Festivus

So, our Thanksgiving really wasn't much to write home about. I learned a few things about what NOT to do next year:

1. Don't turn down a friend's invitation to a real Thanksgiving dinner because you think it will be too depressing to hang with someone else's family on Turkey Day.
2. Don't eat pressed turkey loaf from the hospital cafeteria instead.
3. Don't expect to sit down with a resident on trauma call because his pager WILL go off.
4. Don't spend the evening in the doctor's lounge WITH your kids and WITHOUT said doctor.
5. Don't "console" yourself about not getting pie by finishing off that container of ice cream at home in the freezer.
6. Don't stay up until 3 am watching random stuff on Youtube.
7. Don't feel sorry for yourself - that's not what Thanksgiving is about.
8. Do plan on cooking a real Thanksgiving meal next year, even if it means eating without Rick.

Pretty lame, right? This post gets better in a minute...

Friday was my 33rd birthday. It started out great and got better from there. The kids made me breakfast in bed. Jake warmed up some whole wheat waffles while Emma scrambled an egg. They managed to carry the tray up the stairs and down the hall without spilling. Bonus! Soon after, Rick came home from working his 30-hour shift. He brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Here are some of the cards I received from family and friends:

The kids also decorated the house with balloons:

That night, Rick took me to a Japanese restaurant in our area called Nagoya. It's a timpenyaki (sp?) place where they cook the food right in front of you. My swordfish was delish and the veggies divine. We also got an extra treat for the ears. Shortly after we sat down to eat, live music started playing at the front of the restaurant. We ended up hanging around for awhile to hear Toledo's own Crystal Bowersox. She was remarkably good and we bought her CD.

Later, we stopped off at New York & Company so that I could spend my birthday money and gift card (Thanks Lala, Papa, Mama Jo, and Pa Saunders). I got a red cable neck sweater, a side ruched top in pink, and some dressy costume jewelry. I'm going to be fabulous at my next holiday shin-dig!

On Saturday, I taught my aerobics classes while Rick and the kids hung Christmas lights outside. Next, we ate for $10 at Arby's (woot woot) which sabotaged my efforts from the morning - ha! After our wholesome lunch, we spent some time at Bass Pro shop taking pictures and taking advantage of all the holiday activities. They really do it up right in that place!

Every square foot of that store that is decorated for Christmas. Wow!

What do you think? Should we embrace country livin' and get Emma her very own gun for Christmas?

Nothing says Merry Christmas like the sound of an air soft gun.

Saturday evening was the big tree lighting ceremony at Levis Commons. We bundled ourselves up, snagged some hot cocoa, and enjoyed the show.

We caught the tail end of some country singing and fire baton twirling. Interesting combo, eh? At 8:00, they lit the big tree and the people peeled out. It was pretty funny. All that hoop-la just to turn on some lights and go home. We stuck around though. We forced the kids to get their annual shots with Santa.

We will continue to make them pose with Santa each year until they move out of the house. It's a tradition for Pete's sake!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last weekend was just for chicks. The gals in my ward started things off right by eating a yummy lunch at El Vaquero. We visited, laughed, and passed around the newest baby in our circle of friends. Later that evening we had a Twilight-themed bash while the movie played in the background. We debated the Jacob vs. Edward issue and mocked the poor acting and visual effects from the first movie. By 8:00ish, we were out the door to go stand in line at the local theater (all 20 of us). Of course we had purchased our tickets weeks earlier, but we were determined to get a decent seat too. The lobby was absolutely packed with girls of ALL ages. It was really pretty ridiculous and we had to laugh at ourselves.

When the show started there was cheering and clapping, even a howl or two. We couldn't stop giggling. We marveled at Taylor's 30 pounds of muscle and cringed at Robert's creepy pastiness. It was a great time - a fluff film with fun friends. What could be better?

On Saturday, Emma and I got to join a group of moms and daughters on an excursion to Cleveland. We got to see Wicked at the remodeled Playhouse theater. On the drive over, the little girls watched The Wizard of Oz while the moms chatted about everything under the sun. We forked out a little extra money so we could park right across from the theater (one of our more brilliant ideas of the day). The Playhouse was worth the drive by itself, especially since it was decorated already for the holidays. After snapping a few pictures with our camera phones (we ALL forgot our cameras), we hiked up to our seats. We were waaaaaaaaay up in the balcony. Once the show started though, it didn't matter as much because the music was fantastic! Emma's eyes were fixed on the stage the whole time. We both LOVED it.

To finish the day, we took the little girls to The Cheesecake Factory. It was a long wait, but we killed time checking out the holiday decorations at the outdoor mall. We also got "appetizers" at a nearby Trader Joe's ( we don't have one in Toledo). We stuffed ourselves and gorged on the famous cheesecake. It was a delicious ending to a wonderful weekend!

Jake's Band Concert

Jacob has only played the flute for a couple of months with the 6th grade band, but they had a special concert a few weeks ago showcasing what they've learned so far. It was easy to see why Jacob loves band so much. His band teacher seems really fun and energetic. He really had those kids wrapped around his baton. Here is the classic song, Hot Cross Buns:

Jacob's Ordination

Papa flew out this weekend to be part of Jacob's priesthood ordination. We were thrilled to have him participate in this very special milestone in Jacob's life.
Jacob was recognized in Sacrament Meeting for graduating Primary. He recited the 7th Article of Faith in front of the whole congregation. It only took him one breath!

Jake also went to his first Fireside last night. Because Rick is the Scout Master in the ward, he got to go too. Jake's pretty lucky to have his Dad serving as a leader!


In other news...I was released from my calling as Primary music leader yesterday. I was very resistant to giving that up, as it's always been my favorite calling in the church. However, I did have to breathe a little sigh of relief that I'll now have one less lesson to plan each week.

Jake's Birthday Party

We threw together a last minute laser tag party for Jake's birthday. He invited 4 of his good buddies and Rick drove them to Sylvania for some fun. I think they played 7 or 8 games. They had a total blast!

When they got back, we had pizza, cookie cake, and ice cream. I tried to balance out all the junk food by making the boys eat some grapes. It's all good, right?

Jake had a very Bionicle birthday. Somehow his friends knew exactly what Bionicles to get for him. Amazing! At the end of the evening, the knocked each other around with some Wii boxing. Good times!

Inside at the Henry Ford Museum

Now that it's getting chilly outside, we look for indoor adventures. On Tuesday, both the kids and Rick had a day off. We celebrated by driving to Michigan and spending the day together. After enjoying burgers at Fuddruckers, we made a visit to the Henry Ford Museum. We'd never done the indoor stuff, so it was all new to us.

The museum has a whole section dedicated to the evolution of flight over the past century. We saw some crazy footage of early stunt fliers, inventions by the Wright brothers, and fully assembled airplanes. It was so cool!

Jake just couldn't get this guy interested in the airborne acrobatics.

For a limited time, the museum has a whole Lego Knights Kingdom display. It's all interactive and hands on. The kids would have stayed there all day building castles had we let them.

We learned all we ever wanted to know (and more) about the progression of farming equipment.

We couldn't resist taking a family picture in front of the wiener mobile.

Are you hungry for a hot dog?

He looks good enough to eat.

The Goldenrod still holds the title for fasted land speed record.

Our favorite part of the tour was climbing on the bus where Rosa Parks sat.

I'm so glad Emma still has some years ahead before she is officially behind the wheel. Instead of a Model T, she'll be driving a tank.

I'm not sure what this is, but doesn't Jake look cute?

All aboard!

This is a snow plow-type train.

We need this so our whole family can ride in the Amtrak Century next year.

All in all, it was a GREAT day trip. If you ever come visit us in the great state of Ohio, we'll be happy to take you to the world famous Henry Ford Museum!

What the what?

Jake is 12! We celebrated as a family on Monday evening by going out to dinner. Jake's choice for fine dining was Olive Garden. This was not because he loves Italian food (if you can even call Olive Garden Italian food). He just really likes the breadsticks there.

Whatever. We indulged him since it was a special occasion. We even had the staff come sing to him.

Now, do we look like the parents of a 12-year old? Wait! Don't answer that.

Old Pictures Found!

Our camera is dying, so we've not been diligent about taking pictures lately. We've resorted to using an old camera that we'd given to the kids. This "dinosaur" came out when digital photography was just getting underway, so it's both slow and grainy. Here are some pictures of the kids on their first day of school:

Jake's a little blurry. Sorry.

And here are some more shots provided by Jake's Scout leader:

I think they took this hike about 2 months ago. One of the kids is still in shorts so it MUST have been 2 months ago!

The leader in this pic is our good friend David Luce. His son Michael is Jake's best buddy at church.

I can't figure out if they're resting or drawing a map in the sand.
Michael on the left, Jake on the right.