We did a white elephant gift exchange.
Some gifts were great.
And others not so much...
I wish I had a picture of us all squeezed into this tiny room for the gift exchange...the volume practically tripled. It was sort of amazing, not sure how we did it.
Our fabulous intern Katy with some awesome students.
We are gearing up for Christmas here at the Dirks abode and like many of you we are enjoying some family time.
Like baking with our Grandma. (Don't worry this ones not a messy recipe hence why it is occurring on the couch).
And snuggling with our Poppa.
We've hosted two Christmas parties, this one with our supper club (love these ladies). And (post to come) one with our RUF students. 
We have thoroughly enjoyed checking the mailbox all month long for Christmas cards and occasional packages from Kansas. In one of our packages the kids got their yearly hallmark Christmas ornaments from Grams. They were a big hit (Henry got cars, Haven got her "my 1st xmas ornament" and Maggie Grace got a ballerina). They immediately went on the tree, thanks Grams and (Melodee too) for the packages.
We headed to Gateway Village for the annual tree lighting. The kids had a great time, but we missed having our Daddy with us. He was in Dallas for RUF training, Christmas time is way better with Dad. The tree was beautiful and the kids were being really sweet.
Haven met Santa for the first time but was way more into the Christmas rock music being belted out on the stage to her left.
And this was the first year that Henry wasn't terrified of Santa. So, I feel like that is a pretty big deal.
However, the Grinch was still a no go for him. But, Mags is always a fan.
Okay so I've got a lot of blogging to catch up on. So, let's just dive right in and talk about an amazing cousin weekend we had with our buddy Brody. He is sort of a celebrity in our house so we shipped him in for the weekend in order to study all his sweet moves. And, I think it was a success. Also, I attempted to gain the title of "Best Aunt Ever," so I had a lot of work to do. But as it turns out Maggie and Henry get me way more cred with Brody than I could ever muster up on my own. 
These little beauties were created during our weekend o' fun.
We did some decorating and a whole lotta taste testing and finger lickin.'
Oh yeah...just trying to earn some awesome auntie points (and maybe some Mommy ones too).
Why yes I did draw this amazing chalk race track in our back yard.
Did I let them watch Bible Man in super hero garb?
And take them to a birthday party for Jesus at our church...yes and yes. I'm expecting a plaque of some sort any day now from Brody.
Henry decorating the Christmas tree.
The three kids and their stockings.
Even Super Girl decorates.
Play time is more fun on a Kansas State blanket, don't you think?
She is quite the roly poly baby. I took this picture because she rolled herself right under the coffee table and it made me giggle (and her too).
Thanksgiving was not so much about eating turkey as it was about playing with cousins at Grandma and Poppa's house this year. The kids had a ball, we barely saw them because they were so busy playing. However this bouncy house was a home base for most of the play time.
But, there was other forms of play as well.
Even "tractor" rides...pretend (pictured above) and real ones given by Poppa all over the yard and neighborhood. They were indeed thankful.
What do these three sweet baby girls have in common?
They were all born in 2011 and they belong to me and my college roommates! We planned it just right...only joking but isn't that cool?
We carved a pumpkin, Maggie designed the face we carved onto it. It looked strangely similiar to the french peas from Veggie Tales. The kids enjoyed sticking their hands inside the gooey innards.
Oh yeah Pumpkin time!
Posing with the pumpkin.
I love Haven's look in this picture, I imagine that someone said "boo" behind her.
We tested out some different costumes before settling on our wardrobe for the big day. Haven tried out Maggie's old chick costume. It was a tad too large, but mighty cute and dare I say chic.
Halloween was a fun day for us. Maggie wore her Rapunzel costume to pre-school but changed into Jesse for the real trick or treating portion. Her favorite part was when she yodeled like Jesse and the fact that she got to "wear" freckles.
One of our favorite Halloween traditions is eating chili with the Dyer family before trick or treating. Yes, we have a Halloween tradition, don't you? This year proved to be another great year and the kids were pretty much professionals. I mean they've been doing this for years, so why not.
Jesse!
Henry dressed up like Superman for his visit to the YMCA in the morning. They were handing out candy and his first choice costume for the Halloween festivities was Superman. But, by the afternoon he was ready for a change, so he switched over to Thor. We made this sweet hammer a few hours before the big excursion and it added a nice touch to his fearsome look.
And then there is this little pumpkin...so sweet and cute enough to eat.
Our three trick or treaters... Love them!!! (And don't be fooled by Haven's look in this pic, she was having a great time)
So, while we were in town visiting Rees we just had to stop by the SC State Fair before we headed home. It was the kids first time and they had a ball. We met up with one of our most favorite people on the planet and a celebrity in the Dirk's house...BRODY! Seeing him was almost as exciting as being at the fair itself...well just maybe it was more exciting.
Best Dad ever the pics continue to prove it.
The bee ride with our precious cousin Evan.
Pilot Henry.
Maggie loved the swings.
Me and my sis and the best invention known to man, the sleepy wrap. Thanks a million times L. Dyer.
And, we have our Grandpa Dog to thank for this picture. Maggie bought this cotton candy all by herself with the money Dog left her during his last visit to NC. She got the money out of the piggy bank and decided to use it on pink cotton candy. She even practiced her lines in the morning. She said Mommy I am going to say (to the vendor) "sir may have some pink cotton candy please." True story, unfortunately for her it was a lady that sold her the puffy sugar so she had to tweak her lines a bit. But, she did a sensational job nonetheless. Thanks Dog I think we spent your money just as you would've wanted, only wish you could have been there with us to see and taste just how well.
