My first earthquake- I personally think it was neat, I know science nerd; but oh well! I really didn’t think I was feeling tremors from the Nov. 5th Oklahoma earthquake when it happened. I first thought Lady was shaking the couch I was sitting on. Then I thought I was having some kind of balance issue, where my body was playing a trick on me. John was in the kitchen walking around and never felt a thing, which only made me question my own sanity more. I saw on FB friends from Oklahoma posting about the quake they felt, but kept dismissing it as an option, should have known better. The next day I saw that people had felt it in North Texas and so I wasn’t crazy! That made me feel better! Then I could get excited about it!
First Meeting of the little Allens and the Chick-A-fil-a Cow- Ian, Eli, and Makaela had their first meeting with the “Chick-A-fil-a” Cow (that is how you pronounce Chick-fil-a in our house). As we walked into Chick-fil-a they were fine. He held the door open for us and they walked in. Ian got excited as the lady behind the counter asked if he had seen the cow and if he had given him a high five. Even Eli talked to her about seeing him. Side note: not sure if this is the local Chick-fil-a’s or what; but since we have moved the two that we’ve gone to in Denton are AWESOME! They are very kid friendly, helpful and just a pleasure to go to. I’ve really become a fan. Now back to the cow, everything was fine as we ate and the cow was outside. Then he came back inside and some other kids started to cry and hide in their parents, mine seemed okay. Ian wanted to give him a high five and so the cow slowly made his approach. Everything was going great until he stood next to us and patted Makaela on the head. She looked up and him and started crying and trying to jump out of her highchair. Then Eli joined her as Ian still trying to get the cow to come closer for a high five. The cow backed away and I told Ian to go over to the cow. Eli calmed down and so did Makaela. They didn’t scream like some of the other kids, but you could tell they didn’t want that cow near them. As we got ready to leave Eli decided that the cow was okay again and said he wasn’t scared. Well, that lasted for about a half a second. We got up and the cow was blocking the door out. He was unaware that I was trying to sneak my kids around him without them having a cow themselves. I was holding Makaela and my Dr. Pepper and Eli was trying so hard to climb up my leg that it made it hard to walk. Ian on the other hand was trying to get the cow’s attention to say goodbye. I kept trying to keep the others calm and just to walk through the doors. We got outside and safely in the car. Eli commented “That cow scare me!” A little funny, but a little worried how they will react when we go see Santa. Last year’s picture with Santa turned into a family portrait because Eli wouldn’t go near him and John wasn’t going to take a pictures with Santa without me in it too. Looks like we might have another this year judging from the cow reaction.
Noah loses his first tooth- He literally lost his first tooth. He had one pulled in August but we didn’t count that one, since he didn’t lose it on his own. We were also a little worried that he was going to have to have this one pulled since his new tooth had already started to grow in behind it. It was slowly getting looser and John decided one night it was ready to come out. Noah however, was not ready. He didn’t like the idea of Dad pulling it out, so John told him to keep playing with it; it should come out soon. Well, the next day he runs off the bus yelling I lost my tooth! He really did loose it. He was playing at recess and getting chased by girls- a norm for Noah when his friends don’t bring a football or basketball; one of the girls pulled him to the ground. He said when his head hit the rocks the tooth just popped out. And of course he didn’t find it. The tooth fairy being “all knowing” still gave him a dollar for the lost tooth. Noah was very excited and now claims he has 2 more loose teeth.
Caleb’s first hunting trip- Last year we decided to let Noah go and the boys shot a good size buck. Caleb watched last year all the work that goes into it after you shoot the deer and did fine, so this year he got to go. We bought all the camo stuff and even a deer blind since the deer stand was not going to hold 3 of them. With just everything that was going on for our annual Thanksgiving hunting trip at Great Grandpa’s the guys were only able to try 3 times. They only saw 1 doe on the 1st evening and Caleb didn’t even get to see it. John’s uncle did get one and Caleb and the boys took a picture with it. All in all Caleb enjoyed the experience and can’t wait till next year.
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| Uncle's Deer, but we will pose with it |
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| Trying out the new deer blind |
Our first wedding- sort of. I’m calling this a first just because the other weddings that we have been too we either didn’t have kids or the kids were way too little to even remember anything about them. John’s dad got married over the Thanksgiving break in a small and beautiful ceremony. It was just family and a few friends, which I thought was a good way to introduce them to the wedding experience. Check out the page "Only from Kids" for a conversation we had with Noah about what happens at weddings.
We got ready at Papa’s and his new wife’s home. The reception was at the house and it had decorations and tables all set up when we arrived the afternoon of the wedding. We explained to the boys to “STAY AWAY!” and please help watch Makaela so she wouldn’t get into anything either. John went to help his dad out with a few things that had to be done before the wedding and I stayed at the house with the goal of getting my hair and Makaela’s hair done. The kids were doing great until I walked down the hall to get the stuff ready to do our hair. Then Makaela went into let me drive mommy crazy mode. She never touched anything just kept running through the tables with Caleb chasing after her. Then she also explored the new house opening kitchen drawers and cabinets; which at home always ends up with us doing extra dishes, so the boys were kept busy. When it came time for her hair she kept messing with everything on the counter. There were new bathroom décor that she hadn’t seen before, so she had to see what she could get away with touching. From the pictures you can see she thought it was all very funny!
We got ready at Papa’s and his new wife’s home. The reception was at the house and it had decorations and tables all set up when we arrived the afternoon of the wedding. We explained to the boys to “STAY AWAY!” and please help watch Makaela so she wouldn’t get into anything either. John went to help his dad out with a few things that had to be done before the wedding and I stayed at the house with the goal of getting my hair and Makaela’s hair done. The kids were doing great until I walked down the hall to get the stuff ready to do our hair. Then Makaela went into let me drive mommy crazy mode. She never touched anything just kept running through the tables with Caleb chasing after her. Then she also explored the new house opening kitchen drawers and cabinets; which at home always ends up with us doing extra dishes, so the boys were kept busy. When it came time for her hair she kept messing with everything on the counter. There were new bathroom décor that she hadn’t seen before, so she had to see what she could get away with touching. From the pictures you can see she thought it was all very funny!
Now I didn’t get any pictures of the kiddos dressed up for the wedding, didn’t even really think about it until after they were undressing. We have a few of them trying on their outfits- the boys thought they were studs! We are waiting to see what pictures come back from the photographer at the wedding and if I can get the chocolate out of Eli’s shirt, we might play dress up just to get some more pictures. They all looked too cute!!
