Gratitude

Since we have so many wonderful blessing in our lives, I thought it appropriate to take this Thanksgiving blog opportunity to share a few.  Consistent with the past 40+ years, our Thanksgiving Day blessings began with Nanny, cheddar cheese, pork, and lots & lots of tin foil.

I am eternally grateful for my precious, unspoiled, and well-rounded children, who in turn are acutely grateful for the iPad and for the glass baby that Aunt Lynn brought as an early birthday present.

I thank God more than once a day for Deane, who has saved my disorganized, frantic self multiple times this past year by loving my children and being willing to help out in a pinch.

Cameron is thankful for white hotdogs, while Jackie is thankful she is only expected to eat meat once a year.

Meanwhile, Lucy thanks God that her Thanksgiving Days are filled to the brim with gravy instead of kimchee.

I'm grateful to Aunt Susie and Miss Allie for cleaning the kitchen, keeping me from being exposed to floating dressing in Nanny's sink.

We are all thankful for Rebecca, who entertained the kids with a rocking Bingo game, and for nebulizers, which oxygenate our sons to 100% after they blow up balloons.

Ruby was grateful for the Brie that Miss Karen brought, and for the 5 minutes that no one was paying attention to Nanny's cocktail table.

Everyone in the house was grateful for Miss Karen, who let Leigh know in no uncertain terms that she had her eyes on her.

Miss Allie was grateful for Hunter, who taught her to play Sudoku on her Crackberry, a skill she has long yearned for.

Aunt Cindy looked to the Heavens, proclaiming Thank Goodness that this child belongs to her buddy Julie instead of her.

And, realizing that it all begins and ends with the Man Upstairs, Thanksgiving at our house always begins and ends with Nanny, who orchestrates the CasseroleMania, brings us together, feeds us, watches our stinky kids, and loves us all regardless.

Leonardo Day

Leonardo Day is one of the main attractions for parents of first-graders at Trinity. We started the event by taking in the multiple watercolor interpretations of the Mona Lisa on the wall...which did shed some light on why her mysterious smile has been a popular topic at our dinner table this past week. I was just relieved that Daddy's explanation for this smile didn't show up on any of Hunter's work.   

Hunter tells Cole, "That's my Mommy--the girl with the camera and big coffee from Starbuck's."

And here our little Renaissance Man explains one of Leonardo's inventions to the parents at the table.

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween started off with a bang, with some creative pumpkin carving with DaddyO and cookie-decorating with Miss Allie.

Before we knew it, our buddies next door had transformed into MiniBee, Angelina Ballerina, and Dash from the Incredibles.

The girls kept our make-up department (AKA Serpil) busy before the big party....

...while the boys ate pizza and hung out in their Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Zombie gear.

Fiona & Angelina, looking good

And here the entire Colvard Crew stands still for a photo op before striking out to get the goods.
(And many thanks to Miss Allie for sharing her pictures as I stood devastated, in the wake of my broken camera)

Halloween Mash-Up

The only thing as fun than Halloween itself is getting ready for Halloween. So we all got a kick out of previewing our costumes, from the Avatard to Luigi to the Grim Reaper.

Lucy won the Cute Prize with the bee costume, while Hunter won the Please-Don't-Wear-That-Son Prize with this Luigi costume.

After weeks & weeks of fighting it, I submitted to the testosterone in my house and ordered the horrific Grim Reaper get-up that Hunter wanted. At least it was great fodder for entertainment.

And my personal favorite, The Death Bee

Young Love

Leigh and Cameron's repeat "dumping" of each other as husband and wife has left a little room for Leigh to find a Back-Up Plan. And his name is Blake, whom she describes as her other husband and her second boyfriend. We hear about how cute Blake is and how much she loves him multiple times a day.

SO,  you can imagine Missy's complete surprise and delight when we ran into Blake & his Mom at the pumpkin farm.  By the way she looked at him, DaddyO and I got a good glimpse of some complicated teen years to come. 

Gone Haywire

Playing in the hay started out as big fun, but ended up as a mouthful of straw.

Pumpkin Farm

Since fall wouldn't be complete without a trip to the pumpkin farm, we loaded the kids up and headed out to Hillridge Farms for another year of sheer pumpkin fun, complete with mazes, duck races, big giant slide, haystacks, and funnel cakes.

Mary Leigh Retton practicing her beam routine for the 2012 London Games.

After straining his brain to answer some tough apiology questions, Hunter gave his neurons a whopping glucose hit by snarfing up a funnel cake.

On the hay ride, the first part of the quest for the perfect pumpkin.

 Two Happy Families, 20 Heavy Pumpkins