Happy Thanksgiving

It's a balmy 9.2 degrees as I type this.  Well, it's not 9.1 degrees inside the house but the cold air is seeping through anyway.  We had a nice, if not chilly, Thanksgiving.  We had an awesome feast with family and spent the rest of the day watching football, movies, playing Sorry and eating pecan pie.  I got a wild hair last night around 7 and decided to add pecan pie to our menu.  It was delicious if I do say so myself.  Pictures in reverse order.  

Will and I on what felt like a long walk but was actually just a brisk 20 minutes.  My legs are still cold.  

Two members of the family who didn't mind the cold?  These two could've kept going and going and going.  

This is what happens these days when I say, "smile for the camera."  

You too, sister?  

Reina has declared that she dislikes pumpkin pie but she decided to try my version again this year.  You'll have to wait for the verdict.  

Baby Cousin was a big fan of the Star Wars jello jigglers that I made in lieu of jello salad.  

Those eyes, that hair!  

Thumbs up for the pumpkin pie!  Although as we were cleaning up the plates a little later, I discovered that she just ate the whipped cream off of the top and maybe skimmed a minute layer of pumpkin off with it.  More for me!  

Well look at this!  Baby Cousin and Uncle Glenn sitting side-by-side.  It's a Thanksgiving miracle!  

Reina's Thanksgiving Speech

Reina had to prepare a poster and give a speech yesterday on her family's Thanksgiving traditions.  It was funny to see the day from her perspective. 

The final product.  The stickers anchoring the pictures were her idea.  Well the whole thing was her idea because any suggestion I made was quickly shot down.  

 Reina's traditions include having dinner with the family, eating turkey and cranberry sauce, playing with Pop-pop, making crafts with Mom and this:  

Mom forgetting the sugar in the pumpkin pie.  I made pies today and made a point to REMEMBER the sugar.  

Reina and Pop-Pop playing.  Is Pop-pop wearing shortsleeves in November?  

Reina's favorite Thanksgiving dish is cranberry sauce although she was calling it raspberries for a while.
That wasn't at all confusing.  

Off to make some crafts and put sugar in stuff.  Until tomorrow.

Dinner out ... on a Tuesday

When Glenn came home from his hunting trip yesterday, I told him that we were going out to dinner tonight.  Between all of the cooking this past weekend and all of the holiday cooking coming up, I'm plum out of ideas and frankly a little tired of the kitchen. So after work, we picked up the kids and headed to a local steakhouse.  Reina was delighted to be out on the town.  Will was tired and would've rather had a sandwich on the couch but he got on board.  We had a nice time together and a good meal and it's a heck of a way to kick off the holiday weekend.

Reina treated the steakhouse like it was The Ritz.  She was delighted with the door knobs, the scent of the soap in the bathroom, the kid's appetizer that was apple slices and yogurt dip, the fact that you could write on the table with crayons, her sprite, etc. etc. etc.  

Will's meal.  He ate almost the whole thing.  This kid is going through a growth spurt.  

The Weekend

Well this weekend flew by in a flash!  The wind was howling yesterday and we had a few inches of snow on the ground but that didn't stop us from getting out and about and doing some pre-Thanksgiving shopping.  I had a grand plan to get everything I needed for my portion of our Thanksgiving feast but let's be honest, that didn't happen and it really was never even close to happening.  I left my grocery list in the car and it was all downhill from there.  

The kids and I also did some shopping and I had them point out some things they'd like on their Christmas list.  For Reina, that was basically the entire toy section of Target with special emphasis on animals, Barbies with animals and dolls that are basically Barbies but are instead either animals or monsters who go to a very glamorous high school.  Will's list was a little smaller but did include the Lego aisle, plus a bunch of Lego's that Target doesn't sell and Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars.   Glenn's already ordered his Christmas present and as for the Broncos Baby Mom, I think I'd enjoy a Broncos win that doesn't feel like it takes years off of my life and the opportunity to sleep in longer than 7:30 without the check in from certain small people every five minutes to see if I'm getting up yet.  

Thanks in advance, Santa.  

Coco.com

It's been a while since I posted pictures of Coco, and by 'a while' I mean a little over a week.  But look at this face. How can you not want to feature it on the blog every single day?  Insert all sorts of obnoxious kissing noises here that Coco doesn't even like or appreciate.  I'm a cat Lucy, not your third baby.  

Coco certainly has her own view on life, as cats are wont to do.  Yesterday morning as we were getting ready for school and work, I realized that I hadn't seen or heard Coco in a few minutes.  Just like with toddlers, quiet is usually a bad sign.  I looked around and found her in Reina's room right next to the fish tank.  Rest assured, Goldie was swimming around in her tank safe and sound but the fish food was knocked over into Reina's sock drawer and also making a nice little pile on the carpet. Did I mention it was a full jar of fish food?  And that Coco was eating it?  Kitten brains, as my aunt says.  

Last night, I was cleaning up the kitchen and noticed Coco snoozing on Will's backpack that was lying in the middle of the floor, because of course it was and why wouldn't it be a nice to place to nap?  

Say cheese, Coco! 

 Tootsie wandered over and well, let's just let the pictures do the talking.

These two are good friends.  Lots of wrestling and chasing and Coco even gets up the nerve to eat out of Tootsie's food dish while Tootsie is eating, although I usually remove her from that situation just for her safety.  Tootsie also thinks it's important to bathe the cat from time to time.  

Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss, although Coco now appears to be over this little interruption. 

Time to clean off all of the dog germs.  

Thanksgiving Feast at school

Today, Glenn and I had lunch with the kids at school for their annual Thanksgiving feast.  Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, applesauce, rolls, salad and a pumpkin pie thing that I raved about last year.  Reina carefully opened up her bowl of turkey and mashed potatoes and in a quiet voice asked me, "is this cat food?"  Coco would've answered with a resounding "YES!" but I told Reina it was turkey and she ended up taking several bites.  Reina also discovered that she likes pumpkin pie, even though she didn't think she liked it last year.  She's also a big fan of the cranberries.  Will inhaled everything on his tray - which didn't include pumpkin dessert because he staunchly dislikes pumpkin pie, actually any pie really.  Switched at birth?  Possibly.  Glenn was a good boy and cleaned his plate too.  

Great facial expressions guys, really.  Glenn looks like he's being held hostage.  Will's just hungry and distinctly aware of how much time he has left to eat as to not miss even a minute of recess.  

Thanksgiving feast selfie.  Reina would prefer that we hang out there all afternoon.  

As lunch was winding down, recess was announced with the caveat that kids should stay off of the top of the monkey bars because the wind is howling so hard today that they might be blown off.  Oh Wyoming.

Reina's Thanksgiving Speech - a Preview

Sitting at the Thanksgiving table (from left to right):  Pop-pop, Grandma, Will, me, Reina, Daddy, Aunt Vicky with Baby Cousin in the carseat and Uncle Matt.  I love our strapless formal Thanksgiving Day dresses and Reina's long blonde hair.  And Will's shirtless or wearing a white shirt?  Will is rarely shirtless, especially for such an important and cold celebration.  And where are all of the cats?!

Halloween's not quite over with yet

Sure, Christmas lights are popping up all over the neighborhood and Vicky and I are emailing Thanksgiving recipes back and forth, but on this blog it's still Halloween. I was entertaining Baby Cousin with pictures on my phone and realized that I didn't post the rest of the pictures from the kids' Halloween party at school.  So Happy Halloween!  Again!  

Reina and the donut game.  Will is at the end of the line next to another stormtrooper.  I discovered at this festival that Reina isn't a big fan of games that involve a competition and you can see the reluctance in her face.  I'm thinking, 'hey you get a donut!'  She liked the individual games much more and that's where we spent the rest of the carnival.  Will hung out in the Haunted House which was a classroom converted into a giant cardboard maze.  I say, 'more donuts!' 

The art room was transformed into a pumpkin carving center but instead of carving knives, the kids brandished sharpies.  Reina's pumpkin was transformed into a kitty.  Naturally.  

Little Ms. I-don't-like-competition joined in for the cake walk and won this giant platter of marshmallow treats made with some cereal that wasn't rice krispies.  Fruity pebbles? Whatever they were was delicious!  

Will won a liter of grape soda in the ring toss.  

While I was helping with their Halloween parties later that month, I found Will's self portrait on the wall outside of his classroom. I  think he nailed it.  

Sunday Sunday

Except for not-so-great sports, we had a pretty great weekend.  I've fallen behind in my blog every day goal but this time it's not laziness, but rather too much fun going on.  Everybody is healthy (no jinxing!) and the weather for mid-November was gorgeous.  Yesterday we met Grandma and Pop-pop in Fort Collins for a long lunch and some shopping.  When we came back to town, we had dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday and our anniversary.  Today, we mostly did chores but the kids and I got to go to another friend's birthday rollerskating party.  Broncos Baby Mom even strapped on some skates and look, there's photographic evidence!  

Reina takes her rollerskating very seriously.  

I tried to get a few pictures of Will but they all turned out to be fluorescent orange blurs racing by on rollerblades.  Reina was a trooper, she's not very comfortable on rollerskates but she tried hard and was skating on her own by the end of the party.  She and I had an epic crash during a particularly grueling game of "red light, green light" and I have a wicked bruise on my wrist to illustrate why perhaps 42-yr old's shouldn't strap on rollerskates.  But Reina was unscathed and I think I earned some street cred for getting back up.  Bring on Monday!

10th Anniversary

Ten years ago today, Glenn and I were married on a cold, windy Saturday.  Ten years!  In many ways, it feels like one year, maybe two.  But then I look back and think of all of the adventures we've had in the last decade, the house full of kids' clutter, pictures and little knick-knacks that we bought on trips (chicken salt and pepper shakers, I'm thinking of you). We've accumulated more furniture and yard equipment and a camper and a canoe.  When we first started out, it was just Glenn and me and Canyon in his bachelor pad.  Weekends were spent going to dinner and a movie or hiking in nice weather.  Now we have two kids, two dogs, a cat, a fish, endless chores, Disney movies, soccer games and dinners that have to be on the table in twenty minutes or crankiness abounds.  We don't have enough time in the day to get everything done and sometimes we go too long between date nights.    But we're still here, we're happy and thankful for each other.  Ten years.  Ten happy years that have flown by.  I can't wait to see what the next decade brings.

Stay home day

Who's most excited about a stay home day?  These three!  

I took this picture yesterday morning after we came back from getting Reina a throat culture.  I found out that the school offers strep tests and get the results back to you within a few hours.  What a great way to save a trip to the doctor's office!  Reina's test came back positive so she's home again today, but feeling much better after a dose of antibiotics.  She should be able to go back to school tomorrow, which is good because we are running out of ways to keep her entertained.  Yesterday, I jotted down some of the questions she asked me:  do Egyptians still have cats?  do I think the zombie apocalypse is going to happen, for reals?  What's the zombie apocalypse anyway?  Does everybody have the same moon?  Today she's perkier and has asked to make a video about how to take care of a cat and remember that one time we made a water park for my barbies with all of those buckets, can we do that again?  Bronco Baby Mom needs a nap.

Sunday

So Sunday.  Reina went to bed with a low fever and woke up with a bigger one.  She crawled into bed with us in the wee hours of the morning and I could feel the heat radiating off of her before I even touched her forehead.  So she's back under the weather and it's been about three weeks since the last bug made her miss a Monday of school.  She and I are probably going to the doctor tomorrow but we'll see how she is in the morning.  So my Sunday plans of errands and yard work and other excitement were put on hold for Reina snuggling, housework and inside chores.

Glenn shot an elk yesterday.  He came home last night with half of the elk and took a friend back today to get the rest of it and bring it home.   I told him when he came back that he had to take a kid and a dog with him on the second trip.  The hike to the elk was pretty tough for any of the kid members of the family but he did take Tootsie. (Special message for Trigger - if you'd stop being such a blankety-blank off of the leash, you might get to go on elk pack-outs too.)   According to Glenn, Tootsie had a great time, never ran off and chased a few rabbits. She's been a snoring, semi-comatose canine since they arrived home.

Trigger says, "So I'm stuck here with you people and the cat?  Great."
Coco says, "whooo-hooo!" 

In between what felt like a mountain of chores to get through today, we made Star Wars jello jigglers because of course we did!  It actually turned out pretty fortuitous because jello was one of the things Reina was most interested in eating, along with 'not feeling good' staples like chicken noodle soup, apple juice and .... Halloween candy.  Funny how that works.

My career as a professional food photographer is still in the infant stages.  

50th day of school

One of us opted out of the 50's celebration because it would involve wearing jeans to school.  

Yesterday was the 50th day of school, and as a celebration, the kids were encouraged to wear clothes from the 1950's.  Reina and I bought the material and a pre-made poodle for the skirt several weeks ago but with Halloween, work stuff and other priorities, (okay, football.  Watching a Broncos game with a mouth full of pins or even a needle in one hand is a dangerous combination) the project was put on the back burner until the night before.  Parenting plus -  I'm teaching the kids about the danger of procrastination.  When it was all done, we had one slightly uneven pink felt poodle skirt and a happy 50's girl.  Reina pulled the ensemble together with a white polo shirt and a high ponytail and ribbons. She wanted saddle shoes but apparently those are hard to find the night before (in your own house). As part of the school celebration, they had a sock hop and several of us are still doing the twist whenever the urge strikes.  I'm hoping there isn't a 60's celebration next week.  

Musings

(Musings:  Fancy word for a collection of random thoughts that I'm going to count as a blog post tonight.  It's also one of Will's vocabulary words this week along with sultry, downy, and clamoring.) 

We had our first snow overnight.  It's one of the latest first snowfalls on record for our corner of the state.  We've enjoyed a beautiful extended fall but we need the moisture and I need a reason to clean up the rest of the yard and garden stuff.  We were all pretty excited to see the white stuff. I took Coco outside for Kitten's First Official Snow Experience and it made her paws cold.  

Tomorrow is the 50th day of school so the kids are encouraged to dress like the 1950's.  Reina requested a poodle skirt a few weeks ago so we trekked off to the fabric store for skirt material, a pre-made poodle, new scissors that are designated for only sewing projects (for as long as that lasts), threat and little tiny cotton balls that Reina had big plans for but Coco has since found and claimed for her own.  Tonight we cut and sewed and glued and the skirt is ready to go.  I asked Will what he wanted to do and he said "jeans."  Works for me buddy! 

Reina told Glenn and I that she should probably start thinking about who she wants to marry.  We told her that she has plenty of time to decide.  After thinking for a few minutes, she told us that she wants to marry a fluffy, white kitten.  Works for me sister! 

Day 3

Well, it's actually Day 4.  But who's counting.  Logging on to record that I measured Will's height and he's officially just one foot shorter than his mom.  Twelve inches until he's looking me in the eye.  I guess it's time to start wearing heels around the house.  And little sister?  Just 5 inches shorter than her brother.  Uh oh.

Pictures from yesterday's post

I'm a lazy, lazy blogger.  Day 2 of this NaBloPoMo and I'm already resorting to a few pictures with captions.  I'm tired!  I stayed up way too late last night watching football highlights, and then a few minutes later, the game was being replayed and of course I had to watch it!  But tomorrow's a new day.  In the meantime...

This photo can be titled, "tired mom riding exercise bike with cat perched on her shoulder."  Coco hears me downstairs on the bike and comes racing in and if I'm lucky I can catch her mid-air as she leaps for my shoulder.  She's happy to hang out there while I pedal along.  Cats are strange.  But oh so photogenic. 

Just a couple of cousins hanging out watching cartoons. 

Reina's last soccer game.  The highlight for her was a clementine decorated to look like a jack o'lantern.  Of course it was.

The Day After Halloween

I'm sitting here on the sofa watching Broncos highlights (Broncos beat the Packers 29-10) while Baby Cousin snoozes on the couch.  Her mom and dad are driving back from the Broncos game. I think she had a fun afternoon/evening hanging with the cousins and our crazy household.  Her presence requires me to tone down my tv yelling and Broncos cheering, but I'll do it for her.  I'm sure Will, Reina and Coco appreciate it too.  More on Baby Cousin in later NaBloPoMo posts.  I have to stretch this one post a day for the month of November thing out a little bit.

So yesterday was Halloween.  Unlike previous October 31 in Wyoming days, this one was relatively mild.  The kids had their last soccer games in the morning, followed by a soccer pizza party.  In the afternoon, Glenn and I jogged in a crazy headwind and got enough of a workout to justify all of the Halloween candy later, although that was just me and I probably should still be jogging right now, 24+ hours later to justify all of my intake.  But anyway, back to Halloween.  We had some friends come over for chili before trick-or-treating. The kiddos climbed into their costumes and this year's weather meant we didn't have to put snowsuits on underneath.  Reina headed out the door with the friends for trick-or-treating and Will went with another friend.  I stayed home and handed out candy.  We had quite a view visitors this year.  Coco was a little nervous with all of the doorbell ringing but she eventually came out of hiding to watch the door. 

So pictures of costumes tomorrow.  They didn't look too different from the carnival a few weeks ago although Reina did get new boots and decided that free flowing hair was a better look for her than braids.  What else is new.