Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving wasn't quite a palooza but it was still a party.  We originally planned on making dinner and celebrating with Aunt Nessie then Andrew informed me he wanted a full Thanksgiving meal. I decided we should invite Helen and Kevin and the boys over since we knew they wouldn't be going anywhere due to their family all living outside the United States. Helen's mother and father were in town and so they joined us also.  

I got a phone call sometime a few days before Thanksgiving from Helen saying another friend of ours was looking for a home on Thanksgiving. We invited them (or rather they invited themselves) and we moved to a full on Thanksgiving party.  

I created a menu and divided up the sides to Helen and Elizabeth. Our responsibility was the turkey, mashed potatoes, frozen rolls and frozen egg noodles. I am a genius.  Aunt Nessie found a recipe for our turkey and prepared him and cooked him to absolute perfection - even without an operating meat thermometer. 

Pre-cooked bird and the finished product.  Masterpiece. 

We planned on seating the adults in the dining room and then seating the kids in the kitchen but we were sure we'd never sit down b/c we would be running back and forth for some kids need.  We decided to bring in the picnic table and put them within eyesight and throwing sight of anything they might need. 

The kids were excited to have a picnic as evidenced by Miss M's face. 

Gabe loves his Madelyn.  They played together all day/night. Spencer got a little jealous that his best friend/brother wasn't playing with him as much as he was playing with Mads.

 Spencer didn't make the picture b/c he was still mad at Gabe.

 The meal was divine. Everything was amazing and came together perfectly all at the same time.  It was truly perfection.  Everyone helped in making it all come together. We even put Helen's mother, Liz, to work and had her whip us up some gravy.

Helen's mother and Miss Cate were good friends. She liked having a baby to hold and Miss Cate was calm and quite rested in her arms.

 Group pic of all the kids plus me.

 Me and my kiddos.  So much love in one little picture.

Another Thanksgiving in the books.  It truly was a wonderful day.

Oh - Miss Cate turned 12 weeks on Thanksgiving and as a birthday present to her we took her to the gym and signed her up for child care. When we picked her up they had managed to get her to go to sleep. Next time I am in there I am asking the guy if he wants to babysit.

The week of Thanksgiving.

We received Miss M's four year old school pictures. I don't think she looks like the Miss M I see everyday. Her cheeks look kind of chubby and her hair is so puffy. I love it.  It makes me laugh. I think the photographer must have promised her a piece of candy. Or a whole bag of candy.

 It's fun to see her smile and laugh. It makes my heart so happy.

We are set to host Thanksgiving dinner for 9 adults and 5 kids who eat food and Miss Cate. I didn't have time to get to the store and get everything I needed without lugging along three kids so I had them delivered.

Since Aunt Nessie was off work for a few days we managed to steal her away from her apartment and hang out with her.  We went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Her and Big Willie were best friends. Miss Cate slept in the sling and Annessa got a workout by lugging 30 pound Willie around.

 They just watched the trains go around and around.

 The trolley is Miss M's favorite.

We took a ride on an airplane. Miss M wanted us to take our seats so we could go to to Poppy and Grandma's house.

 They watched the ball roll down the track.

We came home from the museum and hung out. Then Aunt Nessie and Miss M took the minivan to her house and had a slumber party. I gathered from various conversations that they had a pizza party, watched Horton hears a who is spanish, and the Macy's parade.  She loves her Aunt Nessie and I think she loves having a slumber party at her house. Thanks Aunt Nessie for taking one home. You can have your pick any time you want!

WI Dells random pics

She slept like an angel while we were gone. It was helpful since Andrew, Big Willie, Miss Cate and I were all sleeping in the same room together and Big Willie isn't always known to be the deepest sleeper. 

 There is no explanation.

We had a full minivan packed for a two night stay. The joys of traveling with children. We had to take our own pack and plays for #2 and #3 since the hotel charged $20/night for each sleeper.

 Such a sweet face.

Happy Anniversary to these two!  I wonder if 12 years ago they anticipated hanging out in the Dells at a water park with five kids and their brother and sister in law. They are such lucky kids to get to spend their anniversary with us.

On Monday morning before we left Callie and Andrew were hard at work wit their laptops. Stupid laptops.

The water park

The hotel only had 25% occupancy while we were there which allowed us to check into our hotel room when we arrived around noon rather than waiting until 4pm.  We decided to check out the water park after lunch.  I was a bit worried about Big Willie. He only wants Andrew whenever he's around and he isn't always the biggest fan of playing in the water. But he did really well. He hung with Andrew and played even without much of a nap. 

 The lazy river was a hit.

Miss Cate fell asleep in the sling right before we walked into the water park so we just walked around and watched everyone play in the water.

Here's a picture of all of them. Miss M is sitting on top of E so she's kind of hidden but they all enjoyed the lazy river - some of them a little more lazy than others.

E loved the water slides.  She would go down with any adult that would agree to walk up the 92 steps carrying a double tube.  She didn't get as tired as the adults. I think it's more a factor of her not carrying an awkward double tube as opposed to her being younger than us.  She eventually did some slides on her own. I told her I would go down a black and orange slide that looked scary before we left but we weren't able to make it happen b/c the water park closed early on Sunday night and we had to check out early on Monday.  There's always next time...let's hope she forgets...I don't really like water slides and scary things.

WI Dells

Nick had reserved us a three bedroom condo in the Dells. Something as simple as a three bedroom condo can turn a skeptical weekend into a perfect weekend. It was the perfect space for our families.  There was plenty of space to run and play and just hang out.  We needed that space b/c our kids can't hang at a waterpark for much more than an hour.  

We played duck duck goose.  It's kind of a weak circle but they were entertained. 

All the cousins. Big Willie is so happy he gets to hold his sister. Miss M doesn't look ticked but when I looked at all the pictures I took this was the only one where she doesn't look ticked that she didn't get to hold her sister.

Same problem - different day.
Miss M is pumped she gets to hold her sister and Big Willie is not so pumped.

 The kids just standing on the ledge. E looks so big compared to the rest of them.

 He loves her.  Her thoughts are still to be determined.

 Big Willie and Nick were friends. He let Nick hold him and carry him around. He even sat on his lap and played while he downed some milk.

 They look pretty comfy together.

 Andrew got to be the horse to all the children. And Nick.

We went to the arcade one evening. The hotel has an underground walkway so all the rooms can get to the waterpark without going outside. There are conveniently placed video games all through the hallways leading up to the arcade/pool area. The kids wanted to touch and play every single game each time we walked the hallway so we agreed to let them play one night.  I think the big kids had as much fun as anyone.

Before we left (made a mad-dash break to the car b/c kids were melting at epic rates) E finished feeding Miss Cate her bottle and then posed for a picture.  I would say she's a bit more comfortable/happy with E than when Big Willie manhandles her.

A & M - a long time coming

Miss M has been obsessed with her cousin, E, for so long.  She really didn't want anything to do with E's younger sister, A, until this weekend.  It helped that A had her own iPod and they generally like some of the same things like coloring.  It also helped that sometime in the period since we last saw the girls E has grown up and moved onto other things in life. 

The girls, E & A, both wanted to sleep with Miss M.  The first night the three of them squashed into a double bed. They didn't finally fall asleep until sometime after 10pm which is way to late for all of them but especially Miss M.  

 They had a picnic lunch after a morning swim Sunday.

Saturday night they took a bath (really they just played as no soap was used during this adventure) in the big jacuzzi tub in the living room.

They colored and wore Famous Dave's pig hats. Do you see that munchkin in the background climbing on a table.  He's a sneaky one.

They look like they are going to go to bed but they are far from it. A can probably out talk Miss M which is saying something and when it's time to go to bed the best way to not fall asleep is to keep talking so I think that's what she does...she just keeps talking.

When we got home Monday she got a pen and started writing on herself and told me she was just like E and A. They had written/drawn on their hands before we got there. I hope there aren't any other things she picked up from those rascals like A's 15 year old sassy attitude. Miss M's got enough of an attitude. I can't take anymore of one.