Thanksgiving

Wow! What a great Thanksgiving! Our house was overflowing on Thursday, and we actually had 4 little ones running around, too (well, Charlie isn't quite running yet). People started showing up around 10:30 for some fantastic appetizers and some boring football, and dinner was served around 2:00.

Fortunately for me, everyone brings something. Pickle roll-ups anyone?

I put an appetizer table in the family room this time, and it sure helped the congestion in the kitchen.

That still seems to be where everyone gathers, though.

Teddy once again carved the turkey. I'm so lucky to have a professional on hand for this job (not my favorite). I think he was about done, here - that poor bird looks pretty picked over! It was delicious! My one glitch in the dinner was the mashed potatoes. I cooked them in two pots since I didn't have one that was big enough, and the first pot I checked was totally done so I drained all of them and put them in a huge bowl. Well, the 2nd pot was NOT done. Lumpy potatoes, anyone? Even my mixer couldn't get those lumps out. Oh well....

It was fun having Tom, Kim, and Amariah here from Illinois.

Seal of approval! Oh, by the way, check out the SNOW on the deck - looks more like Christmas than Thanksgiving.

Amariah was so cute in her turkey bib.

And, of course, Charlie stole the show.

Maddox and Corey posed for a few pictures,

and one of my goals for the day was to get a family picture for this year's Christmas card. This one did NOT make the final cut! Actually, everyone cooperated really well, but we just had to do one "goofy" picture. Some things never change!

Charlie finally got to eat his dinner long after everyone else was through. He actually thought this plastic banana looked pretty good!

Hmmmmm - not bad!

Ahhh, carrots, rice cereal, and real bananas - that's much better!

Chuck got into the feeding action, too. I think Jenna's trying to train him for doing some daycare. He draws the line at changing diapers, though, so it may be awhile before he does more than an hour or two.

What a great day! We are so thankful for all that we have, and for the chance to spend time with family!

Halloween

Yikes! It's almost Thanksgiving, and I haven't posted Halloween pictures yet. It's tough when I'm try to keep up two blogs. Somehow I manage to update my classroom one almost every week, but then my family one gets neglected. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

This year, both Corey and Jenna came down for the local downtown Halloween event. Kids dress up in their costumes and all of the store owners pass out goodies. Since Halloween was on Sunday this year, the celebration took place on Friday.

Maddox and Corey

Jenna and Charlie

Charlie was the cutest little pirate ever, and Maddox was definitely the strongest Power Ranger in town (check out that six-pack!).

Maddox is in to anything that has to do with a Super Hero!

After collecting candy downtown, we went back to our house for Dudley's pizza and breadsticks (Jenna and Corey's all-time favorite).

Charlie was showing off his new sitting-up-straight skills. What pirate doesn't need his favorite dragonfly with him?

Arrrrrgh!

Arrrrrrgh, again!

Ahhhhh, finally, time to get out of those crazy costumes and relax on the couch!

I wonder what they'll be next year?

Charlie is 6 months old!

Jenna and I took Charlie to Sears on Saturday to have his 6 month pictures taken. He looked like such a little man as he sat and smiled for his pictures! He's growing sooooo fast! He'll be walking and talking before we know it.

What a cutie!

Happy Birthday, Maddox!

Maddox turned four on October 24th! We celebrated on the 17th with a family gathering at the party room at Corey's place. It was a Sunday afternoon, so the Vikings game was part of the entertainment, and they even won!

Maddox wanted an Incredible Hulk cake, so of course that's exactly what he got!

Chuck, Paul, and Ted were the official cooks at the rooftop grill. Maddox chose the menu, and the hamburgers and hot dogs were great!

Cheese puffs, veggies, and pretzels were part of the menu, too, along with chips, fruit, and ice cream. Maddox is a true gourmet!

Nummy!

Presents!

The hot wheels launcher from Melissa was a hit!

Of course, you can't have a 4-year old party without games, so I made up a pin-the-face-on-the-pumpkin game. Matthew tried it out, but Maddox just wanted to stick the face on without the blind fold.

Corey did this one.

Maddox and Corey are quite the rock stars!

Ahhhh, a little downtime to check out a new book with Melissa, Kyle's girlfriend.

Time to blow out the candles!

Happy Birthday, Maddox!

You are INCREDIBLE!!

We didn't quite manage to get an organized picture of the whole crew, but I think everyone except for Teddy and Corey are in this one (Charlie is on the floor getting a diaper change). Nicole, Andy's sister, was even here from Pittsburgh.

We love you, Maddox!!

MEA Trip to Two Harbors

MEA weekend comes at just the right time every year - the weather is usually great, and we're all ready for a short break after the first wild, crazy, hectic six weeks of school. This year, we left Thursday morning for a quick trip to visit Grandma Bracken in Two Harbors.

Jenna and Charlie joined us on our road trip.

Great Grandma Bracken loved the chance to see Charlie again. He grew a lot since we were there in July! Jenna and Charlie relaxed Friday morning while Chuck and I hiked around in the woods, looking for the perfect place to put up the tree stand in preparation for hunting season.

Then, we headed north to our all-time favorite spot, Gooseberry Falls. We popped Charlie in the front-pack and took off on some of the hiking trails around the falls.

It was a gorgeous day, and Charlie seemed to like all the activity. I really think he wanted to hop out of there and join all the kids climbing around on the rocks.

I'd say he looks a lot like his mommy in this picture.

So serious!

Hiking with a 20 # baby in a front-pack is a lot of work! We didn't quite make it all the way to Lake Superior.

Looks like we really wore the little guy out! He crashed as soon as we got back on the road. We were home by Friday night, refreshed and rejuvenated by the fresh air and beauty of northern Minnesota!