Thanksgiving 2011

We have so very much to be thankful for this year.  The weather has been mild, everyone is (currently) healthy, and we have a houseful of family for the holiday.  We are thrilled that they would travel all this way to spend Thanksgiving with us!  

We've been busy prepping the house and creating places for everyone to sleep, and it's all the kids have talked about for weeks.  They just couldn't wait to pick them up from the airport.

Over the weekend we enjoyed lots of visiting and catching up, lots of Wii-playing ("Wow!  Uncle Roger is SO GOOD at the Wii!!!"), and of course lots of food: clam dip, Shirley Temples, from-scratch croissants, and lots and lots of pie.

We miss them already but maybe since the weather was unseasonably warm they will come back again soon... 

PS: Grandpa was there, and so was I.  We were just always behind the camera. :) -Valarie 

Susan... 

Mother and son.

Katie.

"Dad's beard is the MOST ticklish thing ever," says Alex.

Wii time!  With Bonnie conked out in the background.  :)

Robert and Roger (Or "Rogerbert) - solving the world's problems, one day at a time.

Aunt Katie is always so fun to play with - she had some great games and apps on her I-Pad!

To *us* it was warm and mild - look at that green grass out the window!  But these desert creatures stayed in fleece, sweaters, and thick socks the whole time.  That's OK Susan we love you anyway. 

Grandma and Haley have some puzzle time.

Jake escaped to the other room with an i-Pad.

The kids are always so excited to have extra people around to play with.  Grandma helped make a great train track with Alex in between working on the puzzle.

We love you!  Thanks for spending the holiday with us!!!

Most Romantic Date Ever

We are expecting quite a few house guests for Thanksgiving (hurray!), which means we've been busy doing all the little chores and fixes that have piled up over time.  One thing on our list was to replace the older toilet in the main bathroom off the kitchen.  Whoever decided to put hardwood floors in a laundry room/bathroom clearly didn't ever have toddlers who liked to stuff half a roll of toilet paper down the toilet.  We do. 

We've had more than one "flooding incident" and unfortunately our floors are paying the price.  Rather than replace all the floors, we decided to preempt further flooding by getting one of those toilets that claims to flush it ALL.  We'll see if it can stand up to Alex....he of course had to give it a try before it was installed. 

Because we wanted to take our time shopping and compare all the choices, we hired a babysitter last Friday night and went on a date.  We enjoyed some teryaki for dinner and then went to the hardware store....to buy a toilet.  After making our choice we headed to the checkout and ran into some friends.  Turns out they were on a date too...AND - I'm not kidding - they were buying a new toilet.  I guess that is THE thing to do in our town on Friday nights! 

*Follow up post: it flushes like a dream.  Feel free to come give a try any time.  :)

Fence Finale

We have worked so hard on the fence this year and it looks great!  (And by "we" I mean mostly Rob.  Though I did put in my fair share of screws.)  We joked all summer that we would get it done before the first snow fell, and we just about made it.  Fortunately the weather has been so mild and we were able to get it 100% DONE this weekend.  Rob put the finishing touches on and built the arbors over the two gates.  Now to get the Christmas lights up before freeze-up...

S.N.O.W.

 We saw the first snow of the season today!  It has been a very mild Autumn so far - which I very much appreciate, and the kids dislike.  They are ready for sledding, ice skating, and snowmen.  They might have to wait a little longer...although there were flakes falling from the sky, it wasn't enough to accumulate at all.  No reason not to sled though, right?!

Autumn Afternoon

 One day after school I had my camera out and the afternoon light was pretty in the front room.  The kids were good sports and let me snap away while they played.

 Well, mostly good sports anyway.  :)