November

We started off the month celebrating Jeff's birthday.
We played pub trivia (and won!), visited The Back Dough for midnight doughnuts,
and showered Jeff with fun gifts, like a ukulele. 

The boys had the opportunity to participate in a handmade market at Arrow.
They each worked hard to come up with just the right product and were thrilled
that they sold everything they brought and made some serious cash.
Max made molded chocolates. Clay produced many artistic masterpieces.
And Weston had homemade hot chocolate, marshmallows, and whipped cream. 

After the market closed, Clay's Arrow dance class put on a lovely performance.

Clay read about homemade drums in a science book and decided to make his own set.

We celebrated Clay's half-birthday with a few small gifts, doughnuts, and The Grinch

Ruth marched in the Veteran's Day parade in Roanoke,
and Clay and I got to watch the parade while trying to stay warm.

Clay decided to make giant pumpkin doughnuts.

Clay got a few plants for his half-birthday
and has been a very attentive gardener.

We had an eggnog taste test.
(I snapped the pic after the almond nog, which was everyone's least favorite.)

We introduced the kids to Bob Ross, and they are now huge fans!

Playing The Worst-Case Scenario Game was probably
one of the most hilarious game nights of all time! 

Weston has gotten really into debate and had the opportunity
to observe a debate competition, where he dutifully
"flowed" (took notes) so he could improve his skills. 

I happened to be up at Arrow one day
and in the vicinity of Clay's robotics class,
so I caught him in action.

Jeff and I had a super fun, spur-of-the-moment date night in Denton.
We saw Little Shop of Horrors at the community theater, visited East Side Denton
and Paschall Bar, and picked up unique doughnuts at The Back Dough.

Weston had a grand adventure camping and hiking for a week in Palo Duro Canyon.

Along with my parents, we made a little trip to Rusk for the Thanksgiving holiday.
This was our first day at the KOA. We had the cutest little cabin and my parents
brought their RV. The little boys rocked at finding the golden pinecones the
campground staff had hidden, and they were rewarded with ice pops.
Papa taught Weston how to make specialty sandwiches on the griddle.
And Weston delivered his fire building/safety talk and helped us get the fire started.

Thanksgiving Day was gorgeous! We took a walk in the woods, rented quad bikes
from the campground, tossed the football around, had plenty of snuggles,
roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, and wore ourselves out. 

I made gratitude journals for each member of my immediate family,
which had entries for every day from last Thanksgiving to this one,
and I presented them to the family on Thanksgiving Day.
They all said it was one of the best gifts they have ever received,
and making them was truly beneficial and joyful for me as well.

Thanksgiving, KOA style

The day after Thanksgiving was spent playing games,
racing bikes, and chatting around the fire. 

We had a great time in the town of Rusk, visiting the longest footbridge in the nation
(according to the city of Rusk) and seeing some murals and historic homes.

Mom and I slipped off for a lovely hike through the Piney Woods.

On our last night at the campground, we cooked gigantic steaks,
had a mini birthday party for Weston, and stayed up literally all night 
watching the Fightin' Texas Aggies execute an epic win against LSU.

Weston became a teenager, and we had fun celebrating with gifts and Wolf'ems.

I had my first ever experience with Jury Duty
and am now much more knowledgeable about the Voir Dire process.

Ruth achieved the CAP rank of Technical Sergeant.

We kept our annual tradition of having an "Average Birthday Party"
(for those with birthdays and half-birthdays in November) at a Brazilian steakhouse.

We celebrated Ruth's half-birthday.

We made models of water and alcohol molecules
for the boys' Arrow science class.

Argentina's Independence Day

We spent the middle part of this gorgeous day participating in the Independence Day activities going on at a nearby plaza. It is always fun to get involved in local festivities, and doing so helps us appreciate how similar people are no matter where they come from. Later, we had a picnic and played at a small park in another, quieter plaza. It was a wonderful day, and we are so glad we got to be a part of it!

Meat upon meat
(And locro, a traditional Andean stew,
which is the main dish on this special day.)

Lots of sweet treats

Joining the crowd in the plaza

Marching Band

Dancers

Enjoying the Bubble Man

Clay was chosen from the crowd of eager kids
to put his arm through a bubble.

When National Wine Day corresponds
to Argentina's Independence Day

Picnic in the park

Big fun!

Round and round....

...And up and down

The boys found this dilapidated soccer ball and
gave it several hours of new life.

Any good Independence Day deserves a good BBQ.
These two were the fire starters.

And this one was the head chef!

Fourth Fun

We have had so much fun celebrating the birth of our nation in Talkeetna, Alaska. We attended the small-town parade and then grabbed some grub at Twister Creek Restaurant/Denali Brewing Company. After lunch, we walked the few blocks through town to the Susitna River, and the boys jumped into a soccer game with some other kiddos. Then we walked back to our RV park on the other end of town and spent the rest of the afternoon reading, napping, and playing at the playground. Later, we grilled salmon and did poppers and small fireworks while it was still bright daylight outside (at 10 pm), because the sun doesn't set here at this time of year until around midnight. The boys were in favor of waiting until 2:00 am for a little more darkness, but since we need to leave early tomorrow morning, we vetoed that idea.

Go Kiss a Moose

Cute little sled dog team

Waiting for the parade to begin

Flags and Antlers

Patriotic Boys

A sight we've never seen in a 4th of July parade

Balloons and buggies

My favorite parade sign

"Moose on Parade"
Mooski Brewski was our favorite!

Susitna River

Horsing around

Salmon dinner

Poppers at 10 pm