

Uncle Patrick is definitely on Liam's top five list.  Please come and live with us, Patrick!



We're so thankful for our little Thanksgiving blessings--Liam, Marin, and Ellery.



Giving Thanks!

Pirates, Chips, and Salsa

Liam's favorite show right now is Imagination Movers, and he was watching an episode this morning involving a pirate.  Thinking about Liam and pirates reminded me of a cute little Liam story.  Just before the girls were born, Jon and I took Liam to El Chico, our local go-to Mexican-food favorite, for dinner.  While diving into his enchilada, Liam stopped dead in his tracks and soberly watched as a tall, middle-aged gentleman with a black eye-patch walked through the dining room before taking a seat in full view of our curious two-year-old.  After minutes of watching the man, Liam turned to Jon and said, “Daddy, what that pirate doin’?”  Jon looked at me, shrugged his shoulders, and stated, “Eating chips and salsa.”  Sometimes it’s just easier to go with it than explain the medical reasons behind an eye-patch.  So now Liam infers that all pirates eat chips and salsa, and whenever pirates are mentioned, will inquisitively pipe in, “He eatin’ chips and salsa, too?” 

The #2

This weekend Nana and Papa took Liam to his cousins’ soccer games on Saturday, so Jon and I took the girls to Target.  On the way home, we decided to run by McDonald’s for lunch.   As we pulled up to the drive-thru , I noticed Marin had that look on her face.  You know, THAT look that tells you that you’re about to have to employ a new diaper AND plenty of wipes momentarily.  “Welcome to McDonald’s…Can I take your order?”  Scanning the menu, Jon decesively answered, “I’ll take a number two…”  And with a telltale grunt, that’s exactly what Marin proceeded to give us.  How’s that for timing!

Five Months

It's hard to believe, but these little ladies came into the world five months ago today. 

Now we can't imagine our life or family without them.  We love you, little girls!

This Weekend...

Liam went to his cousins' soccer games and had fun playing with Gracyn.

Ellery relaxed in the swing.

 

Marin wasn't too sure about starting solid foods,

But Ellery seemed to like rice cereal...sort of. 



Both girls really started playing with toys.



We had a Sunday school party and helped pack 30 boxes to send overseas for Operation Christmas Child



We tried to catch up on sleep, but still need more!  It's a good thing we have next week off. 
We.Need.It.

Sisterly Love

It's sweet to see...



Sisterly love




That started before birth,

 

And grows deeper every day.

Popcorn Balls!

Fall is the perfect time to make popcorn balls.  Growing up in Minnesota, I think I ate about a million popcorn balls as a kid from late September to Thanksgiving, but I can't seem to find them down here in Texas.  So I was forced to make my own.  And they turned out super yummy.  Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients

3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup margarine
2 teaspoons cold water
2 5/8 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup marshmallows
5 quarts plain popped popcorn (I used three bags of natural microwave popcorn)
(I added food coloring, too)
 
Directions

1.  In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, margarine, cold water, confectioners' sugar and marshmallows. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil.  (Add food coloring).  Carefully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, coating each kernel.

2.  Grease hands with vegetable shortening and quickly shape the coated popcorn into balls before it cools. Wrap with cellophane or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

I will be making more of these next year.  And I know one little guy who will be really happy about that.

Rangers Fever

Jon's beard got pretty intense during the days leading up to the World Series.  It may have been a good luck charm. 

Nervous.  Giddy.  Electrified.  These are all terms I’d use to describe Jon on Monday night before he left for the season’s final World Series game.  Ever since I met Jon I’ve realized that if ever there would be another love competing for his attention in our relationship, it would be baseball.  And not just baseball—Texas Rangers baseball.  He usually takes a day off in April for the home opener.  He orders a special baseball channel for our TV during the season.  He watches most and follows all games.  He never gives up on the team.  In fact, Jon’s been known to claim that he’d be willing to sacrifice one of his little toes (probably the left one) to see the Rangers win the World Series.  The good news is that he gets to keep his toe.  The bad news is that the Rangers lost the World Series, but they had a great season.  Jon loved each of the four post-season games he attended, and I know he’s proud of his Texas Rangers.

Jon and Jeremy before the game on Monday night.  Notice the beard is gone.



The kiddos all Rangered-out before we went to the Daulton's for a viewing party on Saturday night.



Giraffe Tricks and Strawberry Treats

It seems like the Halloween thing has lasted quite a while around here.  On Thursday night, I took the kids to Jon's school's fall festival.  Liam had fun seeing Daddy's work and playing the games in the gym.  Then on Friday, the kids had Halloween parties at daycare.  All this leading up to the actual day dedicated to miniature Snickers bars, gummy candy corn, and sticky black and orange-wrapped peanut butter taffy--HALLOWEEN!  Liam was a giraffe, and the girls were strawberries.  We first took the kids trick-or-treating at Memaw and Poppie's and then Nana and Papa's.  After that, we headed to church for Fall-A-Palooza.  Here are some pics of Liam's third and the girls' first Halloween: