Halloween

Clearly I'm out of order on updating past events.  It's Christmas Eve and I'm still trying to catch up on posts from events in October.  For Halloween this year, Isaiah dressed up as a train conductor.  Honestly, we debated so long as to what to dress him as that it was too late to order something, and he already owned every part of this outfit.

Normally we would attend our church's fall festival (usually a week before Halloween), but this year Isaiah had a GI bug and we stayed home.  We did enjoy time with friends on Halloween night at the Alley's home.  They live in our neighborhood and host the annual Halloween party for their block.  We don't live on their block, but they're kind enough to include us.  Isaiah and William Jones trick-or-treated a bit down the street with their daddies in tow.  Isaiah is becoming more difficult to photograph these days as he often refuses to look at the camera and rarely smiles for it, but here are a few pictures from the night...

William Jones, the astronaut, and Corban Cartner (I mean, Peter Pan)

Thanksgiving in North Carolina and Kissin' Cuzins

We traveled to North Carolina to celebrate Thanksgiving with Chris' family this year.  We spent Thanksgiving Day in Winston-Salem with Ginger's extended familiy.  We met Arlo (Isaiah's second cousin) for the first time.  It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed playing outside.  There is a decorative metal rooster and chicken in the yard that Isaiah was obsessed with the entire time.  If we asked Isaiah what the rooster says, he'd say "dock-doo-doo".  We couldn't really get him to eat any lunch because he was so fixated on the rooster.  Of couse, he did take a break for dessert. 

Charlie with Arlo in the background

Aunt Deda and Arlo

We made the beautiful drive from Hickory up to Blowing Rock for some shopping.  Unfortunately, Isaiah didn't really get a nap so it wasn't the most pleasant experience.  We did stop at the park in downtown Blowing Rock for the kids to play for a little while.

Hallie and Isaiah had a lot of fun together during our visit.  Hallie now says "Saiah" for her favorite cuz.  She likes to give him kisses (which tend to look like she's trying to bite him).  Isaiah calls Melissa "Sissa".  We also learned that Isaiah's very vocal nature comes from the Starnes side of the family...he and Hallie have very similar volumes when expressing happiness or discontent :)

Kiss on the head...

Trying to escape more kisses!

Here's a fun video of the kids playing in the hall/entry...

Overall, we had a great Thanksgiving and truly we have so much to be thankful.  It's very easy to lose sight of the purpose of the holiday in the busy-ness of traveling.  Hopefully, we can impress upon Isaiah the importance of daily thankfulness to God for his many, many blessings.

Dancing Kings

Mom, Lindsay, and Landon came in town in November to visit Lindsay's friend, Brooke, who is experiencing difficult health issues.  They stayed with us and the boys had some playtime.  I love this video of them dancing to the rhythm of the washing machine!

30 Years Old!!

Chris turned 30 on October 11th this year.  We celebrated with Corky's BBQ and cookie cake with the Jones family.  Chris is the best husband and father to my son I could ever ask for, and I'm so thankful for the 30 years he's graced this earth.  I hope they'll be followed by many, many more!