Thanksgiving!

We had a pretty fantastic time enjoying family for Thanksgiving this year. We spent some time in Hutchinson, Wichita, and Oklahoma City. That's a lot of stops along the way, but all were filled with fun and good times. 

Aidan's favorite part of the trip was getting to shoot bb's with Papa. This guy is all boy and he wants to do all things awesome. 

Once it was too dark to shoot any more, the next best thing was to throw down in some chess. Aidan was just learning the game, but he picked it up remarkably well. Don't tell him, but he'll be getting his very own chess set from Papa for his birthday.

And then there were the quieter two. They found a good spot with Nana to read some stories and get some good cuddle time.

We got to Edmond on Wednesday and spent a great deal of time rough housing and causing trouble with the cousins. 

These 6 really enjoy spending time with one another. This was a special year because Lauren is old enough to play with the others now. Ryla, Noah, and Lauren spent hours playing together in Lauren's room and having a blast.

Then it was time to eat! Yeah, the tables pretty, but we all know that the food is what we're all waiting for

The kiddos even had the chance to sit at a decorated table. I don't know they fully appreciated how nice their table was. They also failed to appreciate the quality of the food they had. Kids....

A big thanks is in order to Uncle Darrel and Aunt Beth for hosting us for another Thanksgiving. They always make the holiday a great experience.

And after stuffing ourselves silly, it was time to get silly. The crew all took their turns playing Redi-whip roulette.

And the festivities were wrapped up by making the first Christmas present of the season. Each of the kiddos made a gift bottle to give to someone in need.

Flying!

Aidan loves airplanes. If you ask Aidan what he wants to do when he grows up, he'll tell you that he wants to be in the Air Force because he would get to fly. Somehow, word of Aidan's love of flight made its way to a friend of ours from church who just happens to have his very own plane! Mr. Albert was kind enough to offer up an entire morning to take the family on a flight to satisfy and stir Aidan's fascination with flight.

Albert even took time to walk Aidan and the rest of us through the pre-flight check list. Aidan was able to learn about flaps and ailerons, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and even radio antennas and the importance of a wing's shape.

This is one of my favorite visuals from the day. Seeing Aidan rocking the headset was pretty awesome. He thought it was pretty awesome to hear the radio traffic running back and forth.

Of course, little brother and sister felt they needed a turn with headsets, too. Ryla ended up having hers taken away because she talked so much that you couldn't hear anything else.

The younger two thought the maps were pretty cool, too. They couldn't wrap their head around how this big map didn't even show all of Texas! It's good to see that their eyes still fill with wonder at the bigness of the world.

As the guest of honor, Aidan was able to ride shotgun. This spot was special because of the view, but also because he had a full set of controls in front of him. Amazingly enough, Albert let Aidan take the controls! Aidan spent around 10 minutes flying slow circles around Lake Travis. The first thing he did was grab the yoke and pull back hard! The plane shot up a few hundred feet in only a few seconds. Once he got that out of his system, he did a really fantastic job flying smooth and steady.

We had a really fantastic time flying over Austin. Thanks again to Albert for giving us such a unique opportunity to make some great memories!

Ryla turns 5!

Ryla's 5?! Can you believe it?! It's hard to believe it is possible for her to be this big, but she will not allow us to forget that she is a full blown "big girl."

Since Ryla's birthday was on a Friday, she managed to drag out her birthday celebration for the entire weekend. The festivities began with a mani/pedi with grandma. The advice we gave Ryla before she left was to stop being so cute....she ignored us.

Ryla chose what we'd have for dinner Friday evening. With no hesitation she requested tater tot casserole. About the only thing she was asked to do over the course of the weekend was put the tater tots on top.

The next event of her birthday was a trip the the gym for some open gym time. Noah was able to go with her and she was also joined by her friend Adalyn.

Then came the birthday celebration proper. Complete with her friend Chloe, presents, and ice cream cake. 

Probably what we appreciate the most about Ryla is that as she grows older, she only grows sweeter. She's a gentle girl with a beautiful personality and a gorgeous smile. Much love to our little girl who makes our family better.