Thanksgiving

Since Christmas has just passed and it is almost New Year's, I figured I better get my Thankgiving post finished.I am having difficulty uploading photos so here are a few with many more to come..

Us sisters with our mom.

One of the many attempts of a family pic.

Tess LOVES her uncle Scott! (except at bedtime)

An upper view of the dance off.

Amelia with her Great Grandma Hooper and Nana Jannausch. You can see a corner of the pink rag quilt we presented Grandma Hooper with that day. She was delighted!

The buffet line

Uncle Kent met his match

Kate and Maeda

Aunt Kate playing the piano with Eli and Moosie

Monja on her first Thanksgiving.

The stress got to me so I decided to hit the bottle. Don't get too excited Dad, the top is on.

Ollie loving his Uncle Jeremy

My sister, Kate's, marvelous cake balls! My favorite was the red velvet!

Everyone enjoying a little Wii Just Dance 2 entertainment by Amelia and Uncle Shaun.

                                                                 Ollie drawing a turkey...

There was so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. A wonderful, supportive husband, five healthy and beautiful children, our parents, grand parents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the kids' teachers, the amazing school system in which we are so blessed to be a part of, our dear friends and their families, and the list goes on. Thanksgiving was celebrated at our home this year and there were about 25 people here to celebrate with us!

Halloween

                                                     Preston with his friend, Winslow.

                                                       Amelia carving her pumpkin.

                                                       Ollie and Mom carving his pumkin.

                                                  Belle and P Dog with their pumkins.

                                         Monja and her first pumpkin carving experience.

                                                       Amelia and her pumpkin GUTS!

                                              Ollie and Daddy with the finished product!

                                    Isabelle and Mom with her finished product!

                                        Kids and pumpkins! After lots of fun and MESS!

                     Amelia is a Gothic vampire, Isabelle is a Renaissance princess and Preston was Captain Lennox from Transformers.

                                     Monja was Twister, Ollie a T Rex and Mimi a hippie.

                                                     Eli was Elmo...go figure.

                                             Tessie was Little Red Riding Hood

                                                     Daisy was a unicorn

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Shaun were Lumberjacks

It seems as though Halloween went on for days. Whatever happened to Halloween one night and it's done? It started with each class having a Halloween party. Preston's school had a Halloween parade and then ended with a party which included crafts, games and treats. Amelia's class did a 3 classroom rotation where they did a craft in one room, a story in another and a game in the last. Scott and I attended each, along with Eli and Ollie. Oliver is asking constantly when he can go to Holy Angels. Not that he does not "adore" Mrs. Summers, but he just thinks it will be so cool to go to school with Preston. Our Halloween festivities then continued at the Country Club for a Halloween dinner and festivities. The children enjoyed dressing up (even some adults, too), a kids only (plus Papu and I, shhhh) buffet and pumpkin decorating. Scott's plane landed just in time for him to enjoy some dinner. Finally, our activities ended with a fun filled trick or treating extravaganza on Sixth Street with the Cueter's, Pomaranski's, Shirley's, Moore's, Jefferies and McKolay's. We had yummy homemade mac and cheese, delicious chili, salad, fruit and rice crispy treats. The kids  had a blast and yes, even Ollie wore his costume for the event! Enjoy!

Canning

This Fall has bee very productive as far as being in the kitchen. I am trying to preserve as much as possible since it is healthier and saves money. Many of my friends can and Dulce was kind enough to spend many hours with me. It was actually very relaxing and I learned a lot! My parent's gave us apples and peaches. Dulce gave us pears and tomatoes. And then more apples. I have more in the garage but I think we will just eat those. Kathy gave us a strainer to use and I am addicted to it!! Man alive this thing saved us! Even Dulce (who has a farm and cans EVERYTHING) had never heard of such a thing. Before we had finished our first batch of applesauce, she was logged on to Amazon searching for one to buy. The kids helped with much of it and Eli was right in the middle of it. Made for an interesting process. He would take a bite out of every 2-3 peaches and then throw them on the floor. I will definiately can next year and hopefully add pickles (Scott's request).