THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was very special this year! 14 wonderful family and friends sat in our diningroom and gave thanks for our many blessings. Such great food and laughs! A tradition of reading all the Black Friday ads and cousins goofing around made for a fun afternoon. Naps on the couch after a big dinner. Sue's famous cookie cake. A really wonderful holiday to remember.

A NEW PUPPY?

Rusty did not have a puppy if you are wondering what that heap of dog fur is next to him. Instead our poor neglected dog actually got brushed this month. Oh poor Rusty! Well, truth be told, he used to be a kitchen and mudroom dog only and lately he has been given run of the downstairs. His favorite location is the family room couch or the floor in the living room by that couch. He enjoys looking for a stray stuffed animal left on the ground to carry around in his mouth. He really likes finding any crusts from toast that may fall to the ground as well. However, this new found love of the rest of the house means the dog hair has become the latest challenge. I can vacuum twice a day and still it is every where. Since I don't (and won't) vacuum twice a day, I've decided to brush Rusty once in a while and take a preventative approach to dog hair maintenance. I'm considering a "Flowbee". Do they make those for dogs? Would that help? Would Rusty sit still for that? Hmmmm, tempting!

A STAR IS BORN

Molly is such a confident 11 year old! She got a part in the middle school play this year as Molly Moron. A flamboyant character that matched her own personality quite perfectly. She was so excited to be a part of this comedy called Hospital by Tim Kelly. Molly enjoyed all the practices after school and all day on Saturday, she loved the cast party and especially the costume she got to wear. Leopard print heels. Life is pretty much perfect for this 6th grader!

SUNDAY FOOTBALL

My kids would rather play outside then sit in doors and watch tv. They love to play football or baseball or capture the flag. They ride bikes and play basketball, they make forts in the woods and mud pies near the driveway. This video really captures the energy and closeness of 3 brothers who spend hours playing together.

HALLOWEEN - WHEN THEY WERE LITTLE

When Robbie was in second grade he wanted to be a Pokemon card. At the time I was pregnant with the twins and home on bed rest. I had hours to craft this one!


That same year I made an adorable lion outfit for my adorable daughter.



Jack loved (still loves) Peter Pan and everyone else's costume had to fit the theme. Gotta love sewing with fleece.









Molly was the tooth fairy. Aunt Katie gave us lots of green tooth brushes that hang on her skirt. Rob makes a very cool alien. Gotta hate sewing with that material. Ughh





Costumes for the Rush Parade.. not to be used again at Halloween so they got donated to Leary for the book parade every year. Yeah... love to recycle costumes.







Also made for the Rush Kiddie Parade. Used again in the second grade play, How does your garden grow.

HALLOWEEN - THIS YEAR

This is Jack dressed as Glow Stick Boy. The entire design was inspired while camping (okay we stole it from some creative woman at the campsite). Jack didn't want us to outline his hood so this version is headless. This is sure to be a favorite for many years. Especially by mom, since it is cheap and easy!


This is Tim as a zombie... also cheap and easy... wear your regular clothes and have mom put some make up on you. Great. Love it. Let's do this every year.



This is Molly as a zombie. Molly has a skull shirt that she keeps in her closet. We won't let her wear it to school (did it come from Hannah?). We took an old black t-shirt and cut it up, added a choker and some make up. As a final touch we sprayed her hair purple. When you are in middle school, spray hair color is totally hip!




Rob is dressed the same as last year... as a XC runner. Hmmmm boring! So Molly and I decided to spray his hair green. He decided he looked like the Green Arrow. I'm thrilled at another cheap and easy costume!

VACATION

In early October, Chris and I were lucky enough to get away for a few days to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We went to a beautiful resort and had an absolutely wonderful time, relaxing, reading, eating, drinking, swimming and walking the beaches. This was our first vacation since our Honeymoon and it was perfect.

While we were away Katie took care of the kids. We were able to stay in touch with facebook and she sent pictures of all their activities each day. Included was this picture:

The caption was: "Don't hurry home, the kids are just fine." Funny Katie!