Thanksgiving 2012

For Thanksgiving we were super excited  to go to my brother Ian's house.  You wouldn't know it from my pictures since I neglected to take it out even once!  I just had my phone and that is not all that! I didn't even get a picture of our feast.  What was a I thinking!?!

Oh, yeah, it was something like "feed me!"

It was delicious food and the best company.  We cooked together and visited about our lives that don't intersect nearly as often as we think we should, especially given we only live a couple of hours away from each other.

To put the icing on the cake, Mimi was able to come up for the weekend.  We were only their over night but it is always sweet to spend some time with my Mimi.  A kinder, more generous person would be difficult to find.

We made a thankful tree.

Enjoyed a cozy fire on a freezing day (what a wind chill!)

 We played Uno (finally!)

 And Sage spent the entire two days we were there in this Spiderman costume! Thanks Santi, for sharing so well! (Cause no one else was getting a turn!)

 The only picture I got of a group and it is missing a few people...

But, before we even got on the road to fair state to the south, we took lunch with Daddy. 

The kids didn't have school the day before Thanksgiving but Chris had work.  So we went for an outing to visit, each lunch, and play at the beach nearby.  It was surprisingly pleasant weather-just jackets needed.

 After playing in the sand we headed to the beach..mostly rocks which has it's negatives but for this day, was perfect.  Virtually, no clean up at all!

 Lake Michigan is huge and you could really almost pretend it was the ocean.

 The rocks provided great entertainment for throwing and skipping and hunting.

 I would really like to know what made these huge prints...anyone?

It was one of those rare, and thus priceless, family outings where everyone was happy and had a wonderful time.  We definitely want to visit there again!

Happy Birthday Chris!

 Chris decided that for this birthday he just wanted to have an intimate gathering of family.  The only family we have around here are the McAllisters so they were a shoo-in.  It is, however, a trick to get a date that works for everyone but we finally manged it!

We had a delicious dinner and then, when we were too stuffed to eat it, broke out the pie.  I make cool cakes for the kids but I buy Chris' pie.  Sorry, love! Doesn't mean I love you any less!

 Chris had lots of help opening his gifts.

It was a wonderful evening and we loved celebrating Chris and the wonderful blessing he is to each of us as husband, father, cousin and friend!  They don't come any better than Chris!

Fall

I always know when fall is on it's way because our backyard tree always has a few leaves start to turn yellow towards the end of August.  I know then that it is time to savor the last of summer and get ready for my favorite season, fall.  

This year fall brought beautiful leaf changes,

 fun in the fallen leaves,

cozy blankets, and candy corn.

 The boys needed new "winter" blankets.  We keep our house pretty chilly and they needed something warm and cozy to keep toasty through the night.  A little hunt brought us to these Sherpa/faux mink washable down alternative blankets.  The kids drag them out everyday to cuddle in them during TV time.

 For a week or so we had candy corn in the house.  One of my favorite fall treats-with milk, of course!  The boys really enjoyed having it for dessert as well.  Ian got creative and started making faces and having battles with his.

 Fall also was the season I planned to get new family pictures.  But fall came around and Chris told me we had no money.  I was lamenting to a friend about my ruined plans.  She commiserated and then we came up with a new plan.  We would find a cheap plane ticket to split for my sister.  She would take our photos for free and we would have a digital copy free and clear.

We roped in another family, found a ticket and flew her up.  The only concern was the weather.  A major concern when you are flying your photographer in for a few short days!

But I am here to say that miracles still happen and Heavenly Father answers prayers.

I had a wonderful time playing assistant/funny person (seriously challenging!) so I was there for all three photo sessions.  The other two families were scheduled for Friday.  Elise and I arrived first and sat in the van with the windshield wipers going.  We prayed and prayed that it would stop raining.  The family arrived and it sprinkled briefly before stopping completely.  For the whole time!  We finished (2 hours later), got in the van and started the wipers up before we were back on the road.

Late that afternoon, it was exactly the same.  The next morning, for our family, it happened again. By the time we were done the weather was clearing up completely.

But how wonderful to know that even our little, relatively unimportant concerns are of importance to Him.

So, here follows some of my favorites.  OK, a lot of them.  Sue me. (It was cold and windy and that was tough but the kids and Chris were real troopers!)

 

 

 It was a ridiculously lovely way to spend a weekend in the fall!