Turkey Day!

 Kelly and Sarah hosted Thanksgiving once again, which is always great for us!  The kids hung out, watched TV and played.  They even took some time out to let me snap a few pics. 

 The boys: Keegan, Owen and Brayden

 Keegan, Dani, Brayden, Ally, Ellie and Owen

 The girls: Dani, Ally and Ellie

Uncle Pete cooking up a storm!  It was a wonderful dinner and a fabulous day!

 Turkey day means, decorating time!  Brayden was quite insistent on keeping with our tradition of putting up the Xmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, even though Cousin Sarah wasn't here this year to help.  (Thank goodness she was able to come, just a little earlier this year).  This struck me as so funny, my husband decided to saw zall that board away.  It was blocking the access to get the Xmas tree out.  I laughed so hard, maybe you had to be there.....

 Still my favorite ornament after 10 years.  :)

 Another favorite, from Kenzie, an ugly sweater that still lights up.  It makes me smile!

And of course, our elf, Frank, made his appearance.  Who knows what shenanigans he will get up to?

Let the good times roll

 Poor Ellie had an infection on her gum, so she had to get her tooth pulled that was causing it.  She was very brave and did an amazing job, she even went to gymnastics that same afternoon.  :)  She wasn't quite as high by that time as she is in the picture below.  She was quite spacey!

 We had some fun guests come visit us;  Cousin Sarah and Mike!  We had a great time hanging out, going  to Triple Play and making Christmas ornaments.  The kids (and us) adore them!  What a fun treat, thanks for making the looong trip!  We love you!

Photo Shoot!

 Mama got a new camera!  I have been wanting a nice camera for years and years now.  I finally bit the bullet, saved up a bunch of money and got one!  I am so happy!  I still have no idea what all the functions are, but I am determined to learn.  In the meantime, I am using my kids to try different settings and experiment!  The picture above, was one of the first pictures I shot.  I still love it.

 Brayden got home  from  school as I was playing around with it.

 Next up, fancy clothes and a photo shoot. 

                                               Ellie and Dani

                                                         Dani

 A dance party!

  A little bit of love and a lot of bum shaking!

I also need to learn/get photo shop.  I haven't edited any of my pics.  Help please!

My Scout(s)

 Brayden joined cub scouts this year!  It has been so amazing to see him join and excel with all of the activities and challenges.  One of the first stages is earning your Bobcat.  I  had no idea what a big deal it is.  They had a ceremony that included war paint, and pledges.  It was pretty impressive.  I told Kent when Brayden joined, that he was going to have to take the lead on this activity.  I was too overwhelmed and had no clue about any of it.  See how Kent is an Eagle Scout and all, I thought it would be a good thing for him to guide Brayden.

 (It was right before Halloween, Paco, the cub master, is dressed up as Fred Flintstone).

 I am so proud of my boys.   It has been fun for me to see their relationship grow.  They are both having lots of fun and learning  new things as they go.  Kent has totally stepped out of his comfort zone, has made new friends with other leaders and is now assistant cub master.

Halloween fun!

 Every year, our friends, Chris and Jackie, have a Halloween party.  Each year it gets better and better, as the kids get older.  This year they all carved their own pumpkins.  It sounded like a nightmare to me, but it turned out fantastic.  (Mostly because I didn't have to do any assisting).

 Brayden and Ellie were really into it.  They cleaned theirs out and picked out their patterns and went to work.

 Brayden's finished product.

 I am fairly confidant that Dani had nothing to do with this pumpkin that she is holding.  I am pretty sure Kent did everything.  :)  She was with me on the other side of the garage, avoiding the pumpkin table at all costs.  I managed the Halloween Bingo station with some of the younger kids.  :)

 Ellie bobbing for apples!

 Some of the kids and their projects, they turned out really good!

 For the school parties, we had a cow girl, a wiener and Tinkerbell.

 

For trick-or-treating we had one wiener and two crayons.  It was another fabulous Halloween with too much candy.  We donated 11 pounds to a local children's dentist who shipped it to the troops overseas.  A win-win for everyone!

Wedding Bells!

                                                      Kenzie, Kim, me and Hale

Kenzie got married (in October)!  Another fun weekend away with some wonderful girls and my second family, the Reiss's.  I hadn't seen Kenzie's family since my wedding, 10 years ago.  How bizarre to think about, considering they were my second family while I was growing up.  I vacationed with them, and spent almost as much time at their house as I did at my own.  What a fabulous weekend of catching up!  Here are Kenzie's bridesmaids, minus Jackie. 

 Kenzie's brother, Jake, with his adorable daughter and flower girl, Delaney.

                                                                Kenzie and Mike

 Jackie, Hale, Kenzie, me and Kim

 Party time!  I am pretty sure this is Baby Got Back!

Our wonderful friend, fabulous photographer, and my roomie for the weekend, Ms. Kelsey!  :)  Thanks for a beautiful, memorable weekend, I was so honored to be a part of it!