Fall Fun 2013

Billings has a great corn maze on the west side of town that everyone makes at least one visit to this time of year. They had plenty of activities for kids, though they were pretty redneck, but the girls loved it.

 

 We rode two different tractor-trains that pulled us around the cornfield. We played carnival-type games, played on playgrounds, and we went through some mini-mazes. We didn't attempt the full corn maze because we heard it took 45 minutes to get through...which translates to an hour and a half with this group.

 

 

 

 Then it was time for Halloween! We went to 5 Halloween Parties. Yep. We looked the same in all of them so I won't post all the pics. The girls were fairies, Josh and I recycled our Toy Story costumes, and Hadley was a dalmation (I went as Cruella DeVille to our church party with her).


Handing out candy at the Trunk Or Treat



The Johnson's Halloween Bash

 And the three Cutest Fairies EVER!

 

Happy Hadley

I feel a little bit of "mommy-guilt" for not documenting the life of my 4th child the way I did my older ones. Hadley is now 7 months old! Holy cow soon she'll be walking, eating at the table, and my days with a baby will be gone for good.

 

After having 4 babies I must honestly say that Hadley is the Best. Baby. Ever. No joke. I thought Lydia was a good baby, I thought Scarlett was my easiest, but so far Hadley just blows away the competition. Here are some truths to support my case.

 

- Hadley was sleeping through the night at one week old. After the first week we just moved her to her own room. She's been solid ever since.

- Hadley never, well rarely, cries. If she does there is always the same solution: food.

- She lets her sisters manhandle carry her anytime. No complaints

- She's gone camping, boating, hiking, swimming, and on long roadtrips with the family. She is never ever a problem. She just rolls with it and never makes a peep.

- She eats well, she naps well, and she's never sick.

 

 

 But what makes me happiest is that she is happy in our family and happy with her sisters. She lights up when she sees Lydia walking home from the bus. She laughs and dances with Scarlett. She giggles when Claire tickles her, and she smiles when daddy smothers her with kisses. And all I have to do is smile at her and I see that cute little gummy grin smiling back at me. We are really enjoying Miss Hadley Sue.

 

The big storm

In Billings we've fully experienced what the term "microburst" means. In late summer there were some storms that came through that were violent. We've had bad storms in Texas for sure, but our neighborhood got caught in a microburst that really tore up a lot, with 75mph winds. It was so scary to watch, we didn't dare go outside. We lost our playset, as it toppled over and the roof flew off. The trampoline just took flight, jumped a few fences and ended up in a tree down the street.

 This from a crazy hail storm the day before the big storm.

 

We felt sorry for ourselves for a little bit...then we heard about all the problems some of our neighbors were having. LOTS of basements flooded when the hail and other debris broke through the windows. Cars were flooded, trees and other backyard equipment were ruined. So we felt very fortunate. In the end the things we lost were just things, and weren't essential to our happiness, and no one was hurt. We could fix or replace everything in time, and it would all be fine :)