Experiencing Fall

We are loving the fall colors that accompany this changing season. I once heard Louie Giglio describe fall in Texas as "fell". As in, one night (sometimes as late as December) the night time temperature finally drops below freezing and when you wake up the leaves are all brown and on the ground. Fell. Well, the Locketts are enjoying their first fall!
Observe:

Brilliant oranges

Yellows

Reds

Amazing

Purple, this tree didn't photograph very well. It's an eggplant purple.

This is on the way home from J's school. The kiddos call it the Tunnel of Flames.

Some of the trees are changing very slowly, almost one branch at a time.

And some are like proud peacocks.

Ms. Ava got some boots that fit.

With her friend Pooh Bear at B&N

Thanks to Aunt Jaryn for the sweet Halloween greetings. You made our day!

On a freezing Friday evening we headed back to Orr Family Farm. Ava took a quick nap on our way there. She was pretty somber for the first part of our trip.

Oh so cold

Sweet Daddy shared his coat.

Almost time for a hayride

Petting a chicken

Riding a horse for the first time!

Very focused

Round and round

Our new favorite family shot.

On Saturday we headed to Noah's 4th birthday party. They had Ava-sized bowling!

Daddy helps her get started.

Sure the ball rolled backwards sometimes, but she had fun.

Smashing sharks

Cake and pizza with some law orphans

First time to play Putt-Putt as a family.

Lessons

Trying it her own way

Intervention

Success!

Okay, so maybe she threw it in.

Walking the ridge like a balance beam

Mommy takes a swing

Gone with the wind

Living without a dishwasher is not as bad as it sounds. I've found a soap I love and keep a fresh supply of scrubbers nearby. However, my hands were another story. I have chronically dry skin and my fingertips were cracked and raw. When I saw these darling gloves in the house cleaning aisle it was love at first sight.

On Sunday evening we headed to Grace's 3rd birthday party. The most exciting part was when the birthday girl's special Dora balloon escaped the chair and soared to the ceiling.

A grandpa and a manager saved the day. The kids were captivated.

Happy party kids

Grace's new brother Owen was also overcome with relief.

The best $5 I ever spent.
Every little girl needs a full-length mirror.

We love her

to the moon and back.

Dreaming

Ms. Ava has been overheard giggling in her sleep several times over the past few nights. We're not sure what she's dreaming about, though we've asked. The world may never know.

Playing a little dress-up, she must be observing the gigantic-boot-trend among the cute undergrads on campus

Huevos Rancheros and fresh fruit for dinner, recipe to come soon on Cooking Pink.

After browsing the blog archives I realized we don't have any pictures of a typical HLS afternoon/evening/night. Well folks, here it is:

Looks like fun, huh?

On Tuesday morning a new friend joined us. Her mommy had a quick appointment in OKC so J2 (another J name, so we'll call her J2) played with Ava until a little after lunch.

Happy girls after Ava's gymnastics class. J2 was a great cheerleader!

Wednesday night turned into Family Night (aka: extract HLS from books for some face time).

We ended up

at

Sara Sara Cupcake!

Not the best family shot, but we'll take it.

Finger-lickin' good

Daddy offers a helping hand.

Oklahoma kiddos enjoyed a 4 day weekend Fall Break. On Thursday I took J, JK, and Ava to the OKC Zoo. The morning brought temperatures in the mid 40s with a brisk wind, but we were determined to have a fantastic day.

Fun with an elephant statue, the real ones are on loan to the Tulsa Zoo for now.

J was our navigator.

JK and Ava enjoy the lions.

Ready to see some native Oklahoma creatures, I caught these three first.

Bobcats

Deer (this one is for Pops, Ava "picked" it for you)

Cardinals

After leaving the native Oklahoma animals we found bears

and Bald Eagles

and some playful primates. Oh my!

This orangutan was particularly personable.

Buddies

Lots of helping hands

JK looks like a jungle princess.

Thanks to J for this great picture of us.

Getting ready for some lunch

Ava was amazed by the giant tortoises.

There's nothing like a carousel ride to end a delightful day at the zoo.

Such a smiley girl

Ava and I were thrilled to spend the weekend in Dallas with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Brandon!

Such a great morning

It wouldn't be a visit with Brandon and Sarah without a trip to Chuys.
Ava was STARVED in this picture so she wouldn't cooperate.

We *shopped 'til she dropped...and slept the whole way home.

*Shopped has a slightly different meaning when you are sisters with husbands in school. We mostly just looked at fun things and exclaimed, "Hurry up and graduate boys!" By the end of the day Ava was chanting the mantra with us.