Texas Girls' Trip--day 1 (Magnolia Farms/Waco)

After waiting 5 months for our rescheduled girls' trip, we finally made it to Texas!  Kelly, Alissa, Tiffany, and I were dropped off at the airport and had time to enjoy a sit-down dinner before our flight.  Our flight down to Dallas had some of the craziest turbulence I have ever experienced in my life--so crazy!  Thankfully after that bout was over, the rest of the flight was uneventful. We picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel to check in.  The next morning, we drove to Waco and spent the day exploring Magnolia Farms--the attention to detail in every aspect was amazing and we had a great day with beautiful weather!

We had a delicious lunch at Magnolia Table:

After lunch, we stopped at the original Magnolia store, which is now a clearance store.  We bought some matching pajamas!  We also visited Harp Design Co.

We also checked out the Dr. Pepper Museum gift shop on the way back to Magnolia Farms:

We made sure to pick up some sweet treats at the Magnolia Bakery before they closed, then did a driving tour of some of the Fixer Upper houses, which was really interesting.  We had In 'n Out Burger for supper and cozied up for a photo shoot in our new matching pajamas back at the hotel.  We were laughing so hard!

Learn to Skate

Norah tried a new activity this year--skating!  Her friend Addy skates, so she convinced Norah that it would be a fun idea, and even let her borrow some skates.  Norah was a natural and had a fun time doing both sessions!

 

Norah's 10-year interview

Favorite color:  blue

Least favorite color:  black

Favorite book:  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Favorite fruit:  apple

Favorite vegetable:  salad

Favorite tv show:  Jessie

Favorite movie:  Sing 2
Favorite animal:  dog

Favorite food:  tacos

Favorite school lunch:  pizza

Favorite thing to wear:  comfy clothes

Favorite snack:  Goldfish

Favorite zoo animal:  zebra

Best friends:  Addy, Emma, Breia, and Eleanor

Favorite cereal:  Honey O's

Favorite drink:  Sparkling Ice 

Favorite thing to do with Mommy:  read Harry Potter

Favorite thing to do with Daddy:  wrestle

Favorite thing to do with Abby:  play Barbies

Favorite thing to do with Sadie:  play with her toys with her

Favorite store:  Target

Favorite toy:  stuffed animals

Favorite game:  Throw Throw Burrito

Favorite song:  "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

Favorite thing to do outside:  jump rope

Favorite holiday:  Christmas

What I want to be when I grow up:  teacher

What makes me happy:  Sadie

What makes me sad:  when I get hurt

What I like about Daddy:  he's funny

What I like about Mommy:  she's smart

What I like about Abby:  she plays with me

What I like about Sadie:  she lets me snuggle with her

Now that I'm 10:  I'm double digits

Norah turns 10!

For Norah's 10th birthday, she had lots of plans for what she wanted to do.  Ever since we went bowling and to the arcade with a church group last summer, she knew that was what she wanted to do with family for her birthday.  My parents were able to come to join us at Bowlero, and we enjoyed bowling, pizza, and time in the arcade:

We came back to our house for some DQ cake:

Norah's actual birthday was going to be busy in the evening, so Norah was happy to be able to open presents the night before:

The weekend after her birthday, she celebrated with three friends:  Addy, Breia, and Emma.  The girls came over for cupcakes and presents, then we went up to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children, which is always so much fun.  Afterwards, we ate pizza at Davanni's before dropping Breia and Emma off at home.  Addy spent the night at our house and the girls loved watching a movie in Abby's bedroom in their matching pajamas!

At age 10, Norah is quiet around others she doesn't know as well, but loves to talk at home, LOVES reading and is obsessed with Harry Potter books, loves to take Sadie for walks, loves all dogs in general, is definitely a homebody, and has so much empathy for others.  

Weekend in Rochester/Carley State Park

Over President's weekend, we took advantage of a longer weekend to go visit my parents in Rochester.  Of course, we had to have lunch at our favorite pizza place in town!  Norah also took advantage of some time to read Harry Potter with Grandpa Nass:

Since the weather was so nice for mid-February, we went hiking and had a campfire/picnic at Carley State Park with my dad and sister:

One of my siblings and my favorite things to do when we are home is to look at old slides with the old projector and screen:

No more braces for Abby!

Abby was so excited to get her braces off on Dave's birthday!  I was also excited to be able to take a half-day off of school to be able to pick her up for her appointment.  At her orthodontist, they give the kids a cup of chewy candies to enjoy once their braces are off: