Denbury Halloween Party

Yesterday we attended Denbury's annual Halloween party.  We are really loving all the perks associated with Will's work. :)

It was fun to see the building and meet the people Will works with.  

Here is Benjamin learning about oil at Will's desk.

After the tour we headed out to the courtyard for the party. It was such a neat setup - games for older kids, face painting, pumpkin patch, decorating pumpkin station, and fun food.

Will is such a great photographer. (sigh)

Taking a break.

Daddy and Benjamin

Me and my favorite garden gnome. 

Benjamin loved playing with the older kids.  He took hula hooping very seriously. 

 We enjoyed Fletcher's Corny Dogs and funnel cakes for dinner.  Yummy!

We had so much fun at the Halloween party and are looking forward to going again in the future!

McKinney Living

Wow, a whole month of not blogging!

Where have I been you might ask.... 

Well... three weeks ago I traveled to Aggieland with a few of my best friends to watch some Aggie football.  We did some hardcore parking lot tailgating in the parking lot before the game.

Class of 2007! Whoop!

Love this field.

After an Aggie victory, I found Riley to take a classic "Gig'em" picture.  It was so fun to see Riley coaching on the sidelines at Kyle field. I am so proud he is an Aggie!

The next week my parents were in DC so Will and I stayed at their place.  Will's commute from the apartment to work was pretty horrible so staying at Tula and Pop was a real treat.

Yes. It is light outside in this picture. Yes. My husband is already home from work. Yes. I love his new job.

Laying poolside with Hank.

God is so good.

One day during our stay we met Kristen for lunch.

Benjamin loved getting his photo taken. 

After lunch we went over to Aunt Amanda's house for some chalk fun.  Amanda is moving this week so this was our last play date in her old house. 

Man, I am a good Aunt.

Waiting for Daddy looking cute.

Friday we headed back to the apartment to spend our last weekend before the big move!

We enjoyed spending time at Miss E and Boots house over the weekend.

Benjamin especially loved playing sitting on Rex.

He also had fun looking at Miss E's flowers.

This kid loves my hair.

Santa may be bringing a tiny wig this year.

Cute.

Benjamin's love for Patches is blossoming.  He loves carrying him around and giving kisses.

Our gypsy life continued back to Tula and Pop's last week.  Amanda and Brian had already moved our of their house so we ALL were under the same roof.  It was a very special time with lots of togetherness.

Here are the three kids playing in Tula's garden.

Baseball time.

Tula got recruited.

Mommy blogs mostly contain happy, cute picture but in reality sometimes we have days where this is the face we see...

(Still the winner of the ugliest crier)  

Benjamin loves Audrey's new sweater with ears... Audrey not so much.

Thomas Twins.

House shoe twins.

(Thanks Aunt Amanda!)

Snack Time.

Park Time.

Last Wednesday we closed and got our new keys!

To say we were excited would have been a huge understatement. 

Friday we headed back to Fort Worth, dropped Ben off with Miss E, loaded up our cars, unloaded in new house, came back to the apartment, showered, and then...

enjoyed a kid-free Reata dinner. 

Saturday at 8 am the movers arrived...

My parents met us at our new house and helped us move for the remainder of the weekend.

Well, really they are still helping... my dad is currently at my house installing some lights, and my mom just left after helping with some organizing.  I am so, so, so blessed to have parents who are so selfless and supportive of me.  They are the most generous people I know and I am so thankful to have them.

It is starting to feel like home...

Sunday we got Ben from Miss E's house and so far he has loved his new life in Mckinney. 

 Isn't it amazing how resilient children are?

Playing in his new playroom... 

Running all around...

Doing some chores...

Once we get a little more settled I will post more house pics... I still have some nesting to do and we are getting most of the house painted so stay tuned! :)

The Gypsy Life

The title of this blog is a little dramatic... regardless, Will and I have been living a gypsy-styled life lately.  Between the two of us we have logged many hours in the car for job/house/kid related things. We close on our house in less than two weeks (yeah!) and starting next week we are splitting our time between our apt and my parents house.  

We are happy to announce Will started his job this week! Benjamin and I threw him a little party last week to celebrate our new adventure.

The Gypsy life has brought on a love of sunglasses for Benjamin.  He loves sporting his shades anytime he gets a chance and will keep them one for a solid hour until I take them off. 

This past weekend Will went on his annual hunting trip and I headed to McKinney to escape our apartment. My parents were out of town so Benjamin and I had the house to ourselves.  Before heading to an empty Tula and Pop house we played with the cousins.

In this picture Luke was so excited to be twins with Ben, Ben was mad for some unknown reason, and Audrey was just over it (ha!).

Best Buds.

Luke loves to take pictures and then look at them.

"Luke be silly. Ok, now do anything you want!"

I guess he took that as lick Aunt Ali. 

(Note: Hideous pic of me but a genuine reaction.  I had to document it.)

After some fun at Aunt Amanda's we headed over to Tula and Pop's for some relaxing by the pool.

That night my lifelong friend Mary came over for some playtime with our babies. 

My 'baby' doesn't look much like a baby anymore next to Luke.

Ben loves stairs.

I feel my sweet Pepaw everyday and it often hits me at very random moments catching me off guard. There are a few places I consistently feel him - my Memaw and Pepaw's house and at my parents. Being alone in my parents house this weekend really took me back to all the wonderful memories I had with this incredible man.  My mom has pictures of him all over the house - the one below is one of may favs.  I am so happy for my Pepaw and that he is finally free.  I also am selfish and wish he could be here with me.  He would of loved to watch Ben grow. He would of loved to watch me become and grow as a mother.  He would of loved my new house.  It's big moments in life that I wish he was here to share the joy with.  I think he would of been proud of me.  

You know though, I think he is enjoying watching Ben grow. I think he is loving watching me as a mother.  And I am sure he approves of my new house and it's family gathering/football throwing possibilities.  I need to keep reminding myself that he is here... he just has a better view than all of us. :)

Ok, back to Ben's cuteness. 

Cheese!

Waiting for Dada to be home.

Exploring around the apartment.

So big.

  

Living in an apartment means lots of supervised play outside. 

 Let me show you the difference of walks with Mom v. Dad.

Mom.

(Yes, he is in the middle of the street BUT it was 8:00 in the morning and no one was up.)

Dad.

(I see Ben... oh wait, no I don't.)

 Two weekends ago I had the blessing of enjoying some time as Ali and not a Mom.

I met Kristen and Stephanie for a yummy brunch in Dallas before heading to a A&M tailgate.  

I love these amazing friends. 

The Gang.

I missed the memo that the tailgate was pretty hardcore and looked more like a Baylor bear than Aggie. :(

I'll end with the most precious, darling, adorable lady in all the lands.