Thanksgiving treats, surprises, and Christmas crafts

Surprise blossoms in the yard!

 I was looking for some flowers or leaves to put in one of my vases and V told me that there were some really pretty red flowers in the back yard. I hadn't even noticed yet. I was so excited to find these pretty blossoms.

I later recalled that it was a camellia. I remembered when my mother-in-law, who is very good at gardening, referred to a bush in her back yard as the "Camila bush." She names a plant after each grandchild. So, Camila, you will have some bushes here too.

Qq Queen preschool and more November preschool crafts

We had a royal preschool the other day, but I forgot to take pictures until the very end during the end of a craft and stations. Prior to these pictures we learned about the moon/crescent shape, the color purple, the number 9, and queens and fairy tales.  It was one of those days when I had too much prepared and we didn't get to do everything and a few things didn't go as planned. That can be frustrating, but it can also be a good thing. 

One thing that was surprising, was that the girls really enjoyed making a picture out of a moon shapes. Katherine made a butterfly. Zori did too. I wish I had taken pictures of the others. They all turned out so cute. Khloe's was a bridge scene with a rainbow and moon. Eleanor impressed us by drawing a really great crescent shape without even needing the paper.

perler beads on pipe cleaners

 Queen dress up. I love most Melissa and Doug products and plan to keep and use them with my grandkids one day.

 Grant and Kate in the princess tent(which we won at a pizza bingo one year)

 Katherine took the queen thing pretty seriously. This is the ensemble that she chose the following day. Seriously, this girl is sassy. She is also starting to like to choose her own clothes sometimes. Luckily, she likes me to get out her outfit sometimes too.

 And later in the week, she decorated her Q queen.  I love the face, especially the cheeks! Here it is pictured on the Gallery of fine Art (an awesome Christmas gift from Lorel a couple years ago). Beside it is a cool owl that Grant made!

On the topic of preschool crafts, the crafts that Kate made at the LaRue's and Womack's houses were so cute! I loved displaying them for Thanksgiving. I am so glad for creative and dedicated ladies to do pre-school with!

Grant's field trip to Chippokes

Mrs. Baker's first grade class went on a field trip to Chippokes Plantation. We went with 2 other classes and took turns doing three different things. The simplest part was my favorite and Grant's too. We went on a walk in the woods. We walked quietly and looked and listened to the things around us. Our guide told us some interesting things too. 

 We found some cool beetles living in a fallen log.

 Katherine was happy with this teeny tiny leaf.

 Grant found this tiny little thing. Spur? Seed pod? I'm not sure. He has always been a good "noticer" He used to have a collection (a pretty big collection) of ....weed wacker strings that he found everywhere! It was pretty funny and we collected them in a jar. 

 People often ask if Grant is always so good to his sister. Well, of course not always, but he is very good to her. She is a lucky little girl because all of her siblings are great to her. She loves them dearly for it. We really try to teach family first and at times like this when he could choose to just play with his classmates and not her, it makes me really glad that he includes her and watches over her.

 Maya is a good friend of Grant's who lives just around the corner. She is a cool girl and we like her a lot. 

 The next portion of the field trip was looking at the outdoor museum of old farm equipment. The kids learned how a lot of things were done in the past. They asked some really good questions.

 Lastly, we went on a wagon ride. This is my friend, Cheryl, and her sweet girl, Addy. Cheryl is an awesome mom and an amazing PTA president! Grant was glad to go to Addy's birthday party at the YMCA this year.

This is another friend, Andrea, and her son, Hunter. Danny and I are friends with Andrea because she used to be the assistant principal at the elementary school. Grant and Hunter are friends at school and are about to start playing indoor soccer together. 

 This little gem is of Grant and his friend, Carter. They were together in kindergarten too and get along great!

 Katherine in Grant's hoodie. Seriously, see how she loves her brother?

 Kyle, Carter, and Grant. Kyle is a new friend this year who Grant really likes and we were excited because we discovered that he lives on the street behind us! He came over to play one afternoon and his family invited us there for ice cream sundaes one day too. Really great family. Glad we can get to know them. 

Fun field trip. As always, I am so glad that I can be there for things like this. 

Trick-or-treating!

We had an impromptu culdesac dinner/ trick or treating. It was fun! We are lucky to have some great neighbors.

Pumpkin carving

We got these bad boys done just in time for trick or treating!