Virtual Family Gathering

Our thanksgiving was a smaller number of family members this year... but still so nice to just be together.

And since Mark and Brittany are in Saipan for the holidays, we had them join us via Skype. Uncle Mark took time to swap silly faces w/ my kids (as you see my red head girl doing in the photo) and even played "Apples to Apples" with us! It was a great hour and a half visit... and helped us feel connected on Thanksgiving Day.

So one thing I'm thankful for is TECHNOLOGY. As a kid I dreamed that I'd be able to "see someone while I talked to them on the phone". Well, here we are. Meet George Jetson.

Surprise!

 
I had the pleasure of helping with a surprise 40th birthday party for my dear friend Carrie. Her husband put the plan in motion and I helped execute it... and we succeeded! She was quite surprised and got to spend some time with many special people.

And how about those Cougs?!? We surprised Carrie immediately after the APPLE CUP WIN... definitely a topic of the crimson crowd conversation!

New Tradition?

 
Recommendation: try having an early thanksgiving celebration with friends!

Thanksgiving is so frequently with family, that we forget how thankful we are to have our friends. The Davis family invited several families to join in a pre-thanksgiving celebration, and we all had SO MUCH FUN!

I think this should be a new tradition for every year... I'll host next year!

Which one do you like?

So, I took G-Man to Sears last month to have his 3 year old photos taken. And he wanted to have nothing to do with it. We didn't get any shots. I even bribed him with a new dump truck. He didn't like "the lady"... and a kid has to feel comfortable around the person taking his picture!

I gave up. I wasn't going to get 3-year-old photos of my son. But yesterday I gave it another try myself in my back yard.

He wasn't super cooperative, but we got a few decent shots.

So tell me which one(s) you like best and you just may receive one in the mail (that means you, extended family members!!!)

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7


(My favorite is #3... the only down side is that you can't see his handsome brown eyes... which ones do you like?)

The G-Man turns 3 and has a TRACTOR PARTY!!!

We had the DREAM BIRTHDAY PARTY for any three year old boy... and we've decided we can likely repeat it for the next 15 years and he'll be just as thrilled!

Grandpa was quite pleased to be able to host this event... he even washed tractors, pulled out all kinds of equipment for kids to ride on, and re-tilled fields that were ready to be dormant for the winter. It's amazing what GRANDPAS are willing to do for their GRANDSONS.

Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us have a party at your place! (The last time they let me do this was with my whole sorority at their shop for a barn dance! A bit of a different party crowd than this one...)

S-Bug's 8th Birthday... Magic Party!

I'm so behind on my posts... but here's a peek at S-Bug's birthday party in early October.
Mom attempted to be a magician (pulled over a few tricks on these second graders, but my 10 and 12 year old nephews saw right through them...)and then the kids got to try out a couple of tricks on their own.

S-Bug had the greatest time with her greatest friends!

Boo!

For family who weren't around to trick or treat... here's a few photos of our Halloween!

S-Bug was Queen Susan from Narnia, A was Sunshine Bear, and the G-Man was King Peter from Narnia.

And Mom was coordinating the church Harvest Festival, but found some time to get dressed up into her Cleopatra costume before the festivities officially started. What a fun festival!

And the next morning... candy galore! (BTW, this was NOT my children's candy... it was left over from the festival and was being donated back to the church that day. But I couldn't resist letting them literally roll around in it for a minute or two... and then choose ONE to eat even though it was breakfast time...)