Pins Thanksgiving

The kids and I spent Wednesday through Saturday at my parents' house. My mom bought the kids role playing outfits. The chef costume for Claire and the Veterinarian costume for Rachel were totally in line with their passions. Rachel wore hers a lot and took care of all the stuffed animals and even the other kids pretending to be injured animals. The kids played with toys, cards, and colored, but they really got a kick out of the new Wii game. My parents also treated us all to the movie Tangled (about Rapunzel) in 3D. We loved it. The highlight, though, was early Christmas presents. My parents gave a very generous sum of money to each of the couples. We are so thankful and their support is a huge blessing in our lives!

While playing "Sleeping Queens" all the kids decided they wanted to be on "Grandma's Team". leaving me and Steph to fend for ourselves. It was a cute moment.

Turkey Trot

I spent Thanksgiving with my family in Gurnee. Brian had to stay home and work, but he was able to have Thanksgiving dinner at his grandma's house in the QC. On Thanksgiving morning Steph, Jeff, and I ran a Turkey Trot. Jordyn and Woolfe came to cheer us on. It was Stephanie's first race ever and she did great! She had a good experience and we all enjoyed this active start to the day. My dad prepared a delicious feast and it was a relaxing day for me. Steph, Flint, and my mom had to take Rachel to the doctor, so Jordyn and I had lots of time to visit. We are all so excited that she and Jeff are expecting their first baby due May 25th!

Here I am with my siblings, Jeff and Stephanie.

Festival of Trees 2010

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving I took the kids to the Festival of Trees in Davenport with Deb, Brant, Amie, Kylie, Dylan, Nancy, and Avery. The kids played in the North Pole, a carnival area. Then we browsed the trees and gingerbread houses. Their favorite, though, was watching the huge train display. Then we went back to Amie's house for pizza and playtime. Deb gave all the kids matching PJ's. It's extra special when Dale, Nancy, and Avery are back in town and we enjoyed spending time with them. They also shared the good news that Avery is going to be a big sister near the end of June!

This was my favorite "tree". It was Cinderella frozen in time at the stroke of midnight.

Avery, Kylie, and Leah cozy together in their new PJs.

Festival of Trees Weekend

This first picture was from Girl's Night Out last weekend. These are some of my friends, Sabrina, Anita, Lori, and Teri.

We've made it an annual tradition to get together with Brian's mom and siblings for the Festival of Trees weekend in the Quad Cities. On Friday night we enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner and the next day we watched the parade. We bundled up and braved the elements. The hot chocolate, big balloons, and festive atmosphere made it a lot of fun.

Hot Chocolate 15K

This past Friday I headed into Chicago with some fellow Rock River Road Runners. We picked up our race packets, loaded up on carbs at Harry Caray's, and stopped by the Redhead Piano Bar. The next morning we braved the elements and headed down to Grant Park for the race. Anita and I ran the whole thing together in 1:19, averaging an 8:34 mile pace, which I was happy with. We had Ghiradelli fondue and hot chocolate afterwards. That evening I met up with Brian and my parents for the musical, Million Dollar Quartet, and then we had a nice dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my parents without the kids around. What a special weekend!

Anita, Heather, Pat, and I sported our Sterling track shirts and got stopped by a couple people from our area.

Final Halloween Activities

There are a million and one Halloween events in our community and I think I overdid it this year. Brian was gone all day Saturday to the Iowa Hawkeye game, so that evening I took the kids to the Halloween party at the YMCA. It was really fun. They had carnival games, bounce houses, dinner, costume contests, and a limbo contest. We hung out with the Petersons. The highlight was seeing Jadon and Leah do the limbo contest. By Sunday night trick-or-treat, the kids seemed to be going strong, but I was completely burned out. I think I'm recovered now, but hopefully I'll pace myself better for the upcoming holiday season.

Trunk or Treat

Our church had a trunk or treat on Saturday. Deb and I decorated the back of her truck like the Garden of Eden and took turns passing out candy. Brant, Amie, Kylie, and Dylan came and spent the day with us. Jadon also had fun running around with Brecken. There was a petting zoo, bounce house, tractor rides, hayrack ride, and lots of games, in addition to the trick or treating. We had a great time and our "trunk" even won 1st place.