Fun Times for the Thomas Fam

We went to Fayetteville last weekend to stay with the Jensen family. It was a blast!! I forget just how much I miss my girlfriends from high school....I'm just so glad I got to see a few of them during this trip. I know we're meant to be in OKC and I'm happy that we're making sweet friends here, but it sure would be awesome to get to see our Arkansas peeps (and a few in other places too) more...we miss them!!

Kate had her first tailgating experience. She did what Kate does best and wandered around looking up to see who was there and threw a few fits because we wouldn't let her do everything she wanted...mean ol' mommy and daddy. She's such a social little girl and that makes me very happy. She sometimes can be a little TOO friendly with strangers and wander a little too far though, so it's a good thing she has us to keep a close eye on where she goes. Brad did most of the Kate wrangling at the tailgate and that was really nice for me because I got to do lots of visiting with Emily, Kelli, and Laura...and I met a few of their friends which was nice too!!
Here are the girls and Parker!! I'm hoping to get to see the rest of the crew over the holidays or after the holidays.

And here's Mr. Parker. Don't worry, he was not the one drinking the beer over his shoulder...hee hee! Kate and Parker played well together but are both very independent little people so they enjoyed exploring different things and only checking in on what the other was doing every once in a while. Brad and I were both blown away with Parker's skills: he talks VERY well; he can count to 4 or 5; and is really good with his hands...you should see that kid with his playdough factory stuff...ha!

I think Parker was telling Kate to back off from his bubbles in this one. Ha!

And, oh how fun the stairs can be!!! Kate learned how to maneuver stairs when we stayed with Lucy a few weeks ago...it's big entertainment!! We had the best time this weekend...thank you to Laura, Nate, Parker and Emily for such a fun time!!!

A few weekends ago, we put together a place for Kate to play in the back yard. She loves being outside no matter how cold or hot it is and we thought making her a place to play would be a fun thing. She loves it and we love it too...although I can't lie, Brad was cussing a little bit after laying the 38th bag of mulch...haha!! In the Spring, we're thinking that we'll add a water and sand table and sand box for even more fun for all. Oh, and if any of you are considering getting an aparatus like this for your backyard, I would suggest a stiff drink and setting aside about 3 hours for sheer frustration...it was a dooooozie!!! Overall though, it's a great piece of equipment and brings Kate pure glee! And that's what it's all about these days, folks...and we really wouldn't have it any other way.
Brock and his mom and dad stopped by one day last week and the kiddos had a great time playing. We had a great time being able to visit while they played. I know I've said it a million times but we cherish our visits with the S family!!!

Here are a few of Kate in action! You can also tell how much she loves to draw with her sidewalk chalk....she even drew on her house and slide.

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend as well! We have a busy week this week and we're looking forward to it!!!