Lately: Where'd Fall Go?

We are well into December and counting down the days 'til Christmas, and yet my phone is full of pictures from late November and early December that have never made it onto the blog. Here's a quick recap of some of our non-holiday happenings of late.

We got some new furniture. It looks nice but our order was completely wrong! The sofa was upholstered in the wrong fabric, the chair is missing the brass nailheads and our drapes were never ordered. What a nightmare!

Boys' night = pizza night

The boys found new bowls at the farmers market to support Empty Bowls Houston.

Friday night dinner out at Mia's Table

An afternoon snack on a chilly day: crunchy nutty muffins, apple slices and hot cocoa.

Henry chose Denmark for his heritage project.

Of course we had to get out Will's Portugal tripanel too!

Swedish meatballs with my favorite fifth grader after a middle school interview 

Wine and Icees at Little Matt's after a particular rough day.

This one is a goofball. She dropped her dirty tennis ball in the dishwasher and couldn't get it out!

It feels like we've been doing Scouts nonstop around here. Our favorite service project is the Jingle Bell Express where we package up bags of food for families in need.

Cub Scout campout last weekend at Galveston Island State Park

And finally, Freyja in the sun.   

What have you been up to lately?

Good Reads {November 2016}

As the first semester is drawing to a close, the boys and I have been racing to finish the twenty Bluebonnet titles. Henry finished all twenty in record time!  

Here's a look at my favorite books from November:

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

This second book in the Inspector Gamache series was even better than the first. I'm not always a huge fan of mysteries, but the characters are well-developed and I am enjoying these cozy mysteries.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
I tried to read Bel Canto years ago at the suggestion of a friend, and just couldn't get into the story of a private-opera-performance-turned-hostage-crisis. This time around, the story drew me in and I didn't want to put it down. Gorgeously written.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
I picked this up after reading a novel for book club that I intensely disliked, and it was exactly what I needed to cleanse my palate. A librarian is laid off from her job and creates a bookshop on wheels in Scotland. A sweet, light read.

Nightmares by Jason Segel
This is one of the four Bluebonnet nominees I read in November, and it was a fantastic middle-grade read. Charlie Laird's nightmares are coming to life and Charlie and his friends must race to stop the evil ruler of the Netherworld before he takes over the real world. Spooky, but not too scary for upper elementary school-aged children.

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
Set in the late nineteenth century, The Wonder is a tale of Anna O'Donnell, a young Irish girl whose parents claim that she hasn't eaten in four months. English nurse Lib Wright and another nurse are hired to watch the girl for two weeks to determine if she's being fed. Though the plot moves slowly, the story in engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Fog Diver by Joel Ross
This Bluebonnet nominee was hands-down Henry's favorite, and he couldn't wait for me to read it so we could talk about it. Set in a dystopian future where a poisonous fog covers the land, young Chess and his crewmates on a salvage raft set out on a journey to save their guardian, and themselves. Henry's already read the sequel and says it's even better than the first. A must-read for kids who love adventure.

What have you been reading lately?

A Saturday Adventure: Sheldon Lake State Park

Last Saturday was a beautiful day in southeast Texas, so we headed out to Sheldon Lake State Park with Mike and Jess and the two older cousins for a morning of hiking.  

Ruby came along for the adventure!

View from the observation tower 

We saw herons, egrets, frogs and a huge alligator on the road as we left the park!

We're hoping for more hiking adventures with the cousins in the near future!

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, with the focus on gratitude and spending time with those you love. The feast is an added bonus -- Ruby is a big fan of the turkey!

Once again this year, we purchased our turkey from our favorite poultry farmer at the farmers market and it was so good. Gene brines it and then cooks in on the grill, which frees up my oven for all the sides. 

So much good food!  

We hosted Gramma and Grampa at our house and they brought along two pies (apple and pumpkin), cranberry sauce, and sweet potato casserole to add to our turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, corn pudding, and Gene's homemade rolls. We had a feast!

I am always so thankful for family and look forward to gathering together on these special holidays.

On Friday, we celebrated Thanksgiving a day late with Nana, Pop and all the cousins.  

Reading in a tree.

Michael

 Mary

An afternoon stroll on a beautiful day, 

followed by playtime in the backyard 

I also took our family pictures over the weekend. These are a few of the outtakes that didn't make it onto the Christmas card. 

Love these two turkeys so much!

 

I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was full of good food and special time with family and friends!

Field Day 2016

Field Day was last week! This year, third and fifth grade field days were at the same time, so Gene and I popped between the two classes to catch as much of the action as we could.

Here's Henry cheering on his class, McClintock's Medalists! 

Henry competed in four events: the obstacle course relay, 2 person sack race, crossover, and over and under.

#1

Will competed in three events: the obstacle course relay, baton relay and over and under.

Check out the amazing sign one of the mom's made for his class:

As always, field day was a blast!