Our Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. I ran the 5 mile turkey trot in downtown Cleveland Thanksgiving morning. It was fun, but cold! It was windy and rainy through most of it, but I made it. Little G wasn't too thrilled about the whole thing. Him and Adam were waiting at the finish for me, but we couldn't find each other for about 30 minutes. This picture pretty much describes how happy Gavin was too be there. I don't blame him....it was freezing!

We had a delicious Thanksgiving feast at the church with a big group of friends. I am so grateful for the friends we have made here and am grateful to have shared Thanksgiving with them.

And now, what do you know....Christmas is right around the corner! We set up our little 3 foot tree this year since we will only be here a couple of weeks before we head out West. Gavin of course loved the tree and I'm still trying to teach him that we "just look" and not pull off every ornament. He's getting it....sort of ;) Who can resist those shiny, sparkly balls?

I feel so blessed in my life, and am truly grateful for my little family. I feel some of the greatest moments in my life are the ones where I am at home spending time with my two favorite people.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Our 4th of July Weekend

Saturday we played in the park and had a BBQ with some friends. It was the perfect day to be outside.

Gavin and his friend Charlotte.

By Sunday afternoon this is what we looked like.....

tired and ready for a nap!

We were going to try and watch some fireworks, but every city close by wasn't doing them this year...such a bummer. But, some of our friends invited us over to watch their little fireworks show. So, I was glad we got to see some fireworks. Gavin on the other hand wasn't so sure about all the loud noises. Every time a firework would go off he would scream like I have never heard before, and then he was fine. He got used to them after a while, but I think he was just glad to get home and back to his bed.

Christmas in Oregon

We had a great Christmas in Oregon with my family this year. It is always so good to be with family for the holidays. This was the first Christmas with everyone together now that my brother Phil is back from his mission. It is amazing the difference that one person can make in the dynamics of a family. It is great to have him back.

Now, I am sitting at home on my couch (a little sad, and missing the sound of the piano in the background, laughter, playing games and spending days doing nothing with my family) reflecting on the past two weeks of fun, and feel so blessed for the life I have. It is always so great to see my family, but there is always a time to come home. Here are some pictures to sum up our two weeks in Oregon.

Day one: trimming the tree with Philly

Just relaxing with Grandma while she works on the Computer.

So excited for new Christmas jammies and for Santa to come!

Grandpa showing Gavin how to play with his rings. My brother Grant and his sweet hair.

Watching Grant at his hockey game.All bundled up and tired from a long day.Almost home! Our last flight of the day, and ready to be done.

Thanksgiving

We had a great thanksgiving here in Ohio. We missed seeing our families, but had a good time with some good friends. We ate lots of yummy food, and were all tired and ready for some relaxation.

And today, we woke up to the first snow of the season!

Ward Halloween Party

We had our ward Halloween party tonight. There was a chili cook off, costume contest and trick or treating for the kids. It was a lot of fun, even if our chili didn't win. There were lots of great costumes, but I think this little dinosaur was the cutest.

Check out little Cindy Lou Who. So Cute!

Pumpkins!

We had a great time tonight carving pumpkins with some friends. I mean....Adam did a great job carving our pumpkins, while I watched! I love the thought of carving pumpkins, but when it gets down to it, I always get sick of it pretty quickly. Adam's pretty creative and does a good job, while my pumpkin always ends up looking a little sad. I still need to take a picture of Adam's finished product. More to come of our Halloween festivities!