Give Thanks!

This weekend was the official kick off to the "Holiday Season" for us. We hosted the Erwin Thanksgiving at our home, and we were very happy to have Uncle Clay & Aunt Marcy come in from Lubbock and Pops came over from Comanche.

The Erwin Boys


Aunt Marcy & Uncle Clay


Pops & Ethan


Clay and I started off Saturday morning with a 3 mile run which was multi-purpose task
1) Clay & I have committed to running a 1/2 Marathon in March and have just recently started training and
2) (most importantly) it lessens the guilty feeling of eating ALL of that yummy food AND DESSERT!!

Our Spread


Speaking of which... Marcy and Zack decided a couple weeks ago to make the dessert options a little more interesting. They challenged each other to a Chocolate pie Throwdown (please reference the Food Network ie Bobby Flay if you are not familiar with a fore mentioned) Each person created their own Chocolate pie with meringue topping and then there would be a taste off. Both parties put forth great effort and there were several lessons learned
1) Meringue doesn't do well in the fridge nor does it travel well.
2) You have to be prepared for shrinkage
3) You want your peaks to stand up and custard needs to be firm and
4) It never hurts to actually follow the recipe.
Do to some technical difficulties the pies were not submitted before the judges but a winner was declared and that winner was.......
Marcy!

The winning pie (before the 289 mile road trip)

Never fear another challenge has already been issued for a Christmas Throwndown (the item is still TBD).

As we sat around the table we participated in one of my favorite Erwin Thanksgiving traditions, where we go around the table and each say what we are thankful for. It really is great to take a moment and actually voice what we so often take for granted and to also hear those things come from the ones you love!! After we all sufficiently stuffed ourselves we participated in another Thanksgiving tradition......

Nap Time!!


It was a great weekend full of countless reminders of our many blessings!!

Süßes, sonst gibts Saures

(Trick or Treat in German)

Halloween was a great one this year! Zack and I decided a couple months ago that this might be our last year to pick what Ethan would be for Halloween, so we decided to go with something memorable... a Little German Boy! Complete with Lederhosen!! I was able to find a costume online that was perfect. We couldn't wait for Halloween to get here so we could put him in it!

Finally Halloween was here and lets just say it did not disappoint!
He even wore the hat (most of the night).

We started the night off by going into town and visiting some of our friends there. Then we made our way back to our neighborhood and loaded Ethan up in the wagon and went door to door. Ethan got the hang of knock... knock... knock, but couldn't quite say Trick or Treat.

He did enjoy the evening but collecting all that candy was hard work and our Little German Boy was tired by the time we got back to the house.

Lil Punkin Roller

Fall is by far my favorite season! I literally get giddy when I think about the cooler weather and most of all PUMPKINS!! We went to the Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound this weekend and enjoyed seeing lots and lots of pumpkins.

Ethan had a great time climbing all over the pumpkins, and he had a BLAST trying to push them over and roll them around.

The Pumpkin Patch provided wagons that you could use to tote your pumpkins (and your kids). Ethan LOVED the wagon ride he got.

We were very happy that Nana and Opa were in town this weekend and were able to go with us to the Pumpkin Patch.


There were a ton of fun "photo ops" set up throughout the patch and they had fun things for the kids to do including; bounce houses, face painting, and hay rides.

We had a wonderful afternoon searching for the Great Pumpkin.

I Saw Miles & Miles of Texas

Last Thursday Ethan and I started our Road Trip weekend. We left Granbury and headed to Lubbock (289 miles). We got to hang out with Uncle Clay and Aunt Marcy. Friday we enjoyed spending time with our good friend Sarah and her son Brody. Brody and Ethan played and napped and Sarah & I got to catch up on life.

Friday evening we went to the South Plains Fair with Uncle Clay & Aunt Marcy. Ethan got to enjoy ALL the fun the fair has to offer. We went through the cattle, lamb, & rabbit barns and we also visited the petting zoo. Ethan LOVED seeing the animals and was not at all afraid. He even shared a kiss with some of the animals :)


He even got to ride his first "Carney" ride. He rode the carousel and enjoyed the Horrssse that moved up and down.


Saturday we woke up and met up with Sarah & Brody, and we went to the Komen Lubbock Race for the Cure. For the past several years I have gone to Lubbock to help with race day events, so this was the first year that I was a participant. I really enjoyed being able to walk with Ethan and Sarah & Brody, and all the people there to support, honor, and remember loved ones.


After the race Ethan & I started the next leg of our road trip. We headed to Wichita Falls (210 miles) to meet up with Zack. He was there for the Boot & Saddle Makers Round Up. He built his very first saddle and entered it in a contest there. I was very proud of him and what he did.
This is a picture of him with his saddle and his "guru" Wayne.


After the contest we completed the final leg of our trip back home to Granbury (134 miles). It was a great weekend and my co-pilot weathered all 633 miles like a pro!!

First Friday, First Monday, Shootin' & Pickin'

This past weekend was a Labor Day weekend FULL of FUN.

We started the weekend by going to Barking Rocks Winery for First Friday.

It was so nice to be outside enjoying a beautiful evening, listening to music, drinking good wine and visiting with great friends!!

Saturday we got up early and headed to Canton for First Monday Trade Days and did a little pickin'. It had been several years since we had been, but once we arrived it was like no time was lost. We hit the junk in the fields and then made our way through the barns. We even savored some Canton delicacies for lunch....Corn dogs, Tornado Taters, and fresh squeezed Lemonade!


We took our friends Nicole & Kelly & their son Collin. They were first timers for the Canton experience but they were quick learners and we all enjoyed the day. Ethan & Collin were troopers the whole day and I think they will be future Pickers.

Sunday after church we spent the afternoon with our friends the Donahoos and the Robertsons and did a little shootin'. Since this is the weekend of the official kick off to hunting season we practiced our skills. Of course we practiced Safety First and made sure that ear & eye protection were worn.

Tommy loaded the skeet thrower for us and Zack help me with "tracking". This was only my 2nd time to shoot skeet but I did really well and shot with a 12 gauge and 20 gauge shotgun.

Then we did something a little more un-orthodox. We went to the tank and threw marshmallows out on the water and then we shot them with .22s
When you hit one it would go flying up in the air.
Don't judge! I admit it is a little, (ok a lot), Redneck, but it sure was FUN!!



This picture kind of sums up the afternoon!


Monday we caught up on sleep and hung out around the house during the day. That evening we went to a benefit concert at Billy Bobs Texas called Pickin' for Preemies. This was a great event that featured 18 Texas Country artist in an acoustic setting playing their music for a great cause. The event raise $100,000 for Cook Children's NICU addition.

We really enjoyed getting to hear Walt Wilkins....


Johnny Cooper and Bobby Duncan...


Cory Morrow and Roger Creager...


and Brandon Rhyder


We crashed when we got home, and we were wishing for one more day so that we could catch up from our long weekend. It was packed but we loved every minute of it!!

Horsssse

Last Friday we enjoyed a warm summer night with our good friends the Donahoos. We swam in the pool enjoyed some cool beverages and then grilled some great burgers. After dinner we grabbed a halter and went into the pasture and introduced Ethan to Uno one of their horses.

Ethan LOVES horses, and I'm pretty sure that it has been one of his first words (other than Ot Oh). It's funny when he says it though because it just sounds like SSSSSEE.

He was not at all afraid and loved sitting bareback on top of Uno.

He even shared a kiss with Chief, their other horse.



I definitely see a little cowboy in our future....

not that he has much choice.

Buds

Over the weekend we enjoyed a visit from one of our bestest friends Sarah and her little man Brody! We were so excited to see them. Brody was born in February and this was the first opportunity that we've had to meet him!

I can't believe that he's almost 6 months old already. He is the cutest and such a sweet boy.


Ethan enjoyed sharing his exersaucer and showing him how to chew/spin all of the toys on it.

Reading books :)

I can't wait till these two are a little bit older. I know that they are gonna be running buddies! I can already imagine all the trouble they're gonna get into.

Cousins

Last weekend my cousin Julie and her family came to visit us. We were very happy to have them visit. It's been a couple months since we last saw them when we were down in San Antonio and this was only the second time they'd been to our house. Her girls Brooklyn & Addison played all evening with Ethan, and they all had a really great time with each other.

After dinner they enjoyed some popsicles.

This was Ethan's first freeze pop and he LOVED it.
He got very frustrated with me when I would take it from him to push it up more.

After the popsicles they all played on the drive way with all of the ride on toys we own.

Before coming in for the night Zack hooked up our wagon to the back of the lawn mower and took the kids for a ride.
He was our resident Carney Man!

After popsicles and playing hard it was bath time!

Even though it was a short visit, we crammed in a lot of fun and really enjoyed having the Wiley's come see us. We are definitely looking forward to more visits!!