Happy Thanksgiving

On Oct 22nd Addy had a Thanksgiving feast at school.

All the kids wore an Indian vest & headress. (This is Addy's.)

They sang a song & then told what they were thankful for. Addy said she was thankful for "cheese." Lol!

Then they had a feast of turkey, cubed cheese, grapes, rolls & mini pumpkin tarts.

Addy ate some cheese & even tried the pumpkin tart! (That's a big accomplishment!)

On Thanksgiving, Nick & I ran the Turkey Trot & then spent the rest of the day at his parent's house. Wayne & Tracey brought their kids over & Pat cooked a great meal. We had turkey, ham, potato salad, sweet potatoes, dressing, deviled eggs, rolls, lima beans, corn & banana pudding. (I think that was everything!) Addy & Alex had a lots of fun running around & playing with Jules & Grant! Nick stayed til around 3 and then headed home to get ready for Black Friday.

We had our second Thanksgiving on Saturday at my mom & dad's house. Papa & June, Steve & Christy & Susan all came over along with all my sisters and their sweet families. Nick & Jeff weren't there because they were both working & my dad was out of town.

Mom cooked us a delicious meal! We stuffed ourselves on turkey & ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, cranberry salad, macaroni and I made sweet potato casserole. (Once again, I think that was everything, lol!) And the kids had a lot of fun playing with all their cousins!

I didn't take a lot of pictures on Saturday, but here are a few that I did.

We had a really great Thanksgiving weekend in Southeast Texas!

Turkey Trot

Nick and I ran in the Turkey Trot at Tyrell Park in Beaumont on Thanksgiving morning. It started at 8 am so we had to get up early & go. I found a pair of really fun knee socks at the Nutcracker Market a couple of weekends ago that I wore in the run. They were Robin (you know, Batman & Robin) socks & even had little yellow capes on the backs of them. I found a red Robin shirt & wore a long sleeve green under armor shirt under it. I LOVED my outfit! And Nick wore a Batman t shirt. So we were Batman & Robin! Our outfits were a huge hit.

Our outfits (Nick was chewing gum, btw)

We met Wayne, Tracey & the kids at the run.

 Jules & Grant even ran the kids 1K!

We also met up with Jessica, Jay & some of the Movember moustache crew. They were wearing some cute moustache shirts & knee high moustache socks. 

We were definitely running for time (I'm kind of competitive, lol) & so once it started, I took off! I finished the 5K in 22:32 which was a pace of 7:16! I finished as the 1st female in my age range, 5th female overall & 28th participant overall. I'm pretty proud of myself!!!! I even got an award & my picture taken.

Nick finished the 5K in 24:59 which was a pace of 8:08. He also did great! He finished as the 58th male & 80th overall. I'm very proud of my husband too! Great job Nick!!! We just keep getting better & better.

Maryse gets her drive on...

No, Maryse did not get a car for her 16th birthday :( The reason for this is because she does not have her license yet. We started the parent taught drivers ed, got her social security card from her mother & then she was finally able to get her learner's permit. I took her to the DPS office on October 16th. She took the test & PASSED & so now she has her permit! Yay! But she has to have it for 6 months before she can get her permit. So on April 16th, I will have to take her back to the DPS office & she can get her driver's license! (And then probably a car.)

signing paperwork

taking the eye test

taking her picture

And here it is...the permit!

driving home

Happy Sweet Sixteen Maryse

Maryse turned 16 on Tuesday, November 22nd. CRAZY, I know!!!! Yes, she really is that old! Lol. We threw her a mini party at home on Monday night. I didn't plan ahead well, so all I had to put candles in was a piece of frozen pie. But it did the trick! We sang Happy Birthday to Maryse & Addy & Alex helped her blow out her 16 candles. And then she opened her presents.

Maryse's birthday pie

16 candles sure do make a lot of smoke, lol!

opening her presents

Tuesday (her actual birthday) was Maryse & Addy's last day of school before the Thanksgiving holidays. Maryse was begging to stay home. She said she had never had to go to school on her birthday before. Whaaa! Lol. But she went & she said that she got lots of birthday wishes from her friends. Her friend Breanne even brought her a bunch of cupcakes decorated to look like one big flower.

After school, Maryse, the kids & I headed to Beaumont for the Thanksgiving break. Nick met us at his parents house & then we all left to go to Maryse's birthday party. (I had asked Maryse what she wanted to do for her birthday & she said that she wanted EVERYONE to get together for a birthday dinner. And she wanted to have it at Golden Corral so that everyone would be able to eat food that they like. It was very very thoughtful & sweet of her to think of everyone else on HER birthday!) We stopped & picked up her cookie cake & then met everyone at Golden Corral. Her party turned out really nice. I think everyone had a great time!

Maryse wanted her own mini cookie cake.

We called this her "smash" cookie, lol.

Maryse's cookie cake

All the kids helped blow out her candles!

Maryse & her little sister Kali

The Zoo (Again)

Addy absolutely loves the zoo & literally asks to go almost everyday! I had been telling her that once she started walking again that we would go. And of course, she didn't forget. She is almost back to normal since her injury (still walking a little funny) and so a couple of Saturdays ago, the kids & I met Molly, Hannah & Clark at the zoo for a couple hours of animal fun!

 

That's one LAZY lion!

Neither of my kids wanted to ride the carousel so they sat & waited while Hannah & Clark rode it. I told them to smile for a picture & instead they BOTH turned away, lol!

Addy was so excited to spend the day at the zoo!