We hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!

I guess it's been awhile since I last posted. We've been busy, busy. Benjamin is now running through the house and definitely acting like a toddler. I have had several parking lot moments with him. He's still working on the concept of walking while holding my hand in the lot or else he gets carried. Needless to say, he's been carried through several parking lots. He got to walk through Walgreens the other day. He grabbed a ball in one hand and a stuffed animal in the other. Since his hands were full, he left everything else alone. He also has figured out how to open the pantry door. This skill has served him well so that he can carry around jars of peanut butter and pull out the mop when he thinks the floor needs a swipe.

The kids recently had Family Reading Night at school. The best part of this activity is that the kids are allowed to dress up as storybook characters during the school day (even better since they aren't allowed to at school for Halloween). I've been dying to dress up Emma as Annie for years. I found an awesome dress for her this year and we sprayed her hair red. She looked super cute. Alex opted for his traditional Harry Potter costume. He has used the heck out of that robe I got on clearance after Halloween one year and the free pair of glasses we got from the bookstore. He ended up winning third place out of the third grade costumes.

We had an cozy family Thanksgiving with Sean's mom and her friend, Brion. Brion plays piano in a band, so he entertained Alex before dinner. He can really play! We had all the traditional family fixings including pumpkin pie made entirely by Alex (actually, we all helped make the crust), a huge bowl of mashed potatoes that the kids would have devoured entirely if they had a choice, and sweet potato casserole. Benjamin loved the casserole. Sean was feeding him a few bites and Benjamin would crane his head with his mouth wide open for more. Sean is no longer a turkey virgin. He carved his first bird (after reading up on the web). He did a great job!

One other tidbit is that Alex got a part in his third grade musical. The musical is about Santa and his elves going to Branson, MO to put on a show and make money to build more toys. Alex will be playing Santa and even gets to sing a solo. I about fell over when I saw that in the script. I was flipping through the book and saw a few lines here and there. Then I got to a song that was entirely highlighted and realized it was a solo. The song is called, "I Ain't No Willie Nelson". He's got most of the song down, but needs to work on his lines. I think there may be some dancing involved as well. He's not thrilled about that part. Oh yeah, his choir already did its taping of Christmas music. We're not sure when it will be broadcast, but they're supposed to let us know. Maybe there will be a link on the news website that we can post.

Tomorrow is my birthday, although we won't be having cake until Wednesday due to scheduling conflicts. Sean and Emma were busy getting my present on Black Friday. Sean actually braved the store late that afternoon. He said it wasn't too bad. One of my friends went out at midnight and said it was complete craziness! 15 minutes to get into the parking lot, 30-45 minutes standing in line to pay, etc. That is definitely NOT my cup of tea.