Give it up for .......

.....the cutest Wizard of Oz characters around. The Scarecrow, Dorothy, and Glinda the Good Witch from the North. Tonight was the Fall Festival at our church. We had a great time. The kids loved wearing their costumes. Reese was a trooper and loved the entire evening. Raylee even won the costume contest for ages 0-2! There were lots of games, a bounce house, a hay ride and plenty of food. Both Ryland and Raylee won goodies at the cake walk. Such a great evening. Since Leland couldn't attend, my friend Donna joined me to help with the kids. I couldn't have done it without her. With 3 kids, 2 hands just isn't enough.

Sandy and I ended up creating the scarecrow.

I think it turned out quite well even with all our frustrations with that hat.

Raylee was such a cute Dorothy.

She LOVED her sparkly red shoes and the basket with "Toto."

Reese did great. She wore that foam crown all evening. I'm so glad we found that butterfly wand since she ate on it all evening.

They were so cute together. Since I lost my voice today I had to have Ryland help keep Raylee around because I couldn't talk loud enough for her to hear me. They were precious going through the maze together.

Donna helped so much by carrying Reese for me.

Reese made it until the very end and finally crashed on Donna.

As we were walking out, I noticed Raylee walking with her head on her shoulder. I guess she was wanting to sleep on a shoulder and hers was handy.

Thank you so much to Sandy for helping me finish the kids costumes. Ryland's hat turned into a major ordeal, but we got it all finished. Thank you so much for your help.

Random Happenings

We've had a good week with Grammy here. Raylee loves having someone to play with even though she has her attitude moments and acts like she doesn't. Reese likes having someone to hold her all the time also. I've been glad she's here too. I got sick (the nasty head stuff) on Tuesday. I felt terrible so I was glad there was someone to keep things going while I crashed. I'm improving but now Leland has it. The kids also have a nasty cough. I always love the cold weather arriving, but it does always bring sickness when it first comes.

Sandy and I have been working on the kids costumes. Our church is having a fall festival Sunday evening so they have to be ready by then. I think they are going to be adorable. I'll post pics Sunday night probably.

Ryland had a field trip yesterday to the Country Critters Farm. There was a corn maze, pumpkin patch, bounce house, story time, etc. He had a great time. Field trips are so much fun. I'm anxious to see what the next one will be. :)

Reese and I will be going to a ladies retreat Friday night. I am so excited. I'm ready to get to know more of the women at our church and make new friends. Grammy also gets the night with the other 2 which they are so excited about. Just fun all around. :)

Well, I know this was random but I thought I would at least update what our week has been like. Have a great rest of the week and check back for costume pics. :)

Weekend Fun

Sandy (my mother-in-law) flew in again last Wednesday. This time had a true purpose besides seeing the grandkids. One of Leland's cousins got married last Friday evening. We headed to Tyler right after Leland got out of school and arrived just in time. The wedding was outdoors at the Rose Plantation. Very lovely. The ceremony was short (good for kids). The reception was also outside under a tent. So much fun. They had wonderful food and plenty of running space for the kids. It got pretty chilly so we wrapped the girls up in blankets and kept on. It was so much fun spending some time with the family. Some we hadn't seen in several years. Ryland had a blast with his cousins also. We had some good laughs and enjoyed the time. Here is a sampling of the pictures.

We wanted a picture with Sandy's mother since we were all dressed up.

Granny, Grammy, and the 3 R's.

These are the older cousins. Those 4 boys took tons of pictures and ran all over the place. Great Fun!

Grammy was good at holding a sleeping girl.

Raylee loves Leland's cousin Brandy. Ray was cold so Brandy helped keep her warm with a blanket.

Leland and his cousins Jackson and Chris. These 3 were a handful growing up.

And here are their boys Tye Allen, Ryland, and Bryce - handfuls also. :)

Sandy is 1 of 5 girls! They are Judy, Brenda, Glenda, Sandy, Carolyn and their mother Dell in the center.

Just a cute self-portrait.

"Yeah for cake!" They took forever to cut that cake so a cheer was needed.

This morning I went to get the kids clothes out for church and Sandy said she had put Ray in the brown dress. I was puzzled because I didn't know she had a brown dress. After seeing her I realized what brown dress she was talking about. It was one of mine when I was a little girl. I hadn't realized it would fit her now. I'm so glad Sandy did that because I probably would have missed the chance for her to wear it. Ray thought she was so pretty also. So these pics are for my mom - look familiar?

So pretty!

Yes, I have an attitude girl. My family is loving watching Raylee with me. I was quite a case growing up so it should be interesting watching she and I grow together. We are both very stubborn so we'll have to see how the future folds out. :)

I had a very nice birthday yesterday. We just had a family day. We ate at Applebees (where I got the chocolate meld-down for dessert) and went shopping at an outlet mall down the road. It was just fun being with my family. It's funny how when you are younger you want a big whoopty-do for your birthday. Now I just want a day with my family. Thanks for a great day.

Kelly

I wanted to wish my sister-in-law a Happy Birthday today. She is a wonderful sil. She keeps us all laughing with her fun sense of humor. She and Leland really get on a role sometimes. Happy birthday Kelly. I hope you have a great day.

Wiggains Clan

We had a fun full weekend. It had been a plan that my parents were to visit this weekend. Then Kelly called and said they would be in the area for her family and wanted to spend the night with us. So we then called Mitch and insisted they come also. So we had 8 adults, 5 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 cat in our house Saturday night - what fun! We had a great weekend though. We hadn't seen Tyler, Kelly, and Keynan since Christmas and we hadn't met Jacey yet so this was a much needed get together. My brothers arrived Saturday evening after 5 and my parents arrived around 10. We stayed up way too late chatting. Sunday after services and lunch at Spring Creek BBQ, the girls had pedicures. What a relaxing 1 1/2. We all looked beautiful also!. Tyler and Kelly didn't leave until 7:30 Sunday evening so they probably didn't get home until after 1am! Monday my parents, Mitch, Katie, Jacey, me and my girls headed to Allen to visit my mother's sister Donna. We had a great lunch with her and enjoyed her new house. Mitch and Katie headed home from there. Mom and Dad left this morning. It was a great visit with everyone. We all decided we need to do this more often. It is 5 1/2 hours for each of my brothers to come here, so my house is a nice middle ground. Maybe we can plan this again soon. Thanks for coming everyone. I can't wait to see you again at Thanksgiving.

My parents. My family.Tyler, Kelly and Keynan. They are expecting another boy in January.Mitch, Katie and Jacey.
The girls' beautiful toes.
Jacey and Reese are 2 1/2 months apart.
They'll have so much fun growing up together along with Tyler's newest boy.Raylee and Keynan are 9 months apart.

They were so sweet together.

Raylee loved having someone her age to play with and just showed Keynan all around. Uncles are so much fun.

Mitch has always loved building things and Tyler is just great fun.

Poor Keynan wasn't sure why there were other people in his bathtub.

My girls are used to bathing together and thought it was great.

When Tyler's newest addition arrives in January there will be 5 cousins in 26 months.

Ryland the oldest grandkid.

Isn't he just adorable!

So is this one.

I didn't get many pictures of Jacey. She is still so tiny and very attached to her momma. Hopefully Thanksgiving I can get a few more to share.

Haircut and Guitars

Since I'm turning 31 in a few days, we decided it was time for a new hairdo. I've gotten in my same rut again. With the exception of a couple years having it short, I've pretty much had the same type hairstyle since high school. It has gotten curlier for sure (each pregnancy it curled more). Some times I do straighten it with a blow dryer and a brush, but most days I let it curl and I pull it up the sides (I can't stand for it to fall in my face all the time looking down at kids). So I hunted on the Internet for a good salon. I found one in north Arlington and called for an appointment. Surprisingly they could get me in the next day. I gave this lady full reign. She was really good and asked alot about my hair and my routine. I told her we could do whatever she thought would look best. She ended up doing lots of layers and surprisingly more bangs. She styled it straight with a flat iron since the curls were flat from all the combing but said that curling should even be easier with all the weight and thickness gone. At this salon they also touch up your makeup for you before you go. I had to go straight from the salon to pick up Ryland from school. (I was a little bit late) He didn't recognize me. He said it was more the face than the hair. (I hardly ever wear lipstick or gloss of any kind). It was fun though. I really liked the lady and appreciated her telling me what she was doing and why. I might have to go back there when it's time for another cut.

Before

After - we'll see how it goes after I wash it and attempt the curls.

This evening one of Leland's former students came by for supper. He is in a band and living here in the metroplex. It was good to see him again. He was always one of Ryland's favorites. He played the drums in high school and Ry loved to watch him at the football games. Ryland won a guitar at Six Flags last weekend so he pulled it out when Cody got his out. Ryland loved it. Cody asked Ry about school and who his best friend was. Ryland responded "you Cody." He's just so cute.

Aunt Lesa

Leland's sister Lesa flew into town last Thursday. That day sure was an adventure. That morning my friend Donna called and we decided to hit the Home Depot Landscape Supply store since it was the first day of the liquidation. We found a few good bargain's and then headed back. We talked at my house for a while and then it was time for me to head to the high school to take Leland some lunch. We went there and then the girls and I left at 2 to head toward Dallas. My first destination was the Greater Dallas Press in Garland. Leland's first paper was ready and since I was headed that direction anyway I volunteered to pick it up to save the delivery costs. It wasn't too bad getting there. Since it was early afternoon the traffic wasn't bad and my directions were very good. Then I was headed to Love Field. Now starts the adventure. My directions had me go down Mockingbird Lane. Good idea - if the street was OPEN! So I had to circle around and find a major street that I knew would go through. Lesa called when she got off her plane and was worried I had been waiting a long time since her arrival was late. I still wasn't even to the airport yet, so all was well. Now the girls had been sleeping this entire time. I planned naps around this adventure. Both woke up a few minutes before the airport. Unfortunately, Reese decided she was starving. We had to circle 4 times before Lesa was finally outside waiting with her bags. We quickly found a convenience store for a bathroom and a quick feeding. We finally left there at 4:45. Not a good time to be leaving the downtown Dallas area. But oh well. It wasn't really too bad though. Traffic was at least moving. We made our way to the Parks Mall where I was to meet my boss's daughter to exchange paperwork. We arrived there at 5:30 - 3 1/2 hours since the adventure began. I called Leland and informed him we were eating at the Spaghetti Warehouse for supper since I'd had such a long afternoon. Unfortunately, Reese decided she didn't want to be in a restaurant so I quickly ate and headed home with the girls. What a day. We all survived though and we had Lesa in tow.

Saturday we had the grand idea to try Six Flags. We had some free tickets and the boys needed to purchase their season passes for next year so off we went. It was a nice overcast day but extremely humid and no breeze. It was also very crowded. We rode the few main rides we wanted to and then headed home. Nice thing about living here I guess.

Sunday Lesa kept Ry and Ray while Leland, Reese and I went to work at the high school all afternoon. We got lots done so it was productive.

Today Leland has in-service stuff and Ryland has no school. We have our first parent/teacher conference this afternoon. I still can't believe I have a kindergartner! We might attempt the State Fair this afternoon, but we'll see how the day goes first.

Lesa flies back home tomorrow evening. We are so glad she came to visit. The kids love spending time with their aunt. Single aunts are so much fun - no one else to tend to so 100% playtime. Thanks for coming!