Thanksgiving 2009

Take 2 was a success!

For the second year, I wanted to host Thanksgiving at our house. Many of you have done this yourself, and know that it can be quite a daunting task. Cleaning the week before, making sure you have enough serving dishes, let alone plates and silverware! But I would not be scared away...

As of the Wednesday before bird day, we were tentatively expecting 23 people...YIKES! Did I have enough food? Chairs? Wine? (Wine more for me than anyone else, hehehe) But, by this late in the game, I was going for it with what I had.

The conclusion? Went off without a hitch! Food was great! We had leftovers, but weren't overwhelmed with them. Everyone got to take a bit home, too. We had tons of family sharing in the wonderful day. We played games, visited, and stuffed ourselves into blissful relaxation.

Miss Caroline and her Giraffe pillow

The crew around the table

Ashley and Shaun

After dinner Family Feud on the laptop.

Trever is 6!

Happy Birthday Trever!

We've officially reached 6 years old and rang it in with style this past weekend. School friends, family, and food made it a great day for the birthday boy.

Not even cold weather would keep the kids away from the pinata. Here are the boys messing with the innocent basher below.

Opening presents, he got some AWESOME gifts this year!

Sitting with Grandma Debbie


Eating some of the Transformer cake....can you tell it had blue and red frosting?

Blowing out the candles with all of his buddies.

Thank you Jess for throwing such a great party at home!

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt- 2009

...Baby it's cold outside...

Hunting for the perfect Christmas tree is a family tradition that my dad has passed down to me and my family now. So, as winter approaches, we start planning the great tree hunt! Which tree would we want this year? How tall? Where are we going to set it up in the house? Oh the decisions!

The Tree Master...although we did have to honk the horn to guide him back to camp this year

Loula Bell and I, cuddling to stay warm!

Trever was a bit disappointed that there wasn't enough snow to sled in, but he did his best!

Yes, it was that cold! Hand warmers are a girls best friend!

Not much snow in the back ground...hopefully we'll get a chance to go play in the mountains again later this winter. I've got the chains in the truck....BRING ON THE SNOW!

Sorry there are no pictures of the trees we successfully hunted down. By the time we got them back to camp, we were all so frozen, we packed up and booked it back down the mountain. Hopefully I'll get some posted now that we have it all decorated in the house. Happy Holidays everyone!

Shaun's 40th

My baby is almost 40! Looks pretty good for his age, huh?

Here are a few pics from our celebration. Don't know if he'll let me live it down, but I managed to plan the evening without Shaun having any idea! Good friends, family, and fun!

Happy Birthday BABY! I love you...

Alison and Shaun, shot #1

Beck and Jason

Shaun, Shon, and Andi

Me, Shon, and the birthday boy

Jackie and Shaun....I love this girl!

Alison and Shaun...a little later in the night.

Ashley and me....Crazy girl!

Shaun and Shon....two peas in a pod!

I will apologize now for my absence these past few weeks. Fall has kept us quite busy!

Now that we are treading into November, here are a few pictures of what we have been up to for the Halloween season. Gone are the lake days...bring on FALL!

Landon and Trever, hitchin' a ride

Family pic :) Bright sunshine for our day at the patch

Funny group shot...self timer

Out of the sunshine this time. Shaun, Trever and I on the huge pumpkins

September, and still on the lake

My parents have been doing some major renovations to the lake house this year. Their goal is to get moved in this winter. We've loved watching the transformations, and hopefully I'll have many more pictures to share in the coming months. Withe our extended summer weather, we've been enjoying the new front porch below...

Catching a glimpse of the Mountain from under the slide

Goggles!

The boys turn into little fish, spending hours in the water

Hopefully we'll get to enjoy the lake for a few more weeks. I love watching the snow slowly pile back up on the mountain, and fall sunsets are the BEST!

You can do it at a TROT!

Does anyone remember all the words to the Fair's theme song? I can remember singing it in choir in elementary school...it makes me smile to this day :) Shaun and I had our first "official date" at the fair two years ago, so going back each fall will hopefully stay a tradition. This year, we got to go with the boy, too! How much fun to experience the fair through the eyes of a 5 year old!

Watching Steve Trash, the magician




So much to see, no matter where you were facing!

T man catching a fish in the trout pool

"That thing is HUGE!"

Steve Trash asked Trever to be his assistant for a trick...made his DAY!

Smiles from the big kids, too

The boys in their matching camo shorts

Hands up on the roller coaster!