Out in the west Texas town of El Paso....

Ben, Emery and I spent Thanksgiving with Ben's family in El Paso. Ben's older brother Jerry, sister-in-law Korey, nephew Austin and niece Alexa live there in a fun-filled house with gorgeous views. Emery had a blast playing with her cousins and Ben and I were able to relax thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Slagel and their fabulous babysitting!
We watched "Toy Story 3" about five times during the trip. GREAT movie, although I cried at the end. Austin has this fun Buzz Lightyear scooter that Emery fell in love with.....guess we might have to tell Santa about that item.

Skinny dipping! Well, only Emery. The rest of us wore suits.

Sweet Mazie

Crazy Rosco. Jerry and Korey have the cutest, most entertaining Boxers. I hadn't seen them in two years, but I think they remembered me. I love these dogs! They are so good with the kiddos.

Grandma with Austin, Jerry with Alexa and Ben with Emery (I had a friend make these turkey shirts.....aren't they adorable?)

The next generation of Slagel women

Sunset at the country club

Emmy's first golf lesson with Daddy

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving....and a fun weekend in Atlanta

Emery and I headed down to Atlanta this past weekend for the baptism of precious Bree Benich and were able to squeeze in lots of fun in 48 hours.

A trip to Starbucks with Cuz

Aren't they cute in their matching ensembles?

Random picture.....I had Emery's Easter shoes bronzed. I could just cry! She's getting so big.

Yay!!! I got to see most of my girls for dinner at Thai Diner (my absolute fave) and then a showing of "Morning Glory." Delicious dinner, chick flick and lots of catching up. Thanks, Alison, Lindsay, Meri, Paige and Tara! I had not been to a movie in YEARS (not exaggerating), so this was truly a special treat.

Emery modeling her cute Thanksgiving shirt (thanks to Jaime Butcher White!) while sitting on a Christmas tree box.

Hedklotz Park--Emmy's Favorite Place

Greenville is home to one of the best playgrounds/facilities I have ever seen. Herdklotz Park boasts two playgrounds (one for little kids, one for bigger kids), a jogging path, amazing soccer fields and two pavilions with grills/restrooms/tables. It is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon....which Emery and I have done three times this week! I know the weather is about to get cool so I'm trying to cram in as many outdoor activities as possible. Emery is the type of kid who needs to be worn out.....I wake up every morning thinking "what can I do today to tire her out?" Thankfully, Herdklotz is something we can both agree on!

Making her way up to the big playground

Taking a break to watch some soccer

Showcasing her gymnastics skills

Having fun on the little playground

Deciding on a slide

Started the day off with some gummy bears

Sharing with Maddux

Emery's First Date

Emery and her boyfriend, Davis, enjoyed their first date at the country club Wednesday evening. It was a last minute plan, but thankfully they were both free. Mommy and Daddy chaperoned, along with Davis's mommy and daddy--our friends Casey and Reggie. Emery is about a month older than Davis (he likes older women) and they play so well together. Davis was a perfect gentleman. Here's hoping he calls....he's still in his three day window. Fingers crossed!
Started off with warm rolls....

Took a break to run around the lobby....

Admired the pumpkin carving contest winners....

Returned for their entrees....

Emmy wanted to call Davis but Mommy gave her a lesson on how to play the game! Hee hee. She's starting young!

MORE Halloween Celebrations

We finished the month with a bang. This Halloween season has been loads of fun. Every weekend included some sort of party, festival, parade, exhibit or beach trip. Emery has had so much fun...and the fun continues! Next up is a trip to El Paso for Thanksgiving with the Slagels and then comes all the Christmas events. Whew!

We went back to our old neighborhood, Richland Creek, for their annual Halloween parade. It was so fun to visit with our friends and Emery had the opportunity to explore on a fire truck.

Emery is such a tomboy! Here she is trying to wrestle with the Manning and Grimes boys.

Holy Batman!

Mommy and Emery at the start of the parade. Emery worked up quite a thirst walking up the hill.

Emery calls ghosts "boos!"

Practicing trick-or-treating in our driveway

Friday night of Halloween weekend was spent at Thornblade Country Club with the Yeltons and Kennemores at the kids' Halloween party. Hamp carved an excellent pumpkin for our table. The staff had the pumpkins hollowed out and carving kits were available for each family. Great job!

Emery checking out the other entries

Aven the Pig, Avery the Puppy, Emmy the Panda and Hudson the Monkey. Adorable!

I cannot believe Emery's panda costume from last year still fits.