TRUNK OR TREATING

THE GANG

Michael (just going to hang out with friends...but wearing the cool Astros shirt just in case he can catch some candy), Trevor as Anakin Skywalker, Hayley as a cute witch and Jake as a Clone Trooper from Star Wars













CANDY, GAMES, FRIENDS AND FUN...








THE TAILGATERS











CHILLIN' AT HOME, CHECKING OUT THE STASH, EATING CANDY AND WRAPPING UP THE EVENING WATCHING "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"







GOOD TIMES!

Halloween Fun

GETTING READY FOR THE BIG NIGHT...

MAKING SPOOKTAKULAR HALLOWEEN COOKIES

HAYLEY, TREVOR & JAKE DECORATING GOOFY PUMPKINS

EATING DINNER BEFORE A BIG NIGHT OF CANDY HUNTING...HAN BURGERS, TIE FIGHTERS, CANTINA CHIPS, AND OF COURSE, YODA SODAS!

And the winner is...

Jake!

Thursday night was the annual International Night Out at the elementary school Trevor & Hayley go to. It is a fun evening of a parade of nations by the kids, some cultural performances, massive taste tables from countries around the world and of course, lots of fun door prizes. This year Jake came away with the perfect prize for him - a Power Ranger type board book...written totally in Japanese! I don't think the language factor will be a barrier with him though...what do you think?

JAKE AND HIS AWESOME POWER RANGER BOOK

UNDEFEATED!

Trevor just wrapped up another fabulous soccer season. He was one of the youngest on his team but played so hard and was one of the biggest hustlers on the field. The coach called him his little man with the big power kick.

Trevor's speech as he accepted his trophy after Saturday's doubleheader pretty much said it all - "We are the Rockets and we are going to rock your world! We're #1!!"

I wonder where he gets that competitive spirit from...so strange!
Great job Trevor!

Early Halloween Fun

Friday night we got an extra night of Trunk or Treating at the YMCA. Trevor had his last soccer practice and while he was hard at work, Hayley and Jake enjoyed some fun activities in the parking lot.
HAYLEY'S FUN FACE PAINTING

MASTER YODA AND THE CUTE WITCH DECORATING PUMPKINS

After practice they were joined by their soccer star brother, and everyone got a headstart on collecting candy for Halloween. Even Don got off work a little earlier than normal and was able to pick up Michael from basketball practice and met us over there for the candy. It was a fun, free evening! We love our YMCA!

5

Surprise, we are having a baby!

For real.

Due in April.

Lots of hugs and excitment going on here.

Driving in Style

Our car was in the shop Monday for some repairs and our great mechanic gave us a loaner car. I've never drove such a fun car/truck!



Can you tell the kids LOVED it?!! But alas, our mechanic was so good, we didn't even get to keep the loaner overnight, and definitely didn't put on the 4 wheel drive and go off-roadin'! I think having the sun roof and the back window down were adventure enough for the day.

It was a sweet ride!

Flipping Out!

Hayley started Gymnastics this fall and LOVES it! The gymnastic coaches come to the school Friday afternoons so she can go to class right after school ends. It is a lot of fun, plus she gets to be in the same class with several of her friends from school. She is always practicing her round offs and has officially declared Friday her favorite day of the week. Go Hayley!

Conference Fun

Snack Table for General Conference...keeps 'em coming back for more!

Jake hard at work on his General Conference Bingo Squares, another fun activity to keep everyone listening!

Ice Skating

THE MANGUM GANG SKATING IN DALLAS..WE MISSED YOU DON!

JAKE AND ANNA HAVING FUN ON THE ICE FOR A MINUTE

One fun thing we did a few weeks ago was to go ice skating in Dallas. We went during the day when the cousins were at school and Cynthia kept Jake and Anna occupied. They met us at the mall for lunch after skating for 1 1/2 hour. Then much to my dismay, the kids were ready to skate again for a couple more hours. The mall rink gives you a wristband and you get to come and go if you want. So we went back for some more pain :)
STARTING OUT, HOLDING ON TO THE WALL

TREVOR AND HAYLEY GETTING BRAVER
MICHAEL AND TREVOR
MICHAEL FOLLOWING HAYLEY

It was Hayley's first time skating and Trevor's second time. It was a lot of fun, although most of us were cold, tired and bruised from all the falling by the end...except Michael. He was a great help in getting Trevor and Hayley up off the ice after they fell...except for the time he knocked me over! I am sure it was an accident, right Michael??!!

MICHAEL HELPING TREVOR UP

And now time for the some of the fun shots I got...I think Trevor definitely gets points for artistic style!






Gotta go now, the Ice Capades are calling :)

Fun with Cousins

While we were in Dallas during our "hurrication", we not only celebrated Jake's birthday, we had SO much fun with cousins! Who knew a few glow sticks and a trampoline at dusk could be so fun!

GRANDPA AND THE GLOW IN THE DARK KIDS PLAYING
ALEX AND TREVOR WITH THEIR LIGHTSABER GLOW STICKS
ABBY AND HER BEAUTIFUL NECKLACE
MICHAEL GETTING SOME AIR
JAKE AND ANNA, BEST BUDS FOREVER - I LOVE IT!


We just found out this week-end that all the Bowman siblings and their kids will be together in Texas for Thanksgiving this year - WOOHOO!!

Taking Time to Meditate

Have you ever noticed how the afternoons after school can just be total chaos some days? So I try to enjoy the few minutes of quiet in the car pool lane each day...the calm before the storm.

Apparently I am not the only one who feels the need to meditate for a minute. Here is a video of Jake in the car pool lane. He does this EVERY time the song comes on, and gets furious if anyone talks during the first part of the song while he is meditating.

The Adventures of Food Boy

Two of Don's brothers, Marc and Sam, wrote and produced a fun movie called The Adventures of Food Boy. The star of the movie is Lucas Grabeel, one of the main guys in High School Musical. The movie was released today on DVD and can be found on Amazon and at some Walmarts.

It's won a bunch of awards for best family movie at multiple film festivals, and is on IMDB and has clips on you tube. Check it out!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnT7bAsdouU

The Meier's Wedding Reception

THE MEIER FAMILY

A couple of weeks ago we had a fun wedding reception to go to. 2 of Don's cousins got married in August and had a double reception here in town the week after the hurricane. It was a lot of fun. The kids were the official helpers with the door, presents, and passing out thank-up gifts for when people left. They had a lot of fun and looked pretty cute too!

JAKE AND HAYLEY PASSING OUT THE POPCORN BAGS TO GUESTS AS THEY LEFT

TREVOR PLAYING WITH BRITNEY'S FLOWERS

MICHAEL TAKING HIS ROLE AS DOOR OPENER VERY SERIOUSLY :)

The food was awesome of course..those Meiers always know how to throw a party!
JAKE SAMPLING THE PICKLES - THEY WERE HIS FAVORITE!

But of course, I don't know if anything could compare to the tabletop entertainment...
JAKE TOOK THIS PICTURE OF HIS FAVORITE FISH

And the FIVE beta fish that ended up coming home with us!!! That was SO sweet of you Tracy! :)



Good news, all 5 are still alive 2 weeks later, despite me making the mistake of putting 2 in the same container while I cleaned the bowls. When Jake informed me the 2 fish were KISSING, I had to run and break up the death match. But they did both survive - Whoops!

OUR BEAUTIFUL PET FISH!

CONGRATULATIONS JARED & CHESLEY AND ADAM & KATIE -
WE LOVE YOU GUYS!