Thanksgiving Post

We are all sitting together in the den with a warm fire in the pellet stove.  It's chilly outside and we have a bunch of snow on the ground.  We had a delicious dinner with the Frys earlier this afternoon and we're still stuffed.  Okay fine, we did just have another round of turkey sandwiches and salads and one of us ate the praline topping that was leftover from the pie.  It was also delicious. 

So while we are sitting here watching a movie, I'm asking everyone for their annual list of thankfulness.  Here we go. 

Reina is thankful for her 'loving family' and when I said 'be serious please,' she said "I am."  This mom stands corrected.  Reina's favorite thing that she ate for Thanksgiving was the homemade cranberry sauce. 

Will is thankful for Wyoming football and sports in general.  Will's favorite food today was the green bean casserole. 

Glenn is thankful for his family and wild places to pursue his hobbies.  Glenn's favorite food was the jalapeno dip that Aunt Vicky made for the appetizer. 

I am thankful for this messy house and all of the creatures living in it and I'm especially thankful that our dear Aunt Vicky is winding up her treatment in a few months and growing some hair back and thankfully I'm just happy that she's here with us.   My favorite food today was the turkey, pumpkin cheesecake and the aforementioned praline sauce. 

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

Sick days and snow days

We've had a wild week at the Pauley household.  (How many times have I started a blog post with that sentence?)  Last Wednesday as I was getting ready to head to Laramie for a presentation, I had a call from the school nurse.  Reina had a sore throat and wanted to come home. I zipped over to pick her up, took her home, went to Laramie, gave my presentation and drove home in the snow.  Glenn was keeping an eye on her.  She didn't have a fever so I thought maybe she was just having an off day.  About 10:30 pm, she barfed.  I thought "well maybe it's just the pain medicine I gave her that upset her stomach."  And then she barfed again and again and again until 8:00 a.m.  She's usually very stoic about being sick but this one hit her hard.  I would doze off only to be woken up by "MOM I NEED YOU I BARFED" many times. I should clarify, I'm happy to be there for her and I know these days won't last forever but boy did we both need some sleep when morning came.  Long story short, she had all of the symptoms of influenza or strep but she'd just had the flu shot and the strep test was negative and she slowly started to feel better.  So far, no one else in the house has caught it and we are hoping it stays that way. 

The day after Reina came home sick, Glenn had to endure one of those events that happens when you turn 50.  The big colonoscopy. I think it's safe to say that the days leading up to the test were harder on him than the actual procedure.  As someone who likes multiple fruits and veggies every day, being on a low fiber diet was tough.  The last 24-hours when he could only drink clear broth were even more brutal.  I knew he was hungry when he picked giant burgers for dinner the night after his colonoscopy.  He's happy to report that all of the tests came back normal and his dr (supposedly) told him that Glenn had the cleanest, most magnificent colon he'd ever seen. 

Yesterday, the weather took a turn and we started to get quite a bit of snow.  As I was driving home from work, I had a call from the school - this time with the automated news that classes were canceled for today.  There was much rejoicing from the younger members of the household who know get a 6-day break for Thanksgiving.  Just when I was wondering how I would juggle my work day and their extra day off, I received a text saying that State Offices were also closed.  I didn't necessary 'rejoice' but I was happy to not burn a vacation day.  Glenn was already sleep so he didn't find out the exciting news until 6 a.m. 

We had a fun snow day.  Glenn and I did some extra chores.  Reina played with a girl next door.  Will ventured outside for some fun in the snow and we all watched a movie.  It was a nice relaxing way to kick off this fun week. 

We built a Lego gingerbread house for Christmas decorations this year.  I mostly put it together but Will helped with the tricky parts.  At one point, I couldn't figure out where a piece was supposed to go and Will took a look at it and told me in a serious voice, "wow Mom, these really are big boy Legos." 

The snow out our front door this morning.  

The dogs' idea of a perfect snow day

Soxy's too 

Out big kid laying face down in a snow drift.  He wanted to jump off of that shed but Glenn put the kibosh on that before I even heard of the plans.  Phew.  

Halloween with a bunch of side photos because that's who I am now

Halloween was a few weeks ago and it was a fun one this year.  Sometime in the next few weeks I will edit this post and fix the photos but that time is not tonight.  This was the first year that Will didn't dress up or trick-or-treat.  After I finished sobbing, I accepted the situation.  The kids didn't have school on Nov 1 so he and Glenn went hunting.  It made sense and it was nice to not have two giant bags of candy in the house for weeks but still.  My little skunk-costumed baby is now a don't-need-trick-or-treat tween.  At least Reina shows no sign of being done with Halloween.  Yet.  

The weekend before Halloween, Glenn and I went to a really fun Halloween/birthday party for some friends who know how to throw an awesome shindig.  Costumes were a must so we spent a few weeks brainstorming and decided to go as Bugs Bunny (Glenn) and Elmer Fudd (me).  I think we nailed it.  Glenn was way more into his costume than I anticipated, he even made felt feet.  He also made me wear his hunting boots because they were more authentic.  It was a lot of fun to dress up and hang out with fun grown-ups.  

What's up Doc?

A few days before Halloween, Reina and I took the little cousins to the Halloween carnival at Reina's school.  Reina dashed off with friends so I got to take A & E around to all of the events in the classrooms.  They were both pretty into it and not scared like previous years.  Toddler Cousin wasn't a fan of the inflatable costumes - there was one T-Rex in particular that he did not appreciate.  But it helped me enjoy the holiday through littler kid eyes plus they got to go home to their parents at the end of the night and I didn't have to bathe anyone.  Yah!! 

Reina took this picture while we were driving to the carnival.  Apparently Batman is never off duty, even when he's strapped into his carseat. 

Reina's costume was self-designed this year.  She decided to a ghost/zombie tween.  She even had a skeleton cat to carry around.  Her makeup was all her own and I think she nailed the look.  Remember when she was a cute little garden gnome?  Or a sunflower?  Sigh. 

Getting ready for trick-or-treating.  She did wear shoes.  

WIll's Jr High Football Season

In news that is not shocking, I'm so behind on the blog again.  October flew by and my resolve to post every day in November is already four days late.  So let's get caught up where we can.  Will's first Jr High football season finished up last month on a cold afternoon in Laramie.  Seventh grade teams don't have a play-off but as luck would have it, the top two teams played each other on the last game of the season.  Will rode the bus to Laramie with his team, but Glenn and I drove over. When we left Cheyenne, the temperature was in the upper 50's.  By the time the game kicked off, the wind was howling and the temp had dropped at least 20 degrees.  Unsurprisingly, Glenn had all of the appropriate layers of clothing on his person, I patched together some blankets from the car and mismatched gloves. (Glenn would want me to point out that he urged me to wear long underwear but I scoffed.  Scoffed!) But this post is not about the weather, it's about our favorite offensive lineman - #54.  

7th grade football players don't need tights mom, get real.  

Will got some time on defense this time around too.  He's lined up to the left of the orange #25

That's our boy in the center of the huddle

Hanging out with one of his good friends

Protecting his qb 

Back on the O-line

Will had a pretty good season.  He learned a lot playing guard and tackle on offense.  He recovered a few kick-offs on special teams and he got some defensive time in too.  I don't think he anticipated being an offensive lineman but he worked hard and earned a starting position on A team that he kept all season.  Glenn and I developed an appreciation for the offensive line and it's funny but it's really changed how I watch college football and the NFL.  No one pays much attention to the o-line unless they mess up.  When a team has a great offense, the credit goes to the qb or the running back, and it's easy to forget the role that the blockers play.  Okay, that's the end of my Will's #1 fan speech.  It was a pleasure watching him play and we can't wait for the next season.