Family of FIVE!

Thanksgiving One: Fancy Gap!

 Bill and Barb, Popsy and Baba were so gracious to rent us a gorgeous and spacious cabin for Thanksgiving! It was located in Fancy Gap, VA which was only 2 hours away from us! Thank goodness too because Katie and Uncle Dave had the wonderful opportunity to sit in the back with the girls on the way there.

 The weather was a tad chilly but not too bad for us to play outside and enjoy the view of the Shenandoah Valley.

 We went on a short hike to see a waterfall and enjoy some time around a lake.  

 Aunt Jill, Uncle Mark and baby Lily came too. The girls were so sweet with Lily and we enjoyed the evenings as adults and played numerous games.  A specific game left us with sore cheeks from laughing.

 It was so fun to be all together as 'grown ups'! Ha. There was (of course) amazing food, coffee and conversation.

Catching up- Hallers meet Laine

 Its been a busy month and we haven't posted in a while. Sorry.  Here are the pics from when we went to visit the Eakers to meet their new baby Laine!  Raschelle, Ella and Ryan came too so we were ALL together. It was so fun.

 Here's our attempt at a family photo! Ha.

 Ashlyn was enthralled with the "Bebee" and loooved giving her lots of attention, kisses, soft touches and asking to hold her. Laine was adorable and compliant and let everybody love on her newborn softness.

There was a lot of playing outside and lots of crazy Grandpa activities such as the below car ride contraption.

We had a great time and it was nice to all be together before the crazy holiday season coming up.  And of course, it was so nice to be around a quiet, pleasant and cuddly newborn.  Sweet Laine.

Next up- Trip to Fancy Gap, Thanksgiving and more!

Hallerween

 Pirate Arrrghhhi and Dino Ashlyn for the Holy Ghost-wienie-roast at our Church. Jk, they don't call it that but it was a Fall Festival outreach. Fun for the girls to eat their first cotton candy and play on bounce houses.

Even Dan was able to have a turn at the bounce house! 

In between our church's halloween event and actual Halloween, we had two sweet sweet visitors: Aunt Jill and baby Lily. She is a at a sweet baby age and tried her best to catch all the action that Ari and Ashlyn gave her but we ended up wearing her out! Thankfully, no damage was done to their home during the hurricane so Lily was able to be home for her first halloween.

The night of Halloween was predicted to be a tad chilly. So we had to modify our costumes a tad to make sure the girls weren't cold.  Ashlyn doesn't love that Dino hat so I put a jersey and a hat on over her fleece jammies!  She's crying because I made her sit down and take a picture instead of letting her get into the stroller! Ha, sweet opinionated one...

Ari talked about being a pirate for two weeks but then fate struck against me and she would NOT stop talking about being a princess. So, we compromised and she was a pirate Saturday and a Princess Wednesday.  I found an inexpensive Rapunzel pajama dress that she wore with pride for two days and even during naps.  She was very proud... and I was too. She was sweet.

They figured it out rather quickly and were eager to knock on the doors for free candy. Ari kept forgetting to say "Trick or Treat" and when we would remind her, "Ari, what do you say?" She would answer "Please!" Such a practical girl. She didn't love some of the teenagers' scary costumes and was hesitant at some of the homes.  I feel the same way, no need to be scared.  We saw some friends and they had a really good time going together. She's already talking about what she wants to be next year.