Thanksgiving 2009

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day spent with family. Alyssa's dad, Jim, invited us all over to his house for the festivities. Alyssa spent ALL day in the kitchen working hard to prepare an excellent meal. She really outdid herself and thought ahead with every detail. Thanks Alyssa for all of your hard work! The kids had fun exploring Jim's house and all the hidden treasures from Alyssa's childhood. Alyssa was so thoughtful in getting out toys, dolls and dress-up clothes that she thought Kennedy would enjoy playing with. Jim's house is displayed with animals that he has hunted, which captured the curiosity of both Kennedy and Easton. They had fun counting ducks, bunnies and even bears in the house. Easton's favorite was a leopard that he kept petting and calling kitty.

Wild turkey

Pilgrim girlMe and my dad

Mike and Alyssa
Cooks in the kitchen

OK, I had to post this picture because it may be one of the funniest pictures I've ever seen. Sean and I thought it would be funny to get our picture taken next to an exotic African Antelope that Jim had in the corner of his living room. Little did I realize, this picture makes Sean look like he's an exotic African Antelope.

average ([av-er-ij, av-rij) - normal, typical

Preschool conferences today. Pre-kids I would have said mine will excel at everything. Now that I have kids, I am perfectly fine with them being "average". In fact, thank goodness for the "meeting expectations" category. I know that there will be areas where both Kennedy and Easton are skillful and areas where they are challenged. But in most cases, especially when I second guess my parenting, I am thankful that they came out of things OK. By no means do I think either of them are ordinary kids, in my eyes they are both extraordinary, remarkable. But, as far as academia, social skills and behaving age-appropriately...today I am happy with average.

Humdrum, not this one Plain, not this Jane

Electric Toothbrush

My kids' dentist recommended that we get them electric toothbrushes so they would become more comfortable with the noise and feel of getting their teeth cleaned. Never has there been a better invention for getting your kids to want to brush their teeth.