Thankful: Day 30

I am thankful for Thanksgiving.  This year we got to host all the Coopers at our home, and it turned out to be a wonderful day.  I am thankful for all the efforts of everyone who came and helped out in many different ways.  The food was delicious, the kids played well, we laughed and had an enjoyable time, and things went better than expected.  I am thankful for a holiday that reminds us to take time to remember the small and simple important blessings of life.

We started off with a spread of tasty appetizers:  salami/cheese/cracker plate, relish tray and deviled eggs, queso, corn relish dip, fritos and bean dip, and Liz's cheese ball and crackers.  

No Thanksgiving would be complete without the canned cranberry "sauce," complete with ridges.  Steve carved that bad-boy up.   

While we were waiting to get plates, the doodle placemats kept everyone busy.  Coopers CAN do art!

Bando made a great turkey and stepped in to take care of the ham and potatoes that I planned to be in charge of.  {I had another job to do at the last minute---taking grandparent photos, since all of the grandkids were together!}  Along with turkey and ham, we had mashed potatoes and gravy, Timee's green bean casserole and cornbread dressing, Rebecca's rolls, and my sweet potato casserole.  Dessert was a pumpkin pie the boys and I made, Julia's apple pie, and Timee's German Chocolate Cake.  Food Coma, anyone? 


The crew:

 After dinner, there were many games of Turkey Tag.  Kyle was bragging that he would easily beat all of the little kids.  Then, Uncle Bando joined the game----just to make it fair. 

You can see who ended up with all the feathers:

Happy Thanksgiving!  We sure had a happy one. 

Thankful: Day 29

 I'm thankful for things to keep kids entertained.  I'm also thankful for the people who come up with these ideas.  Sometimes, I can think of crafts or activities on my own, but it's sure nice to get great ideas from others.

On Thanksgiving, we kept the kids busy with several things.  First, we made leaf turkeys. 


Later, after the meal and when they were starting to get bored, we put together some paper bag turkeys, and I think they turned out really cute!

Are there 4 turkeys or 8??

These 2 wanted to take lots and LOTS of funny pictures!

We also made a family turkey out of our hands and Daddy's foot! 

Hooray for easy craft ideas! 

Thankful: Day 28

I'm thankful for a date night and time to go out with my hubby, even if our Aggies lost.

Thankful:Day 27

I'm thankful my boys look forward to the weekend or vacation when they can have sleepovers and watch movies. It's a great discipline tool, as well!  And, I am thankful for sleeping children. They are some of my favorites.

Thankful: Day 26

I am thankful for amazing fall weather.  It's finally here, and we were able to spend the morning at the park, never once asking to leave because we were too hot.  It was a perfect morning! 

 

Thankful: Day 25

 I'm thankful for family time and for vacations.

For Evan's birthday, Stephen had a week off.  We decided to spend part of that at one of the boys' favorite places, Great Wolf Lodge.  Auntie Deb even met us there!  It was a fun few days, and I'm so grateful for being able to do fun things like this as a family.

Boys' cabin:

Kyle and Ryan spent lots of time on "the logs." 

Evan loved these slides and the bigger ones, too!  

We all loved the lazy river!

 Everyone but Ryan was brave enough to stand under the waterfall.

Evan felt special because Auntie Deb set up a birthday package for him.  It included a Happy Birthday sign, and he made sure to ask about whose birthday it was every time we walked to the room.

We played and played in the water as long as we could.

Evan played until  he crashed, even when we were trying to celebrate his birthday.

He finally woke up for cake!

Ryan wanted one more chance to play.

Extreme joy and the depths of despair:

We even got a chance to play in the arcade.  The boys LOVED it!

 This was one of my favorites.  We were cracking up watching Ryan and Evan on this roller coaster simulator:

 We love Great Wolf Lodge!!!

We rounded out the trip with a stop at Rain Forest Cafe and celebrated the birthday boy once again.  Thanks, Auntie Deb!!!

What a fun time.  We can't wait to go again!