Happy Thanksgivng

We had a different Thanksgiving this year.  We had dinner with some of my favorite people - but we didn't cook - we went to Cracker Barrel, and it was delicious and the wait was only 20 minutes. No cooking and no clean up - what a treat.

Courtney - all grown up and in Nursing School, we are so proud of her.

Turkey, ham and all the sides you want, plus a drink and dessert for $8.99.  The service was impecable.

Aunt Jeannette - looking good as ever!  A young 80 something??

We did a little shopping before dinner.  The Christmas trees and Christmas decorations were beautiful.  I want to see Pam's tree - she is decorating it in red and lime green - sounds gorgeous to me.

It was great spending time with some of my favorite family members. I just wish Amy and her family could be here.

Aren't they cute?

Pam thinks Courtney looks like Amy, in this pic I think mother and daughter look a lot alike.

We all had pumpkin pie for dessert, except for Dave who doesn't like pumpkin - he had chocolate cake.  The only problem eating out is NO LEFT OVERS!  I just may have to make a mini turkey dinner for us.

The Last Home Tech Game

We headed west for the last home game of the season.  It was a beautiful weekend.  Tech against North Carolina State.The drive was oh so nice and sunny.Entering Blacksburg.I was working on this the entire trip - a Christmas Present.Another fly over - always breath taking.  They fly over after singing the "National Anthem".  The game was a winner - 38/10.  Yeah! Go Hokies!  This fall has gone by so fast!

Just Having Fun

We have really enjoyed having Meighan.  She is such a good girl. Bandit loves her.

I am glad she brought her winter coat - we have had some rainy, cold weather.Meg loves to cook, so we decided to make a cake for her to take home for Mommy, Daddy and Alex.She chose lemon!!

This is the first time I have used my Wilton Cupcake Pan.

So far so good.  We had some batter left over so we made cupcakes for us. They were yummy.

The cake was good, but as we were decorating it the weight of the icing was too much for the soft cake and it started to slant.  I think using the cake mix was a big mistake.  Next time I will use a bundt or pound cake recipe.

Meg loves sitting on Grandpa and watching "Enchanted".  We watched it 3 times and had a blast dancing each time.  I think this is one of my most favorite movies in a long time.

Sami's 3rd Birthday!

Meighan in Samara's room - she made friends with some of the girls.Pin the Tail on the Donkey!What fun!Castle cake made by Monica.  Very cute - much better than a store bought cake.YUM!More fun outside.  Aidan raking the pile.Then joining in the fun.One of the Mom's joined in the fun. Good Sport! Her kids loved it.

 

We had fun!  Happy Birthday Samara!

Having fun with Meg

We are having fun with Meighan.  She is a girly girl, which I love.  She loves makeup, dressing up and going shopping! 

Isn't she cute at her little vanity?

Meg is a good little eater and she will try new things - but Mac and Cheese is a favorite.Cupcake finger nail polish.  Lots of yummy colors!She loves these little tangerines.On the way to a party - A little nap on the way.

Meg painting my toenails.

First Day Home From St Louis

We didn't get home until late on Tuesday night.  On Wednesday we got Meg settled in and she and I went out to run some errands.  Doesn't she look cute?

So Sassy and Photogenic.

We went to the library and got some books for Meg. Tomorrow the library has Story Time - we will ask Grandpa if he will take Meg - I have to work

  Then we went to the grocery store - we bought one of Dave's favorites - marshmallow treats.  I made a big meatloaf - we love leftovers for sandwiches.  The corn on the cob was so good.

The day went by so fast.  It was fun hanging out with Meg - we are enjoying her so much.  She misses her Dad, Mom and Alex - but we are keeping her busy!  I have to return to work tomorrow so Grandpa and Meighan are on their own.

Getting Ready for Halloween

It amazes me how popular Halloween has become.  I love the fall for many reasons:  college football games, cool weather and especially watching the kids having fun and preparing for the big night.

 Not only the kids have a blast but many adults join in on the fun also.  Dave found this wolf mask and hands - perfect to go along with our Little Red Riding Hood.  I just hope the kids aren't too frightened - Bandit was - he couldn't figure out that crazy mask.

We are ready to head west.  Dave delivered Halloween goodies to all of the other grand kids before we left.  Kari, Lance and Emerson are heading to Disney World for the holiday.  I bet it will be even more magical than usual - have a safe trip! 

The Best Halloween!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween.  We had a blast.  We didn't get to St. Louis until the middle of the day on Saturday - just in time for the fun.

The kids and I went for a walk around 3:00 and we ran into Marilyn Monroe!  She had treats for the kids.The cutest Buzz Light Year~!!This picture is from Sunday - we loaded up to do a little shopping and Alex wanted to wear his costume.The cutest Little Red Riding Hood !!Adorable.The Wolf was lurking around all night.  The twins knew right away it was Grandpa, the little Sponge Bob didn't like him, so the wolf stayed in the background.Too Dark - my flash messed up.This cute Bichon was a Lady Bug.A few of their neighbors are really into Halloween.  So much fun for the kids - they loved it.They had to try on the wolf mask.Quite a stash.We didn't do the pinnata until the next night.  On Halloween, after trick and treating we took them to Macdonald's while Mommy and Daddy went out on a date.This was the toughest pinnata ever.  It just would not break, so we put it on the floor and ripped it apart.A few had to put the pumpkin to another use.As soon as we arrived, Alex had to bring every figure he owns to show us - he sleeps with all of these.Alex took this picture of his most recent addition.My handsome hubby.My handsome grandson.Bandit didn't have a costume, but he had a special collar.It was so hard to leave on Monday morning.  Meighan came back with us and will stay for 2 weeks.  This is the first time she and Alex have been seperated for this length of time.  We explained to Alex that he would be coming another time - we gave him a Woody figure to add to his collection.  He will be fine - I know they will miss Meg, but we are so grateful to have her for so long and will enjoy every minute. We stopped at a rest area and there was a playground - she loved this tire swing.  We had lunch at Cracker Barrell.Dave fixing Meg's little computer.We spent Monday night in Barboursville, West Virginia.  Meg did really well being in the car for so long.The trees had already dropped most of their leaves in West Virginia.

There was still some pretty fall colors left in Virginia.

The Costume is done!

This is the finished "Little Red Riding Hood" costume for Meg.  I was going to go to the post office today and it would be on it's way---didn't happen.  I was so busy at work I couldn't get there in time; so, I will go Saturday morning.  I think it turned out very good, especially since I hadn't made something like this in a long time.  I really enjoyed making it  -- I just hope it fits Meg and she likes it. --Aren't the pantaloons cute?The Cape -- very important for this costume - I am sure it will be cuter on Meighan.Little Red Riding Hood's basket -- we will take this on our trip to St. Louis.Goodies for all the grandkids. Dave bought that snake for Ian -- it grows when it is put in water.Tap this eye ball - it lights up and changes to a lot of different colors.  This is cool - I found a lot of the items from Pier One. It's for

Aidan.Sponges for Matlin and Emmy.Plus these bath gels!  So cute!Cute bags, also from Pier One.Dave picked this out for Ian.  Dave loves gargoyles.  Maybe I should get him one.

Pinnata for the twins.  We will have a party after Trick or Treating.  Mommy and Daddy will go out for their own little treat (some grown up time) and Grandpa and Grandma will have fun with the kids.  I CAN'T WAIT!!!

I love my days off - I usually sleep a little later, get up and lounge while I am having my coffee, but I couldn't goof off long today, I had a dress to get to working on.  I love sitting at my sewing table and looking out this window and watching the birds.  Pictures of my bird feeder at bottom of post.This is the bird feeder outside my window.  Now that we have gotten rid of a lot of squirrels, the birds are more plentiful.The dress bodice is done.Yeah, I am almost done.  I have to put the zipper in.I walked around the yard this afternoon, it was such a beautiful day.  Some more of our Halloween decorations.I still have a few zinnias blooming.This Angel Trumpet has so many blooms - we love it.This azalea is blooming - I thought they bloomed in the spring?Arbor Dave put in the front, we need to put plants in.

This morning glory is taking over the house, it's coming through the window.