Gobble Gobble 2016…

"I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage."
-Erma Bombeck

There is no more hiding from the holidays, they are officially here.  Christmas music is playing in every store you go into and our house has been inundated with holiday decorations.  It started with Gingerbread houses, which Grandma and Ashlyn made together.  We thought she was going to share them with James and Isla, but instead she decided to setup a store and sold one to James for a dollar.  Enterprising girl we have there.

Isla does not care as much about the holidays.  To her, learning to build a tower just as exciting.

Thanksgiving at Nina and Papa’s was a lot of fun.  The kids turned a pumpkin into a Thanksgiving decoration, we played baseball, put holiday bags together for Meals on Wheels (donate at https://www.mowaa.org/donate), and enjoyed some great food with family.  Best of all, the kids were all asleep within minutes of putting their heads on pillows.

Once we recovered from the turkey, it was back to decorating.  The lights went up, the tree went up, the ornaments went up, and even Rusty got into the Christmas spirit (doesn’t he look excited?).  I used to always wonder why the Christmas decorations went up so early, but now I get it.  After all the work it takes to put them up there’s no way we’re taking them down soon.

The holidays are about family, and our family was mostly complete this weekend when John and Kristen came in town with Lilly and Logan.  We did our best to get all the kids together for a picture, and I think we did an ok job considering the craziness that comes from putting seven kids on one couch together.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pajamas, towels, and a birthday breakfast…

"I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any time'. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance."
-Steven Wright

The kids got new towels.  They like them.  And… umm.. yeah, that’s about it.

This year’s Christmas pajamas arrived early but that didn’t stop the kids from getting dressed up in preparation for the holiday season.  Based on their reactions I think Mommy chose well.  I can’t believe that Christmas is already here again, time goes by way too fast.

For completing her sight words without making a single mistake, Mommy agreed to take Ashlyn to get some ice cream.  James happily tagged along, although Ashlyn got way too much ice cream while Mom was distracted helping James.  From what I understand, their bowls were one part ice cream, two parts toppings.

With all that sugar we needed a way to work off some energy after we got home.  Fortunately for us the kids don’t seem to care about the cold.  Out they went on their scooters, and we weren’t out but for a few minutes when some of the neighborhood kids came out to join in.  Next thing we know there were kids riding everywhere.

PePa’s birthday came while he was out at the lake, so we saved a birthday breakfast for him when he got back.  We braved the cold and risked taking all three kids to an actual restaurant, but everything went fine.  The food was good and the only damage was to a few unfortunate Splenda packets, which didn’t complain so I guess they didn’t mind.  Happy birthday PePa!

A birthday party and a revelation for James…

"Even though you're growing up, you should never stop having fun."
Nina Dobrev

Our season pass is about to expire at Legoland so we wanted to use it while we could.  We didn’t expect our trip to be the highlight of James’ weekend, which came when he stood up at the ruler in front of the big kid play area and realized he was tall enough to enter.  That made his day, before we knew it he and Ashlyn were at the top screaming in excitement.  Congratulations James.  Now quit growing.

Its birthday season with Ashlyn’s friends at school and this weekend’s birthday was at a park.  This meant we could take all three kids.  I’m glad we did, the playground was large and the kids had a great time climbing over everything.  Isla also enjoyed the cake, at least the part that made it into her mouth.

That’s it?  Just two sets of pictures?  Yes, that’s it.  Mommy is traveling most of next week and we’ve been busy this weekend getting ready.  She’s the glue that keeps this house together and all I can hope is that I can have it somewhat shy of a disaster when she gets back.  Wish me luck.

Trick or treating and a festival…

"If human beings had genuine courage, they'd wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween."
-Douglas Coupland

Each year Ashlyn’s school puts on a fairly big festival to celebrate the start of Fall.  This year was no exception, with James and Ashlyn taking full advantage of all the festival had to offer.  Games, donuts, and prizes were enough to keep both kids entertained for a while.  Hopefully Isla will be able to go next year, she should be big enough by then to enjoy the events along with her older siblings.

Oh Halloween, we spend so much time trying to keep candy and sugar consumption to a reasonable level and then along comes a holiday that encourages children to fill up bags full of the stuff.  I can’t complain I guess, the kids had a lot of fun dressing up and walking the neighborhood.  This year they went with scary costumes.  Ashlyn and James did anyway, Isla was supposed to go as a Care Bear but ended up as a Tigger after we lost the costume (we found it after).  Now we have to find a way to sneak the candy out of the house before the kids eat so much that they forget how to sleep.