George Observatory

HMNS hosted a member night at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park.  We headed down south, with a stop at Niko Nikos in Pearland for dinner along the way, to check out the stars.  We got to the park a bit early, so we did a little exploring while it was still light out.  We saw a lot of deer, but no alligators, which was a little disappointing.  We will visit the park again during the day to try and spot some.  Finley had so much fun with the telescopes.  She saw Jupiter and its moons, a nebula and even the craters on the moon!

Getting Grace

Finley has been savings her pennies since December. She originally wanted to save up to buy the American Girl Blockus game set, but once the Girl of the Year was announced, her mind changed. And the budget quadrupled! Finley has been dutifully dusting, emptying the dishwasher, feeding the cats and even cleaning the litter boxes to earn the money for Grace. And tonight all that hard work paid off. We went to the store to select her new doll. Finley paid with her coin rolls and cash, which caused quite the issue with the cashier. Once everything was squared away, we had dinner together in the café. Finley brought Marie Grace with her, dressed to match, so she got to take home two tea cup sets, which was very exciting. I don't think she stopped smiling all night!

Visiting Santa

The tradition continues, once again we visited Bass Pro Shop to visit Santa. I think it gets more and more crowded every year. We waited over an hour in line and that was after getting a Bass Pass an hour prior to that. Finley requested Star Wars Legos, Princess Legos, American Girl gingerbread house kit, a stuffed Grinch and a kitten. We shall see if Santa fulfills all her wishes! And here is a look back at all her visits with Santa: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Gingerbread House

Finley's school hosted a gingerbread house Christmas workshop for all the students in the lower school.  Each family got a gingerbread house and an enormous candy buffet was set up in the hall.  Finley was so excited to select all the different candies to decorate her house, she was quite proud of her creation. I think nearly everything was covered in frosting by the time we were done.

Happy Thanksgiving!

First Lost Tooth

Finley's bottom tooth has been loose since before Halloween.  It really didn't seem to be progressing very quickly until last week and all of the sudden it was super loose.  On Saturday night, she brushed her teeth and out popped the tooth!  She was so excited to wrap it in pink tissue paper and put it in her new tooth fairy pillow that Miss Courtney made for her.  She still hasn't taken the dollar bill out of the pocket!

Happy 6th Birthday!

Finley turned six years old on Sunday.  We started the day opening presents.  She got a nightgown for her doll, a matching one for her, a Lego Eiffel Tower and a new doll bed for Marie-Grace.  She had a letter hunt around the house and was so excited to follow all the clues to find the bed.  That afternoon, we had a party with Max and all her school friends at the bowling alley.  The kids had a blast bowling, eating pizza and having cupcakes.

School Picture

Trick or Treating

We went over to Aunt Rose and Uncle Ferrell's for their annual haunted house and for some trick or treating.  Finley had so much fun riding on the tractor and going through the haunted house.  She also showed off her Thriller dancing skills when the video played.  Faith had baked a pumpkin pie for Clifton and she had also made an awesome coffin cake. 

Happy Halloween!

Dance Class Halloween Party

Grocery Store Pumpkin Shopping

No big trip to the pumpkin patch this year, so it was a short trip to Kroger instead.  With a visit to Arne's (Finley loves it there, so much to see) beforehand and a stop for bubble tea after.  Finley selected two pumpkins to carve for our porch.  She later "decorated" them with flower petals.

Zoo Boo

Finley was super excited to attend Zoo Boo today in her Lilo costume, she even brought along her bear dressed as Stitch.  There was a pumpkin patch, lots of candy stations and zoo tattoos.  She also participated in the costume parade and Thriller dance lessons with the animals.