Thanksgiving Weekend 2014

We enjoyed a fun-filled, yet relaxed Thanksgiving long weekend.  We were able to visit with lots of family and friends enjoying beautiful sunny weather outside.  We made a Thanksgiving tree again this year and the kids have been working hard to fill it up before Thanksgiving arrives. Cheese, snowmobiling and skiing top the list, so I think it is safe to say we are ready for winter:)    

Thanksgiving Snow

We have had a great week of Thanksgiving preparations including Audrey becoming proficient at using the food processor:)  We were very fortunate to have a great snow storm just before that gave us some fantastic snow for playing outside and sledding... It was a nice break before Thanksgiving!

Turkey Trot 2014

This year's Turkey Trot was significant for Noah because it signified that he had come full circle with his running.  It was at this race last year that he set the goal for himself to be able to run in a 5K.  James had also been training to run his 1 mile fun run which he was so excited for.  In the days leading up to the race I tried to convince both kids to opt out of the race, but neither of them would change their mind.  So, with Gabe on call and cloudy, windy weather at 35 degrees out, we ran.  James did great in his race and seemed unfazed by the weather.  Once again, the men's basketball team ran with the kids to motivate them and made it all the more special.  Noah and I had a bit more difficult run and I was afraid that he would decide not to run after that race, but instead he, very insightfully, realized that he needs to train a bit more before running that far. All in all, Noah seems to feel very accomplished and I am so proud that he set such a goal for himself and attained it. He is already talking about which races he is going to run in next spring/summer:) 

Late Fall

Although the temperatures have been chilly we are still managing to enjoy playing outside.  Our pond  had a thin coat of ice today that the kids took some time to explore. Audrey has been very much into copying all of our activities.  Yesterday she got the fingernail clippers, took off Noah's socks and started pretending to cut his toenails... she was pretty proud of herself too:)  Ben has become a bit more responsible in keeping himself entertained if he wakes up too early in the morning.  This morning when I walked in to get him he was having an elaborate picnic with his cars.

Veterans Day 2014

I would say that the stars aligned for Veterans' Day this year. It was sunny and 55 degrees.  Gabe had the day off and was able to join us for the parade in Brewer.  I know that I have said this before, but they have such an impressive parade celebrating veterans. So many bands, ROTC programs, girl scouts, boy scouts and just so many veterans both walking and riding the parade route.

As always, it was an emotional and very heartwarming day for my dad and us watching him accept thanks and handshakes from so many people.  The kids are getting old enough to start to understand what this is all about, so neat for them to be part of it too.  The girl scouts even gave dad two thank you cards, one specific for the air force... he is pretty proud of these cards... so much so that he let me take his pictures with them. Just a nice reminder that doing something small of someone can make a big difference:) After the parade and lunch the kids got to play with Trey at the Children's Discovery Museum before heading home.