Our First Fall in Texas

Once school started up it seemed like the months just began to fly by.  Before we knew it Fall was here (according to the calendar, anyway) and a whole new set of adventures awaited us.  Fall in Texas is very different than the Fall we experienced for three years in Tennessee.  Basically it is still hot as heck and there are no pretty color changes in the trees to enjoy.  It actually reminds me a lot of the weather in Tallahassee, where I lived for 27 years.  I suppose Tennessee spoiled us by actually having seasons.  

Our amazing neighborhood hosted a family campout the first weekend of October up on the lawn at the clubhouse.  Mama doesn't camp so I stayed until around midnight before taking my happy butt back to the house to sleep in my soft, warm bed!  Daddy was a good sport and stayed all night with her.  

There was an outdoor movie on the big screen, popcorn, hot dogs, a bon fire, s'mores, a photo booth with costumes, a craft station, pumpkin painting and all kinds of fun things to do.  All completely free, simply because we live in a wonderful neighborhood!

Ready to choose their camping spot

My absolute favorite thing about our neighborhood is seeing the Dallas skyline in the distance at sunset.  It's so beautiful!

When I returned home I found this sweet surprise from some thoughtful new neighbors a few houses down.  Turns out they moved here from the same small town in Georgia that Matthew grew up in and we have many friends in common.  

That same weekend Matthew took Kyndall fishing for the very first time, ever.  There's a pond right behind our house and to our surprise, it's packed with a ton of hungry fish!  They used plain bread and caught so many I lost count!  Catching your first fish is one of those childhood right of passages that ranks right up there with learning to tie a shoe or learning to ride a bike.  I still remember going fishing with my own Dad when I was Kyndall's age.  She had so much fun and her joy could not be contained and it was contagious as she attracted several onlookers who cheered her on.  I'm so thankful for these simple yet priceless memories.  These are the moments that make life worth living!

A little backyard practice beforehand....

This video was taken a different day but I still wanted to include it.  After that very first fishing trip they were quite literally hooked!  Every free minute they had was spent down at the pond together. 

In October, Kyndall was invited to her first birthday party since moving to Forney.  It was for one of her classmates and she was so excited to go!

That night we had our very first Bucee's experience.  I've always heard about this place but never imagined it would actually live up to the hype!  I guess I'm officially a Texan now!  If you've never heard of Bucee's (pronounced Buckey's) then you're probably not from Texas.  It's basically a chain of gas stations that are world famous for their super clean restrooms and their vast assortment of, well....everything!  It's like a mini Wal-Mart inside that place with everything from snacks and drinks to home decor, clothing and toys.  I never thought I'd spend an hour in a gas station and I certainly never thought I'd walk out $35 poorer!  We got sucked in.

Apparently all the excitement was too much and this little Texan crashed while we waited for our dinner later that night.

One of the highlights of our fall was when my best friend Julie and her son Cam flew to Texas for a visit with us.

I navigated through rush hour traffic in downtown Dallas to fetch them from the airport....That's love!

First things first....Showing Cam where the fish are

Kyndall has really gotten into the Junie B. Jones book series since starting kindergarten and I read her a few chapters every night before bed.  I was so excited when I heard that Forney High School was putting on the play.  Kyndall, Cam, Julie and I all went together to see it and she even got to "meet" Junie B. and the other characters after the show!

Saturday we checked out some really cute little boutiques in downtown Forney while the kids enjoyed crafts and visiting with the adoptable animals that were on display.  

I'm happy to say we walked away with ZERO animals that day but it wasn't for the lack of these two begging us!

Sunday we hit up another Texas "must-do", the Texas State Fair.  They say everything is bigger in Texas and I'm finding that to be true and this world famous fair is no exception.  I felt like we were entering the gates of Disney World when I realized we had to park miles away and be shuttled in!  

Big Tex!

This Mama is no fan of fair rides so thankfully Aunt Julie took one for the team and agreed to ride all the wild things with Kyndall and Cam!

The Dippin Dots queen got her fix

I come strictly for the food!

My favorite part of the fair was the Taylor Swift exhibit!

It was a HOT fall day!

Daddy took one for the team too!

What in the world?!

After the fair we took Cam and Julie to Whatabuger....They'd NEVER been!

No trip to Texas is complete without the Bucee's experience!

It was so great having Julie and Cam here for a few days and it did my heart good to feel like a piece of "home" had come my way.  

The next few weeks were packed full of fall activities, including a pumpkin decorating contest at the neighborhood clubhouse.  Each child picked a pumpkin from the neighborhood pumpkin patch and then decorated it any way they wanted.  My crafty and creative girl had me take her to the craft store the night before to get all the supplies needed for her planned masterpiece.  While the other kids were happy to just show up and use whatever supplies were provided, Kyndall had a specific plan.  So typical of her!

Choosing her pumpkin.....

Somehow I got roped into helping....

Her completed masterpiece...a glitter rainbow pumpkin! 

Guess what?....She won!

When we returned home that afternoon we found that we had been "Boo'd" which is something the families in the neighborhood do each year.  You simply leave a Halloween goodie on someone's font porch and then once you're "Boo'd" you return the favor to someone else.  It was a lot of fun!  

The weather was so perfect for a few weeks that we spent lots of time outside....Crafting, playing, eating, fishing....whatever we could do to stay outdoors and soak up the fall weather while it lasted!

Sometime around October I started volunteering in Kydall's class every Friday.  I arrive in time to have lunch with her which is something we both look forward to all week long.  Once lunch is over I typically stay until the end of the day, doing whatever her teacher needs me to do.  

On this day I helped the kids gut a pumpkin and count the seeds....

Love my Friday lunch dates with my girl!

These two are quite a pair!  Ashlyn lives across the street and she and Kyndall quickly became BFFs after we moved in.  They are two of a kind and so sweet together!  Every single afternoon they meet in the park between our houses and play until the sun goes down.  They're not in the same class at school, but they certainly make up for that during their free time.  I am so thankful that Kyndall has found a best friend so quickly because I worried so much about how she would adjust to leaving all her friends in Tennessee behind and moving to a new place. 

The school district encouraged kids to wear orange for "Unity Day" back in the fall and we found the perfect shirt for it!

Kyndall and her classmates on Unity Day

We visited a new church and we've been attending there ever since.  It's hard to fill the hole that Englewood Baptist left in our hearts but we're trying....

We met up with the Coble family for a day at the pumpkin patch.....

(Ashlie and Josh were our friends from Jackson who also moved here last year.  Ashlie also had a liver transplant, shares my birthday, my name, etc.)  

Maley Elaine slept through most of the excitement! 

These comparison pictures from our past visits to the pumpkin patch make me realize how quickly she's growing and changing....

Seems like yesterday she was this size!

 I had to fly to Nashville for a night in order to have a check up with all of my doctors.  I may live 10 hours away but I will ALWAYS be a patient at Vanderbilt.  

I had not yet left her with Matthew since Kindergarten started so I felt the need to leave several detailed notes to remind him of all the things we do to get ready for each day.  He's more than capable but I just tend to be a bit of a helicopter Mom!  I did also leave them each a card to make up for my bossiness...

Nashville was beautiful and being there such a short time made me miss it even more.  I had a good check up with all of my doctors but the infusion that I was supposed to receive at the end of the day didn't happen.  After five sticks and three different nurses trying to get an IV in place, they finally called in IV therapy but they were so backed up that it would make me miss my flight if I waited on them.  So, I left without my infusion which was frustrating.  I'll actually be back in two weeks for another check up so we shall try again at that time.

Once again our neighborhood put on another wonderful Fall event, this time a Fall festival.  There was a petting zoo, bounce houses, a hayride, cake walk, face painting, balloon making and lots of yummy food.  Best of all, it was all free!  We live in such a great neighborhood!

We completed our first home improvement project in the fall, which was installing hardware on all of our cabinets.  Kyndall found this pink hard hat at Lowe's....

Daddy's helper

Crazy hair day at school

And crazy sock day....

Fall pictures.....

Mommy and Kyndall, kindergarten comparison photo.  I don't think she looks anything like me!

Halloween in our new neighborhood was a ton of fun!  There are SO many kids and so much action.  Kyndall chose to be "Max", the dog from The Secret Life of Pets. 

Our sweet neighbors have sort of adopted us and they love to spoil Kyndall with all kinds of treats.  For Halloween they gave her this giant chocolate bar.

A few houses down one of our neighbors was selling BBQ sandwiches and funnel cakes!  We HAD to stop in and get a funnel cake!

 The day after Halloween happened to be a Monday and I was feeling pretty sorry for Kyndall's teacher and all she'd have to endure with a room full of 5 year old Halloween hangovers so I sent her a little treat!

Random moments from the Fall of 2016 that I want to remember...

She made this and surprised me with it

Rainy day checkers

Goodnight hugs

Finding random pictures on my phone always makes me laugh!

Working on an activity book while we wait for dinner

We love making homemade pizzas!

A few of her drawings that I was quite impressed with!  These are all Pokemon characters and despite how much I dislike Pokemon, I was pretty proud of these!

We were all very excited when Donald Trump won the presidency.  Kyndall had to go to bed before the election was called but she popped right up out of bed the next day and asked who our new president was.  I was relieved to tell her it was NOT Hillary Clinton and also proud that she took an interest in the election.

Saturday mornings are for cinnamon rolls

....And coloring with Daddy

....And painting furniture with Mommy

She loves helping me with chores and I love her servant's heart

When the weather got pretty cool we had our first fire in the fireplace, paired with a cup of hot chocolate

We started collecting supplies for our Operation Christmas Child shoe box that we donate every Christmas.  I love this tradition as much as she does!

The boys got fall haircuts

.....Which wore little Huckabee out!

She officially transitioned from taking baths to showers and was very proud of herself.  I still have to help her with all that hair, but I'm thankful we've finally moved past the bubble bath phase.

 We found a great new photographer who lives right here in our neighborhood and she took our Fall pictures....

Time is passing too quickly!!

As you can see, our first Fall in Texas was a busy but exciting one!