Thanksgiving part 2

Most years, we have three Thanksgiving dinners/celebrations: one at my aunt's in Kentucky, one with my mom, and one at Russ and Judy's. I've already mentioned that we did not get to make our traditional trip to Kentucky so this year we were down to two. We are so blessed to have so much family, and so many dinner invitations, and so many opportunities to be thankful! Sometimes I get a little crazy with all the running, but I do really and truly know how blessed I am :)

Part two was at my mom's house.

 Aunt Doris and Uncle Raymond came too. So good to see them!

Mom and Kristen right before Kristen left for work.

 Then one with me :)

 Mom had her tree up and wanted the kids to put their ornaments on. Some are the ones we've given her over the years with pictures of the kids in them and some she had painted with their names.

 They loved digging through the boxes and finding their ornaments!

 Then finding just where to put it ;)

Another great day of yummy food and great company AND a new tradition :)

Thanksgiving

This year we broke from tradition and spent Thanksgiving with Todd's family. Usually we head to Kentucky to see some of my relatives that we only see once a year but this year, that gathering didn't happen. My grandmother fell last August and broke her hip. She's doing well, but really not feeling the travel bug ;) so she wanted to stay home in West Virginia this year. That being the case, her house is too far for a one day trip so we crashed Russ and Judy's party this year ;)

Family:

 Todd and I with his brother Scott and his wife Barb:

 Kristen is always ready for a picture with me :)

 Scoot, Barb, Russ, and Judy:

 Russ and Judy and our gang:

 Kristen and Jon:

 Russ and Judy have a nice, big backyard and that's where Nicholas wanted to be most of all. First, out with Todd, then later with Megan:

That little guy always finds sticks to play with, no matter where we are!

I must have had some sort of food coma because I didn't even get my camera out until Kristen mentioned that she and Jon had to leave in order to make it to their next Thanksgiving meal. I missed the super-big Uno game we had going! Not to mention getting a couple of pictures in of Scott and Barb's sons who had already left by this point. UGH!

It was a really nice day! The food was yummy, the weather was fantastic, and the company was sweet and wonderful and funny :)

Our Date Night

Actually, it wasn't technically a "date night" but more of a "date day"....a couple of weeks ago, my wonderful husband took me to a Bengals game! We've had season tickets for several years now but for many reasons, I've not gone. The first year, I was very pregnant with Megan. Crowds? NO THANK YOU! The next year, I was still nursing. Todd started selling some of our tickets at that point because driving all the way to Cincinnati for every. single. home game was getting tiring. We have a busy life! And even though I'm a Bengals fan, I'm not the biggest fan in this house ;) I felt guilty going to a game knowing how so very much Brandon enjoyed them so I always gave my opportunities to him.

But this year....I went! Brandon already went to a game earlier in the season so I took the opportunity and went. And I'm so very happy I did!!! Here's my recap:

Tailgaters!

 The view from our seats:

 Happy and excited!

 Who-dey came out on a Humvee and there were lots of servicemen and women there that were being honored for Veterans Day.

 Fireworks when the players came out!

 Bengals versus Steelers...it was a sold out game:

 Number 1 fan...this guy cracked me up!

We had so much fun! Would have been better if they'd won, but it was so nice to be there and watch the game together :)

 Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

The kids stayed with Russ and Judy for the day and had a great time too! Thank you Russ and Judy!

Showcase: Nicholas

Nicholas surprised me this year. Our little guy, who says he doesn't like music and he doesn't like to be on stage, chose to take the recorder. He really liked it too! There was no grumbling about going to class even after the newness wore off. And he practiced at home! I was stunned!

Mrs. Fisher chose "Have Yourself a Merry, Little Christmas" for this class to perform and it was so good!

Getting ready:

 They ahd to wait for one of the girls in the Addy play to change out of her costume so I took advantage of the moment for a nice group shot:

 There were a couple of flutists on the right side helping out. Can I just say again how grateful I am to have such a wonderful co-op? I love that the big kids show the younger ones such love and are such good role models. I see it all the time and it truly blesses me.

Playing his piece:

 Watching those flutists playing their part:

Finishing up:

He was nervous but he had fun! I'm so proud of him for getting up there and for all his hard work learning to read music and play this instrument. Good job, Nicholas!

Showcase: Megan

Brandon isn't the only one bitten by the acting bug; Megan is right on his heels! She was so disappointed that she didn't have a performance for the talent show our co-op hosted a few weeks ago but she more than made up for it at the showcase!

First, let me just mention her growing love of American Girl dolls. Kristen gave her the first one as a sweet, big-sister hand-me-down and Megan adores that doll. She may have loved her TOO much as her hair will never be the same ;) And after waiting so very long, she was gifted Kanani for her birthday. She was very excited to hear that there would be an American Girl class at co-op this session about the doll, Addy. Addy's character is a slave who, along with her mother, escaped during the time right before the Civil War. Even though the class was geared toward the slightly older girls, my friend Margot was the teacher and since her daughter, and Megan's dear friend, Erin, was in the class, she welcomed Megan in too. And then we found out they were doing a play too. Megan was thrilled! She finally had an opportunity to be on the stage at showcase! And with her good friends, Erin, Paige, and Lindy!!

She and Erin both had parts as children in the classroom...so cute!

 Then they had a speaking part in the spelling bee! Megan worked on her words, both the one she was supposed to spell right and the one she was supposed to spell wrong all the time ;) Everyone in this house knows how to spell "friend" and "account" now ;)

 Next up was her little music class performing "Jingle Bells". Megan loves her music class and Mrs. Fisher :)

She also had a small part in the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" play as a horse in shadow ;) She was very excited about  doing her horsey sound effects ;)

I guess we have another performance junkie in the house ;)

Showcase

Last Thursday, we had our homeschool co-op's showcase night. It is a night the kids in our co-op get to show off all their hard work of the session and it is a night everyone looks forward too. Lots of excitement! The teachers did a great job this session with saving projects to display for their class at showcase. We had a gym full of tables with all sorts of really cool projects!

I can't believe how many times our kids were up on that stage tonight! It was so fun for me to see how much they love this kind of thing, especially Brandon and Megan (Nicholas is a bit on the shy side but he still had fun).

My bragging order today will start with Brandon ;) Our Brandon has been bitten by the acting bug. He looks forward to the "play" class maybe more than any other class. He chooses which role to audition for and prepares diligently. Then he memorizes his lines....lots of lines! This play was an adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin and Brandon had the part of a negro slave. He did so good not only memorizing his lines but saying them with a slave-from-Kentucky accent! And his body language... hilarious! 

It was a wonderful experience. Everyone worked so hard and did a great job!

Megan's Birthday

Seven:

 She started her day by getting showered with gifts from her family. No girl ever felt more loved :)

 She took cupcakes to share with her Addy class before they practiced their play. They sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She was glowing :)

 We sang "Happy Birthday" too and she made a wish. I hope it comes true.

 Our baby is growing up...

 Still loving on her favorite gift at the end of the day.

She said, "This is the best birthday ever!"