Thanksgiving 2008

I'm not sure how exciting it is to see what we did on Thanksgiving, since it probably looks pretty similar to what everyone else did. But this post is just for my grandmother. Yes, my Grandma Nat up in Oregon is the blog's newest reader. I figured she would like to see what some of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were up to. Now if she can figure out how to leave a comment, I will be SO impressed.

The day started with Tate's first viewing of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Selfishly, I was so excited that he enjoyed watching it. Even as a grown adult, I still love it and hope that he'll humor me in watching it for several more years.



Then we went hunting.

Just kidding. :) That is a picture from our Thanksgiving Day at the Zoo. You know this bird was sure glad to be there instead of on your dinner table. For the locals, Thanksgiving Day is the day to go to the zoo. We practically had the entire place to ourselves. So Tate got to do a lot of running around.

Morgan and Mallory got up close and personal with a dragon.

And here's the Thanksgiving Miracle. A picture where ALL 3 kids are looking at the camera. We couldn't believe it!

There was actually even more entertainment at the zoo involving my husband and a harassing squirrel. If you haven't already, you can see that here.

Then off to Mom & Dad's for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner along with our family friends, the Barbarenas. I didn't realize it until I was much older, but we're a little strange and have Thanksgiving dinner as a dinner (instead of lunch) and eat around 7:00 p.m. I may never have to actually cook a turkey myself, because my Mom loves to do it. By all means, go for it. We all agreed that this year's turkey was one of the yummiest yet.

And the best way to work off the calories of that big dinner...dance with Mimi! My Mom has truly gotten her money out of this oh-so-annoying-singing-and-dancing Easter bunny. The kids LOVE it and could play it and dance with Mimi for hours.

And what holiday is complete without Aunt Kelly bringing out some kind of festive accessory to make everyone wear?

See, everyone gets to wear it.

The day was fun and relaxing. And as always, it is a wonderful way to recount and be grateful for the numerous blessings that I am surrounded by.

Twilight

After Sunday afternoon, I’m feeling quite hip and with the times...and quite frivolous at the same time. 13 other young mom-types and I shared the matinee theater with about 100+ tweens to see Twilight. My $8 contributed to the $70 million it made this weekend. Yes, the vampire movie. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoyed it.

I read the book for my Book Club back in August. I thought it was OK. It was a fun, easy read, but I wasn’t running to the bookstore to read the next one in the series. So I went into the movie with very low expectations. Truth be told, once the movie was over, I ran to the bookstore to get the next book in the series.

Of course the movie had its cheesy moments, and of course the acting isn’t all Oscar-worthy, but I was pretty engrossed (along with the 12-year-old sitting in front of me) and found myself thinking that this vampire guy is really growing on me. Did I just really say that?

So for you other Twilighters out there (fess up!), what did you think? Some of my thoughts: Bella was great and cuter than what I pictured, Edward got better and better as the movie went on (and cuter), the beginning scenes when he’s mad are strangely funny, the glittery skin scene was goofy, the white skin looked too powdery at times, Bella’s Dad was great, Jasper was just odd, Jessica was a hoot, and I’m hooked.

I'm Officially A Moron

This may go down as one of my all-time blond moments. You know that Half Marathon I mentioned awhile ago? The one that I've been training for. The one I've spent 3-4 days a week walking miles and miles at a time. The one that my Dad, sister, brother-in-law, and several friends are also doing. Well, somehow in the midst of all of my training, I forgot the tiny detail of actually registering for it. And as of last week, it's sold out!

So, I'm officially a moron. I admit it. I really feel like quite the fool and have no idea or excuse for how this happened. I've e-mailed the registration contact asking about the waiting list and am secretly hoping for lots and lots of people to chicken out or get hurt and not show up. (I really don't wish for anyone to get hurt, but maybe some kind of great news that causes them to bail!)

I guess I just keep training until then and hope for the best. If not, maybe I'll just walk alongside the route and have Wade award me my medal from last year at a makeshift finish line.

Let the ridicule begin.

Tagged

Since I can't get my act together to finish a few other posts, here's a tag from my sister:

TYPE ONLY ONE WORD FOR EACH ANSWER. IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? genuine
3. Your hair? boring
4. Your mother? reader
5. Your father? swimmer
6. Your favorite thing? laughing
7. Your dream last night? creepy
8. Your favorite drink? DC
9. Your dream/goal? Africa
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your fear? cancer
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? content
13. Where were you last night? bruno's
14. What you're not? adventurous
15. Muffins/donuts? donuts
16. One of your wish list items? clothes
17. Where you grew up? texas
18. The last thing you did? Grey's
19. What are you wearing? bum-out
20. Your TV? DVR
21. Your pet? Macy
22. Your computer? slow
23. Your life? thankful
24. Your mood? tired
25. Missing someone? yes
26. Favorite pastime? travels
27. Something you're not wearing? make-up
28. Favorite Store? Loft
29. Your summer? hot
30. Your favorite color? chocolate
31. When is the last time you laughed? bathtime
32. Last time you cried? 11/4
33. Who will/would re-post this? dunno
34. Four places I go over and over: OCH, Costco, church, Target
35. Four people who e-mail me? laura, wade, dad, spammers
36. Four of my favorite foods? guacamole, peanut butter, cake, chicken tarragon
37. Four places I would like to be right now: beach, pedicure, Europe, NYC
38. Four people I tag? lynley, lana, laura, kelli

A Good Day

Today was a good day for two reasons...


First off, it's Veteran's Day. The older I get, the more I realize what an important story my grandfather has as a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. I'm so glad that he has his war stories captured on a DVD from an interview several years ago. Honestly, marrying Wade has helped me learn even more about my grandfather's service. Wade is a complete history nut...especially WWII...so he helps me get my facts straight.


Here's the most recent picture we have with Grandpa back in July. Thanks to him and all of those that have sacrificed so much!




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And on another note, today was a good day because we got a wonderful report from the follow-up appointment with the pediatric neurologist. At the evaluation back in May, we were told that if things hadn't improved after six months, Tate would have to go through all of the not-so-fun tests like MRIs and CT scans. Thank goodness, none of that was even discussed today! We were all pretty sure that would be the response, but I can't tell you how great it felt to hear the words, "He's doing wonderfully. Keep up the great work. You can even cancel the next follow-up in a year if you don't have any concerns." Those words were music to my ears.

It's been a little over a year since all of this began with the hypotonia diagnosis. It's great to see a little light at the end of the tunnel and to know that all of his hard work is paying off!

Halloween Again or Laundry Day?

This is what you wear to bed at night when your Mom has put off doing laundry for a little too long.


I've been in a blogging rut lately but do have better posts coming soon: ACU Homecoming, Tate & Momma Date Night, the new President, and 10 years ago.