Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this Thanksgiving day, I (Brooke) am so thankful for so many things and feel blessed beyond words...my hope is that all of my family and friends feel the same way about their lives.
So, from our family to yours...HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

(Here are 3 of my biggest blessings...)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Our "Little Boy" is 4!!!

We can barely believe it even though Brenden reminds us daily, that he is now 4 years old! That's right "Just like Hailey!" :) Brenden turned 4 on Friday, November 6th but we had what seemed like a week of festivities to help us celebrate this special occasion.

On Friday (his birthday) We both (Bobby and Brooke) took the day off of work so we could spend the day with Brenden...as he deserved. We both dropped him off at school only to return about an hour later to bring his special birthday snack. We stayed at preschool briefly to watch Brenden and his classmates enjoy the birthday treats and then we left so they could finish out the day. We all picked Brenden up after school and then headed out to South Point for a special haircut and lunch. Brenden could not have been more excited about both. He loved the VERY special haircut but we think he enjoyed the chairs (a car) and the movie (Cars) more than anything else. After the haircut we traveled over to Chick-Fil-A for a yummy lunch and some time on the play space.

That night we went out to dinner to celebrate the special occasion. We let Brenden pick and he of course picked his very favorite "Robins" (aka Red Robins). Brenden had a blast enjoying the fries, gifts from family, and of course the song/attention from the workers! :) It was a GREAT ending to a wonderful day!

On Saturday morning Brenden headed out to Chapel Hill with Bobby to enjoy his very first "Go Heels" football game. This was his big bday gift from us and he was VERY excited about this experience. They took Brenden's buddy Avery and his daddy with them for the festivities. It could not have been a better "gift" for Brenden!!! He enjoyed some tailgating fun both before and after the game and lasted the entire football game even without a nap! Bobby was so proud and loved every second with his big boy! Brenden couldn't stop talking about the game when he got home and for over a week after the event. We are very blessed that this was such a success for Brenden and that he had such a good buddy going with him.

Finally, our last birthday activity was the "Go Heels Tailgating Party" on Saturday, November 14th. We never know what the weather will be like in November but we decided to plan an outdoor party and hope for the best. We were very excited that things worked out so well...beyond what we expected. We had lots of fun "tailgating" games including Brenden's new "Go Heels" Cornhole game (that Papa made him). We also had some yummy tailgating food. Brenden had a blast with it all!!! He loved hanging out with his buddies James, Stephen, and Will. He was so excited to see his Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He absolutely loved spending time outside with his friends and family! It was definitely one of our favorite birthday celebrations so far and we're very appreciative for the huge success that we had from start to finish!

NOW...on to the most fun after so many words....here are the pictures from all of the different celebrations. Brenden could watch this "movie" a million times if we would let him! ;)

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Halloween 2009


Our family is definitely a big fan of Halloween. We love the idea of the great fall weather, adorable decorations around our house, dressing up in fun costumes, and spending time with friends and family. Now, we'll be honest in saying that we're not HUGE fans of candy...but we do enjoy that perk of the holiday as well! ;) This Halloween was, yet again, a very exciting, fun, and busy time for our family.

All of the fun actually started on Friday morning. Brenden got to participate in a GREAT costume parade at his school. He and his classmates all wore their costumes that morning and then paraded around the gym for all of the parents to admire and take pictures. Mommy could not attend this year, but luckily Nana and Daddy were both there to wave to Brenden and take these adorable pictures.



























































On Saturday we knew that our day was packed with lots of events, but the weather threw us a little bit of a curve ball. Brenden was supposed to have his last soccer game that morning but the rain gave us the opportunity to enjoy a yummy family breakfast at Cracker Barrel instead. After breakfast we headed out to The Pollard's for Caleb's 1st birthday party. We had such a great time there visiting with friends as we watched all of our kids play together. (We forgot to get the camera out of the van so sorry we didn't get any pictures.)

After the party we all got into our costumes and headed over to The Durham's house for their Halloween party. This year, we decided to all dress up with a Carolina theme.

Brenden was a Carolina football player...

Bryleigh was a Carolina cheerleader...
Mommy was a Carolina fan...

and Daddy was the Carolina football coach, Butch Davis...

The Halloween party was a blast for all 4 of us! They had some great games planned for the kids and some yummy snacks for us all to enjoy. Brenden really enjoyed their "Go Heels" playroom, winning the scavenger hunt, hitting the pinata, and getting to leave the party with one great sucker! :) He wasn't so sure about the haunted room that they had, but maybe he'll do better with that next year! ;)





















After the party we decided to head over to our church's West Club campus to see Nana and Papa, enjoy a few of their festivities, and go trick or treating at a house or two. We were so excited that we successfully completed all of our goals at that visit.

































We finished the evening up fairly early so we were able to head home, eat dinner, and get the kids (and ourselves) to bed at a decent hour. Success from start to finish!!

We still consider Halloween to be great Holiday with our kids but we're definitely eagerly preparing ourselves for Thanksgiving (Bobby's favorite) and Christmas (Brooke's favorite)!!!