It's been a relaxing, fun and cold Thanksgiving weekend for us! We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house on Thursday and then went home and watched movies and ate popcorn. Danny and I had a great plan to go to Walmart's black friday sales. We have never shopped on black friday before, but Walmart had some great deals on a few things we wanted so we thought we would try it. He was going to go to the midnight sale and get a few things and then I would go to the 5 a.m. sale and get a few other things. Danny left at 11:00 and when he got there the entire parking lot was full, and so was the empty field east of Walmart. He finally found a place to park over by Pizza Hut. When he got inside there wasn't any carts left. They had the sale items still on pallets and people were lined up behind the stuff they wanted. Some people were already lined up for the sale that didn't start until 5:00. He saw all this and then turned around and left! I guess that's why we've never shopped on black friday before. Danny said it was like a hundred starving horses around one bale of hay!! He told me not to bother going at five.
Friday afternoon we went to Chuck-e-Cheese. It wasn't even busy, I guess because all those horses were fighting over the bales of hay!! Ha Ha! Then on Friday night we went to the light parade. It was pretty cold but luckily it was short and sweet.
Austin and Natalie had blankets and hot chocolate to keep them warm!
Makenna was so excited to see Santa Claus! It's going to be a fun Christmas with her this year. After the light parade we went to see the lights at the pond.
It really has been cold the past few days. The day before Thanksgiving there was a blizzard warning and I guess everyone was stocking up on supplies just in case. Austin heard Danny and his uncle talking about it and he made a list of things he would need in case there was another big storm. He packed a gun, knife, flashlight, food, and water in his backpack Saturday night when he found out another storm was coming.
Good thing he was prepared, it snowed Saturday night and we woke up to snow on Sunday. The kids couldn't wait to go outside and play.
They went out three different times throughout the day.
Their favorite part was being pulled behind the 4-wheeler by Dad.
On Sunday we cooked our own Thanksgiving dinner and everyone helped. Natalie and Austin helped with cooking and Makenna set the table. She worked on it for at least half an hour while we finished cooking a few things, Danny had no fork and I had 8 napkins, but she sure was proud of herself! I wish I would have thought to take a picture of our table.
Sunday while our turkey was cooking we put up our Christmas decorations. I was sad to see the weekend end, it has been so nice to just stay home and be together. Danny has been working out of town the last couple weeks so these few days together have been great for us!! Now on to Christmas....
The fan club...waiting for our favorite cowboy to ride!
Getting ready to ride with some help from Dad.
Austin with his ribbon after the wild ride....still smiling!!
Natalie wants a Nintendo DS this year.
Austin wants a Mobigo and a Deer Hunting game.
Makenna would like a present. I think Santa should be able to handle that one!!
We had family pictures taken a couple of weeks ago. We decided it would be easiest to just take them in my parents backyard. I love how they all turned out!!
Friday afternoon we went to Chuck-e-Cheese. It wasn't even busy, I guess because all those horses were fighting over the bales of hay!! Ha Ha! Then on Friday night we went to the light parade. It was pretty cold but luckily it was short and sweet.
Austin and Natalie had blankets and hot chocolate to keep them warm!
Makenna was so excited to see Santa Claus! It's going to be a fun Christmas with her this year. After the light parade we went to see the lights at the pond.
It really has been cold the past few days. The day before Thanksgiving there was a blizzard warning and I guess everyone was stocking up on supplies just in case. Austin heard Danny and his uncle talking about it and he made a list of things he would need in case there was another big storm. He packed a gun, knife, flashlight, food, and water in his backpack Saturday night when he found out another storm was coming.
Good thing he was prepared, it snowed Saturday night and we woke up to snow on Sunday. The kids couldn't wait to go outside and play.
They went out three different times throughout the day.
Their favorite part was being pulled behind the 4-wheeler by Dad.
On Sunday we cooked our own Thanksgiving dinner and everyone helped. Natalie and Austin helped with cooking and Makenna set the table. She worked on it for at least half an hour while we finished cooking a few things, Danny had no fork and I had 8 napkins, but she sure was proud of herself! I wish I would have thought to take a picture of our table. 
Natalie was Diane Crump. Diane Crump was the first woman jockey to ride in a parimutual race and the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby. Natalie was excited to dress in Danny's jockey clothes, she made a tote-board as a background and brought some pictures, a whip and goggles. 
Austin and Makenna were so lucky to have their picture taken with Diane Crump. Some of the other famous people we enjoyed meeting were George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ben Franklin, Pocohantas, Davy Crockett, Paul Revere, Orville Wright, John Wayne, Lucille Ball, and Walt Disney. 
Today, Dad helped her change her crib into a big girl bed, she was so happy and kept hugging and thanking him.
So far she has done a lot of jumping, and not any sleeping, so we'll see what happens tonight when it's bedtime.
Makenna also got her ears pierced last week. She didn't even cry, and was so excited when she looked in the mirror and saw her earrings.
I am also working on trying to get her excited about potty training, but so far this is the only thing she thinks her potty seat if good for. Funny girl! Oh well, guess we will try again in a few weeks. She is at such a fun age right now and is always making us laugh. I love watching her learn new things!.jpg)
Natalie the Jester
Superman Austin.jpg)
Makenna the fairy..jpg)
Makenna was oh so happy with all of the candy she collected. And as you can see by her face, she started sampling it right away!!
On Thursday I helped out with the Halloween activities in Austin's class in the morning. There were lots of fun centers that we rotated through and a Halloween parade through the school. We came back later that afternoon and helped with Natalie's party too, they played games and then made spooky graham cracker houses.
Superman Austin and his friend Buzz. (thanks for the pictures Sam)
On Saturday we went to Salem's Trick-or-Treat and then went to see all of our Grandpa's and Grandma's. My Mom had made a yummy dinner for us. It was a fun night and Austin and Makenna came home with another bag full of treats. Natalie went to a friends house for pizza and trick-or-treating. We missed her, but we're excited to see her growing up and having fun with friends too.
