Thanksgiving Recap

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Greg's family. As you can see here, we ate all together in the garage, but despite what you may think, it was quite comfortable and worked really well for us! Mark and Shari worked hard to make the day a relaxing one, and we really appreciated their efforts. Shari had different stations set up all over the house for the kids to do various activities. They turned the other half of the garage into a big play room and even put down some carpet. It was a good day with family.

Working on a Thanksgiving sticker scene.

Aubrey's attention span for the stickers was amazing. I peeled stickers for her to put on the paper for about 15 minutes straight. When I tired of peeling, she recruited Grandpa to do it with her, and then when Grandpa tired of the task, she got cousin Ashlynn to help her.

Joel working on his scene.

Kari into it, too, placing her stickers carefully and strategically.

Happy Thanksgiving

Things have felt a little crazy around here lately and the blog suffers when that happens (actually a lot of things suffer, so I'm hoping to re-group and get organized soon). Greg's had some longer days at work, and I've got three little kids who are just being kids and keeping me on my toes. Things at home have been a little more chaotic than usual. I'm looking forward to a day of "rest" tomorrow as we celebrate Thanksgiving with the Moffat side of the family.
I made sure we set aside some time today to do a little bit of a craft and talk with the kids about what God has given them that they're thankful for. Hopefully you're able to reflect on that, too.

Mom's back on duty

Greg and the kids survived the weekend, and I had a nice time getting away from my normal routines for a bit. I'm glad to be back, though. I missed them. I think Greg must have taken these first two photos on Friday pizza movie night. Doesn't look like they were suffering too much without me. :)

And I love this one of Aubrey. Nice work, Greg! She's back to giving us her cheesy smile, as you will see below, so real smiles are a rarity. She might show you her cheesy face if you ask her sometime.

The kids just before leaving for church two Sundays ago. See that cheese?

Greg's on Daddy Duty

I am really looking forward to the rest of the week. Tomorrow morning I get to help in Kari's class, and then in the afternoon I head over to the Harvest Moon Bazaar where I'm selling nursing covers again like I did last year, which means... I get to sit, relax, and chat with friends for the better part of the next three days! Sort of a mom vacation, if you will.

So, if you're around here, come visit me.

Season's End

Saturday was Kari's last soccer game, and Sunday we celebrated at the team pizza party. Kari is very disappointed soccer is over, which is a far cry from August when she sobbed because she didn't want to do it (glad to know we did the right thing this time in "pushing" her to try something). She learned and grew a lot throughout the season, became much more confident and aggressive on the field, and scored 5 goals in her last game! She's already talking about next year. I also have to add that Greg and Mike did an excellent job coaching. Never having done this before, we didn't really know what to expect, but the guys got a ton of positive feedback from the other parents, many of whom have been doing soccer with their kids for years. They're both great dads, so I knew they'd be good at coaching this level, but I didn't know they'd be great! They taught the kids the basics of soccer but made it a lot of fun and did a lot of encouraging. We'll see if they're up for it again next year, because we've got a couple younger brothers who sat on the sidelines for two months and are anxious to play.
These are all photos from Saturday's game. As you can see, Kari was constantly in on the action. The middle row shows one of the goals she scored and then running back to Coach Mike for a big "ten." Rain or shine, Kari always had a large cheering section at her games. Thanks so much to all of you who came and cheered her on! And thanks to the Millers for doing it with us! We had a fantastic first soccer experience.

Bonding time

These two have been interacting a lot more lately and having fun together, a combination of Aubrey getting older and Kari being at school in the mornings, I think. Aubrey loves her "Gawboo" and asks for him as soon as I get her out of her crib. We took a walk earlier this week(before it got all windy and rainy) to gather leaves and other bits of nature. I love taking morning walks with the kids in the fall--beautiful leaves on the trees, cool crisp air, and happy-to be-outside kids. I had an "I'm thankful to be home with my kids" kind of day.

Trains can be very serious business, and sometimes little 20 month old sisters, even cute, fun ones, get in the way and mess up the tracks. Mommy must be vigilant during train play.

Joel was pulling Aubrey around on the trike, and she LOVED it. (Do you like that she's still in her pjs? Sometimes she just doesn't make it into clothes before we have to get in the car to take Kari to school. She's warm at least.)

Do we need a dog?

The answer to that question is no, by the way. However, listening to my children might make one think a pet would be in order. Yesterday the kids were playing in the hallway, and I heard Kari say, "Fetch, Aubrey!" And Aubrey fetched.

Halloween 2009

Just before heading out for trick-or-treating. Aubrey had just woken up from her nap and wasn't quite in a festive mood yet (milk cures all in her book--hence the sippy cup).

My new favorite picture of Joel. Such a sweet face inside that ferocious looking T-rex.

With the crowds

We met with up with all kinds of friends and family while we were out. It's always fun to see the kids dressed up. And it didn't rain on us!
Here's the latest cousin photo:
Miles (lion), Sam (Spiderman), Kari (Alice), Joel (T-Rex), Ashlynn (Lucy from Narnia), Maggie (Jellyfish), Lorelai (Aurora, of course), and Aubrey (Frog, or "Soggie," as she says it)