Thanksgivings Through the Years

I think I need to take more pictures at Thanksgiving, but this is what I found without looking too hard. 

1989 - Mae, me and the kids.


  




1998 with Lori's family





In Santa Barbara with Kyle's aunts ( and our Rotary exchange student Connie) - 2001







2002 - Thanksgiving in New York.

Last year - 2009 - games after dinner.

2010

Blake at 3 months or so - I think he has more hair than Braden, but there are similarities.



Busy Afternoon

Braden came to visit yesterday while his dad went hunting with Uncle Russ.   He is fighting a cold, but was pretty happy anyway.  I have dug around in the space under the stairway where I put toys when we moved five years ago and found a couple of things he can play with right now.  He likes to bat around a Sesame Street floor toy, and we tried Abby's old walker.  The older two had a different one, but as with many things, they lasted through two kids but not three.  We had to stuff blankets in front and back of him to give him some stability, and he lasted for about half an hour in it. 

He liked the blue dog toy, but it kind of covers his face in the picture.

We all met Tamara at Leonardville for supper and enjoyed their prime rib special.  They will be back for Thanksgiving, so I might go down and see what else I can find. 

I'm A Bus Driver

 I took my FCCLA kids to Abilene on Tuesday for the Dictrict C Fall Leadership Conference. This was a new experience for all of us, and we had a great time. The kids were a little unsure when they had to look at their name tags to be divided into groups which meant they were separated, but I assured them they would be OK for half an hour and we would meet up again. We were the only middle school of the 200 or so students there.


We knew we would have enough time to stop at Dairy Queen before coming home so the kids brought money. I really miss DQ ice cream, and although I am disappointed they no longer carry butterscotch flavoring for toppings, there are other selections. I let them go first, and then got up to the counter. The large and loud lady in charge says, "Are you the bus driver?" After pausing a second I said, "Well, I am with these kids and I am driving the van." Good enough - I got a free treat. Hot dog - that made my day!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Braden!  We spent the day with his family with the guys digging a well in Blake's back yard to water his grass.  So Braden hung out with the ladies.  This is his lion costume which was really cute, but kind of hot so he didn't stay in it too long.

He is full of cooing and smiling.

Abby got him the Bumbo so he is giving it a try.  I think it will work better when he can hold his head up a little better.  It is just so darn heavy! 

The tailgate picture was taken after the game on Saturday.  At least the weather was good.

What Do You See?

I saw this picture on another blog I sometimes read with the caption "What do you see?" 

I'm curious.  What do you see in this picture?

10 on the 10th

What a day for numerologists.  10/10/10.  To commemorate, I am going to give you 10 random things for the 10th.

1.  Today was the first day I have been on a horse in about 40 years.  I am still walking, which is good, but I am pretty sure the horse was the boss, not me.  This horse is not neck reined and I have never ridden one that isn't.  This is in anticipation of a trail ride in a couple of weeks.  I'm not sure how I practice sitting in the saddle so I can make it more than an hour.

2.  Silly Bandz - those rubber band type bracelets are all the rage.  I was given one by a sixth grader and my kids are jealous.  They are also an occasional play thing in the classroom which is a negative.

3.  Omelets in a bag - my 7th graders are making these tomorrow.  They are so easy and so good.  Just put two eggs and whatever else you like in an omelet in a freezer quart Ziploc bag, mix it up, and boil in water for 13 minutes.

4.  My home laptop screen cracked on Saturday.  I did nothing to it - just opened the lid and it was cracked.  I found my receipt and it hasn't been a years, so I am hoping to get it fixed for free.

5.   I love Autumn Mix candy corn. 

6.  Amazing Race - I picked the pair that got out in the first round.  How can I do so poorly?  Now I have the two singing guys. 

7.  The leaves have turned just in the past few days.   Hope it is a year for pretty colors.

8.  I don't have a new TV show I really like yet, but I still am enjoying Modern Family and The Middle new last season.  I also usually watch Parenthood on hulu.com because something else comes on at the same time that we both like. 

9.  The middle school volleyball season is over.  Seems impossible since it just seems like we started school.  Football and cross country finish up this week.

10.  My FCCLA group is having a dance on Nov. 19.  Abby and her friends are planning to help sponsor.  They are excited, but I am not sure they remember jr. high dances. 

Told you it was random.

Peace, Lisa

This and That

This is Braden when I stayed with him a week or two ago.  I gave him his bath, then dressed him in the green outfit since I had not seen him in green.  And his onesie said, "Daddy's Caddy" which I thought was cute.

Tamara came to CC with Abby to have her hair cut.  They and Paige ate out at noon and spent the afternoon which I was really jealous about.  When Braden was awake, I told Tam and Abby that he was starting to smile.  Then my mom saw him on Saturday morning and said the same thing, so I was not crazy.   I know it looks kind of ridiculous with me holding the car seat, but we had forgotten to take a picture of his first trip to Clay Center, and he was already buckled in and we weren't about to take him out for a picture. (Yes, I got my hair cut.  I think I like it.)

Some of you might be wondering about the Walking Tacos.  We had a great day and raised over $300 which will help pay for our national and state dues as well as our t-shirts.  The kids did were diligent but I forgot to take a picture of the group until just before the parade and I only had one around.  I sent the others, and eventuall her, to watch.  I was just happy to sit.  The weather went from cold and almost sprinkling to hot.  One of our member shouted for about two hours, "Walking tacos, come get a walking taco.  Help support FCCLA."  I figured the Celebrate Recovery booth beside us was about ready to scream or return to an old habit, but they were great and very understanding of our middle schoolers.