Thanksgiving on the Farm

Before our early Thanksgiving in China Spring, the kids' school honored the veterans in a slide show and a program.  I took pictures of the slides of my grandfathers.  Even though they didn't get the information right, like my PaPa being in the Navy instead of the Air Force, it was still so humbling to see their names on the screen.  Makenna and Tracen were so interested in finding out about their times and places of service to turn it in.  The program was great.
 

 

A.J. Uptmore himself got to come home for our celebration of Thanksgiving.  He is at a place for Alzheimer patients now in Waco.  It has been many hard months with him only coming home twice.  Granny is just amazing.  Grandaddy was so alert that day.  Feeling like he doesn't know where he is to hearing him say as he is leaving that he is going to go and get better at the other place just breaks your heart.  You don't want him to know he is not at home, even for a second, but then you are amazed at his old self coming through...trying to make Granny feel better about him going back to his new home.  It is such a neat place.  Huge back porch with rockers, 3 home cooked meals a day, only 8 or so patients total, great recliners and tvs and games, and people that can take care of him.  Bittersweet.  Seeing him looking at his land out the window was a sight for sore eyes.  I love that brave man.

 

There was another new addition of Chapel March there this time!  She is 2 months old and so cute!  Jenny, my cousin, has her hands full with Nation who is one and this sweet girlie!  Loved her.

Trying to take a pic of great-grandkids is just hilarious.  The babies Nation, Lainey, Tennessee, Chapel, Maddie, and Ellie were all not there or sleeping, too!  Whew, what a group!!

Granny and me...she said she closed her eyes!

Kids decided to build a fire.  After watching them rub sticks and rocks together for an hour, Uncle Terry decided to work some magic(with his lighter) and actually start the fire.  Ahhhh!  

Mailey and Taylor, who was nursing her hurt finger Mailey had just smashed climbing the tree.  

TW, Chelsea, and Tennessee...and one more on the way in June

Sweet smile shot!

Uncle Terry proud of his work, while all the other parents and grandparents are a little worried...ha!

Getting warm on a warm day.  Another note, see the stick in the fire that Makenna is holding?  She decided it would be fun to touch the stick to her face right after this.  She "didn't know it would be hot, too!!!" and burned her cheek.  THAT is why we don't play with fire...even if it was the oldest getting burned!  Such a fun and super quick trip.  So worth it.

 

Halloweeeeeeeen

This year we had Tinker Bell from the dress-up bucket who really looked just like the real deal,



A monster hunter from the coat closet,

And another monster hunter/was going to be a monster/freaked out with green paint on her face like she wanted/this costume is horrible/meltdown/who cares I get candy anyway.

 

 

The boys. Tracen, Isaac, and Josue

Sweet peacock Isabella

Short little tired legs

Kynleigh, Mak, and Rosa

And the best candy face ever.

Pumpkin Patch 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The (crazy, ut/ou weekend, 3 hr train ride, lost wallet, comedy of errors) State Fair of Texas

We went for our annual trip to Corinth to celebrate Mom and Marc's b-days. We decided to go to the State Fair weeks before.  The kids had never been, and I hadn't been in ages.  A day before we left we realized it was Red River Rivalry day AT the State Fair.  Oh my.  But what do you do?? We were headed there, and all decided to go anyway.  Might not have been our best decision ever.  Haha!

We looked online and saw the train took us all the way from Lewisville to Fair Park.  Awesome.  But Lewisville didn't run every 15 min that day.  We then drove to Carrollton.  There the rest of the metroplex had decided to go to the game/fair on the train as well.  Also, Carrollton was having some downtown festival. So 45 min later we finally found a parking spot and walked to the station.  We got on...super late to meet Mom, Dad, and Scott at the fair, but at least we were finally on the train.  It took forever and ever and we had to switch trains and Tracen had to pee so we missed the switch and had to wait some more.  Oh my!!  Soooo 3 hours after we left Marc's house, we got to the fair.  Mom and Dad had been waiting forever and Scott was oh so jovial.  It was just nuts!

 

At least they thought the train was sooo cool.

 

So glad we got a pic in front of Big Tex the weekend before he burned down. 

To escape the crowds upon crowds, we went in the Southern Living Greenhouse and were pleasantly surprised at how cool it was in there.  The kids also got to decorate a pumpkin for free.

 

 

 

Since everything was soooooo ridiculously expensive and the entire city of Austin and state of Oklahoma was there, the kids did one thing each.  Fun house for Tracen and Mailey(so so funny watching her bump into the clear walls trying to find the tunnel) and a roller coaster for Mak and Bubba.

This part of the fair was awesome and FREE.  The kids got to experience the agricultural experience from planting to harvesting and selling and then getting a snack at the end with their fake earnings.  They loved it!  It also happened to be across from the ginormous screen showing the Tech game, which Scott and Tyson loved.

Getting their aprons

 

 

Learning about seed and getting a bag.

Harvesting the apples.

 

 

Milking the cows.

Planting seeds

Wheee!

Getting a fun snack.

This trip was just crazy!  But I will take crazy to hang out with our family!  On the train ride home, Marc's wallet fell out of his pocket. Such an awful feeling.  We waited for the train we were on to come back into the station, and the conductor had it in his hand!  Oh my what a relief.  

Also on this trip we hit a dead wild hog in the road outside of Seymour.  It sounded like grinding, clanging metal and scared everyone to death. It tore off the protective shield thing and dented the exhaust, but everything else seemed fine so we kept driving.  Well, fine besides the feral burning animal guts/hair stench of death we had to endure afterwards.  It was the most disgusting thing ever.  After we came home from the trip, we made an appt with our car guy to check it out to see if it was alright.  As I drove it that week, more and more things started to make noises and it began to sound horrible.  I was so worried!  We had just spent a ton of money fixing some things and had the word that it was good for a long time.  I was so happy because we have not had a car payment in forever, and I didn't want one for another forever. (our van was 2005) When we took it back to our car guy, the news was not good.  Basically everything besides the engine was toast.  Exhaust, muffler, power steering unit, catalitic converter, tread was ripped from tires on the inside, machine gun-like punctures everywhere, and STILL some umm...bacon...all up in everywhere.  GAG.  To get it fixed would cost only about $600 less than it was worth.  Oh my.  So we had to get another car.  It is used and was such a blessing to find and we got a great deal on it, but still, so hard for me.  I was sick about it.  I just knew that there was nothing else to do, and that God knew it was fine before and now was dangerous to drive.  We were able to just rest in that and decided that this was what we had to do.  Yes, a trip can get crazier!  Wild like a hog.  I NEVER want to see, or smell, that ever again amen!