Thanksgiving and Birthday Celebrations

My sister and her husband hosted Thanksgiving this year with all the traditional dishes we wait all year for.



Trying to get the ever elusive Christmas card photo with all the grandkids.



The cousins! My kids were so excited to see their cousins and stay overnight.



The girls.



Feasting.





After dinner, M got to open his birthday gifts.











M requested a Spiderman cake this year.





After staying overnight at the cousins, we headed up to the cabin.



D giving a hug.





Daddy helped M put together the garbage truck he got from Aunt Kay.





M did the dinosaur stamps he got for his birthday and the stickers from Grandma and Grandpa.



His artistic 3D take on the Christmas tree craft.



D showing us her creation.



Yeah! Saturday! M's actual birthday. I can't believe my little boy is four years old!





M opened gifts from us and Grandma and Papa Stiehl. He is opening the Spiderman watch D gave him here.







Our friends Ron and Jennifer and their son came up on Saturday. The big hit was the game Don't Spill the Beans, a gift M got from Uncle Robb and Aunt Lynne. The kids just loved that game and would whoop and hollar anytime someone spilled them.





We ate more of the cupcake cake on M's birthday.



Showtime! D organized a show for the adults, a spin-off I'm sure from the shows the cousins usually put together for us when they are all together. This was a gymnastics bouncy show.













Wow, buttercream frosting is really, really greasy. And messy. Not something you should wear a brand new white shirt with when eating!



Back at home, M wanted to try out all of the craft things he got for his birthday. Here he is painting his dinosaur sun catchers.



Happy Birthday big 4 year old!

Let the Festivities Begin

M had his last gymnastics class on Monday. He passed on to the next level, but the kids decided to take skating lessons next instead. Probably a good choice living in Minnesota.









After gymnastics, we met Julia and Jared at Red Robin for dinner. It has become our tradition to celebrate their November birthdays along with M's there. We all had such good coupons and deals at Red Robin, that Julia and Jared got their meals free, and for the four of us it cost us $4.27. Not to mention the free ice cream you also get for your birthday!









D didn't have school on Wednesday and we got to go to a fun Thanksgiving party at our friends' house. We read books about Thanksgiving, did crafts, and ate a yummy taco lunch (thanks Liz!).







Don't laugh. This was my attempt at a cute Thanksgiving themed fruit side dish. And this is the best looking one! It's supposed to be a turkey in case you couldn't tell! The apple slices kept toppling the whole thing over.



Thanks for the fun party and yummy lunch!

Bell Ringing

I guess this must be the calm before the storm (holidays). Haven't blogged much lately. Not that we haven't been busy...just not much "picture" worthy stuff going on.

Good g's guy.



We made raviolis 3-ways last Friday night for dinner. We had cheese (ricotta and Parmesan), cheese with spinach, and pumpkin. I thought I had scarred my family for life after making butternut squash ravioli that were so bad even I couldn't choke them down, so I was a little nervous about how the pumpkin ones would turn out. We all liked them and M and I decided they were our favorites out of all of them (Steve had to work that night). We have lots of leftover filling in the freezer to make another night.





The h's are a little on the abstract side.



We wanted to do something service oriented that the kids could participate in this holiday season, so we shared a two-hour shift of bell ringing for the Salvation Army with friends of ours. The kids and I did the first hour, and my friend's family did the second hour. It was a great way to split it up because I think an hour was just the right amount of time for little kids. They enjoyed ringing the bell and talking to the people who came by.





Shift change--all the kiddos together.