State Fair of Texas

While we were in Dallas for Graham's birth we took the kids to the State Fair of Texas. Mike has many fond memories of going to the fair with his dad and brother. Their goal was to try to win as many prizes as possible. He said they would have a trash bag full by the end of the day. We did not attempt any of the games but we had a great time walking around, riding a couple of rides and eating...

We "tried" to take a family picture with Big Tex. Fletcher's Corn Dogs are DEFINITELY the best fair food ever. Just don't think about the number of grams of fat and calories they have in them and enjoy!All four kids loved the corn dogs. Emery and Aubrey even enjoyed theirs with mustard on it.
My brother was working in one of the First Aid stations on that day so we stopped by to say "Hi!" to him. The girls had a hard time understanding why Uncle Drew had to work instead of be with them and they were really confused about where his helicopter was that day.
The College Gameday truck was there for the OU/Texas game the next day.
Daddy took Aubrey and Emery on a carousel ride. Aubrey had a big smile on her face the whole time and Emery cried the whole time.
Aubrey and I rode a roller coaster together. I tried to get her to ride with no hands. She held on pretty tightly to the lap bar but had a blast.
The next best fair food is a funnel cake. Lily made sure she licked every bit of the powdered sugar off that plate. Not a very healthy day but it was all very delicious.
After a morning of walking, eating and enjoying a beautiful fall day, the kids were very tired!

Graham Haggard Hall

Our first nephew was born on Wednesday, October 14th. We headed up to Plano that morning and got there with a little time to spare before his birth. ALL of our nieces and nephews have been born at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano. It has a great play area for the cousins and soon-to-be big sisters to play.

Honey (Anna's grandma) and the Hall girls taking a walk.
Graham Haggard Hall
Graham getting his first bath. They have a new hospital policy that the babies stay with their mothers as much as possible so they even give them their first bath right there in the bathroom of the labor and delivery room. It is fun to watch this because as a mother you don't get to see this part since it is normally done in the nursery.
Proud Papa and Uncle Mike
Proud PawPaw and MIMI
The Daddy holding his nieces.

The new big sister.
We went back up to the hospital the next day to see baby Graham again. The girls love their new cousin and Carter is super excited that there is another boy in the family.

Aubrey and Lily are asking Anna Lou what she thinks of her new baby brother :-)
Baby Graham at home.

Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to The Old Time Christmas Tree Farm to pick out our pumpkins. It is truly a tree farm that is made into a pumpkin patch during October. It is smaller than some places but it is perfect for getting some cute pictures and buying pumpkins. 3 out of the 4 were very willing to get their picture taken.

Emery didn't think the pumpkin patch was all that great.Aubrey at the pumpkin patch when she was 8 months old.
Carter at the same pumpkin patch when he was 9 months old.

The boys
Aubrey the pumpkinLily the witch

Carter the ghost

Little lamb
The end of a fun day at the pumpkin patch!

Astros/Cardinals Game

MIMI came over to watch the 3 youngest kids so we could take Aubrey to a baseball game.

What are you doing Lily? Emery thought this was really funny but I'm not sure MIMI did.
My dad sent Aubrey this shirt after the Cardinals won the World Series when she was 20-months old. It seemed huge at the time but it kinda fits now. Aubrey and I went as Cardinal fans...loyalty to the team I grew up watching (I was a huge Tommy Herr fan in the 80's) and because the Cardinals were only 2 games away from clinching the playoffs.
Uncle Drew had to go to Galveston to scout sites for his Spring Break mission trip so he was able to stay with us a couple of nights while he was in town. He came to the game with us and of course is a Cardinals fan also. Mike was the lone Astros fan at this game!

TCU Football at the Meloys

John Meloy, Mike and I have been friends since freshman year of college. We are also all BIG TCU fans. We were able to go over to their house to watch a game together this season. GO FROGS!

Lily was loving being held and Angela was loving some girl time.
Another BIG fan.
Aubrey has the "death grip" on Joe. She was insisting that he take a picture with her...I'm not sure how he was feeling about it!
The kids loved playing with all the different toys.
Snack time.
They also loved playing outside on this big swingset. Sorry about the pantless picture...we were having some potty training issues that day. Emery had to borrow a pair of Jacks big boy undies.