Black Friday

Well I've gone and done it and joined the ranks of the insane. I got up at 4am to hit the day after Thanksgiving day sales for the first time ever. There were 3 of us ladies that hit the sales and braved the sea of people. Let me tell you I was certainly not prepared for the 5am rush at Walmart. I've never seen a crazier example of people acting like animals all to save a few bucks. There were people everywhere and a few nasty exchanges occurred close to me a few times and all I wanted to do after about 30 minutes of trying to just get through the crowd was leave. Needless to say I didn't get what I came for but live and learn. We did head to several more stores after that and the shopping was much much calmer and easier. It was a more organized chaos if that is possible. All in all I think I got all my Christmas shopping done except for stocking stuffers. Yippeeeeeee.

After I was done with shopping I met Jeff at a school where his coworkers were gathering to play a little flag football turkey bowl. It was a squeeze for us to finish by noon and get over to the football field but we did our best. It is tough trying to get 3 ladies Christmas shopping done and brave those crowds to get back. I wanted to take a picture of Jeff playing but I got told no, plus I forgot my camera. Oh well I think we had a fun Black Friday and I've learned a few lessons about insane shoppers.

Wii Boxing

So here we are on Thanksgiving playing the Wii and one of Andrew's favorite games was the boxing. He was so dang cute with his pink cheeks that we decided to get a little video of him playing. As you can see he gives it 100% and them some. This boy has tons of energy!! This was a great activity for him. You only need your hands for this but Andrew felt it necessary to include some leg action as well. Sorry it is a little dark and no sound. Still trying to figure out the camera.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We decided this year to have a nice relaxing day at home with our little family of four. It seems like we've had such a busy year on the go that the thought of chasing after Andrew was just too stressful. It was nice to just stay home and hang out with each other.

Megan drew us a fabulous family portrait of our Thanksgiving feast. We ate our meal all around the table talking about what we are thankful for. Andrew didn't really participate but did try to say a few things that no one could understand. He did this all while tearing apart his dinner roll and making a nice mess around his place setting and floor. When it was Megan's turn she said this: I am thankful for my family, my mom, my dad, and my brother. I'm thankful for God and all that he created. After this she looks at Jeff and I with a smile. Then says and oh yeah I'm thankful for our house too. Simple and short to say the least but from the heart. It was really cute. Jeff and I did add our thankful list to what had been said. It was just a nice time to be with each other. It felt really special and intimate.

Right now the kids are playing the Wii with Jeff and having a blast. They seem to really be into games this year. I've got a mess in the kitchen to clean but I'm so stuffed I don't want to move just yet. I guess that is the one draw back of having your own Thanksgiving is the mess to clean up. I think that is why I've decided to blog instead. It is also alot more fun to watch the kids play.

Well I just want to say that I'm Thankful for all my friends and family that love and support us. I've enjoyed many good times and cherished the help during the bad times. Without a good group of people around you it makes it tough to get through life so Thank you all for always being there. I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Orange Rolls - Yum!!

It's that time of year again when Jeff makes the ever so popular Thanksgiving orange rolls. This year I made the kids aprons in my sewing class and they loved wearing them around so much that we thought we'd put them to good use. The idea was that they'd each get turns helping Daddy with various parts of the process. What really ended up happening was Andrew played in the flour and Megan wanted to do it all by herself.

Andrew ended up making trails and piles of flour on the table, chair, and floor. Megan really didn't have a spot on her till Andrew decided it was time to make a game of it and starting trying to throw little pinches of flour at her. He didn't make much of a dent but was able to get some on her face and hair.

Megan was really only focused on Jeff and how much action in helping she could actually get. She watched everything he did and was ready to jump at any request for her turn. She is not good at standing by to watch. She is definitely a hands on type of girl.

All in all the kids had a great time. They loved getting involved and Megan has enjoyed eating the fruits of her labors. Andrew hasn't been too interested in eating them but that isn't surprising. It was fun in the kitchen for the kids. It just made more work the Mom and Dad but that's what parents are for right?!? :}

Where are you from??

So the other night Megan and I started talking about where members of our family were born. Megan thought that all the VoFo family that she lived with in California was all born there. When I told her that we all did live in California but weren't all born there she was didn't seem to like that very much. In a way it kind of bugged her but she was interested in where other people were actually born.

Fast forward to a family outing when we were all in the car out running an errand and Jeff turned on his favorite 100% all the time Christmas music station. We were trying to play name that tune with Megan and having a difficult time. One song came on and it was Silent Night sung in a different language. We were all very quiet and listening when Megan says "Dad I know you can tell what they are saying." I asked Megan why would Dad know the words when it was in a different language. She replied, "cuz he's from Colorado!" Hee Hee Hee

We all got a good laugh after that. I love it when she says funny things like that.

Good Morning

This morning I was up with the sun. My kids were still in bed and I was starting to get my day going. I went outside to take out some trash and all was so quiet out there. The sun was just coming up over the houses and there was that early morning chill in the air. As I was placing my trash bag in the garbage can I hear this squawk squawk sound. It was not pretty in the least and I started to look around wondering what was making such a sound.
As I looked up across the way I saw a lone little seagull. I looked at him and he gave another squawk. I think as no one else was around he was saying "Good Morning." It was a nice way to begin my day even though his squawk was anything but soft and beautiful. It was just something about this little guy that was peaceful that made me feel nice inside.

I would like to pass it on and say "Good Morning" to all my friends and family!!

Therapy

Another fun filled Normandy girls retreat has passed. I will cherish the memories that we create each year and the priceless therapy that it gives to me. This morning I cried in the shower as I realized it was really over and time to go back to the normal routine of life. I thought I had cried most of my tears this weekend but atlas there were more. There is just something about being with these ladies that share the same genes as I do. It is refreshing to be able to talk about all our problems of the world, eat yummy food, and squeeze in activities like shopping and the movies. It was a ton of fun and emotional for me as always. As much as it fills me with a flood of emotions to go without my mother and be around women just like myself I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I shared some very special moments and shared some things that I've never told anyone before. It was cleansing to get things off my chest that I carry around on a daily basis. I love these women with a passion I cannot describe and all I can say is these weekends are truly "priceless" to me and even that does not do it justice for what is in my heart. Thank you ladies for all your love and support. Till we meet again.......

**Next year ladies we've got to work on my pictures. I hardly had anything to work with as you can see :}

And the award goes to.....

Once a month Megan's school has a CARE assembly to reward kids for doing outstanding. Megan was chosen to get an award for cooperation. She said it was so fun when they called her name and she got to go up and get her award. It really made her feel special. This is the first time she has gotten a big award and we even got our first bumper sticker :} Yippee for Megan!!

Trick or Treat, smell my feet......

We ended this Halloween season with our grand finale of Trunk or Treat.

This year Megan went as Sleeping Beauty. Really any princess costume works for her and she had her choice of about five different princesses. She really wanted to go as Ariel but they were all sold out so Sleeping Beauty was her second choice because the costume was pink and that is her favorite color. Gotta love the reasoning huh? She got to dress up for her class Halloween party and loved it. She came home on the bus wearing it and telling me what her classmates wore. There were 3 princesses in her class.

Andrew wasn't really all that interesting in picking out a costume so we looked at our choices and when we saw spiderman that was it. Andrew loves and I mean loves spiderman. Once he saw the costume he wouldn't put it down and couldn't wait to try it on. Andrew has gotten in his costume several times before the actual trick or treating just to wear it around the house. He tries to climb the walls and jumps around acting like spiderman. As I'm typing this blog he has currently put his costume back on. I'm not sure what we will do as the days go on the costume is pretty snug to begin with. We did try to hide it once and he was so sad and walked around the house saying "spi-er-ma gone spi-er-ma gone"

At trunk or treat I sat with a friend and passed out candy while Jeff took the kids around to get the loot. Andrew was a live wire as always but for the first time he actually went around to each car and said trick or treat to get candy. This was a huge step for us but we still need to work on our manners and not trying to grab the candy ourselves. He was all over the place but did stick with the group. One small step at a time. Megan was a champ as always and had a great time. She is coming down with a bit of a cold so was a bit tired after all was said and done.