Our little Minnie Mouse

Our funny looking Pooh-like pumpkin.

Hadley checking out Mommy's carve job. I thought it would be really special to carve the pumpkin together. I guess sometimes I forget that she is just 2. When I started cleaning out the pumpkin, she started saying, "Mommy, it smells". When I asked what does it smell like, she quickly responded, "it smells yucky". "I not like it". So instead she just drew on the sidewalk while I took on the pumpkin.

Hadley at TCU trick-or-treating.

Hadley showing off her candy.

These next few photos are pretty funny. I was trying to take her picture, but she could not be still. Then I threatened that if she did not be still and let me take her picture, there would be no candy! As you can see, she graciously posed for some shots.

Another one of Hadley being happy for the camera.

Hadley & Daddy getting ready to go.

Hadley was Minnie Mouse for Halloween. She was just too cute. At TCU, the families of TCU employees could go trick-or-treating at one of the dorms. Hadley was way excited about getting candy. There was 3 floors of nothing but candy. Daddy suggested that we just do the first floor. Hadley didn't know that she was missing anything and was totally happy with all of her candy. We finished the night with some cotton candy. The next day, she got to wear her Minnie Mouse dress to music class. Once we put it on, she asked where the candy was. If she had the costume on, she was supposed to get candy. On Halloween night, we just stayed home and passed out candy. The weather was perfect. We pulled the lawn chairs out front and sat by the door. As kids would approach, Hadley would yell "we've got candy". I was delighted that she was excited about sharing.

Game Day

Us enjoying the Hogs game!

While we were in town, my Mom, Sister, & Jackson came up for the weekend. Mom kept Hadley so that I could go to the game. We all had a lot of fun. Somehow, I don't have any pictures of all of our good times. Sometimes I just forget to get out my camera. Some friends of ours from Newport also came up for the game. So we got to tailgate with Shannon, Derek, Whitney, Drew, Kristen & Paul. It was great to spend time with old friends. On Saturday morning, before the game, we went over to Sam & Angie's house. Let me just say that if Angie offers to make you breakfast, GO. Her homemade biscuits and gravy were delicious. I'm wishing I had one of those biscuits right now. Hadley got to play with Morganne, Blaine, and baby Kennedy. She had so much fun with her old friends. Anyway, back to game. The energy at the game was exciting. Everyone wanted to see Ol' Huston go back to Mississippi like a whipped dog. But it just didn't happen. Arkansas is simply terrible this year. I don't know how they beat Auburn. But we did have a great time at the game. It was my first Fayetteville game since Hadley was born. Then on Sunday we went to church at New Heights. It was so great to be back home. We visited with even more friends.

Pumpkin Patch in NWA

Coming down the stairs for their fashion show.

Kids having fun playing dress up. Yes, Jude has on a tutu. I love the hat, Hadley. And Abby's vail is so dramatic.

Pumpkin Patch (Hadley & Mommy)

Hadley riding one of the big ones.

Hadley peeking through.

The little Ranas

Hadley & Jude playing

Hadley and her buddies!

We were in Fayetteville for several days in October. Brent had a training session on Thursday & Friday. Then we were staying for the UA vs. Ole Miss game. While we were in town, we got to see the newest Rana. Baby Gabriel was just 3 weeks old. It was so great to see him. Hadley thought he was very special. She would kiss him and even got to hold him. She was okay with me holding him. This is pretty huge. She usually will cry and through a small fit if I hold another child. She reminds me that I am her Mommy, not the baby's. So it was good to see her growing out of that phase. We met Anne and the kids at a pumpkin patch. They had a great time. Then we went back to Siloam to spend some more time with everyone.

Halberg's visit Texas

During the middle of October, Misty, Dan and the kids came down for a visit. We had missed Misty's birthday in September and Dan & Will's birthdays are in October so we had a little party for them. I pulled out the stuff from my cake decorating class and made a cake for the special occasion. Hadley was way impressed. The kids had a great time playing together. Hadley always enjoy playing with her cousins.

The cake I made.

Cowgirls with their new hats.

Watching the cattle drive from the upper deck.

Waiting for the cows to arrive. Will, Hadley, & Maddie

I've been Tagged

I've been tagged. So here are 7 random/weird facts about me. Since most of the people that read this are family, you are probably aware of most them.

1. Sleeping habits: I still sleep with my blanket from when I was a baby. Nighty-nite is now nearly 32 years old. It is looking a little shabby, but it still sooo soft! I keep a jar of Vick's on my night stand. I use to keep it in my pillow, but I've washed too many jars. Live and learn. I always fall asleep in the car. Luckily not when I'm driving, just when other folks are driving. This drives Brent crazy. I'm getting better about this.

2. I can not leave the house without my bed being made. I'm wondering how this is going to work once we move Hadley into a big bed. She might have to nap on top of the covers.

3. My sister & I were both student council presidents.

4. I was 9 hours short of a double major in chemistry (and economics). I just didn't want to take physics. It might have also lowered my GPA.

5. God told me who I was going to marry when I was little. I was about 10-12 (way before dating started) and I was praying for my husband. God told me that his name would be Br... I found this odd because I didn't know any Br's (Brad, Brian, Brent, etc.) Of course it wasn't until college that I met Brent. Once we started dating, I knew that he was the "Br..." that God had told me about 10 years earlier.

6. I have a fairly new obsession with sudoku puzzles. I've always wanted to work crossword puzzles. But with a terrible knack for spelling and limited vocabulary, it has made it virtually impossible. Then I found sudoku. I'm pretty good with numbers (especially 1-9) and I enjoy logic puzzles so this is a great fit. I also just need to know that my brain can still work. After reading silly books, playing with play-doh, and singing ABC all day, I can have a tough time adjusting to adult conversations. I like to think that working my little puzzle in the morning is jump starting my brain into action.

7. I hate cleaning bathrooms. What I really hate is the tub/shower. I guess I'm OK with toilets, but just don't make me clean a shower! It is hard to reach, you don't know if you get all the cleaning agent off, you may get wet, the shower head doesn't spray all of the wall or tub area to rinse, you have to move all the shampoo, soap, etc. . .

Okay so there are my 7 facts. Now I'm off to clean my shower. . .

Visit from Nana & Pop Pop

Over the weekend, Nana & Pop Pop drove up to see us. This was Dad's first time to our new place. I think he really enjoyed it. While in town, the ladies went to the Botanical Gardens and did some serious shopping. Hadley was not to impressed by the gardens. It was beautiful, but she didn't like all the bugs (butterflies) and animals (squirrels). On Saturday, we took them down to the Stockyards. This was also Brent's first time to the Stockyards. I think that Hadley & I have been about 3-4 times now. Pop Pop bought Hadley a new pair of cowboy boots. She was really excited!

Zoo

Gabe & Hadley Lee, Gabe, & Patricia
Kiddos with their Daddies
Hadley feeding the birds

Over the weekend, some friends of ours came up to visit. Lee & Brent did their Masters together at UA. Lee & Patricia were moved to Fort Hood after Lee finished school. Since the last time we saw them, we both have little ones. It was great to see Hadley & Gabe play together. You would have thought they were old buddies. On Sunday we went to the zoo. We live really close to the FW Zoo, but we had never gone. It is considered one of the top zoos in the nation for kids. One reason we have not been is because of the weather. I'm sure that rhino dung is really stinky in 100 degree heat! But now the weather is a little better, it was time to make the visit. The zoo had new lion cubs that we got to see. There was a neat bird area. You could feed the birds with a little stick covered with bird seed. Hadley was a little scared at first, but Gabe was really brave, so she began to follow his lead.

It is always fun to visit with Lee & Patricia. They are always on a new adventure. Lee is in the army, so they have lived all over the world. In January, they will be moving to Brazil for a year. Patricia is from Brazil, so I know she is excited to be home for a year. Hadley even picked up some Portuguese while they were here.