Thankful...

We spent a week in Louisiana for Thanksgiving. A few days at my parents' house - my dad got my mom a nickel slot machine for their anniversary, and the girls were loving it (Jon and I put a nickel or two in it as well!). But fear not federal investigators, no winnings were kept, it was all strictly for fun. A few days with Kriste and Randy - we love bringing some of our special kind of crazy to mix in with their crazy. It makes for lots of laughs and lots of fun. I was able to spend a day running the roads with Stacey - it was nice just to hang out with her. We spent Thanksgiving Day with Jon's mom's family - we got to see Chicken and the girls!! And oh my gosh, the food was so good. I'm still full from all the stuff I ate. (and of course, from all the Lebanese food I stuffed myself with while in BR) We got in Saturday, and I can't wait till we go back for Christmas! That's the only thing I don't love about Texas - our family is way over there.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. I have such strong feelings about this holiday, that I really didn't appreciate until I was an adult. I don't think you truly start to really understand until then what the men and women who serve our country, during war and peace, do...what it takes to keep us free. So - thanks to everyone who has served, but especially....my PaPa who was in the army during WWII, my daddy who was in the Navy during Vietnam, my brother-in-law Josh who is a Marine serving in Iraq, my brother-in-law Jason who is in the Navy on his way back from the Persian Gulf, my friend Jesse who has been in the Army since high school, and my friend Larry who was in the Navy, a SeaBee during Desert Storm. I am so, so proud of them. And to any of you or your family that has served - it's appreciated more than you know. Saying "thank you" just doesn't seem enough.

party girls

We had Megan and Brittnee dress up in their Nutcracker costumes so Natalie and I could do an ad for the program, so here's a little sneak peek at how pretty they are.

bonfire

Here are some pics from the Octoberfest Bonfire a few weeks ago at Cindy's parents' house. We LOVE going out to Mr. Whitey's place - it's so peaceful and relaxing, and you know my husband, being the pyromaniac he is, is all about burning stuff... I would get terrible "bonfire hangover" the next day after bonfires...the smoke would get to me I guess, so I decided to try out a dust mask. It worked wonders, even though it makes me look like a crazy person. The kids thought it was a pretty interesting thing to do, so they tried it out as well. I think I can make anything look fun, I guess! haha Karen (Jason's girlfriend) spent the weekend with us, so I was glad she got to have some bonfire fun as well. She went to mass with us the next morning - Cassidy is in the choir, and they were singing that morning. Chloe, her cute little puppy, spent the night as well, she and Maks had a big time together.

Happy Halloween!

We went trick or treating with our friends from Otter Pond after a fun filled block party. Sheparding 20 kids in the dark on the trails is something everyone should have to do at least once. Make sure your flashlight's batteries are working (mine wasn't). The girls looked just darling, and loved their costumes. Cassidy was the darling-est little devil, and Megan was a very cool witchy-witch. At one of the houses, a wookie jumped out at Cassidy and Mela and scared them to pieces. So I made them pose for a pic with him...I think he felt bad because they went screaming, and he took off his mask and made them come back. After getting more candy than any of us can consume and not go into complete sugar-shock, we went back to the cul-de-sac for a little apple bobbing. Megan rocks at this, and Cassidy tried really hard and finally got one of those slippery suckers. A very fun evening. The only thing that would have made it better was if Jon would have been there, but he's having fun at the deer camp. Hope you got all treats and no tricks!

Pumpkin Math

Who says Halloween can't be educational too? Not us. 2nd graders get to do some pumpkin math, which involves estimating some things about the pumpkins and then getting the facts on it. Our pumpkin had over 400 pumpkin seeds in it, and weighed 11.8 lbs. The kids got to scrape all the goo out...some kids didn't love this as much as others did.

Character Parade

Friday was the last day of Red Ribbon Week, and it's the day of the Character Parade. The kids dress up like characters in books. Cassidy was Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls. Megan was a witch, and she had a Katie Kazoo book called Witch Switch or something like that. It's a fun day - even the staff dresses up. Sometimes parents do too. Much to all of my friends' disappointment, I didn't embarass my children this year and dress up. There's always next year though...

At lunch, I got to be room mom and deliver halloween treats to both of the girls's classes. So here are some pics with their friends.