Girl Scouts

This weekend,we headed out to the girl scout camp out. Because GS USA wanted over $400 for one night, we took off for a Baptist camp near Lake Texoma which was only $150 for the night. This also meant that little brothers could come along too. The "cabin" was cool with 4 bedrooms full of bunk beds, and a main eating and kitchen area. MUCH better than the tent where the boys had to sleep!

Our first stop was a boat ride. One of the girl's grandpa owns a pontoon boat and took us out. It was lots of fun, though cold, getting splashed with the water. But the wind was starting to pick up and we were headed back in, when a large wave came over the front of the boat and nearly sunk us. But we made it though, just a wee bit traumatized. Everyone was wearing life jackets so we would have been  fine but very cold.Thankfully, he was able to get the engine (which had been drowned) started back up and we made it back in. We wound up with some sopping shoes and a fun story to tell.

Here is the first and only group to go on the boat.

Fun around the camp.

The next day, we took a hike to the beach. It was very pretty and green there. You wouldn't even think you were in the southwest.

There were thousands of tadpoles in every little bit of standing water. We brought one home, and he is currently swimming in a cake pan on my counter. The internet says it can take anywhere from 2- 12 weeks for them to transform. We're hoping for two weeks. Hopefully, he won't be like the caterpillar who was with us for 3 months.

The lake was gorgeous on Saturday. Not so windy and cold. The girls all enjoyed collecting clam shells.

EEW!

Riverwalk and Alamo

Today, we explored the Riverwalk some more, ate at Rainforest Cafe, took the boat ride around the river, and explored the Alamo, followed by a swim at the hotel indoor pool. When asked at the end of the day what their favorite part was, both replied "the baby duck". Guess we could have saved a bunch of money by just going to the park. 

The best part of the vacation so far according to the kids.

 We liked this triangle shaped building which looks like a freestanding wall when you look up at it.

Riding the camel

Snow Sledding

Christmas Eve

 We enjoyed Christmas eve with family by going to the Gaylord Texan Hotel. We didn't do the ice, but the girls had lots of fun going down the snow hills. It wasn't nearly as pretty during the day so we plan to go back tomorrow to see how stunning it is at night.

 After, we went to our church's candle light service and then out to eat. The girls got some balloons made there.

 

After a sweet christmas story, The Crippled Lamb, it was time for bed before Santa came!

 On Halloween, we had Trunk N Treat at our church. Our car was decorated as the MOPS car. We had a fun game, mop hockey, which is actually pretty tricky with the wind blowing your balls away. The girls enjoyed the other cars, bounce houses, pony and train rides. Thankfully, they didn't find the free cotton candy booth! After, we went trick or treating in our neighborhood. Halfway through, I had to carry a very whiny witch home because she got a blister on her foot.Believe it, or not, we actually made it through the whole day and they only got one piece of candy. For some reason, that's all they asked for, and I wasn't going to offer it if they weren't asking.

Theo's Surprise Party

I have decided to start a blog to update family and friends on what's going on in our family. At least it will encourage me to upload photos from my camera before the card is full and I have 400 pictures to deal with at one time.

These were pictures from Theo's surprise party last Saturday. We had a lot of fun and actually surprised him! He's officially OLD now!